Order date – 04 January 2023

Parties: Dabur India Limited Vs Commissioner Central Excise, Customs & Service Tax, Silvassa

Facts –

• The Appellant, Dabur India Limited, were clearing goods under area based exemption Notification No. 50/2003-CE dated 10.06.2003 whereas the other units of the Appellants, including the units in impugned appeals, were clearing goods on payment of Central Excise Duty at the applicable rate.
• The Appellants also have a corporate head office which was registered with the Central Excise & Service Tax department as Input Service Distributors for distributing the Cenvat Credit of input services.
• A show cause notice dated 21-10-2011 was issued alleging that Advertisement Service & Sales Promotion Services received by Input Service Distributor which was attributable to exempted goods and traded goods were distributed to the Units which were manufacturing dutiable final product.

Issue –

• Whether Cenvat credit attributable to exempted goods and trading goods can be disallowed?

Order –

• The Tribunal finds that an identical issue in the assessee-appellant’s own case has been decided in favour by the Tribunal 
• The Tribunal held in the case of Dabur India Limited - 2017 (6) GSTL 106 (Tri.-All.) that The Show Cause Notice nowhere established that the Cenvat credit which was proposed to be recovered was used in a unit exclusively engaged in manufacture of exempted goods. It is admitted that the Services such as Advertisement Service & Sales Promotion Services, were utilized in Corporate Office, Kaushambi, Ghaziabad.  
• Therefore, the issue in the present appeals is no longer res-integra. Though the learned AR mentioned that all those Tribunal orders are appealed against before the respective jurisdictional high court, however in absence of any stay order by any of the High Courts, the Tribunal orders shall prevail.
• Hence the appeals are allowed.