Commnr. Of Central Excise, Vadodara-I vs M/S. Gujarat Carbon & Industries Ltd

The Supreme Court ruled that service availers are not liable to pay service tax under the Finance Act, 1994, as established in Laghu Udyog Bharti & Ors. v. Union of India. The Court held that retrospective amendments under Section 117 of the Finance Act, 2000 do not impose liability on service availers for past transactions. Consequently, the show cause notices issued for penalties under Sections 76 and 77 were invalid, leading to the dismissal of the appeals against the Tribunal's decisions.