Pre-2007 Composite Work Contracts For Hydro / Road Projects Not Taxable Under CICS: CESTAT

In this article, the CESTAT (Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal) has ruled that composite contracts (combining construction + supply) for hydro and road projects executed pre-2007 are not liable to tax under the “CICS” (presumably an older tax regime). The Tribunal’s decision rests on interpreting the notification / statute under which these composite contracts were exempt or taxed differently, arguing that pre-2007 contracts should not be re-characterized under newer tax regimes. This ruling is relevant for legacy infrastructure developers who structured contracts decades ago and face retrospective tax exposures. (NOTE: based on the headline — full text would provide deeper legal-statutory reasoning.)