Land Component In Country Club Membership Fee Cannot Be Included For Service Tax: CESTAT Hyderabad

The Hyderabad Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the value of land included in composite membership packages offered by Country Club (India) Ltd (now known as Country Club Hospitality & Holidays Ltd) (appellant) cannot be included in the taxable value for the purpose of levying service tax under the category of “club or association service".The bench consists of Judicial Member Angad Prasad and Technical Member A.K. Jyotishi stated that "The...

Tobacco Board Auction Fee Is Statutory Levy, Not Taxable Service; No Service Tax Payable: CESTAT Hyderabad

The Hyderabad Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that statutory fees collected by the Tobacco Board for conducting auctions of Virginia tobacco cannot be treated as consideration for taxable services and, therefore, are not liable to service tax.The bench consists of Judicial Member Angad Prasad and Technical Member A.K. Jyotishi, who observed that the Tobacco Board was performing statutory and regulatory functions under the governing legislation...

No Service Tax On Advertisement Expense Reimbursement Received By Panasonic Under Cost-Sharing Deal: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that service tax cannot be levied on reimbursement of advertisement and sales promotion expenses received by Panasonic Home Appliances India Co. Ltd. from its foreign group company under a cost-sharing arrangement, as such payments do not constitute consideration for any taxable service. The bench, comprising Technical Member M. Ajit Kumar and Judicial Member Ajayan T.V., observed that although the...

Service Tax Not Leviable On Tobacco Processing Job Work: CESTAT Hyderabad Dismisses Revenue Appeal

The Hyderabad Bench of CESTAT has dismissed the Revenue's appeal against Premier Tobacco Packers, holding that service tax cannot be levied on job work relating to threshing and redrying of tobacco leaves, as the issue is already settled by earlier Tribunal rulings treating such activity as processing of agricultural produce. The bench of Judicial Member Angad Prasad and Technical Member A.K. Jyotishi dismissed the Department's appeal and upheld the Order-in-Appeal, which had set aside the...

Supply Of Water To Vessels Within Port Liable To Service Tax Before 2010 Exemption: CESTAT Ahmedabad

The Ahmedabad Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the supply of water to vessels within a port area forms part of “port services” and is liable to service tax under the Finance Act, 1994 for the period prior to the exemption introduced with effect from July 1, 2010. The bench comprising Judicial Member Dr Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha and Technical Member Satendra Vikram Singh observed that, “We therefore, agree with the arguments of learned AR...

Service Tax Cannot Be Demanded Solely Based On Form 26AS Data Without Inquiry: Gauhati High Court

The Gauhati High Court on 20 February, held that the Revenue Department cannot demand Service Tax from a taxpayer, solely on the basis of information provided in Form 26AS. The Division Bench of Justice Michael Zothankhuma and Justice Shamima Jahan heard an appeal filed by the Principal Commissioner of CGST, Dibrugarh, against a CESTAT Kolkata order that had set aside a service tax demand of Rs. 6,39,09,190 imposed on a contractor. The Bench held: “The show cause notice dated 21.10.2019 and...

Service Tax Fully Exempt For Rural Skill And Vocational Training Under DDU-GKY: CESTAT Ahmedabad

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Ahmedabad, on 27 February, ruled that training services under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) are exempt from service tax if covered by the applicable notifications. A Bench of Judicial Member Dr. Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha and Technical Member Satendra Vikram Singh, allowed the appeal by Checkmate Services Pvt. Ltd., confirming that providing skill and vocational training to rural youth under DDU-GKY was...

Mere Audit Detection Not Ground To Invoke Extended Limitation Under Finance Act: CESTAT Delhi

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi on 9 March, emphasised that the extended period of limitation cannot be invoked in the absence of a specific allegation of fraud, collusion, or suppression of facts. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ms. Binu Tamta and Technical Member Ms. Hemambika R. Priya, set aside a service tax demand raised against the Rajasthan Housing Board, holding that where the taxpayer had disclosed the availment of CENVAT credit in its...

CESTAT Allows Perrigo Lab's ₹44.72 Lakh CENVAT Credit Refund Denied Over Clerical Invoice Error

The Mumbai Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has recently allowed an appeal filed by Perrigo Laboratories India Pvt. Ltd., holding that part of its refund claim for unutilised CENVAT credit was wrongly rejected due to a clerical discrepancy in invoices. A single-member bench of Judicial Member Dr. Suvendu Kumar Pati set aside the order of the commissioner (appeals), Thane, which had denied a refund of Rs 44.72 lakh on the ground that the original invoice...

Actor Rajinikanth Gets Relief As CESTAT Chennai Sets Aside ₹56.84 Lakh Service Tax Demand On Hotel Lease

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Chennai on Wednesday set aside a service tax demand of about Rs 56.84 lakh against veteran Tamil actor Rajinikanth, holding that renting a building for use as a hotel is excluded from service tax under the Finance Act even if the premises contain facilities such as a restaurant, banquet hall, conference hall, bar, and health club. A bench of Judicial Member Ajayan T.V. and Technical Member M. Ajit Kumar observed, "Their presence...

No Service Tax Exemption Where Overriding Commission Is Received In INR: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court held that travel agents acting as General Sales Agents (GSAs) for foreign airlines cannot claim service tax exemption as an export of services when their overriding commission is received in Indian Rupees rather than convertible foreign exchange, even if the services are provided to foreign principals. A Division Bench of Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice Mummineni Sudheer Kumar held that exemption notifications are to be strictly construed, and the condition requiring...

Service Taxability Appeals Lie To Supreme Court, Not High Court: Delhi High Court Reiterates

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a service tax appeal filed by the Revenue, holding that questions relating to taxability fall outside the High Court's appellate jurisdiction under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, and can be examined only by the Supreme Court.A Division Bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul observed, “we have gone through the judgments cited by the counsel for the respondent in the matter of M/S Konark Exim Pvt. Ltd (referred supra). In the said matter,...