Delayed Retraction Can't Undermine Service Tax Demand Backed By Signed Digital Records: CESTAT Delhi

On 23 October the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at New Delhi held that delayed retraction of statements admitting unaccounted cash receipts from flat buyers cannot discredit a service tax demand when the statements were reaffirmed during the investigation and corroborated by signed printouts of electronic records recovered from the company. A Bench of Judicial Member Dr. Rachna Gupta and Technical Member P.V. Subba Rao allowed the Revenue's appeal against AGC...

Hospital Food Contractor Liable To Pay Service Tax As Outdoor Caterer: CESTAT Bangalore

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Bangalore, has held that a contractor supplying food from hospital premises can be liable to pay service tax as an outdoor caterer, even where VAT has been paid on the goods component.“Based on the above definitions a person undertaking catering in his own premises or premises offered by the clients and who supplies food directly or indirectly falls under the definition of outdoor caterer,” the tribunal observed.The bench of...

Royalty Paid To Partners For Trademark Use Not Taxable Without Service Relationship: CESTAT Kolkata

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Kolkata, on 14 October held that royalty received by partners for allowing their partnership firm to use a jointly owned trademark does not attract service tax in the absence of a service provider-recipient relationship. A Bench of Judicial Member R. Muralidhar allowed four appeals filed by the partners of Radhashyam Tirthabasi Paul against the confirmation of service tax demands on royalty received for the use of the trademark...

CESTAT Delhi Remands Schlumberger's ₹5.82 Crore Tax Dispute Over ONGC Training And Offshore Services

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, on 21 October set aside an order dropping service tax demands against Schlumberger Asia Services Ltd. and remanded the matter for fresh adjudication. It held that the taxability of training services provided to the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and services connected with offshore oil and gas exploration required further examination.A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ajay Sharma and Technical Member Hemambika R....

CESTAT Delhi Upholds ₹2.89 Lakh Tax Demand On Transit Mixer Hiring, Rejects GTA Service Claim

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, on 16 October upheld a service tax demand of Rs. 2.89 lakh against Shri Sai RMC for hiring transit mixer (TM) machines, holding that the transaction was not covered under Goods Transport Agency (GTA) service. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ajay Sharma and Technical Member Hemambika R. Priya dismissed the appeal, finding that the case was covered by the Supreme Court's ruling in K.P. Mozika v. ONGC on the distinction...

CESTAT Mumbai Sets Aside ₹46.41 Crore Service Tax Demand Against Yash Raj Films Over Overseas Film Shoots

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Mumbai, has ruled that overseas Local Area Representatives (LARs) who arrange third-party services for film shoots abroad act as intermediaries. Since the place of provision of these intermediary services was outside India, Yash Raj Films Private Limited was not liable to pay service tax under the reverse charge mechanism. The tribunal set aside a demand of ₹46.41 crore, along with interest and penalties.A bench of Judicial Member...

CESTAT Kolkata Holds Vodafone SIM Distributor Commission Exempt From Service Tax, Sets Aside Part Of Demand

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Kolkata, has ruled that commission earned from a Vodafone SIM distributorship was exempt from service tax under a 2012 notification.The tribunal also set aside the demand on plastic dustbins and portable toilets supplied to local bodies and State Governments, holding that the transactions involved sales of goods on which VAT had been paid.The ruling came in an appeal filed by Reliable Enterprises, a sole proprietorship based in...

Water Supply Agreement Is Sale Of Water, Not Taxable Service: CESTAT Delhi

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, has recently ruled that an agreement allowing an industrial unit to draw water directly from a water body can constitute a sale of water rather than an assignment of the right to use natural resources. The tribunal set aside a service tax demand of ₹7.29 crore against Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), holding that the agreement was for the sale of water.A bench comprising Officiating President Rachna Gupta and...

Amounts Collected From Dhabas Under 'Yatri Plaza Yojna' Not Taxable To Service Tax: CESTAT Allahabad

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Allahabad, has set aside a service tax demand of ₹3.85 lakh against the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) over amounts collected from roadside dhabas under its “Yatri Plaza Yojna”. The tribunal held that the arrangement was a public welfare measure to ensure passenger safety and convenience, not a commercial transaction involving a taxable service.Under the scheme, UPSRTC designated roadside dhabas where its...

Tender Documents Sale Not A Service, No Service Tax Payable On Fees: CESTAT Delhi

The New Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), on 13 October held that fees collected for selling tender documents are not subject to service tax, as the sale of documents does not constitute a taxable service. A Bench of Judicial Member Ajay Sharma and Technical Member Hemambika R. Priya allowed the appeal filed by Rajasthan State Road Development & Construction Corporation Limited against a service tax demand of Rs. 72,071, along with interest and...

CESTAT Chennai Sets Aside Service Tax Orders Against A.P. Constructions, Orders Fresh Adjudication

On Thursday, 15 October, the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Chennai, set aside three service tax orders against A.P. Constructions India Pvt. Ltd. and its Managing Director, directing fresh adjudication within 90 days after examining the contractual arrangements, applicable statutory provisions and supporting evidence. A Bench comprising Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member M. Ajit Kumar allowed all three appeals by way of remand, holding that the...

Airline Cancellation Charges Are Compensation For Breach Of Contract, Not Taxable Service: CESTAT Delhi

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, has ruled that cancellation fees collected by Lufthansa German Airlines as compensation for passengers failing to honour their travel commitments are not taxable as consideration for a separate service under Section 66E(e) of the Finance Act, 1994.“In short, the cancellation charges are in the form of a compensation for failure of a contract entered into that the passenger would fly and the airlines would carry him to...