Unrecognised Courses Merely Facilitating Foreign Admission Are Liable To Service Tax: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that programmes which merely facilitate admission to foreign universities, without conferring a degree recognised under Indian law, are liable to service tax. The Bench comprising Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao while hearing an appeal filed by the International School for Management Studies (ISMS) against the service tax demand held that its course did not lead to a...

No Countervailing Duty On Silk Fabrics Imported In 2012–13: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) clarified that countervailing duty (CVD) cannot be levied on imported silk fabrics during 2012–2013, when excise duty on such fabrics was fully exempt under the relevant notification. Further that customs proceedings are deemed concluded once duty and interest are paid before a show-cause notice is issued. A Bench comprising Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao set aside the...

CESTAT Chennai Upholds Denial Of CENVAT Credit To Loyalty Management Firm, Holds Gift Voucher Supply Is Trading

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has ruled against Accentive (India) Private Limited, a loyalty management company, holding that it cannot retain CENVAT credit on goods and gift vouchers supplied under customer reward programmes because the activity amounts to trading. While the tribunal upheld the tax demands and interest running into crores of rupees, it waived penalties for periods prior to May 14, 2015. A bench of Judicial Member...

Parts Used For Intelligent Manual Transmission Not Clutch Parts, CESTAT Rules In Hyundai Transys' Favour

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that auto parts imported by Hyundai Transys India Private Limited for use in intelligent manual transmission vehicles were wrongly classified by customs authorities, leading to unsustainable duty demands. A bench of Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao ruled that the actuator assembly and tube connector assembly used in iMT vehicles cannot be treated as “clutches and parts...

Free Materials In Works Contracts Pre-July 2009 Excludible From Service Tax: CESTAT Ahmedabad

On 15 January, the Ahmedabad Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that the value of free materials provided under an indivisible Works Contract cannot be included in taxable value for service tax purposes for contracts executed before 7 July 2009. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Dr. Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha and Technical Member Mr. Satendra Vikram Singh set aside the portion of the service tax demand calculated on 933.355 MT of steel, valued at Rs....

CESTAT Mumbai Sets Aside Service Tax Demand Based Only On Service Tax–Income Tax Return Mismatch

The Mumbai bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal has set aside a service tax demand that was raised on the basis of a mismatch between income tax returns and ST-3 returns (half-yearly service tax returns filed under the pre-GST regime). The tribunal noted that the demand was confirmed without proper service of notice and without giving the taxpayer an opportunity of hearing The appeal was decided by Technical Member M.M. Parthiban. The tribunal found that the...

Kopiko Is Sugar Confectionery, Not Coffee-Based Product; 6%, Not 12%, Excise Duty Applies: CESTAT Hyderabad

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Hyderabad, answering a reference made after conflicting rulings by its Hyderabad and Ahmedabad benches, has held that Kopiko, the coffee-flavored candy sold in India, is classifiable as sugar confectionery under the central excise tariff and not as a coffee-based preparation. As a result, the product falls under tariff heading 1704 9090, which attracts 6% excise duty, and not under heading 2101 1200, which carries a 12% duty. The...

Limitation Plea Can Be Raised At Any Stage As Long As Facts Are On Record: Madras High Court

In a recent ruling, the Madras High Court held that a belated plea of limitation cannot be entertained where the factual foundation necessary to examine such a plea is absent on record. The ruling came from a bench of Justice Dr. Anita Sumanth and Justice P Dhanabal while dismissing an appeal filed by Modern Engineering & Plastics Pvt. Ltd. The court noted that "Normally, limitation, if it were to be a pure question of law may be raised at any stage of the proceeding, and it would not...

Joint Venture MoU For Sugar Mill Modernisation Not Taxable: CESTAT Chandigarh

The Chandigarh Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that amounts received by a sugar mill under a co-generation and modernisation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) cannot be treated as consideration for renting of immovable property and are therefore not liable to service tax. Setting aside a service tax demand of over Rs. 21 lakh, the Bench comprising S.S. Garg (Judicial Member) and P. Anjani Kumar (Technical Member) observed that in the case at...

Fortis Not Liable To Pay ₹50 Lakh Service Tax On Facilities Provided To Visiting Doctors: CESTAT Chandigarh

The Chandigarh Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal has recently held that Fortis Healthcare is not liable to pay service tax on infrastructure and administrative facilities provided to visiting doctors. A coram of Judicial Member S.S. Garg and Technical Member P. Anjani Kumar said the arrangement was part of delivering medical treatment and not a separate taxable service. Allowing the appeal, the tribunal held that such services “do not fall under the category of...

CESTAT Chennai Allows Nissan Group SEZ Unit's Claim For Refund Of Service Tax Paid

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Chennai has ruled in favour of Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India, holding that service tax refund claims of Special Economic Zone units cannot be rejected only because they were filed late. A coram of Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao said the six-month time limit in Notification No. 9/2009 Service Tax is procedural. It cannot defeat the statutory exemption under the SEZ law. ...

Mid-Day Meal Scheme: CESTAT Grants Service Tax Relief To Government Catering Institute

The Chandigarh Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has granted relief to a government-run catering institute that supplies Mid-Day meals to the UT education department. It reiterated that the preparation and supply of cooked food under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme does not amount to 'outdoor catering' and is therefore not liable to service tax.The coram, consisting of Judicial Member SS Garg and Technical Member P Anjani Kumar stated that the...