Government of Andhra Pradesh ordered to pre-deposit Rs. 5,00,000 for E-Seva service tax.

The Tribunal directed the Department of Government of Andhra Pradesh to pre-deposit Rs. 5,00,000 within 8 weeks for service tax liability related to E-Seva services. Compliance would lead to waiver of the balance amount of tax and penalty, with recovery stayed pending appeal. Failure to comply would result in appeal dismissal due to lack of establishing a strong prima facie case for complete waiver. The service provided for booking tickets to APSRTC post-1-6-2005 was deemed contentious, requiring further examination during the final hearing.

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Issues:
Stay petition for waiver of pre-deposit of service tax amount, penalty under various sections, and interest.

Analysis:
The appellant, a Department of Government of Andhra Pradesh, provided E-Seva services to the government and citizens for activities like property tax, electricity, insurance, etc. The Revenue demanded service tax under 'Business Auxiliary Services'. The appellant argued that being a government department, it cannot be considered a "Commercial Concern" and its activities are sovereign functions. The appellant also claimed that a major part of the demand is time-barred and that the service provided has budgetary support from the State Govt.

The respondent contended that the appellant provided web services like cash withdrawal, mutual funds collection, and share transfers, which do not fall under sovereign functions. The respondent argued that the services rendered fall within the scope of "Business Auxiliary Service."

After considering the submissions and records, the Tribunal found the service provided by the appellant for booking tickets to APSRTC to be contentious. It was noted that post-1-6-2005, service tax liability might arise for services to APSRTC, which requires further examination during the final hearing. As the appellant did not establish a strong prima facie case for complete waiver of pre-deposit, the Tribunal directed the appellant to pre-deposit Rs. 5,00,000 within 8 weeks. Upon compliance, the balance amount of service tax and penalty would be waived, and recovery stayed until the appeal's disposal. Non-compliance would result in dismissal of the appeal.

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