Delhi High Court Disposes Case on Service Tax for Liquor License Fees.

The High Court of Delhi disposed of the case challenging the levy of service tax on license fee paid for a liquor license, following the decision of the GST Council and subsequent acceptance by the Central Government that GST/Service Tax was not applicable on such fees. The writ petitions were deemed moot in light of this development, emphasizing the significance of administrative decisions impacting legal challenges and leading to the resolution of cases.

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Issues Involved:
Challenge to levy of service tax on license fee paid for liquor license.

Analysis:
The High Court of Delhi was presented with a case involving the challenge to the levy of service tax on license fee paid for a liquor license. The matter was brought to the Court's attention by both the petitioner and the respondents, highlighting that the GST Council, during its 26th meeting on 10.03.2018, decided that GST/Service Tax was not applicable on license fee and application fee for alcoholic liquor for human consumption. Subsequently, the Central Government accepted this decision, as evidenced by a communication addressed to the Joint Commissioner (Legal) on 31.07.2018. The communication referred to the Writ Petition No. 3277/2017 filed by M/s. Jagatjit Industries challenging the levy of service tax on license fee paid for a liquor license. The decision of the GST Council was acknowledged and accepted by the Central Government for implementation. Consequently, field formations were instructed to keep show cause notices issued for the levy of Service Tax on license fee and application fee for alcoholic liquor for human consumption between 01.04.2016 to 30.06.2017 in abeyance until further directions were provided by the Board.

The learned counsel representing the parties informed the Court that the challenge to the relevant provisions of the law had become irrelevant in light of the decision taken by the GST Council and accepted by the Central Government. Consequently, the writ petitions were disposed of based on the mootness of the issue. This judgment signifies the importance of the decisions made by the GST Council and the subsequent acceptance and implementation of those decisions by the Central Government, which can render legal challenges obsolete and lead to the disposal of cases on those grounds.

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