https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=753436 CESTAT Bangalore held that service tax demand on equity share transfer with non-compete and non-solicit clauses was invalid. The transfer qualified as an ongoing concern under Mega Exemption Notification No. 25/2012-Service Tax, providing full exemption. No separate consideration was received for non-compete conditions, which were standard contractual terms integral to business transfer. The agreement must be interpreted holistically per party intentions, not tax provisions. Non-compete clauses are normal in business transfers and cannot be artificially separated to deny exemption benefits. Service tax demand, interest, and penalties were set aside. en-us Tue, 30 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0530 Sat, 01 Jun 2024 16:38:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=753436 CESTAT Bangalore held that service tax demand on equity share transfer with non-compete and non-solicit clauses was invalid. The transfer qualified as an ongoing concern under Mega Exemption Notification No. 25/2012-Service Tax, providing full exemption. No separate consideration was received for non-compete conditions, which were standard contractual terms integral to business transfer. The agreement must be interpreted holistically per party intentions, not tax provisions. Non-compete clauses are normal in business transfers and cannot be artificially separated to deny exemption benefits. Service tax demand, interest, and penalties were set aside. Case-Laws Service Tax Tue, 30 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=753436