2015 (10) TMI 366

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....18 by the Commissioner, Custom, Central Excise and Service Tax, Bhopal in the matter of demanding service tax from the petitioner for the service of Management, Maintenance or repairs of roads provided by the petitioner. It is the case of the petitioner that as the service rendered by the petitioner are totally exempted from payment of the service tax. The impugned action of the Revenue in demanding the tax in question is unsustainable. Facts in nutshell go to show that the petitioner is a wholly owned State Government Company and has been established for the purpose of enhancing, maintenance, development and various infrastructural facilities. The petitioner/M.P. Audhyogik Kendra Vikas Nigam was granted a contract for the purpose of constr....

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....the period on and from the 16 th day of June, 2005 to the 26th day of July, 2009 (both days inclusive). (2) Refund shall be made of all such service tax which has been collected but which would not have been so collected had sub-section (1) been in force at all material times. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Chapter, an application for the claim of refund of service tax shall be made within a period of six months from the date on which the Finance Bill, 2012 receives the assent of the President. (emphasis supplied) 3. According to learned counsel for the petitioner by virtue of this notification an amendment to the statue the service as provided by the petitioner i.e. Management, Maintenance or r....

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....cordingly submitted that the action of the Revenue in imposing the duty is unsustainable. Respondents have filed the reply and have raised a preliminary objection with regard to maintainability of this writ petition on the ground that against the order impugned passed by the Assessing Officer and the demand made as statutory remedy by way appeal to the appellate authority and further to the appellate Tribunal is available, this petition is not maintainable. However, on merit the respondents again refer to the definition of Management, Maintenance or repairs of roads as contained in Section 65(64) of the Finance Act, 2006 and says that as the service in question is taxable in accordance with the aforesaid provision, no error has been committ....

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....from the notification No.24/2009 as reproduced herein above and by this notification the entire service in question i.e. Management, Maintenance or repairs of road was exempted from payment of service tax. It is, therefore, clear from a conjoint reading of this notification and the amendment brought into force in the Finance Act, 2012, that initially on 27.07.2009 the competent authority granted exemption from payment of duties between 06.06.2005 to 26.07.2009 after this notification was issued granting exemption from payment of duties upto 26.07.2009 it was thought appropriate that grant complete exemption and therefore the statutory provision has been amended retrospectively and total exemption granted by amending the provision under Sect....