TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (4) TMI 664
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....'. Appellants are imparting education through three types of Institutions as follows:- (a) Junior Colleges which are wholly established by the appellants themselves. (b) Junior Colleges (associated with the appellants Society) and established by various other Societies. (c) Coaching Centers - These centers were established in locations inside and outside the State of Andhra Pradesh in order to prepare students so as to enable them to appear for various competitive exams but for the period concerned in these appeals 2011 to 2015, these coaching centers were not functionable. 4. The appellants Society, through their own Junior Colleges and the junior colleges of other societies under its management imparts education to the students for intermediate courses; are recognized by the Andhra Pradesh Intermediate Board for providing education for 11th and 12th standard students; they follow guidelines for the syllabus prescribed by the Andhra Pradesh Intermediate Board conducts regular internal assessments, follows a standard admission procedure and imparts education on various subjects as per the guidelines of Intermediate Board. Appellants Society in certain junior colleges al....
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....617 43,03,87,497 63,21,37,175 62,99,28,956 6. Show cause notices were issued for demanding of service tax as indicated herein above on the ground that the certificate of marks is issued by the Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) and not by appellant; as appellants are not issuing any certificates to the students and cannot claim exemption; coaching for the intermediate education and for National Entrance Examination are distinct activities and coaching for such entrance examinations does not lead to issue of any certificate recognized by law; appellant on one hand are coaching and training students for various examinations like EAMCET, IIT etc and on the other hand charging much higher fees than what has been stipulated by the Intermediate Board; the exclusion in the definition of Commercial Training and Coaching Center have been deleted and Notification No. 33/2011-ST grants an exception which is not applicable to appellant and from 01.07.2012 the activity rendered by the appellant is covered under the definition of service and the said services does not fall under any entry in the Negative List or mega exemption notification. The adjudicating authority after followi....
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....mption is available to appellant's society. For the period 2014-15, he would submit that by Mega Exemption Notification 06/2014-ST in Entry No.9, amendment was made to exempt the services provided by an educational institution to students, faculty and staff by which the services rendered by the appellant's society are exempted. He would submit that this intention of the Government to exclude the said services is palpably noticed from the fact that GST regime has completely exempted the service tax liability on the education sector. It is his further submission that the Commissioner in his order-in-original has recorded the finding that various fees were collected, it would fall under the category of Commercial training or coaching center service where gross fees receivable and hence includable in taxable value is totally incorrect as provision of Section 67 of the Act which subservient to Section 66 and Section 65, service tax needs to be determined on the value of taxable services. 7.2 It is also the finding of the lower authority that the appellant is liable to pay service tax for the services received by them like legal services, manpower recruitment or supply agency services....
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....ion that the adjudicating authority was correct in confirming the demand raised. 9. We have considered the submissions made by both sides and perused the records. 10. In these appeals which are being disposed by this common order, the period involved is 2011-2015 they are to be addressed individual yearwise. 11. Before we address the issue on the law point, it has to be recorded that the learned Counsel brought to our notice the Intermediate certificate issued by the appellant to various students, list of all junior colleges wholly established under appellant's society, list of all junior colleges associated with appellant's society, copy of the documents evidencing recognition provided by Andhra Pradesh Intermediate Board, sample copy of T rolls and mark sheet issued, copies of prospects for the different years. It is undisputed that all these documents were produced before the lower authorities and details thereof were explained appellant's Counsel demonstrated the same before the Tribunal by taking two examples. Production of these documents before the lower authorities is not disputed and perusal of sample copy of T rolls and mark sheet as is given to various students ....
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....e amendment was that while even an institution / establishment providing formal education came to be categorized as a 'commercial training or coaching centre', the non-leviability of service tax on 'coaching or training' leading to grant of a certificate / diploma / degree or educational qualification recognized by any law continued by way of the exemption notification. 16. For applicability of the exemption, post 1.5.2011, plain reading of the notification is that the 'coaching or training' should lead to issue of a certificate / degree / diploma or educational qualification recognized by law. It is significant that, post 1.5.2011, even the controversy relating to 'issue of certificate / degree etc.' is settled in favour of the appellant as the notification clearly provided that the coaching or training should 'lead' to issue of a certificate etc. 17. It is settled law that if the plain meaning of the exemption notification covers the assessee, the benefit should be allowed. 18. In fact, the Commissioner himself admits that the appellants are not liable to pay service tax in respect of the 'intermediate courses' but are liable to pay service tax on the coaching / training....
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.... the Finance Act, was the charging section in the Finance Act. Therefore, for an activity to be taxable, it has to fulfill the requirements of a service under Section 65B(44) and should not be a service specified in the negative list. 25. Section 65B of the Finance Act, the charging section provides exclusions to the levy of a service tax. It provides that a tax is leviable on all services, except those services specified in negative list. 26. Section 66D of the Finance Act specifies the list of services that are not taxable. The relevant portion of Section 66D of the Act is reproduced below for ready reference: Negative list of services 66D. The negative list shall comprise of the following services, namely: - 'services by way of- (i) pre-school education and education up to higher secondary school or equivalent; (ii) education as a part of a curriculum for obtaining a qualification recognized bv an)? law for the time being in force; (iii) education as a part of an approved vocational education course; 27. The Mega Notification No. 25/2012-S.T. dated 20.6.2012 exempted certain taxable services from the whole of the service tax....
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....2013 will squarely be applicable for this period also. FOR THE PERIOD 2014-2015 36. Further, again vide Notification No. 06/2014-ST dated 11.07.2'014 the Entry 9 of the Mega Exemption Notification was further amended and the following was substituted: "9. Services provided, - (a) by an educational institution to its students, faculty and staff; (b) to an educational institution, by way of (i) transportation of students, faculty and staff; (ii) catering, including any mid-day meals scheme sponsored by the Government; (iii) security or .cleaning or house-keeping services performed in such educational institution; (iv) services relating to admission to, or conduct of examination by, such institution; 37. Further, the definition of "auxiliary educational services" was omitted from the mega exemption Notification No. 25/2012. At the same time, the definition of "educational institution' was introduced through the Notification No. 6/2014 which read as under: '(oa) "educational institution" means an institution providing services specified in clause (I) of section 66D of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994).' 38. The exemption provided u....