AI Drafter 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (2) TMI 1094
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....t, Government of Madhya Pradesh [the appellant] has filed this appeal to assail the order dated 29.12.2015 passed by the Principal Commissioner of Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax, Bhopal [the Principal Commissioner]. This order confirms the demand of service tax by taking recourse to the first proviso to section 73 (1) of the Finance Act, 1994 [the Finance Act] with interest and penalty. 2. The issue involved in this appeal is as to whether the functions performed by the appellant can be said to be statutory functions performed under the Madhya Pradesh Tractor Dwara Kheti (Prabharo Ki Vasuli) Adhiniyam, 1972 [the Act] and therefore, exempted from payment of service tax under a Circular dated December 18, 2006 issued by the Depart....
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....ble in such number of annual installments not exceeding ten as may be specified in the notice. Subsection (4) of section 5, provides that if any installment of tractor cultivation charges together with the interest thereon is not paid by the due date, it shall be recoverable by the Collector from the cultivator as arrears of land revenue. Section 7 of the Act provides that the State Government may, by notification, make Rules for the purposes of carrying into effect the provisions of the Act. 4. Exercising powers under section 7 of the Act, the State Government has framed the Madhya Pradesh Tractor Dwara Kheti (Prabharo Ki Vasuli) Adhiniyam 1972 [Rules]. Rule 7 provides the scale of tractor cultivation charges and rule 8 deals with notic....
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....ted by Public Authorities while performing statutory functions/duties under the provisions of a law-regarding A number of sovereign/public authorities (i.e. an agency constituted/set up by government) perform certain functions/ duties, which are statutory in nature. These functions are performed in terms of specific responsibility assigned to them under the law in force. For examples, the Regional Reference Standards Laboratories (RRSL) undertake verification, approval and calibration of weighing and measuring instruments; the Regional Transport Officer (RTO) issues fitness certificate to the vehicles: the Directorate of Boilers inspects and issues certificate For boilers, or Explosive Department inspects and issues certificate for....
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.... activity undertaken falls within the ambit of a taxable service." 8. The Principal Commissioner, while rejecting the defence taken by the appellant, recorded a finding in paragraph 17.5, and they are reproduced below: "17.5 ..........They charge their customers for supply of tangible goods on per hour basis. It is not mandatory for the customer to get the work done from the Noticee. The customer gets the services on payment and the same is liable to tax. Thus the functions being carried out by the Noticee are not statutory in nature as these are not performed in terms of specific responsibility assigned to them under the law in force. ...............The service rendered by them in terms of Section 60(105) (zzzzj) of the Finance....
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....tion (2) of Section 5 of the Act provides that on completion of the work of tractor cultivation, the Director shall inform the cultivator of the tractor cultivation charges and call upon him to make the payment to the Collector or such other officer as the Collector may specify and forward a copy of the notice to the Collector for the purpose of recovery of the tractor cultivation charges. Rule 7(c)(i) of the Rules provides the scale of tractor cultivation charges. It is also clear from the challan that has been produced that the amount is deposited in the Treasury at Itarsi, District Hoshangabad. 12. The view that has been taken is supported by the judgment of the Supreme Court in Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti vs. Commissioner of Central Exc....
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....ry statutory obligation/statutory activity. Hence, no exemption to pay service tax can be claimed. 10.1 xxxxxxxxxx. Rule 45 provides how the money received by the Market Committees shall be invested and/or deposited. It provides that all money received by the Market Committee shall be credited to the fund called the Market Committee Fund. It further provides that all money paid into the Market Committee Fund shall be credited once a week in full into Government Treasury or sub-treasury, or a bank duly approved for this purpose by the Director and all balance from the fund shall be kept in such treasury or sub-treasury or bank and it shall not be withdrawn except in accordance with the Rules. Therefore, it does not provide that on d....