TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (1) TMI 520
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....under the category of taxable service 'Management Maintenance or Repairing Services" under section 65(64) of the Finance Act, 1994. 2. Shri S.J Vyas, Learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the Appellant submits that the Hon'ble Supreme Court while remanding the matter has made the observation that the judgment of Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti vs. CCE & ST reported at 2022 (5) SCC 62 is required to be considered in the present case. It is his submission that in the case of Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti considering the Circular No. 89/7/2006 dated 18.12.2006 and Section 9 (2) (xvii) of Rajasthan Agriculture Produce Market Committees, 1961, the Hon'ble Supreme Court held as under: "6. At the outset, it is required to be noted that the respective Market Committees are claiming exemption under the 2006 circular. The exemption circular issued by the Board reads as under:- "Circular No.89/7 /2006 dated 18.12.2006:- "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....
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....cally clarified that if such authority performs a service, which is not in the nature of a statutory activity and the same is undertaken for consideration, then in such cases, service tax would be leviable, if the activity undertaken falls within the ambit of a taxable service. Thus, the language used in the 2006 circular is clear, unambiguous and is capable of determining a defined meaning. 8. The exemption notification should not be liberally construed and beneficiary must fall within the ambit of the exemption and fulfill the conditions thereof. In case such conditions are not fulfilled, the issue of application of the notification does not arise at all by implication. 8.1 It is settled law that the notification has to be read as a whole. If any of the conditions laid down in the notification is not fulfilled, the party is not entitled to the benefit of that notification. An exception and/or an exempting provision in a taxing statute should be construed strictly and it is not open to the court to ignore the conditions prescribed in the relevant policy and the exemption notifications issued in that regard. 8.2 The exemption notification should be strict....
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....o be mandatory statutory duty and/or activity. Under Section 9(2), it is not a mandatory statutory duty cast upon the Market Committees to allot/lease/rent the shop/platform/land/space to the traders. Hence, such an activity cannot be said to be a mandatory statutory activity as contended on behalf of the appellants. Even the fees which is collected is not deposited into the Government Treasury. It will go to the Market Committee Fund and will be used by the market committee(s). In the facts of the case on hand, such a fee collected cannot have the characteristics of the statutory levy/statutory fee. Thus, under the Act, 1961, it cannot be said to be a mandatory statutory obligation of the Market Committees to provide shop/land/platform on rent/lease. If the statute mandates that the Market Committees have to provide the land/shop/platform/space on rent/lease then and then only it can be said to be a mandatory statutory obligation otherwise it is only a discretionary function under the statute. If it is discretionary function, then, it cannot be said to be a mandatory statutory obligation/statutory activity. Hence, no exemption to pay service tax can be claimed. 10. The ne....
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.... Agricultural Produce Market Committees is placed in the Negative List. If the intention of the Revenue was to exempt such activities of the Market Committees from levy of service tax, in that case, there was no necessity for the Revenue subsequently to place such activity of the Market Committees in the Negative List. The fact that, on and after 01.07.2012, such activity by the Market Committees is put in the Negative List, it can safely be said that under the 2006 circular, the Market Committees were not exempted from payment of service tax on such activities. At this stage, it is required to be noted that it is not the case on behalf of the Market Committees that the activity of rent/lease on shop/land/platform as such cannot be said to be service. However, their only submission is that the Market Committees are exempted from levy of service tax on such service/activity as provided under the 2006 circular, which as observed hereinabove has no substance. 12 In view of the above and for the reasons stated above, all these appeals fail and the same deserve to be dismissed and are accordingly dismissed. However, in the facts and circumstances of the case, there shall be no ....
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....ners. Accordingly, the impugned order is set aside. Appeal is allowed." 4.1 The above Tribunal's order was challenged by the Revenue before the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 342 -343 of 2020 wherein the Hon'ble Supreme Court vide order dated 06.04.2023 remanded the matter by passing the following order:- "Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment(s) and order(s) passed by the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, Ahmedabad, ("the Tribunal", for short) passed in Appeal No.ST/436/2012, by which the Tribunal has allowed the said appeal preferred by the respondent relying upon the decision of the Bombay High Court in the case of 'Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation', reported in 2018 (2) TMI 1498, the appellant-Revenue has preferred the present appeals. 2. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant-Revenue has heavily relied upon the subsequent decision of this Court in the case of 'Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti vs. Commissioner of Central Excise and Service Tax' reported in (2022) 5 SCC 62 and, more particularly, paragraph 7 of the said judgment. Paragraph 7 in the case of Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti (su....