TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (6) TMI 133
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....ice tax along with interest and penalty by setting aside the order-in-original, dropping the proceedings on the ground that the services provided by the appellant is exempted by the Mega Exemption Notification. 2. The appellant had undertaken the job of Alteration, Renovation and Whitewash of the staff quarters of Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, MANIT, which was the residential complex for exclusive use of the employees of MANIT. On the basis of audit, it was observed from the books of accounts and Form-26AS of income tax that the appellant had not paid service tax on Works Contract Services provided to MANIT. In response, the appellant claimed that MANIT is an Institute of National importance being established by ....
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.... "Notification No. 25/2012-S.T., dated 20 Jun., 2012 Exemptions from Service tax - Mega Notifications- Notification No. 12/2012-S.T. Superseded In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994) (hereinafter referred to as the said Act) and in supersession of Notification number 12/2012-Service Tax, dated the 17th March, 2012, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, subsection (i) vide number G.S.R. 210(E), dated the 17th March, 2012, the Central Government, being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby exempts the following taxable services from the whole of the service tax leviable thereon under Section 66B of t....
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....lic interest so to do, hereby makes the following further amendments in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No. 25/2012-Service Tax, dated the 20th June, 2012, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, subsection (i) vide GSR 467(E), dated the 20th June, 2012, namely :- In the said notification, in the paragraph 2, for clause(s), the following shall be substituted, namely :- (s)"governmental authority" means an authority or a board or any other body; (i)set up by an Act of Parliament or a State Legislature; or (ii) established by Government, with 90% or more participation by way of equity or control, to carry out any f....
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....xemption from the service tax, which otherwise applies to construction services, as noticed by the Adjudicating Authority had been decided by the Patna High Court in Shapoorji Pallonji & Company(supra). The said decision of the Patna High Court has been affirmed by the Apex Court in Commissioner of Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax, Patna Vs. Shapoorji Pallonji & Company Pvt. Ltd. 2023(79) GSTL 145 (SC). Both the High Court and the Apex Court observed that the amended definition of "governmental authority" was introduced so that the exemption base for service tax was expanded even to an authority or a board or any other body set up by an Act of Parliament or a State legislature without the condition of having been established with 90% o....
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....fication Notification introduced an amended version of clause 2(s), the whole canvas was open for the author to define "governmental authority" whichever way it wished; however, "governmental authority" was redefined with a purpose to make the clause workable in contra-distinction to the earlier definition. Therefore, we cannot overstep and interpret "or" as "and" so as to allow the alternative outlined in clause 2(s) to vanish." 8. Applying the aforesaid analysis of the provisions of the definition in the Mega Exemption Notification by the Apex Court, we have no hesitation in concluding that MANIT is established by the Central Government by Act of Parliament and the full administrative and financial control of all the institutions inclu....