2024 (6) TMI 444
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....16 to June 2017 to the extent the order confirms the demand against the appellant and imposes penalty. 2. Service Tax Appeal No. 50082 of 2022 has been filed by Sanjay Bhasin against that part of the order dated 28.09.2021 passed by the Additional Director that imposes penalty upon the said appellant. 3. Service Tax Appeal No. 50083 of 2022 has been filed by Pankaj Jain against that part of the order dated 28.09.2021 passed by the Additional Director that imposes penalty upon the said appellant. 4. The appellant owns an online platform 'GOIBIBO.Com'. The appellant claims to be providing the following service to the customers: (i) Booking of airline tickets (both in online and offline mode for travel within India as well as outside India); (ii) Tour operator relating to package tours including travel and accommodation in hotels, inns, houseboat and cruise (both in online and offline mode for stay within India as well as outside India); (iii) Hotel room booking for customers (both in online and offline mode for stay within India as well as outside India); (iv) Booking of cabs; and (v) Booking of train tickets and bus tickets. 5. The issue involved in the appeals are: ....
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....tal 517,63,96,977 430,26,24,130 1,95,94,537 10,27,94,083 489,76,43,686 7. The following chart would show the consolidated demand proposed, the demand confirmed, and the demand dropped under the impugned order: Demand Proposed in show cause notice Confirmed by the order Dropped by the order Demand under section 73 517,63,96,977 256,82,50,345 260,81,46,632 Demand under section 73A 442,50,12,750 253,66,91,219 188,83,21,531 Total Demand 960,14,09,727 510,49,41,564 449,64,68,163 8. Shri V. Lakshmikumaran, learned counsel for the appellant assisted by Ms. Shagun Arora and Shri Kunal Aggarwal and Shri Mihir Ranjan, learned special counsel for the department have stated that the aforesaid issues that arise for consideration in this appeal were earlier also considered and decided in favour of the appellant by this Tribunal in M/s. Make My Trip (India) Private Limited vs. Additional Director General, Directorate General of GST Intelligence, New Delhi [2024 (1) TMI 681 - CESTAT New Delhi]. It is, therefore, the contention of the learned counsel for the appellant that the order impugned in these appeals should be set aside for the reasons stated in ....
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....ng of hotel; ii. Options of hotels are shortlisted by appellant. iii. The Customer selects the hotel and fills the booking form. Booking voucher is generated by the appellant for the customer. Documents Issued i. Service tax invoice ii. Hotel Confirmation Voucher iii. Hotelier Voucher i. Booking Voucher ii. Hotel Confirmation Voucher iii. Hotelier Voucher iv. Hotel Payment Voucher Agreements Executed i. Privilege Partnership Agreement ii. Agreement for allocation of specific number of rooms iii. Commission Model agreement i. Accommodation Alliance Agreement ii. Clip Wrap Agreement / Your Accommodation Agreement. Service Tax Treatment Make My Trip paid service tax under the category of 'tour operator service' after availing 90% abatement under notification dated 01.03.2016 (till 30.06.2012) and under notification dated 20.06.2012 till 30.6.2017. Appellant paid service tax in the following manner: i. For the period November 2013 to August 2016 and February 2017 to June 2017: Service tax at applicable rate discharged on commission received from hotel + convenience fee received from the customer. iii. For the period September 2016....
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....grievances of customers. The customers have to approach the appellant for cancellation of booking. The appellant is liable to pay service tax on the amount collected from the customers for renting of hotel rooms under section 66B of the Finance Act read with section 66E(a) of the Finance Act which provides for the declared service of renting of immovable property service. No mention. The appellant has not correctly discharged the service tax recovered by it from the customers. Further, the appellant has also wrongly collected service tax in respect of hotels having tariff less than Rs 1000/- per day and hotels situated in Jammu and Kashmir, which is recoverable under section 73A of the Finance Act. Findings in Impugned Order i. Services provided by Make My Trip to the customers are in the nature of short-term accommodation service as Make My Trip has booked the entire amount received from the customers as 'sales' and amount paid to hotel as 'purchases' in its books of accounts. ii. Make My Trip is not an intermediary as it is not acting as an agent of the hotel and is not facilitating the provision of any service. Make My Trip has absolute control over charging....