TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (6) TMI 445
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....the services covered under Reverse Charge Mechanism RCM including services received from Government Department. 2. Following the provisions of Notification No.30/2012-S.T. dated 20.06.2012 as amended vide Notification No.18/2016-ST dated 01.03.2016 w.e.f. 01.04.2016 the Appellant was paying service tax on the Services rendered by the Government or Local Authorities to a business entity under RCM. 3. To facilitate the buyers, the Appellant paid Anugya Patra Shulk/Export Pass Fees total amounting to Rs.2,06,35,000/- to the State Excise Department for the period April, 2016 to December, 2016 for getting the export permit for clearance of ENA (Extra Neutral Alcohol) under the provisions of Rule 9 & 10 of UP Excise Act, 2010. 4. The said amou....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....gement, did not agree with the submissions made by the Appellant and rejected the refund claim. In appeal, the Commissioner (Appeals) also without referring to the judgement of Hon'ble Allahabad High Court in W.P. No.1646 of 2004 dated 03.08.2016 in the case of Industrial Organics Ltd. (supra) rejected the appeal filed by the Appellant. 6. The Authorized Representative reiterates the findings of impugned order. 7. I have carefully considered the submissions made by both the sides and perused the appeal records. 8. The learned counsel on behalf of the Appellant submitted that the service tax was not payable at all. He relied upon the Tribunal's decision in the case of United Sprits Limited vs. Commissioner of GST passed vide F.O. No.20178....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....collected in respect of taxable service provided or agreed to be provided by the State Government by way of grant of liquor licence, against consideration in the form of licence fee or application fee, by whatever name called, during the period commencing from the 1st day of April, 2016 and ending with the 30th day of June , 2017 ( both days inclusive ) . 6.1 Further, we note that Learned Commissioner has wrongly considered the fee paid by the appellant to the State Excise department and various other Government departments/agencies as having an element of a quid pro quo in it and hence services provided by the State Excise department. We also note that the fee charged for grant of license is not a consideration for service, but a price c....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... on the said fees from April, 2016 to June, 2017. Specific inclusion of words "by whatever name called", the Legislature made it abundantly clear that any fee paid under the purview of State Excise legislation would not be leviable to service tax. Further, it is pertinent to note that the words "License Fee" are defined by Oxford Dictionary to mean "a fee paid to an organization for permission to own, use or do something". The Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of State of Orissa v. Narain Prasad 6 Service Tax appeal No.20156 of 2021 cited supra specifically explained the meaning of expression "Privilege" and held that "Privilege really means the license or permit granted by the State". Further, in view of State of Punjab and Orissa v. Devans M....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....o tax liability on license fee and other application fee paid to the State authorities continued to be an issue under GST as well and the GST Council in its 26th meeting on 10-3- 2018 recommended that GST was not leviable on license fee and application fee, "by whatever name called", payable for alcoholic liquor for human consumption and that this would apply mutatis mutandis to the demand raised by the Service Tax/Excise authorities on license fee for alcoholic liquor for human consumption in the pre-GST era i.e. for the period from April, 2016 to 30th June, 2017. 8. In view of our discussion above and by following the ratios of the various judgments relied upon by the appellant cited supra, we are of the considered opinion that the appe....