TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (6) TMI 765
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....ealed that they are providing four long term management programmes viz., Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP), Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management (PGPPM), Post Graduate Programme in Enterprise Management (PGPEM) and Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management (EPGP) and though fees are collected for the said courses no service tax was paid on the same. Alleging that the said courses provided by the appellant are taxable services in view of statutory provisions viz., Commercial Training or Coaching Centre services as defined under the provisions of Section 65(26), Section 65(27) read with Section 65(105)(zzc) of the Finance Act, 1994 for the period up to 30.06.2012 and thereafter the said long term courses satisfied the definition of 'services' as defined under Section 65B(44) of the Finance Act, 1994 with effect from 01.07.2012, and the said service is not covered under the Negative List of the services specified in Section 66D of the Finance Act, 1994 and also not exempted under Notification No.25/2012, show-cause notice was issued to them on 13.10.2015 demanding Service Tax of Rs.39,00,85,171/- for the period 2010-2011 to 2014-2015 (Appeal No.ST/21....
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....to the said Circular, the adjudicating authority dropped the demand of Post Graduate Education Program and should have also dropped for other three Post Graduate Education Diploma Programs as all the Post Graduate Programs offered by all IIMs across India is covered by the Circular dated 29.02.2016 and was specifically issued in the light of the letter of Secretary, MHRD. 3.2 He has submitted that PGPPM, i.e., Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management (PGPPM) is diploma course duly approved and authorized and sanctioned by the Department of Personnel Training (DoPT), Government of India. PGPPM is a diploma course launched by DoPT in conjunction with the appellant under United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a capacity building programme in public administration. It is a degree / diploma recognized by Government of India for all its government officers including IAS, IRS, IPS and other officers of the Central, State and Union Territory Government. Referring to the Indian Institutes of Management Act, 2017 passed by the Parliament, learned advocate submits that under the said Act, it has been declared that the Indian Institute of Management is of national impor....
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....ent (PGP), Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management (PGPPM), Post Graduate Programme in Enterprise Management (PGPEM) and Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management (EPGP) for the period commencing from 01.05.2011 to 31.03.2015. He has further submitted that following the Circular No.334/8/2016-TRU dated 29.02.2016 consequent to issuance of Notification No.9/2016 dated 1.03.2016, the adjudicating authority dropped the demand against PGP but on comparison of the other three programmes with PGP and Circular dated 29.02.2016 explaining the exemption of Service Tax, confirmed the demand observing that these courses are not at par with PGP. He has submitted that analyzing the course content retrieved from the website of the appellant, it is clear that these programmes are to impart training and further enhancement of experienced executives and not any nature of curriculum making the students eligible to receive employment on the basis of the certificate / diploma issued by the appellant. It is his contention that therefore, the expression education as a part of curriculum for obtaining a qualification recognized by any law for the time being in force as interpreted i....
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....ching for imparting skill or knowledge or lessons on any subject or field other than the sports, with or without issuance of a certificate and includes coaching or tutorial classes. Section 65(105)(zzc): "taxable service" means any service provided [or to be provided],- to any person, by a commercial training or coaching centre in relation to commercial training or coaching. [Explanation.-For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that the expression "commercial training or coaching centre" occurring in this sub-clause and in clauses (26), (27) and (90a) shall include any centre or institute, by whatever name called, where training or coaching is imparted for consideration, whether or not such centre or institute is registered as a trust or a society or similar other organisation under any law for the time being in force and carrying on its activity with or without profit motive and the expression "commercial training or coaching" shall be construed accordingly;] Notification No.33/2011 ST dt. 25.4.2011 In exercise of the power conferred by sub-section (1) of section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994), the Central Government ....
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....ive Development Programme, - (a) two-year full time residential Post Graduate Programmes in Management for the Post Graduate Diploma in Management, to which admissions are made on the basis of Common Admission Test (CAT), conducted by Indian Institute of Management; (b) fellow programme in Management; (c) five-year integrated programme in Management."; (iii) after entry 9B as so inserted, the following entries shall be inserted, namely :- "9C. services of assessing bodies empanelled centrally by Directorate General of Training, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship by way of assessments under Skill Development Initiative (SDI) Scheme; 9D. services provided by training providers (Project implementation agencies) under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana under the Ministry of Rural Development by way of offering skill or vocational training courses certified by National Council For Vocational Training."; ....................................................... (b) in paragraph 2, - (i) after clause (b), the following clause shall be inserted with effect from such date on which the F....
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....een conducting Post Graduate Programmes in Management and Fellowship Programmes which are equivalent to MBA and Ph.D degrees. It has been reiterated by Secretary, MHRD vide letter D.O. 3/5/2013-TS.V, dated 15-1-2016 that the IIMs have been conducting Post Graduate Programmes in Management and Fellowship Programmes which are equivalent to MBA and Ph. D degrees, respectively, (as also clarified by associations like Association of Indian Universities, Inter-University Board of India etc.). In view of this, the exemption being given to the above programmes of IIMs is clarificatory in nature and in view of the same, liability to pay service tax in respect of the said programmes for the past period will also become infructuous. (New entry at S. No. 9B of notification No. 25/2012-S.T. refers)" 10. A simple analysis of the changes effected from time to time regarding applicability of service tax to educational courses/ programmes offered by Commercial Coaching or Training centres, it is clear that such services for the period prior to 01.5.2011, was institute specific, and thereafter it became course specific. It is held by the Commissioner in the previous proceeding that the A....
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....said expression. 14. The Commissioner on the other hand analyzing the communications/recognition of the association of Indian Universities, Ministry of Education, AICTE and analyzing the course contents of the three programmes referring to the website of the Appellant held that acceptance/approvals of the courses offered by the Appellant are limited to Post Graduate Programmes in Management (two years) being equivalent to MBA degree offered by universities and 5-year fellow programmes equivalent to Ph.D, but not to the said three courses/programmes. He has concluded that these three courses/programmes being not covered under the aforesaid approvals/communications, nor find a place in the amending Notification No.09/2016 ST 01.3.2016, and also in the clarification issued by the Board dated 29.02.2016, therefore, neither exempted under Notification No.33/2011-ST dated 25.4.2011 for the period 01.5.2011 to 30.6.2012 nor under clause (l) of Section 66D of the Finance Act, 1994 from 01.7.2012 till 01.03.2016; also under the Notification No.09/2016-ST dated 01.03.2016. Further, the learned Commissioner has held that the benefit either under the said exemption Notification or clause (l....
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....are cited in support of their argument that these three programmes/courses are recognized by law. It is further evident from their argument that since the Ld. Commissioner has dropped the demand against two years Post Graduate diploma in Management programme(PGP) following the circular dated 29.2.2016, he ought to have also dropped the demand for all the three other courses/programmes. 17. The expression "recognized by any law" in the context of Section 66D of the Finance Act, 1994 has been clarified by the Board in its Circular dated 28.08.2012 as follows: "Vocational Education/Training/Skill development Course (VEC) offered by Govt. Institutions or local authorities excluded from Service tax - Clarification Circular No. 164/15/2012-S.T, dated 28-8-2012 F.No. 356/17/2012-TRU Government of India Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) Central Board of Excise & Customs, New Delhi Subject : Service tax - Vocational education/training course - Regarding. Clarification has been sought in respect of levy of service tax on certain vocational education/training/skill development courses (VEC) offered by the Gov....
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....ion qualification covered by the Notification No.33/2011 as well as the exception contained in the Negative List under Section 66D(l) read with Sl. No.9 and Sl. No.9B of Notification No.25/2012-ST dated 1.7.2012 as amended. 20. Before applying the said precedent to the facts of the present case in arriving at a finding whether the three courses offered are to be considered as recognized by law, it is necessary to read the principles of applicability of precedent laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Collector of Central Excise, Calcutta vs. Alnoori Tobacco Products: 2004 (170) ELT 135 (SC), wherein it is held that: "11. Courts should not place reliance on decisions without discussing as to how the factual situation fits in with the fact situation of the decision on which reliance is placed. Observations of Courts are neither to be read as Euclid's theorems nor as provisions of the statute and that too taken out of their context. These observations must be read in the context in which they appear to have been stated. Judgments of Courts are not to be construed as statutes. To interpret words, phrases and provisions of a statute, it may become necessary fo....
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....the approved course syllabus; (iii) that the DGCA fully controls such training institutes by prescribing syllabus, number of seats per session, manner in which the exam is to be conducted as well as the manner in which the certificate is to be issued, though the candidates get the Final Licence i.e. BAMEL from the DGCA after qualifying further examination conducted by the DGCA; (iv) that though Service Tax in India was introduced in the year 1994 but commercial training or coaching services were brought under the Service Tax net only with effect from 1-7-2003 by insertion of Clause 65(105)(zzc) in the Finance Act by making services provided by a commercial training or coaching centre in relation to commercial training or coaching as a taxable service; (v) however vide Section 65(27), pre-school coaching and training centre or any institute or establishment which issues any certificate or diploma or degree or any educational qualification recognized by law for the time being in force, was excluded from the meaning of commercial training or coaching centre; (vi) that though Section 65(27) was amended with effect from 1-5-2011 to remove the exclusio....
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....nd a successful candidate from an approved institute would be entitled to enforce the right, conferred on him by the Act, Rules and CAR, to one year relaxation against the DGCA in a Court of law. The inference can only be one, that the Course Completion Certificate/training offered by such Institutes is recognized by law. 26. There can be no doubt that such recognition through the Rules framed as aforesaid and through issuance of CAR, is a recognition by law, which is defined in Black's Law Dictionary, 8th Edition as the aggregate of legislation, judicial precedents and accepted legal principles and the set of rules or principles dealing with a specific area of legal systems. The Rules and the CAR aforesaid dealing with aircrafts, there can be no doubt, are law. The Supreme Court in Narsingh Pratap Singh Deo v. State of Orissa - AIR 1964 SC 1793 held that a law generally is a body of rules which have been laid down for determining legal rights and legal obligations which are recognized by Courts. Similarly, in R.S. Nayak v. A.R. Antulay - (1984) 2 SCC 183 it was held that law includes any Ordinance, By-law, Rule, Regulation, Notification, Custom or Usage having force of la....
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.... recognised by law. We do not find such circumstances present in the case in hand as all these three courses viz., PGPM, PGEM, EPGP are not meant for successful candidates to be eligible to apply for job after completion of the said Programmes. On the other hand, all these courses are designed to enhance the skill in the field of Management of particular field and meant for persons having work experience, not specifically recognised by an authority like DGCA, who designs the course and exercise supervision over the conduct of the course. 23. In ITM International Pvt. Ltd. vs. CST: 2017 (GSTL 448 (Tri.-Del.), the issue for consideration by the Tribunal was that various courses which are provided by the appellant therein lead to award of degrees by universities equivalent and at par with the undergraduate and Honours degrees of various universities. The degrees for the appellant's courses are awarded by University of London , Allahabad Agricultural Instituted(Deemed University) have been mentioned as equivalent to the corresponding degrees like B. Sc. And B.A. (Hons.) of University of Delhi and other universities in the title "Equivalence of Foreign Degree". The department allegin....
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....ces, it is difficult to accept the contention of the appellant that since the learned Commissioner has allowed to drop the demands against one programme viz., PGP which is specifically approved, the same is automatically be applicable to other three courses and to be considered at par with the said PGP course. 28. The appellants have specifically referred to the letters addressed by the Secretary, MHRD on 08.07.2014 and 15.01.2016 to buttress their claim that theses courses also be covered, like PGP, since consequent to the said letters, the Notification No.25/2012-ST dated 01.07.2012 was amended by inserting Sl. No.9B to the said Notification with effect from 01.03.2016. The aforesaid contention deserves to be outrightly rejected in as much as reading para 7.14 and 7.15 of the said Circular, it is clear that while giving retrospective effect to the said Notification the exemption has been limited to the courses as are equivalent to MBA and Ph.D Degrees and not all graduate programmes. Thus, the three courses conducted by the appellant would not fall under the scope of the said exemption Notification No.33/2011-ST dated 25.04.2011 or the Negative List under clause (l) of Section....