AI OCR 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (6) TMI 765
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....m 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/21125/2017) with interest and penalty. The sa....
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....y 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 importance as is evident from the said Preamble of the....
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....utive 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 in Indian Institute of Aircrafts Engineers Case and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad case cannot be made applicable to the facts and ....
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....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 on being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby exempt,- (i) any pre-school coaching and training; (ii) any coaching or training leading to grant of a certificate or diploma or degree....
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....i) 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 Finance Bill, 2016 receives assent of the President of India, namely :- '(ba) "approved vocational education course" means, - (i) a course run by an industrial training institute or an industrial training centre affiliated to the National Council for Vocational Training or State Council for Vocational Training offering courses in designated trades notified under the Apprentices Act, 1961 (52 of 1961); or (ii) a Modular E....
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.... 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 Appellant is not a 'Commercial coaching or Training Institute', as defined under section 65(27) of Finance Act,1994 as one of the course offered by them is recognized by law. However, from 01.5.2011 the expression "but does not include preschool coaching and training centre or any institute or establishment which issues any certificate or diploma or degree or any educational qualification recognised by law for the time being in force" has been deleted and Exemption Notification No.33/2011 dated 25.4.2011 has been issued which ....
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....d 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) of Section 66D of the Finance Act, 1994 cannot be extended to the appellant as they failed to produce any evidence in support of their claim that these courses are recognized by law. The learned Commissioner recorded as : "The above averment of the assessee is not in consonance with the clarifications issued by the Board which are meant for only the 2 year full time Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPPM), admissions to which are made through Common Admission Test conducted by IIMs and 5 year Integrated Programme in Management and Fellowship Programme in Man....
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....kill 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 Government (Central Government or State Government) or local authority themselves or by an entity independently established by the Government under the law, as a society or any other similar body. 2. The issue has been examined. When a VEC is offered by an institution of the Government or a local authority, question of service tax does not arise. In terms of Section 66D(a), only specified services provided by the Government are liable to tax and VEC is excluded from the service tax. 3. When the VEC is offered by an institution, as an independent entity in the form of society or any other similar body, service tax treatment is determinable by the ap....
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....ons 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 for judges to embark into lengthy discussions but the discussion is meant to explain and not to define. Judges interpret statutes, they do not interpret judgments. They interpret words of statutes; their words are not to be interpreted as statutes. In London Graving Dock Co. Ltd. v. Horton (1951 AC 737 at p. 761), Lord Mac Dermot observed : "The matter cannot, of course, be settled merely by treating the ipsissima vertra of Willes, J as though they were part of an Act of Parliament and applying the rules of interpretation appropriate thereto. This is not to detract from the great weight to be given to the language actually used by that most distinguished judge." 12. In Home Office v. Dor....
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....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 exclusion earlier provided to pre-school coaching and training centre or any institute or establishment which issues educational qualification recognized by law but vide Notification No. 33/2011-S.T., dated 25-4-2011 with effect from 1-5-2011, similar exemption was granted to pre-school and educational qualifications and training that are recognized by law and thus the scope of levy of the Service Tax remains the same even after the said amendment; and (vii) that the Instruction dated 11-5-2011 is in contravention of Section 65(105)(zzc) read with Section 65(27) of the Act and Notification dated 25-4-2011 and the show cause notice and the demands raised on the petitioner for Service Tax are consequently liable to be quashed." In the said factual matrix, analysing the appl....
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....atap 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 law. The Rules and CAR aforesaid have been enacted in exercise of legislative power as aforesaid. 27. The reasoning in the impugned Instruction dated 11th May, 2011 that because the qualification awarded by the Institute does not culminate in automatic issuance of license/authorization by the DGCA to certify the repair, maintenance or airworthiness of an aircraft and for which purpose a further examination to be conducted by the DGCA is to be taken, in our view mixes up and confuses, 'qualification' with 'a license to practice on the basis of that qualification'. An educational qualification recognized by law will not cease to be recognized by law merely because for practicing in the field to which the qualification relates, a further examination held by a body regulating that field of practice is to be....
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....ours 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 alleging that the degrees and diplomas are not awarded by the Appellant hence service tax is applicable on providing such courses. By Majority Order, it is held that the courses offered by the appellant and the degrees awarded by University of London , Allahabad Agricultural Instituted(deemed University) being recognised by the AIU, hence the coursed are not liable to tax. 24. In IILM Undergraduate Business School vs. CCE: 2018 (10) GSTL 345 (Tri.-Del.), the issues involved is that the course namely B.Sc(Hons) in Business Management Studies conducted by the appellant are recognised and degree is awarded by the University of Bradford, UK, whether liable to service tax for the period 1.7.2003 to 31.08.2009. After analysing the principle of law settled in this regard, the Tribunal held that the award of degree University o....
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....g 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 66D of the Finance Act, 1994. Besides, the appellant had commenced discharging Service Tax with effect from 01.03.2016 after insertion of Sl. No.9B and deletion of clause (l) under Section 66D of the Finance Act, 1994. The claim of the appellant that Indian Institute of Management Act, 2017 since acknowledges such institute as an Institution of national importance and therefore, all the courses offered by the institute should be exempted, in our opinion, also cannot be acceptable as no such provision has been brought to our notice mentioned in the said Act. On the contrary, the Service Tax levy on the subject has been delinked from the criterion of Institute with effect from 01.05.2011 and made course oriented. In these circumstances, we do not find merit in the contention that the above three courses viz., Post Graduate P....