2024 (7) TMI 930

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....ead of "Publishing Income" in their financial records including balance sheet. 1.2. The department as entertained a view that the charges earned by the appellant for publishing certain advertisement fall under the Service Tax category of "Sale of Space of Time for Advertisement Service." The department was of the view that the activity under taken by the appellant falls within the purview of Section 65(105)(ZZZM) of the Finance Act, 1994. Accordingly, the department has issued impugned show cause notice which was adjudicated by the impugned Order-In-Original dated 30.05.2013. The appellant is before us against the above mentioned impugned Order-In-Original. 2. The learned Advocate appearing for the appellant has submitted that the publication by the name of "INSITE" falls under the category of the newspaper and as per the definition which have been provided under Section 65 (105)(ZZZM), it excludes the print media of the nature of newspaper and the books from purview of definition of sale of space for advertisement in print media and sale of time slots by a broadcasting agency or organization. 2.1. The learned Advocate has submitted certificate of registration from the off....

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....l to support his claim for the differentiation. 23.1 It may be a fact that some of the publications of M/s AIM are registered with the government authorities, especially with the office of the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI registration). It is also a fact that certain publications mandatorily require registration with the Registrar of Newspapers for India, but how this registration itself is necessary and sufficient to claim exclusion from the applicability of service tax is not forthcoming in M/s AIM's reply. RNI registration is mandatory in terms of PRB Act, however, the purpose of this registration is altogether different. In other terms, if a business catalogue or a trade catalogue is printed in a book form and registered under the PRB Act, it does not come under the exclusion clause merely by virtue of RNI registration. Had this been the case, the definition of taxable service in this case, i.c., Sale of space or time for advertisement would have carried such a clause or explanation. As there is nothing in the definition, it cannot be presumed that just for the reason that the publications have RNI registration, the space selling in such registered public....

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....n the forms of newspaper giving information about interior designing etc. 4.5. From the registration certificate which have been produced by the learned Advocate, it is clear that the publication has been considered by the Registrar of the Newspaper for India as newspaper having periodicity of monthly publication. On the strength of this certificate of registration they clearly get excluded from the definition of Service Tax category of 'sale of spaces for advertisement and print media' as the newspapers have been excluded from the category of print media. 4.6. We also find from the record of the appeal that other publications like 'India plumbing today' has also been registered with the Registrar of Newspaper of India as newspaper having publication periodicity bi-monthly. 4.7. We find that most of the publications of the appellant are in the category of newspaper as per certificate of registration submitted by them during the course of the hearing to Adjudicating Authority as well as before us. 4.8. We have no doubt in our mind that the publications printed by the appellant fall under the category of newspapers and thus entitled in the exclusion clause given in the de....

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....शन का नियतकाल तथा जिस दिन / दिनों / तिथियों को यह प्रकाशित होता है Periodicity of its publication and the day/days/ dates on which it is published 5. समाचारपत्र की फुटकर कीमत Retail selling price of the newspaper 6. प्रकाशक का नाम / Publisher's Name राष्ट्रीयता / Nationality पता / Address 7. मुद्रक का नाम / Printer's Name राष्ट्रीयता / Nationality पता / Address 8. सम्पादक का नाम / Editor's Narne राष्ट्रीयता....