TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (3) TMI 1346
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....atements were recorded from Managing Partner of the appellant and based on the Form 16-A and the other documents provided, the department being of the view that the appellant had not registered themselves and failed to discharge the service tax liabilities and had willfully suppressed the material facts, issued a show cause notice calling upon the appellant to discharge service tax on the Management, Maintenance and Repair Services rendered from 16.06.2005 to 26.07.2009, and discharge service tax on Commercial Industrial Construction Services rendered from 16.06.2005 to 31.03.2010 along with applicable interest and proposal for imposition of penalties. After due process of law the adjudicating authority, vide the impugned OIO, dropped the demand under the category of Management, Maintenance and Repair Services in respect of the services rendered by the appellant relating to Government roads but however, confirmed the demand of service tax of Rs.3,31,310/- on the appellant for the taxable services rendered under the category of Management, Maintenance and Repair Services to commercial entities during the period 01.07.2005 to 31.03.2009 and also confirmed a demand of Rs.18,53,351/- f....
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....the decision of Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat in the case of Green Environment Service Cooperative Society Limited versus Union of India [2009 (13) STR 250 (Guj.)], wherein the court has held that the treatment of effluents and waste is an activity of environment protection and in public interest. 4. The Ld counsel also submitted that the show cause notice Sl.No.138/2011 (Commissioner) dated 09/12/2011, came to be issued demanding service tax on the following: Sl. No Period Nature of Works Tax Demanded 1 2005-06 to 2008-09 Repair & Maintenance of Roads Rs.96,64,497/- 2 2005-06 to 2009-10 Construction of CETP and Construction at Police Academy, Chennai ( Tamil Nadu Police Housing Board Ltd) Rs.18,53,351/- 3 2005-06 to 2008-09 Repair & Maintenance works at Police Academy, Chennai Rs.3,21,696/- Total Rs.1,18,49,158/- 5. The Ld. Counsel also stated that the learned adjudicating authority has passed the impugned order dropping the demand at Sl.No.1 pertaining to demand on repair and maintenance of Roads. 6. Ld. AR Shri. N. Satyanarayana appeared for the respondent and reiterated the findings in the impugn....
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....ncluding reconditioning or restoration or servicing of any goods, excluding motor vehicle. Explanation- For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that for the purpose of this clause,- (a) "goods" includes computer software (b) "properties" includes information technology software. (4) Section 65 (105) (zzg) of the Act defines taxable service with respect to management, maintenance or repair service as - Any service provided or to be provided to any person by any person in relation to management, maintenance or repair. 9. We also note that the impugned OIO has noticed Section 98 of the Finance Act, 2012 which provided as under: "Special provision for exemption in certain cases relating to management etc. of non-commercial government buildings (section 98) "(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 66, no service tax shall be levied or collected in respect of management, maintenance or repair of non-commercial Government buildings, during the period on and from the 16th day of June, 2005 till the date on which Section 66B comes into force." 10. As regards the demand confirmed with respect to the const....
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....erce or industry. Further, no evidence has been let in that the buildings where the appellant had rendered services are being used for commerce or industry or work intended for commerce or industry. Hence, these buildings are liable to be considered only as non-commercial Government Buildings. Therefore, we hold that the services of construction or repair or maintenance rendered by the appellant to these institutions in these buildings/office premises are not exigible to service tax as commercial or industrial construction services. 12. As regards the proposal to levy service tax on the repair and maintenance work at police academy which has been carried out by the Appellant, we hold that when the Department had already proposed to cover the services of the appellant rendered to the aforesaid policy academy under "commercial or industrial construction service", then we see no reason why the classification of the services rendered by the appellant to police academy in respect of certain activities of repair are thereafter proposed for coverage under the head "management, maintenance or repair service", when the said definition of commercial or industrial construction itself, unde....
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....or commercial purpose and therefore would not fall under Commercial or Industrial Construction Service, is incorrect. The relevant paras are as under: 5.5 The ld. counsel has relied upon these paragraphs to contend that the ETPs were constructed for the purpose of preventing the pollution, for protection of health of the public and for restoring pollution free environment. That therefore being in public interest, the construction of ETP will not fall under the category of commercial construction. We cannot find much merit in this argument put forward by the ld. counsel for the appellant. The individual dying units formed various associations viz. M/s. Andipalayam CETP, M/s. Veerapandi CETP and M/s. Mannarval CETP. These associations were formed to construct the CETPs,, who awarded the contract to main contractor M/s. Enkem Engineers (P) Ltd. who subcontracted to appellant and also undertook directly. The construction of CETPS is thus under the behest of the association thus formed. Merely because the contract is awarded by this association, it cannot be said that the CETP is for public interest or for non-commercial purpose. The ld. counsel has adverted our attention to th....
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....s directed to set up ETP basing on the principle 'polluter pays'. The factories have pooled their funds to construct these ETP. Of course, they have been granted subsidy by the Government and also exemption in excise duty and customs duty. But no exemption of service tax has been granted. Therefore, the contention that CETP is not installed for commercial purpose and therefore would not fall within Commercial or Industrial Construction Service is not tenable. We also do not find any merit in the argument of the ld. counsel that Board Circular No.80/2004-ST dated 17.9.2004 is in support of the appellant and that construction does not fall within the category of commercial construction. We find the issue against the appellant. 14. In view of the aforesaid categorical finding of this Tribunal, we hold that the construction of common effluent treatment plant undertaken by the appellant is liable to be taxed under " Commercial or Industrial Construction" service and the demand of service tax along with interest thereon in respect of the said work carried out by the appellant is correct and tenable in law. 15. We also note that the appellant had neither taken the registration as re....