TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (12) TMI 518
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....se are that the appellant is providing taxable service under the category of 'Tour Operator Service' to units in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ). As a result of audit objection, a Show Cause Notice was issued alleging that they had wrongly availed the exemption under Notification No. 04/2004-ST dated 31.03.2004 for the period July 2009 to March 2010 and had not paid Service Tax on renta-cab services to SEZ units correctly. The department was of the view that the said exemption was applicable only when services are provided within SEZ, whereas in the appellants case the service viz renting of cab to SEZ units cannot be termed as services consumed within SEZ units. Hence a SCN was issued to the appellant. After due process of law, the Ld. Adj....
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....ed 20/05/2009, which further clarified and extended the benefit of exemption by way of refund to include services rendered even partially outside the SEZ premises. In any case they had subsequently paid the entire Service Tax hence interest and penalty may be set aside. As an alternate plea she stated that Section 26 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 (SEZ Act), provides an ab initio exemption to SEZ units and Developers from payment of various taxes, including service tax and Section 51 ibid, establishes the overriding effect of the Act over other enactments. Therefore, the exemption from service tax available to services provided to SEZ units or Developers cannot be denied merely on the grounds of noncompliance with procedural condit....
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....e approval, was included in November 2013 only, as per F No D.12/19/2013-SEZ dated 19.11.2013, issued by the Department of Commerce, SEZ Division and would not be applicable in this case. 4. We have heard the contesting parties and gone through the appeal. Much water has flown under the bridge since the exigibility to tax for services rendered within the SEZ has been first raised and has received the attention of this Tribunal and Constitutional Courts. The question of whether an exemption notification issued under FA 1994 can be availed, when the services are utilized by the Developer or Unit partially outside the SEZ enclave in a Domestic Tariff Area (DTA), which is a penumbra area [situs of provision of service partially outside the S....
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....the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994) on taxable services provided to a Developer or Unit to carry on the authorised operations in a Special Economic Zone; (2) The Central Government may prescribe the manner in which, and the terms and conditions subject to which, the exemptions, concessions, drawback or other benefits shall be granted to the Developer or entrepreneur under subsection (1). 6. In the circumstances exemption of a service provided to a developer or a unit in the SEZ, to carry on the authorised operations, by a Notification under the Finance Act 1994 would be inconsistent with the SEZ Act. A Coordinate Bench of this Tribunal at Chennai speaking through one of us [Shri M Ajit Kumar, Member (Technical)], had examined the....
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....Therefore, the notifications issued under Section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994 cannot be pressed into service for finding out whether a unit in a SEZ qualifies for exemption or not. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Union Of India Vs M/S GMR Aerospace Engineering Limited, [SLP (Civil) Diary No(s).22140/2019, dated: 26 July, 2019] examined the SLP arising out of the Hon'ble high Courts final judgment and order dated 27-12-2018 in WP No. 13546/2018 and saw no reason to interfere with the impugned judgment and dismissed the SLP." (emphasis added) 7. We find that the SEZ Act is a self-contained Act which provides exemptions on taxes, duties, cess, drawbacks and concessions on imports and exports of the goods and on supply of services to t....