TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (3) TMI 984
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....ed and equivalent penalty was also imposed on the appellant. 2. The brief facts of the case is that acting on intelligence, the officers of DGGI initiated enquiry against the appellant on the grounds that service tax was not paid on the commission received from foreign universities/ institutions for arranging/ facilitating enrolment of students from India. On completion of the investigations, a show cause notice dated 22.04.2020 was issued to the appellant demanding service tax and proposing to impose penalties by invoking the extended period. Aggrieved by the impugned order, the appellant is before this Tribunal in appeal. 3. The Learned Counsel for the appellant submitted that there are two issues for which he would be making the su....
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....the impugned order. He fairly conceded that the issue relating to Foreign Educational Institutions [FEI] is covered by several decisions of the Tribunal and its coordinate benches. 5. We have gone heard the learned Counsel for the appellant and the learned AR for the Department and perused the records. The two issues under consideration is as follows: (i) Services provided to FEIs are taxable as intermediary services (ii) Whether proceedings stood concluded under Second proviso to Section 78 of the Finance Act, 1994 on payment of the service tax, interest and penalty before issuance of the show cause notice? 5.1. We note that the issue at si no. (i) above, is no more res integra as this Tribunal in several decisio....
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....ault provision under section 13(2) of the IGST Act, 2017 i.e. the location of the recipient of such services. This will help Indian exporters of such services to claim export benefits." Thus, 'intermediary services' are no longer services for which the place of location of the supplier would be deemed as the place of supply. Even for such services the place of the recipient of the services would be place of supply as per Section 13(2) of the IGST Act. The confusion that was prevalent relating to intermediaries and their entitlement to claim benefits on the basis of export of services is eliminated. 39. In view of the above legal position, the impugned order does not warrant any interference. 40. There is no substa....
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....alty which shall be equal to hundred per cent. of the amount of such service tax: "Provided that in respect of the cases where the details relating to such transactions are recorded in the specified record for the period beginning with the 8th April, 2011 upto the date on which the Finance Bill, 2015 receives the assent of the President (both Days inclusive), the penalty shall be fifty per cent of the service tax so determined.". Provided further that where service tax and interest is paid within a period of thirty days of -- (i) the date of service of notice under the proviso to subsection (1) of section 73, the penalty payable shall be fifteen per cent. of such service tax and proceedings in respect of such serv....
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....inion that in its adjudication order the adjudicating authority under the Act should explicitly state the options available to the Assessee under Section 11AC of the Act. Once the choices are made known to the Assessee and it still does not take advantage of the first proviso to Section 11AC of the Act, it will be entirely at its own peril. Therefore, it would be beneficial, both from the point of view of the Revenue as well as the Assessee, if the options available to the Assessee are mentioned in the adjudication order itself." 5.4 Subsequently, the High Court of Gujarat in the matter of Commissioner of C.Ex.&Cus., Surat-II versus Gopal Fibres Pvt. Ltd. [2010 (256) E.L.T. 10 (Guj.)] dealing with similar issue has held that the assessee....
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....icating authority is concerned, the Central Excise Department itself has issued Circular on 225- 2008 wherein it is clarified that in all cases wherein penalty under Section 11AC of the Act is imposed the provisions contained in the first and second proviso of section 11AC should be mandatorily mentioned in the order-in-original itself by the adjudicating authority. It is, therefore, not open for the revenue to agitate this issue before the Court in contradiction of the Circular issued by the Central Excise Department. This Court is Messers Exotic Associates (supra) has directed the adjudicating authority to pass a fresh order giving option to the assessee to pay the duty amount within 30 days by making it explicitly clear in the order itse....