TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (9) TMI 823
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ER: ANGAD PRASAD These two appeals - one is filed by M/s Abhilash Synergetic Constructions & Exports Pvt Ltd., (hereinafter referred to as appellant) and the other filed by the Revenue (hereinafter referred to as respondent) arise out of the common Order-in-Original dated 23.05.2014 passed by the Commissioner of Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax, Visakhapatnam - I. They are, therefore, taken up together and disposed of by this common order. 2. The fact, in brief, is that the appellant is engaged in the construction of residential flats under development agreements entered into with land owners and separate agreements entered into with perspective individual purchasers. A Show Cause Notice dated 20.06.2013 proposed demand of Serv....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... purchasers was not taxable in the absence of the explanation subsequently inserted in Section 65(105)(zzzh); ii) For the period from 01.07.2010 to 30.06.2012, construction undertaken under individual agreements for personal residential use was excluded from the definition of residential complex; and iii) For the period from 01.07.2012 to 31.03.2013, the appellant claims exclusion of the land owner's-share and, in the alternative, applicable abatement and cum-tax duty benefit. 7. Reliance has been placed on the decisions of this Tribunal in Aruna Constructions Vs Commissioner of Central Excise and Service Tax, Visakhapatnam - I, Final Order Nos. A/30164-30166/2026 dated 13.03.2026; MVV Builders Vs Commissioner of Centra....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... composite contracts are in the nature of works contracts. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Commissioner of Central Excise and Customs, Kerala Vs Larsen and Toubro Ltd., 2015 (39) STR 913 (SC) held that and indivisible composite works contract could not be subjected to Service Tax under the categories of Commercial or Industrial Construction Service or Construction of Complex Service prior to 01.06.2007. After 01.06.2007, such contracts could be taxed only under the specific taxable category of Works Contract Service, subject to satisfaction of its statutory requirements. However, mere existence of a composite contract does not conclude the question of taxability. To fall within Works Contract Service in relation to residential construction, th....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....15. The definition of "Residential Complex" under Section 65(91a) excluded a complex constructed by a person directly engaging another person for designing, planning and construction, where such complex was intended for personal use as residence by that person. The explanation to Section 65(91a) clarified that "personal use" includes permitting the complex for use as residence by another person on rent or without consideration. "Residential Unit" was separately defined to mean a single house or a single apartment intended for use as a place of residence. From the material placed before us, it appears that the appellant initially transferred the undivided share in the land together with the partly constructed to the residential unit ant ther....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....eements. In Vasantha Green Projects Vs Commissioner of Central Tax 2019 (20) GSTL 568 (Tri.-Hyd), the Tribunal examined a comparative joint-development arrangement and held that where the value attributable to development rights or acquisition of land stood embedded in the value of flats sold to independent purchasers and appropriate Service Tax was discharged on the gross amount, the separate demand on flats allotted to landowners would result in double taxation. However, the principle is subject to verification that the value of land or development rights was, in fact incorporated in the assessable value of the developer's share and that the appropriate tax was discharged on such value. A blanket conclusion that land owner's share is inva....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....e classification of composite construction contracts, the effect of the explanation inserted w.e.f. 01.07.2010, the scope of the personal-use exclusion, the taxability of the land owner's share and the method of valuation. Divergent judicial views prevailed on these issues during the relevant period. The subsequent insertion of a deeming Explanation itself demonstrates the interpretational nature of the controversy. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Uniworth Textiles Ltd., Vs Commissioner of Central Excise, 2013 (288) ELT 161 (SC) held that mere non-payment of duty does not amount to suppression and that something more indicating a deliberate act with intent to evade payment must be established for invoking the extended period. In the present ca....