Broadcasting Agencies not liable to pay service tax on Additional Consideration Received as Surrogates under BAS

Commissioner of Service Tax Vs One Entertainment Network Pvt. Ltd. (CESTAT Mumbai) The respondents are, or have been, ‘surrogate’ providers of `broadcasting’ service in India, taxable under section 65(105)(zk) of Finance Act, 1994 since 2001 (and, more especially, with retrospective effect of the amendment incorporated in 2002), in the hands of `broadcasting agency’ as defined in section 65(16) of Finance Act, 1994. The case of service tax authorities against these ‘broadcasting agencies’, representing ‘broadcasters’ outside the country, who, as ...