Case Law Details
Commissioner of CGST & Central Excise Vs Shriram Transport Finance Company Ltd. (Bombay High Court)
Whether for the period prior to 01.03.2006, service tax is recoverable on entire interest component collected as equated monthly installments on transactions relating to ‘Financial Leasing Services including equipment leasing and hire-purchase’, in absence of any mechanism to bifurcate the processing or management charges?
Explanation 1 to section 67 of the Finance Act prior to 18.04.2006 contained a specific exclusion vide sub clause (viii) excluding interest on loans. Though section 67 was substituted by Finance Act 2006 w.e.f. 18.04.2006, the corresponding Service Tax Determination of Value Rules 2006 vide rule 6(2)(iv) again excluded interest on loan from the purview of valuation of taxable services. However, the Board vide circular No.80/10/2004-ST dated 17.09.2004 clarified that interest on loan would stand excluded. Respondent has been discharging service tax regularly on processing charges and also filing returns regularly. Respondent gives loan to its customers / borrowers for the purpose of hire purchase agreement for purchasing the vehicles and this lending is in the nature of a loan. Since it is in the nature of loan consequently interest on loans stands excluded from the value of taxable services. Board circular dated 09.07.2001 referred to by the appellant in fact supports the case of the respondent. In view of the settled law and in exercise of the legislative and rule making power once parliament has excluded interest on loans from the purview of taxable service, it is not open to the authority to hold that the exemption notifications would not apply. Further in view of the decision of the Apex Court in the case of Association of Leasing and Financial Service Companies and Bajaj Auto Finance Ltd. (supra) re-affirming the legal position that the respondent is not liable to pay service tax in respect of the interest on loan advanced as the same stands excluded from the purview of the taxable services, we find no reason to interfere with the impugned order.
In view of the above discussions, we hold that CESTAT was correct in holding that for the period prior to 01.03.2006 interest on loan is not taxable in the absence of mechanism for bifurcation of service. Therefore, recovery of service tax on interest for the period to 01.03.2006 is without authority of law as there is a presumption of attributing the entire amount to interest in the absence of any mechanism to isolate the processing or management cost even if that were collected by way of equated monthly installments.
FULL TEXT OF THE HIGH COURT ORDER /JUDGEMENT
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