Service tax not leviable on penal interest and bounce charges

Bajaj Finance Ltd Vs Commissioner of Central Excise & GST (CESTAT Mumbai)

The CESTAT, Mumbai, in M/s Bajaj Finance Ltd. v Commissioner of Central Excise and GST [Service Tax Appeal No. 90043 of 2018 dated August 07, 2023] set aside the impugned order and held that the assessee is not receiving penal interest and bouncing charges as a consideration for tolerating an act. Thus, service tax cannot be demanded.

Facts:

M/s Bajaj Finance Ltd. (“the Appellant”), a non-banking financial company, providing various types of loan such as auto loans, loan against the property, personal loans, consumer durable goods loans, etc. to their customers.

The Appellant entered into an agreement with their customers for providing loan and collecting various charges such as processing fees, documentation fees etc. as per the terms and conditions of the loan agreement.

Please become a Premium member. If you are already a Premium member, login here to access the full content.