Principal Commissioner CGST And Central Excise Vs S.R. Traders (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court considered the Revenue’s Civil Appeal against the order dated 09.05.2023 passed by the CESTAT, New Delhi, Principal Bench in Service Tax Appeal No. 54002/2018. After condoning the delay, hearing counsel for the appellant at considerable length and carefully perusing the material on record, the Supreme Court found no ground to interfere with the CESTAT order. The Civil Appeal was accordingly dismissed. The application seeking exemption from filing a certified copy of the impugned order was also allowed.
Service Tax Dispute Before CESTAT
The underlying proceedings arose from a show cause notice dated 01.03.2017 covering April 2016 to January 2017. The Department challenged the Commissioner’s order dated 30.08.2018 dropping proceedings concerning non-payment of service tax on amounts paid to the Government or a local authority as periodical charges for assignment of the right to use natural resources, including quarry sand from allotted mines.
The Commissioner had treated the agreements and predetermined payments as qualifying for the benefit contemplated by Notification No. 22/2016-Service Tax dated 13.04.2016. Before the CESTAT, however, the principal controversy was whether service tax could arise merely because payments under agreements executed before 01.04.2016 became payable after that date.
