Case Law Details
After Gujarat HC, Delhi High Court too stays levy of Service Tax on Senior Advocates vide order passed today on 01st April 2016 in the case of Delhi High Court Bar Association And Anr. Vs. Union Of India And Ors., W.P.(C) 2891/2016 with CM APPL. 12126/2016 & CM APPL. 12127/2016.
Budget 2016 has levied Service Tax on Services Provided by Senior Advocates vide Notification No. 18/2016-ST Dated 01/03/2016 , Notification No. 9/2016–ST Dated-01/03/2016 and Notification No.19/2016-ST Dated 01.03.2016.
Delhi High Court has directed by its order to Union of India that till the next date the operation of the execution of para 1(a) (i) (b) of Notification No.9/2016-ST, para 1(a) (iii) and (b) (iii) of Notification No.18/2016-ST and para 2 (1) (a) of Notification No.19/2016-ST be and is hereby stayed and the Respondents are directed to continue the reverse charge mechanism for payment of service tax for Senior Advocates under Notification No.30/2012-ST.
Mr. M. S. Syali, Mr. A. S. Chandiok, Mr. A. K. Ganguly, Senior Advocates along with Ruchir Bhatia, Mayank Nagi, Advocates appeared for the Petitioner Delhi High Court Bar Association.
THE ADVOCATES ACT,1961
(Act no. 25 of 1961)
CHAPTER III-ADMISSION AND ENROLMENT OF ADVOCATES
Section 16. Senior and other advocates,- (1) there shall be two classes of advocates, namely , senior advocates and other advocates.
(2) An advocate may, with his consent, be designated as senior advocate if the Supreme Court or a High Court is of opinion that by virtue of his ability[ standing at the Bar or special knowledge or experience in law] he is deserving of such distinction.
(3) Senior advocates, shall in the matter of their practice, be subject to such restrictions as the Bar Council of India may, in the interest of the legal profession, prescribe.
(4) An advocate of the Supreme Court who was senior advocate of that Court immediately before the appointed day shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be a senior advocate ;
[(Note:- Added by Act 21 of 1964, sec.8) Provided that where any such senior advocate makes an application before the 31st December, 1965, to the Bar council maintaining the roll in which his name has been entered that he does not desire to continue as a senior advocate, the Bar Council may grant the application and the roll shall be altered accordingly].