Punjab Cricket Association Vs Commissioner of Central Excise & Service Tax (CESTAT Chandigarh)
The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Chandigarh, in Punjab Cricket Association vs. Commissioner of Central Excise & Service Tax, examined a dispute regarding service tax liability on a tournament subsidy received by the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) from M/s Procam International.
During an audit covering 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2009, the Revenue observed that PCA had received ₹12,49,287 from M/s Procam International, which was not subjected to service tax. The department viewed this as consideration for taxable services and issued a show-cause notice on 15 March 2012. The adjudicating authority confirmed the demand on 3 September 2013, and the Commissioner (Appeals) upheld it on 1 December 2014.
Before the Tribunal, the appellant contended that the amount received was a subsidy for conducting an inter-school cricket tournament, which was organized by the District Cricket Association. PCA merely acted as a conduit, transferring the received funds to the district association. The appellant emphasized that M/s Procam International made similar payments to other state associations on behalf of sponsors such as Parle G and Boost, and those associations had also transferred the funds to their respective district bodies without attracting service tax. Further, there was no agreement between PCA and M/s Procam International or with the sponsors, and the show-cause notice did not clearly specify the category of Business Auxiliary Service alleged to have been rendered.
