Visa Assistance to Individuals Is Outside Scope of Business Auxiliary Service for Service Tax

Arafaath Travels Pvt. Ltd. Vs Commissioner of GST & Central Excise (CESTAT Chennai) The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) allowed the appeals filed by the appellant, a registered provider of air travel agency services, and set aside the service tax demands raised on visa facilitation charges collected for obtaining Saudi Arabian visas. During audit proceedings, the Department examined the appellant’s profit and loss accounts and noticed that the appellant had collected visa and documentation charges from travellers and business entities for ...