Supreme Court - Daily Orders
M/S Jamna Auto Industries Ltd vs Commissioner Of Customs Central Excise ... on 10 April, 2023
Bench: K.M. Joseph, B.V. Nagarathna
1
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO.9764 OF 2018
M/S JAMNA AUTO INDUSTRIES LTD. APPELLANT(S)
VERSUS
COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS CENTRAL
EXCISE AND SERVICE TAX, INDORE RESPONDENT(S)
O R D E R
The issue involved in this appeal is whether the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (for short 'CESTAT') was right in upholding the order passed by the Commissioner Appeals and finding that the appellant was liable to pay service tax under the Finance Act, 1994 in regard to the amount it received under what has described as 'non-compete fee'. This amount was received under the non-compete agreement which was entered into on 5th March, 2009.
We heard the learned counsel for the appellant and we also heard learned Additional Solicitor General.
It is apparently sought to be taxed under Section 65 (104c) of the Finance Act, 1994 which defines support services of Business or Commerce.
With effect from 01.07.2012, there is no dispute that the said amount would be exigible to tax under Section 66E (5) but as on Signature Not Verified date of the agreement under which the amount was received all that Digitally signed by Jagdish Kumar Date: 2023.04.12 17:06:13 IST Reason: existed on the statute book in a manner of speaking was Section 65 (104c) of the Finance Act, 1994 defines 'support service of 2 Business or Commerce' as follows:
"Section 65 (104c)- Support Services of Business or Commerce" means services provided in relation to business or commerce and includes evaluation of prospective customers, telemarketing, processing of purchase orders and fulfilment services, information and tracking of delivery schedules, managing distribution and logistics, customer relationship management services, accounting and processing of transactions, operational assistance for marketing, formulation of customer service and pricing policies, infrastructural support services and other transaction processing.
The amount which was made under the agreement was a one time payment. In other words, the amount did not spill over after 01.07.2012. In such circumstances, the order of the Commissioner appeal as upheld by the CESTAT appear to be untenable in law.
Accordingly, the appeal is allowed and the impugned order will stand set aside.
Pending application(s), if any, stand disposed of.
…………………………………………J. [K. M. JOSEPH] …………………………………………J. [B. V. NAGARATHNA] New Delhi 10th April, 2023 3 ITEM NO.49 COURT NO.3 SECTION XVII-A S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS CIVIL APPEAL NO.9764/2018 M/S JAMNA AUTO INDUSTRIES LTD APPELLANT(S) VERSUS COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS CENTRAL EXCISE AND SERVICE TAX, INDORE RESPONDENT(S) Date : 10-04-2023 This appeal was called on for hearing today.
CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K.M. JOSEPH HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE B.V. NAGARATHNA For Appellant(s) Ms. Charanya Lakshmikumaran, AOR Ms. Apeksha Mehta, Adv.
Ms. Neha Choudhary, Adv.
Ms. Falguni Gupta, Adv.
For Respondent(s) Mr. N. Venkatraman, A.S.G. Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR Mr. Sudhershan K, Adv.
Ms. Swarupama Chaturvedi, Adv. Mr. B.k. Satija, Adv.
Mr. Ritwiz Rishabh, Adv.
Mr. Prashant Singh I, Adv.
Ms. Nisha Bagchi, Adv.
UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following O R D E R The appeal is allowed in terms of the signed order.
Pending application(s), if any, stand disposed of.
(JAGDISH KUMAR) (RENU KAPOOR) COURT MASTER (SH) ASSISTANT REGISTRAR
(Original signed order is placed on the file)