2013 (12) TMI 1272 - AT - Service Tax

Waiver of pre-deposit of the Service Tax interest and penalties - Exemption under Notification No. 24/2004-S.T., dated 10-9-2004 - Held that - applicant is an Institute providing Vocational Training Courses to various students like fashion designing, graphic arts, media communication and digital communication etc. These courses are only vocational course and not an academic course and they are covered by the exemption under Notification No. 24/2004-S.T., dated 10-9-2004 and not required to get themselves registered with Service Tax department - applicants are entitled for benefit of exemption Notification No. 24/2004 having a strong prima facie case on merit. Therefore, we grant waiver of pre-deposit of entire amount of Service Tax along with interest and various penalties and stay recovery thereof during pendency of the appeal - Stay granted.

Summary

Issues:
Seeking waiver of pre-deposit of Service Tax interest and penalties under various Sections of the Finance Act, 1994 adjudged against the applicants.

Analysis:
The judgment deals with the applicants seeking waiver of pre-deposit of Service Tax interest and penalties under various Sections of the Finance Act, 1994. The applicants, an institute providing professional coaching in fields like Fashion Technology, Graphic Art, Media Communication, and Digital Communication, were alleged to have wrongly claimed exemption under Notification No. 24/2004-S.T. for Vocational Training Institutes. A show-cause notice was issued for Service Tax demand for a specific period. The Commissioner denied the exemption, leading to the confirmation of the Service Tax demand along with interest and penalties. The applicants sought waiver of pre-deposit at this stage.

The issue at hand was considered to be in a narrow compass by the Bench. The learned A.R. for the Revenue requested additional time to review the records and present final arguments on another day. The Bench decided to address only the stay application. The applicant's representative argued that the courses provided were vocational and covered by the exemption under Notification No. 24/2004-S.T., hence, no registration with the Service Tax department was required. The request for an unconditional stay was made by the applicant.

After evaluating the arguments put forth by the applicant's Counsel, it was found that the applicants were entitled to the benefit of the exemption under Notification No. 24/2004. A strong prima facie case on merit was established, leading to the grant of waiver of pre-deposit of the entire amount of Service Tax, interest, and penalties. The recovery of the aforementioned amounts was stayed during the pendency of the appeal. Due to the narrow scope of the issue, the matter was scheduled for final hearing on a specific date. The judgment was dictated and pronounced in Court, concluding the proceedings.