2016 (8) TMI 17 - HC - Service Tax

Demand of service tax on renting and construction - The petitioner is the Tamil Nadu slum Clearance Board which is a statutory body established under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Slum Areas (Improvement & Clearance) Act, 1971, an Act to provide for improvement and clearance of slums in the state of Tamil Nadu. - Held that - .In my view, repeatedly issuing demands to the petitioner and enforcing the same would only result in the multiplicity of the proceedings which should be avoided. More particularly, when the petitioner Board has challenged the constitutional validity of the very charging provisions and the earlier demands issued from the year 2012 are also under challenge. Hence, the third respondent is directed to issue the demands for the subsequent period, but such demands shall not be enforced till the vires of the statute which is put to challenge in W.P.No.35067 & 35068/2015 and W.P.No.4253/2016 are heard and decided by this Court. The reason for permitting the third respondent to continue to issue demands is that in the event, the petitioner is unsuccessful in the other writ petitions, then at that point of time, the petitioner may raise a plea that the demand is barred by limitation.

Summary

Issues:
Challenge to service tax demand by Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board for the period 2010-2014 on renting and construction based on the constitutional validity of Section 65(90a) of the Finance Act, 1994 as amended by Finance Act, 2007. Petitioner's contention of being a non-profitable body corporate under the Tamil Nadu Slum Areas (Improvement & Clearance) Act, 1971, exempt from Income Tax Assessment, and funded by the World Bank for welfare measures in slum areas.

Analysis:
The Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board, a statutory body under the Tamil Nadu Slum Areas (Improvement & Clearance) Act, 1971, challenged a service tax demand for the period 2010-2014 on renting and construction. The petitioner contested the demand citing the invalidity and unconstitutionality of Section 65(90a) of the Finance Act, 1994 as amended by Finance Act, 2007. Previous writ petitions by the petitioner challenging similar demands had received interim orders, preventing enforcement. The petitioner argued its status as a non-profitable body corporate, considered a "State" under Article 12 of the Constitution of India, implementing welfare measures funded by the World Bank and exempt from Income Tax Assessment under Section 11 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The court noted that enforcing repeated demands on the petitioner would lead to unnecessary proceedings, especially when the constitutional validity of the charging provisions and previous demands were already under challenge. The court directed the third respondent to issue demands for subsequent periods but not enforce them until the constitutional validity of the statute in question was decided in other pending writ petitions. This approach aimed to avoid multiplicity of proceedings and allowed the petitioner to raise a plea of limitation if unsuccessful in the other writ petitions. The judgment disposed of the writ petition with this direction, emphasizing the need to await the outcome of related challenges before enforcing new demands.

In conclusion, the court's decision balanced the interests of the petitioner, a statutory body focused on slum improvement, with the need to address the constitutional validity of the service tax demands. By allowing the issuance but withholding enforcement of subsequent demands pending the resolution of related challenges, the court aimed to streamline proceedings and ensure a fair outcome based on the pending constitutional issues.