2018 (5) TMI 1301 - AT - Service Tax

Construction services - liability of service tax - Construction of senior mess and junior hostel block building for panchsheel boys Inter College, NOIDA (undertaken on behalf of NOIDA authority) - Construction of auditorium for Panchsheel Boys Inters College, NOIDA (undertaken on behalf of NOIDA authority) - Food Court building in Dr. Ambedkar district school campus, sector 30 NOIDA (undertaken on behalf of NOIDA authority) - Construction 254 EWS Flat under Manyawar Sh. Kanshiram Sahari Gareeb Awas Yojna in Sector 45 NOIDA (undertaken on behalf of NOIDA authority) - Construction of Guru Teg Bahadur School - Services provided to NKG Infrastructure. Held that - Tribunal in the case of NCR Builders Pvt. Ltd. vs. CCE & ST, Ghaziabad 2016 (11) TMI 1555 - CESTAT ALLAHABAD has observed that flats construction under the Manyawar Sh. Kanshiram Sahari Gareeb Awas Yojna is not taxable - in the case of M/s. Jatan Construction P Ltd. vs. CCE, Jaipur II 2018 (1) TMI 374 - CESTAT NEW DELHI , Tribunal observed that construction of PG Hostel and SBNIT and ESIC Hospital are not subjected to service tax. Services provided to NKG Infrastructure for the Armed Forces - Held that - the issue has came up before the Tribunal in the case of Commissioner of Central Excise, Raipur vs. P D Agrawal, 2016 (10) TMI 745 - CESTAT NEW DELHI where the project of Ministry of Defence was exempted from service tax. Appeal dismissed - decided against Revenue.

Summary

Issues:
1. Applicability of service tax on construction projects undertaken by the respondent.

Analysis:
The appellant filed an appeal against Order-in-Original No. 217/GB/13 dated 31.1.2014. The respondent, engaged in providing construction services, received a show cause notice based on audit objections. The projects undertaken by the respondent included construction work for various institutions and authorities. The Commissioner (Appeals) concluded that service tax was not applicable to the projects in question. The department appealed this decision. During the hearing, both parties presented their arguments, and the Tribunal referred to previous cases to support its decision. The Tribunal cited cases where construction projects similar to those of the respondent were found not to be taxable. Ultimately, the Tribunal upheld the impugned order based on its previous rulings and dismissed the department's appeal.