2014 (4) TMI 724 - AT - Service Tax

Waiver of pre deposit - Demand of service tax - training on Corex Technology to employees of another company - commercial training or coaching - Held that - amount already deposited by appellant is sufficient as pre-deposit. Accordingly, requirement of pre-deposit of balance dues is waived and stay against recovery of the same is granted during pendency of the appeal - Decided in favour of assessee.

Summary

Issues:
1. Classification of service provided by the appellant as 'commercial training or coaching'.
2. Pre-deposit requirement for hearing the appeal.
3. Consideration of training on 'Corex Technology' as 'commercial coaching or training'.
4. Waiver of balance dues pre-deposit and stay against recovery during appeal.
5. Dismissal of application for early hearing of stay application.

Analysis:
1. The appellant provided training on 'Corex Technology' to employees of another company for which they were paid by a foreign company. The issue revolved around the classification of this service as 'commercial training or coaching'. A demand for service tax of Rs. 15,67,334/- was confirmed, and penalties under Sections 77 & 78 were imposed on the appellant.

2. The advocate representing the appellant argued that a stay order passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) required the appellant to deposit 25% of the demanded service tax as a condition for hearing the appeal. The advocate contended that this pre-deposit should be considered sufficient by the Tribunal as well.

3. The appellant maintained that the service provided was solely related to giving training on 'Corex Technology' and implementing the technology, which should not be construed as 'commercial coaching or training'. The Tribunal considered the amount already deposited by the appellant as adequate for pre-deposit purposes.

4. Consequently, the Tribunal waived the requirement of a balance dues pre-deposit and granted a stay against the recovery of the same during the pendency of the appeal. Additionally, an application for early hearing of the stay application was filed by the appellant, but since the stay application was disposed of on the same day, the miscellaneous application for early hearing was deemed infructuous and dismissed.

5. In conclusion, the Tribunal ruled in favor of the appellant by waiving the balance dues pre-deposit and granting a stay against recovery during the appeal process. The application for early hearing became irrelevant due to the disposal of the stay application on the same day.