2018 (9) TMI 1728 - AT - Service Tax

Refund of Service Tax paid wrongly - appellant claims that service tax paid by them under mistake under the category of health club and fitness center on the ground that they are not liable to pay service tax as the service has been rendered to its own members - Held that - It is an admitted fact by the appellant that they have collected service tax from its own members and paid the same to the Government under the category of health club and fitness center. Hon ble High Court of Karnataka in the case of CENTURY CLUB VERSUS COMMISSIONER OF SERVICE TAX, BANGALORE 2009 (6) TMI 414 - KARNATAKA HIGH COURT , where it was held that The moment an establishment is running Health club and fitness centre under Section 65(52) of the Finance Act, 1994 service tax is applicable as there is no explanation of the word club under Section 65(52) and its inclusive definition including the appellant club and other similarly placed clubs and therefore the club is registered under the Service Tax Department charging and collecting from its members and therefore refund claim is not tenable - the argument of the learned counsel for the appellant that the decision of the Hon ble High court is per incuriam is not correct because the High Court has given reasons for denial of the refund. Appeal dismissed - decided against appellant.

Summary

Issues:
- Appeals against Commissioner(Appeals) orders
- Refund claims for service tax paid by the appellant
- Applicability of service tax on club providing services to its members
- Doctrine of unjust enrichment

Analysis:

1. Appeals against Commissioner(Appeals) orders:
The appellants filed three appeals against orders passed by the Commissioner(Appeals) rejecting their appeals and upholding the Orders-in-Original. Since the issue in all three appeals was identical, they were disposed of collectively.

2. Refund claims for service tax paid by the appellant:
The appellant, a club registered under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, filed refund claims for service tax paid from October 2006 to March 2007, contending that they were not liable for service tax as they provided services to their own members. However, the lower authority rejected the claims citing absence of exclusion clause or exemption. The Commissioner(Appeals) also upheld the Orders-in-Original, leading to the present appeals.

3. Applicability of service tax on club providing services to its members:
The appellant argued that they wrongly paid service tax under a mistake and filed refund claims within the time limit. They relied on judicial precedents to support their stance that clubs are not liable for service tax on amounts collected from their members. However, the Revenue contended that previous decisions against the appellant and the doctrine of unjust enrichment supported the denial of refund claims.

4. Doctrine of unjust enrichment:
The Tribunal found that the appellant had collected service tax from its members and paid it to the government under the category of health club and fitness center. Previous decisions and the High Court's ruling against the appellant's refund claims were considered binding. The Tribunal upheld the denial of the refund claims, citing the doctrine of unjust enrichment.

In conclusion, the Tribunal upheld the impugned orders, dismissing all three appeals of the appellant. The decision was based on the binding nature of previous rulings and the doctrine of unjust enrichment.