9911796707
TMI Blog2018 (7) TMI 1387X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... provide the medical services to different patients, the appellants have engaged professionals and doctors on contractual basis. These doctors are provided space in the hospitals with required facilities to attend to the patients coming to the hospitals, run by the appellants. These doctors engaged on contract basis are paid professional fee in terms of the contracts. Fee paid to the doctors is computed based on a pre-determined ratio on the amount received by the appellants from the patients. The Revenue entertained a view that the "collection charges/ facilitation fee" retained by the appellants are liable to service tax under the category of Business Support Service for the period prior to 01.07.2012 and are a taxable service post negati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ate submitted that the issue of charging service tax on the activity involved in the present dispute, under the category of 'Business Support Service' has been considered by the Tribunal in the case of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital & Others vs. CCE, Delhi-I & Ors. - 2017 (12) TMI 509 (CESTAT, N.D.), has decided the issue in favour of the Hospital. He further submitted that the Tribunal has held that there is no justification for levy of Service Tax on such amount retained by the hospital under 'Business Support Services'. Even for the period w.e.f. 01.07.2012, the Tribunal has held that there is no justification for levy of service tax. Accordingly, he submitted that the benefit of the Tribunal decision (supra) may be extended to the appellant. 4 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a provision for treating patients from low economic background without any financial benefits. On careful consideration of various terms and conditions and the scope of arrangement, we are of the considered view that such arrangement are for joint benefit of both the parties with shared obligations, responsibilities and benefits. The agreements do not specify the specific nature or list of facilities which can be categorized as infrastructural support to the doctors. The revenue model, as agreed upon between the contracting parties also, did not refer to any consideration attributable to such infrastructural support service. 6. The proceedings by the Revenue, initiated against the appellant hospitals, are mainly on the inference drawn to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... alth care service. For this, they are paying the doctors. The retained money out of the amount charged from the patients is necessarily also for such health care services. The patient paid the full amount to the appellant hospitals and received health care services. For providing such services, the appellants entered into an agreement, as discussed above, with various consulting doctors. We do not find any business support services in such arrangement. 7. The inference made by the Revenue that the retained amount by the hospital is to compensate the infrastructural support provided to the doctors can be examined in another angle also. Reading the statutory provisions for BSS, we note that the services mentioned therein are "provided in re ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e said to be an activity of a commercial character". 8. Applying the above ratio and examining the scope of the tax entry for BSS, we are of the considered view that there is no taxable activity identifiable in the present arrangement for tax liability of the appellant hospitals. 9. Under negative list regime w.e.f. 01.07.2012, the health care services are exempt from service tax. Earlier the health care services were only taxed for specified category of hospitals and for specified patients during the period 01.07.2010 to 01.05.2011. With effect from 01.05.2011, health care services were exempt from service tax under Notification No.30/2011 ST. After introduction of negative list tax regime, Notification No. 25/2011-ST exempted levy of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... such exemption available to health care services, a part of the consideration received for such health care services from the patients shall be taxed as business support service/taxable service is not tenable. In effect this will defeat the exemption provided to the health care services by clinical establishments. Admittedly, the health care services are provided by the clinical establishments by engaging consultant doctors in terms of the arrangement as discussed above. For such services, amount is collected from the patients. The same is shared by the clinical establishment with the doctors. There is no legal justification to tax the share of clinical establishment on the ground that they have supported the commerce or business of doctors ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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