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TMI Blog2022 (11) TMI 598X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... epresentative for the Revenue and perused the records. 2. The facts of the case, in brief, are that M/s Lakshya Education Solutions Pvt. Ltd. [appellant] provided commercial training and coaching to students appearing in IIT (JEE)/AIEEE exams. It is undisputed that the coaching provided by the appellant is chargeable to service tax. The appellant paid service tax only on the amount which it charged for coaching and had not paid service tax on the cost of study materials provided by it. The study materials were in the form of loose sheets bound together in spiral binding and were provided on a continuous basis to the students. They were not standard text books and no maximum retail price was printed on them. A show cause notice dated 12.03. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... led the non-imposition of penalty by the Additional Commissioner. The Commissioner (Appeals) by order dated 17.11.2015 [impugned order] allowed Revenue's appeal and rejected the assessee's appeal upholding the demand of service tax and interest and further imposing a penalty of Rs. 5,89,698/- under Section 78 and a penalty of Rs. 10,000/- under Section 77 upon the assessee. The present appeal assails this order. 3. Shri Harsh Vardhan, learned Authorized Representative appearing for the Revenue has reiterated the findings of the impugned order. He further greatly assisted us in understanding the statutory provisions, the notification, the circular of the CBEC and the case laws on the issue. The short question which remains to be answered is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f commercial training and coaching institutes, the exclusion shall apply only to the sale value of standard textbooks, which are priced. Any study material or written text provided by such institute as a part of service which does not satisfy the above criteria will be subjected to service tax. 4. The exemption notification itself reads as follows :- "In exercise of the powers conferred by section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994), the Central Government, being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby exempts so much of the value of all the taxable services, as is equal to the value of goods and materials sold by the service provider to the recipient of service, from the service tax leviable thereon u ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y materials which the appellant has undisputedly provided. The documentary evidence of value of such materials is also not in dispute. The reason the exemption notification was denied to the appellant was that the CBEC circular had restricted the entitlement of this exemption notification to only such materials as constituted standard text books which have a maximum retail price printed on them. Following the CBEC circular, the Adjudicating Authority and the Commissioner (Appeals) have denied the benefit of the exemption notification. It is evident from the exemption notification that it has been issued by the Central Government in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994. Therefore, the exemption notificat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ar No. 59/8/2003-S.T., dated 20-6-2003. The relevant legislative provision and the exemption granted vide Notification No. 12/2003-S.T., dated 20-6-2003 admit of no ambiguity. It is the admitted factual scenario that the assessee had provided the taxable service of Commercial Training and Coaching qua Section 65(165)(zzc) read with Section 65(26) and (27) of the Act. Section 67 of the Act enjoins that the gross amount charged by the taxable service provider/assessee on the taxable service. Accordingly, the value of the books or course material supplied by the assessees to its students/trainees is required to be included in the value of the taxable service as the gross amount charged by the service provider. The assessee however relied on th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tatutory exemption Notification dated 20-6-2003. Where the legislature has spoken or in exercise of its statutory power exemption is granted by the Central Government under Section 93 of the Act, the CBEC has no manner of power, authority or jurisdiction to deflect the course of an enactment or the exemption granted. Grant of exemption from the liability to tax is a power exclusively authorised to the Central Government under Section 93 of the Act. This statutory provision accommodates no participatory role to the Board. In seeking to engraft restrictions on the generality and plenitude of the exemption granted by the Central Government, the CBEC transgressed into the domain of the Central Government under Section 93 of the Act, a course of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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