𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗵 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝘀 📢 The Tribunal held: "Membership fees collected from members are not subject to Service Tax. Demands raised under an incorrect tax category cannot be confirmed under another heading."

🔍 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀: 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆: M/s Indian Machine Tools Manufacturers Association (IMTMA) 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲: Is the appellant liable to pay Service Tax on membership fees and other income without clear evidence of specific services rendered? 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆: IMTMA, a registered society, collected membership fees, charged event fees from members, and had differences in income between ST-3 returns and balance sheets.

⚖️ 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: The Tribunal ruled that membership fees collected by incorporated clubs are not subject to Service Tax, per Calcutta Club and Rajasthan Co-operative Dairy Federation Ltd. decisions. Tax demands require clear identification of service, recipient, and consideration. Demands under incorrect headings or based on notional income are invalid. Appeal allowed.

𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: M/s Indian Machine Tools Manufacturers Association vs. Commissioner of Central Excise, Panchkula 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗼.4174 Of 2012 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 18 September 2023 📜 This ruling confirms that membership fees collected by incorporated clubs are exempt from Service Tax, and demands based on incorrect headings or notional income are unsustainable.