𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗶 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 📢 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗱: "It is settled that no Service Tax is payable on sponsorship of IPL and ICC cricket tournaments as the ingredients for levy of tax are not fulfilled in the absence of any provision of service and when payments were made only in relation to sponsorship of the IPL Cricket tournament."

🔍 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀: 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆: M/s. Vodafone Idea Limited 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲: The appellant, M/s. Vodafone Idea Limited, sponsored cricket events under the ‘Vodafone’ brand, including the IPL and ICC Cricket World Cup, under an agreement with BCCI. Upon reviewing the appellant's accounts, the Revenue found that sponsorship expenditures from 01.05.2006 to 31.03.2010 were not subjected to Service Tax, leading to a show cause notice for the tax demand and penalties.

⚖️ 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: The Tribunal ruled that no Service Tax is payable on IPL and ICC cricket sponsorships, following established precedents, including Hero Motorcorp v. Commissioner of Service Tax (affirmed by the Supreme Court). Sponsorship payments under GAAP lack a distinct service provision, exempting them from tax. The appeal was allowed.

📜 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: M/s. Vodafone Idea Limited vs. The Commissioner of Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗼. 41520 of 2013 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 23 June 2023 📜 This ruling reinforces that sponsorship expenses solely for cricket events like IPL and ICC tournaments do not attract Service Tax.