𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗵𝗶 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 📢 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗱: "License fees paid to Railways are not quid pro quo for any support services, and thus, service tax cannot be levied under reverse charge."

🔍 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀: 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆: M/s Ambuj Hotels & Real Estates Pvt. Ltd. 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲: Whether the appellant must pay service tax on license fees paid to Indian Railways? 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆: The appellant paid license fees to Indian Railways for catering services during July 2013–June 2017. The department alleged the fees represented payment for infrastructural, operational, and marketing support, demanding service tax under reverse charge.

⚖️ 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: The Tribunal ruled that license fees paid to Railways before 01.04.2016 are not taxable per CBIC Circular. These fees, based on sales turnover, are for catering authorization, not support services. As such, the service tax demand, along with interest and penalties, was set aside, and the appeal was allowed.

📜 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: M/s Ambuj Hotels & Real Estates Pvt. Ltd. vs. Director General of GST Intelligence 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗧𝗔𝗫 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗡𝗢. 51712 OF 2022 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 03 April 2023 📜 This ruling confirms that license fees tied to catering authorization and not support services are not subject to service tax under reverse charge.