Sandipani Academy Vs. Commissioner of Service Tax - Court Judgment

Excerpt:
1. according to the appellant fees were collected in advance before 1-7-2003. the appellant had taken the advance amount for services falling in the category of "commercial training or coaching" as defined in clause (26) of section 65 of chapter-v of the finance act, 1994. it appears that in the context of similar case where amount was received before 1-7-2003 and services were rendered thereafter, the hon'ble high court of gujarat in noble institute (education) pvt. ltd. v. uoi reported in 2006 (3) s.t.r. 497 (guj.) gave a direction that till the cestat decides the matter finally, the petitioner shall not be constrained to pay the amount of service tax, if tax is levied by the authorities.2. in view of the aforesaid position, the appellant has made out a case for waiver of pre-deposit.....

Judgment:
1. According to the appellant fees were collected in advance before 1-7-2003. The appellant had taken the advance amount for services falling in the category of "Commercial Training or Coaching" as defined in Clause (26) of Section 65 of Chapter-V of the Finance Act, 1994. It appears that in the context of similar case where amount was received before 1-7-2003 and services were rendered thereafter, the Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat in Noble Institute (Education) Pvt. Ltd. v. UOI reported in 2006 (3) S.T.R. 497 (Guj.) gave a direction that till the CESTAT decides the matter finally, the petitioner shall not be constrained to pay the amount of Service tax, if tax is levied by the authorities.

2. In view of the aforesaid position, the appellant has made out a case for waiver of pre-deposit of the Service tax and penalties ordered by the authorities below. There will, therefore be interim stay of the impugned order against recovery of the Service tax and penalties during the pendency of this appeal.

3. This application is disposed of accordingly. The appeal will now come up for final hearing in its due course.