CUSTOMS, EXCISE & SERVICE TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL NEW DELHI PRINCIPAL BENCH- COURT NO. I SERVICE TAX APPEAL NO. 51748 OF 2017 [Arising out of Order-in-Original No. DLI-SVTAX-003-COM-98-16-17 dated 21.06.2017 passed by the Commissioner, Customs, Indore (M.P.)]

M/s. Soft Dot Hi-Tech Educational .…Appellant and Training Institute (A Unit of De Unique Educational Society), K-16, South Extension, Part-1, New Delhi-110049 versus Commissioner of Service Tax, .…Respondent Commissionerate, Delhi-III APPEARANCE:

Shri Atul Gupta, Shri Anmol Gupta and Shri Varun Gaba, Advocates for the Appellant Ms. Jaya Kumari, Authorised Representative for the Department CORAM:

HON‟BLE MR. JUSTICE DILIP GUPTA, PRESIDENT HON‟BLE MR. P.V. SUBBA RAO, MEMBER (TECHNICAL)

Date of Hearing: 10.01.2025 Date of Decision: 06.06.2025 FINAL ORDER NO. 50853/2025 JUSTICE DILIP GUPTA:

M/s. Soft Dot Hi-Tech Educational and Training Institute¹ has filed this appeal for setting aside the order dated 21.06.2017 passed by the Commissioner, Service Tax, Delhi-III Commissionerate² adjudicating the show cause notice dated 16.10.2015 issued to the appellant for the period from 01.04.2010 to 31.03.2015. The Commissioner has confirmed the demand of Rs. 3,05,92,676/-, out of the total demand of Rs. 4,31,53,154/- that was proposed in the show cause notice after

1. the appellant

2. the Commissioner invoking the extended period of limitation contemplated under the proviso to section 73(1) of the Finance Act 1994³. The Commissioner has also directed for recovery of interest under section 75 of the Finance Act and also imposed penalty of Rs. 10,000/- under section 77 of the Finance Act and a further penalty of Rs. 3,05,92,676/- under section 78 of the Finance Act.

2. The appellant claims to have been running Study Centres under Distance Education Mode for various Universities for imparting education in various courses such as B.Com, BBA and MBA and it is the Universities that award the degrees or diplomas to students undertaking education at such centres.

3. It was noticed by the department that though the appellant provided “commercial training or coaching centre” service as defined under section 65(26) of the Finance Act and made taxable under section 65(105)(zzc) of the Finance Act but the appellant was not paying service tax and was filing „nil‟ ST-3 returns on the premise that this service was exempted under a Exemption Notification dated 20.06.2003⁴ prior to 01.07.2012 and, thereafter, it was included in the negative list of services under section 66D(l) of the Finance Act. Accordingly, investigation was initiated against the appellant in the year May 2012.

4. A show cause notice dated 16.10.2015 was issued to the appellant calling upon the appellant to pay service tax on the fee collected from the students over and above the University expenses during the period 2010-11 to 2014-15 to the extent of Rs. 3,05,92,676/-. The show cause notice also mentions that the balance sheet for the year 2014-15 shows

3. the Finance Act

4. the Exemption Notification dated 20.06.2012

that the appellant had received skill development amount of Rs. 10,16,21,987/- but the appellant could not provide any information regarding the fee received as skill development. Therefore, the appellant was further required called upon to pay service tax of Rs.

1,25,60,478/- on the said amount.

5. The extended period of limitation contemplated under the proviso to section 73(1) of the Finance Act was also invoked for the following reasons:

“Whereas, it further appears that the Noticee has deliberately and willfully suppressed the facts with intent to evade the payment of service tax inasmuch as they never disclosed to the Department the fact of provision of taxable service engaged in providing „Commercial Training and Coaching Service‟ under Section 65(105)(zzc) of the Finance Act, 1994 to M/s. Jamia Hamdard University M/s. Guru Jambheshwar, University of Science & Technology, Hissar M/s. Punjab Technical University, M/s. Sikkim Man