CUSTOMS, EXCISE AND SERVICE TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL CHANDIGARH REGIONAL BENCH - COURT NO. I Service Tax Appeal No. 60295 of 2023 [Arising out of Order-in-Original No. 07/GST-GGM/COMMR/PRL/2022-23 dated

23.02.2023 passed by the Commissioner of Central GST, Gurugram]

Sistema Smart Technologies Limited ……Appellant

334, Udyog Vihar, Phase-IV, Gurugram, Haryana VERSUS Commissioner of Central Goods & Service ……Respondent Tax, Gurugram Kendriya Utpad Shulk Bhawan, Plot No. 36-37, Sector 32, Gurugram, Haryana APPEARANCE:

Shri Gajendra Maheshwari and Ms. Priyamwada Sinha, Advocates for the Appellant Shri Raj Pal Sharma, Special Counsel (Authorized Representative) for the Respondent CORAM: HON’BLE MR. S. S. GARG, MEMBER (JUDICIAL) HON’BLE MR. P. ANJANI KUMAR, MEMBER (TECHNICAL)

FINAL ORDER NO. 60619/2025 DATE OF HEARING: 28.02.2025 DATE OF DECISION: 23.06.2025 S. S. GARG :

The present appeal is directed against Order-in-Original dated

23.02.2023 passed by the Commissioner of Central Goods & Service Tax, Gurugram, whereby the learned Commissioner has confirmed the demand of service tax udner Section 73(1) of the Finance Act, 1994 alongwith interest under Section 75 of the Act and penalties under Sections 77 and 78 of the Act. Details of demands confirmed are given herein below:

2. Briefly stated facts of the present case are that the appellant were engaged in providing taxable services i.e. Telecommunication Service by Telegraph Authority as defined in the Finance Act, 1994 and Rules/Notifications issued thereunder.

2.1 An enquiry was initiated against the appellant vide letter C. No. IV(12)/GST-GGM/AE/Gr-10/Telecom/606/2019-20/18983 dated 19.02.2020 on the issue of short payment /non-payment of service tax on Government dues on Reverse Charge basis. In the aforesaid communication, following information/documents were sought from the appellant:

(i) Nature of the telecom services received from the Department of Telecom (‘DOT’).

(ii) Any agreement(s) entered w.r.t. point no. (i) with DoT (iii) To clarify if there is any dispute with the DoT regarding the concept of Adjusted Gross Revenue (‘AGR’). In case of any disputes, Demand/Notice/Note regarding the same was sought.

(iv) Computation sheet pertaining to calculation of license fees/spectrum fees/other fees payable/paid to DoT from

01.04.2016.

(v) Copy of invoice/bills/notes/other documents (period wise) generated during the course of payment of appropriate fees to DOT.

(vi) Details of Service Tax/GST paid/payable under Reverse Charge Mechanism, with respect to AGR, for the period April 2016 to January 2020 along with challans.

(vii) Post to Order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court with respect to AGR in Civil Appeal No. 5882/2015 (clubbed with other civil appeals), details of any self-assessment of telecom dues along with payment, details both with respect to DOT and Service Tax/GST Department.

(viii) Reconciliation sheet of Service Tax/GST deposited (separately) under reverse charge alongwith balance sheet.

2.2 In response, the appellant, vide their letter dated 21.07.2020, submitted their reply as under:

(i) The Company was awarded Basic Telephony Service License by Department of Telecommunications (‘DOT’) on 4 March 1998 for the Rajasthan service area. In accordance with the DoT guidelines on Unified Access (Basic and Cellular) Services License (‘UAS’) dated 11 November 2003, the Company migrated to the UAS with effect from 14 November 2003. On 3 October 2013, DoT issued Unified License - Access Services to the Company for eight telecom circles namely Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (West) and West Bengal for a period of 20 years. The company is providing the Telecom services to customer as per the License issued by DOT. In November 2015, SSTL (the appellant herein) entered into a demerger agreement with Reliance Communications Limited ('RCOM’). Pursuant to such agreement, SSTL agreed to transfer its telecommunication undertaking to RCOM on a going concern basis under a