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2013 (12) TMI 269 - AT - Service TaxDemand of service tax - Maintenance and Repair Service - Assessee contends that they do not provide any maintenance or repair service they are just agents - Held that:- appellants are required to make payment relating to Revenue assessment, insurance, all other taxes, levies, electricity and water charges and deposits in respect of common electrical and water pumps and other installations. In addition they are paying for the maintenance and repair of common areas and facilities, wages or watchmen, sweepers etc. and some expenses relating to maintenance of the housing blocks - appellants are obliged to maintain a separate account in any bank of the deposits taken and use the same amount towards the outgoings. Further section 6 puts responsibility for payment of outgoings on the appellants till the property is transferred. Appellants are not in the business of maintenance or repair service or management of immovable property. The appellants cannot be held as provider of maintenance or repair service as they are only paying on behalf of various buyers of flats to various authorities (Municipal Corporation, Revenue authorities etc.) and various service providers (such as security agency, cleaning service providers etc.) and they are not charging anything on their own. The payments are made cost on cost basis and the same is debited from the deposit account. They act only as trustee or as pure agent. When the co-operative society is formed even the deposit account is shifted to Flat Owner's Co-operative Society. We also note that this is a statutory obligation on the appellants in terms of Maharashtra Ownership Flats (Regulation of the Promotion of Construction, sale, management and transfer) Act, 1963 - Therefore, appellants are not providing the maintenance or repair service to the buyers of the flats - Decided in favour of assessee.
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