CENTURY CLUB Vs. COMMISSIONER OF SERVICE TAX, BANGALORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal has been filed against Order -in -Appeal No. 89/2007 passed by the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals -I), Bangalore.

(2.) THE appellants are a Club registered under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act and providing various services to its members. They registered with the Service Tax Department under the category of Health and Fitness Service and charged, collected and paid the Service Tax for the period from October, 2005 to March, 2006. However, later they filed a refund claim on the ground that they are registered under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, as a society and are providing service to its own members. In any case, they maintained that they would not be liable for Service Tax. Hence, they filed a refund claim for the Service Tax already paid. The lower authority held that the appellants rendered taxable service, which should come under the category of Health and Fitness Service specified under Section 65(51) of the Finance Act, 1994. The unjust enrichment aspect was also examined. Therefore, the Original Authority rejected the refund claim upholding that the appellant had paid the tax correctly.

(3.) AGGRIEVED over the order of the Original Authority, the appellants approached Commissioner (A). The Commissioner (A) passed the impugned order upholding the order of the Original Authority rejecting the refund claim. Aggrieved over the impugned order, the appellants have come before this Tribunal for relief.