Order Date – 23 June 2023

Parties: The Commissioner, CGST & C. Ex., Belapur Commissionerate Vs Wartsila India Ltd.

Facts – 

• The Petitioner, Wartsila India Ltd., received commission/remuneration from its parent company and paid annual license fee to its parent company. They are not paying any service tax on the same.

Issue –

• Whether the commission/remuneration are taxable under “Business Auxiliary Service”? Whether the annual license fee paid is taxable under the entry “Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval Services”?

Order – 

• The Divisional Bench of Hon’ble High Court observed that this Court has held that services of procuring orders and passing it to its overseas principal and receiving payments for the same in foreign exchange is an activity of export of services covered by the Export of Services Rules, 2005. This Court has refused to entertain the substantial question of law, since the issue was covered by various decisions of this Court.
• If the Appellant Revenue has accepted the classification of entry under the head “Information Technology Software Service” for the period post 2008, then it cannot be contended by the Appellant Revenue that pre 2008 that very service falls under the entry “Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval Services”.
• It is settled position, by the ratio of decisions of the Apex Court in the case of Balaji Enterprises vs. CCE, 1997(2) E.L.T. 3 and decision of this Court in the case of Indian National Shipowners Association, 2009 (14) STR 289, that an introduction of a fresh entry from a particular date pre-supposes that the said services were not covered by the earlier entries. It is not the contention of the Appellant Revenue that the 2008 insertion of entry “Information Technology Software Services” is retrospective. 
• Thus the Appeal of the Revenue is dismissed.