A Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court expressed its grief against the Lucknow GST Commissionerate and expresses its concern that practicing advocates should not have to face harassment on account of the department issuing notices and calling upon them to pay Service Tax/GST when they are exempted from doing so and in the process also calling them to prove that they are practicing advocates.
The petitioner, Pankaj Khare, by means of present writ petition has challenged the order passed by Deputy Commissioner, CGST & Central Excise Division, Lucknow thereby assessing the petitioner with regard to service tax and levying tax and interest to the tune of Rs. 332651/-.
The counsel for petitioner, Yogesh Srivastava, assailed the said order stating that the same is illegal and arbitrary and without jurisdiction and submitted that as per Notification dated 20.06.2012 the service tax admitted for any individual advocate is nil for services rendered to any business entity situated in the taxable territory. The petitioner is a practicing advocate and as such he was exempted from service tax.
At the very outset, Dipak Seth, counsel for respondents produced before the Court an order dated 06.06.2023 whereby the respondents have themselves dropped the proceedings against the petitioner. The said order is taken on record.
During the hearing a number of members of the Bar also informed the Court that similar notices have been issued to the various members of the Bar. The Bench comprising Justices Jyotsna Sharma and Alok Mathur observed that “The Commissioner, GST is directed to issue clear direction to the GST Commissionerate in Lucknow that no notices regarding payment of service tax /GST is issued to the lawyers rendering legal service falling in the negative list so far as service tax is concerned.”
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