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| HC admits PIL seeking abolition of service tax on helicopter service to Bhawan | | |
Early Times Report
Jammu, Oct 17: Division Bench comprising Justice Ramalingam Sudakar and Justice B.S Walia of J&K High Court admitted Public Interest Litigation for seeking quashment against tax imposition on helicopter tickets run by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board today. While admitting the PIL titled as Ashok Sharma and Ors. V/S State of J&K and Ors, court directed the Secretary Commissioner Finance , Commissioner Commercial Taxes, Additional Commissioner Commercial Taxes, CEO SMVSB Katra, Himalayan Heli Services and Secretary, Ministry of Finance to file counter. Court further directed to list the matter for hearing in the week commencing 14th of November, 2016.
Ashok Sharma, Advocate appeared in person and argued whereas the notices were accepted by Rohit Kapoor on behalf of state respondents where as Anil Verma vice D.C. Raina Sr. Advocate appeared on behalf of Shrine Board and Sindhu Sharma ASGI on behalf of Union Finance Secretary and notice will go to Himalayan Heli Services P.V.T.
The tax was imposed on helicopter services by the state government in August 2015 vide SRO 297 dated 02-09-2015, despite the fact that imposing service tax was issued vide SRO 117 of 2007, despite the fact that the helicopter services is continuously being used for old age differently abeled persons and pilgrims with infirmities to the holy cave.
Earlier in 1986, on cafeterias run by Shrine Board, tax were exempted u/s 5 of GST Act, 1962 but in 2007 the Shrine Board was declared as dealer' and the tax was imposed on sales which was challenged by the Shrine Board before this court.
The offering of prayers and get blessing of Goddess Shri Mata Vaishno Devi by visiting the holy cave through helicopter services is a facility to those who otherwise cannot make out to perform religious prayers because of their physical and financial disability and the imposing of tax on such religious pilgrimage leads to unreasonable restrictions to perform such prayers on the on hand and state is starving hard, spending huge funds to attract tourists (both religious pilgrimage and leisure tourists) in the state. Moreover, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board is not a commercial organization.
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