{"id":389226,"date":"2026-07-03T11:00:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T05:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=389226"},"modified":"2026-07-03T10:41:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T05:11:06","slug":"cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas, not &#8220;Commercial or Industrial Construction Service&#8221;: CESTAT quashes Service Tax demand on Pal Promoters"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Custom, Excise &amp; Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Chennai:<\/span> In a case wherein appeal filed against order confirming the demand of service tax on construction activities rendered by the appellants-Pal Promoters Pvt. Ltd and its Managing Director (MD) fell under &#8220;Commercial or Industrial Construction Service&#8221; as per Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001550199\" target=\"_blank\">65(25-b)<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000065759\" target=\"_blank\">Finance Act, 1994<\/a> (Finance Act) and &#8220;Construction of Complex service&#8221; as per Section 65(91-a), Finance Act, the Division Bench of M. Ajit Kumar (Technical Member) and <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Ajayan T.V. (Judicial Member)<\/span>* set aside the order of demand and held that constriction services provided did not constitute commercial construction activity.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Background<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The appellant-Pal Promoters Pvt. Ltd. filed an appeal against order confirming the demand of service tax on construction activities. The appellant rendered civil construction works, <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">i.e.<\/span>, construction of residential complexes in the Tsunami affected areas for Tsunami District Implementation Unit (TDIU), Pudukkotai and for Peoples Development Association (PDA), Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation (TNHPCL), Harley Ram Nursing Home as well as for Madurai Municipal Corporation. A show-cause notice was issued demanding service tax for the period from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2012, alleging that the appellant had provided &#8220;Commercial or Industrial Construction Service&#8221; as per Section 65(25-b), Finance Act and &#8220;Construction of Complex service&#8221; as per Section 65 (91-a), Finance Act. The demand was confirmed by the adjudicating authority along with applicable interest and imposed equivalent penalty under Section 78, Finance Act and a penalty under both Sections 77 (1)(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">a<\/span>) and (2), Finance Act. Hence, the appeal.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Another appeal was filed by MD of Pal Promoters Pvt. Ltd. Appellant 2 against the order of Commissioner (appeals) rejecting appeal against order adjudicating authority. Appellant 2 in his personal account was found to have undertaken construction of commercial building to Devadoss Multi Specialty Hospital, Madurai, residential complexes to World Vision India Limited and provided renting of immovable property service to PAL Promoters Private Limited. Hence, a show-cause notice alleging that Appellant 2 had provided taxable services during the period from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2012 was issued and demand was confirmed by along with applicable interest and imposed equivalent penalty under Section 78, Finance Act and a penalty under both Sections 77 (1)(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">a<\/span>) and (2), Finance Act. Thus, the present appeal.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Appellants submitted that TNPHCL is of government organisation and the construction was for the personal use of the police personnel and would be exempted in terms of Sl.No.12 of Mega Exemption Notification No.25\/2012-ST dated 20 June 2012 (Mega Notification). Regarding the construction of houses for TDIU and for PDA undertaken by the appellants for World Vision India were not intended for sale, a condition precedent under Explanation under Section 65 (105) (<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">zzzh<\/span>), Finance Act for applicability of the said clause and hence construction of these individual houses for Tsunami affected poor homeless people provided by these organisations free of cost would come within the ambit of exclusion provided in connection with personal use in the Explanation to Section 65(91-a), Finance Act as well as the exemption in terms of Mega Notification. It was further submitted that hospital constructions cannot be considered as commercial or industrial construction services as stipulated in Section 65(105)(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">zzq<\/span>), Finance Act.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The issues for consideration were whether the appellants were liable to pay service tax for the period from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2012, pursuant to the demands confirmed invoking the extended period of limitation, on the allegation that the appellant had provided &#8220;Commercial or Industrial Construction Service&#8221; as per Section 65 (25-b), Finance Act and &#8220;Construction of Complex service&#8221; as per Section 65(91-a), Finance Act as well as whether Appellant 2 was liable to pay service tax for the alleged renting of immovable property service rendered.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Analysis, Law and Decision<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Tribunal relied on the decision of <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Manoharan &amp; Co.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCE<\/span>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/06glm65e\" target=\"_blank\">2019 SCC OnLine CESTAT 14<\/a> and held that the construction services rendered by the appellant to TNHPCL were not exigible to service tax and the findings in the impugned order in this regard were liable to be set aside. The Tribunal observed that the demand raised on the appellants pertaining to construction of residential houses in Tsunami affected areas were for construction of individual residential houses for respective organisations. The Tribunal following the decision of the Tribunal in <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">K.B. &amp; Co.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Commr. of GST &amp; Central Excise<\/span>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/O2F1GYQ4\" target=\"_blank\">2025 SCC OnLine CESTAT 105<\/a>, wherein similar issue arose and held that the appellant was not liable to pay service tax on the construction services rendered to TNHPCL, TDIU and for PDA and the demand confirmed and upheld in the impugned orders to that extent were liable to be set aside.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Tribunal further observed that the constructions services rendered in respect of the hospitals as well as that rendered to Madurai Municipal Corporation, the demand was proposed to be confirmed under the category of &#8220;Commercial and Industrial Construction Services&#8221; for the relevant period. The Tribunal held that with advent of service tax on the construction services rendered by the appellants under the aforesaid category of &#8220;Commercial or Industrial Construction&#8221; was wholly unsustainable. By virtue of Mega Notification, the provisions of Section 65 ceased to apply from 1 July 2007. Therefore, for the period up to 31 March 2012, the services rendered by the appellants were outside the ambit of taxable service as provided under Section 65(105) (<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">zzq<\/span>), Finance Act under which the demand was proposed and stood confirmed. Regarding the construction for Madurai Municipal Corporation, the Tribunal held that the Department has not let in any evidence that the appellant had carried out the construction of a complex that was primarily for commerce. The Tribunal noted that there was no evidence relied on in the show-cause notice of any information gathered from the approved plan of the building or civil construction. Thus, the Tribunal held that the Department did not let in any evidence that the appellant had carried out the construction of a complex that was primarily for commerce.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The appellants contended that the demand was barred by limitation stating that the Department did not show evidence of any positive or deliberate act of wilful suppression or misstatement of facts with intent to evade payment of duty on the part of the appellant whereas the appellant had entertained a bona fide belief that the construction activities rendered by the appellants were not leviable to service tax given that they were either for government organisations or for welfare measures of the government\/service-oriented non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and for hospitals that provided health services to general public. The show-cause notice did not let any evidence of any positive or deliberate act of wilful suppression or misstatement of facts with intent to evade payment of duty on the part of the appellants.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Tribunal relied on <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Stemcyte India Therapeutics (P) Ltd.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCE<\/span>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/lBose1mn\" target=\"_blank\">(2025) 144 GSTR 662<\/a> and held that mere non-payment of tax, without any element of intent or suppression was not sufficient to attract the extended period of limitation. The Tribunal further relied on <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Uniworth Textiles Ltd.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">CCE<\/span>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/0yY0fIKl\" target=\"_blank\">(2013) 9 SCC 753<\/a> while considering the ingredients required to invoke the extended period of limitation, burden of proving any form of mala fide lied on the shoulders of the one alleging it. Therefore, the extended period of limitation invoked was held in favour of the appellant. Further, regarding demand of service tax on renting of immovable property could not be made on Appellant 2 as the service was susceptible to interpretational disputes and was the subject-matter of litigation, resulting in the levy being effectuated through retrospective amendment, the demand is wholly barred by limitation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Tribunal set aside the service tax demand and penalties on the appellants and allowed the appeal.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">[<span style=\"font-weight: bold; color: #632423;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Pal Promoters (P) Ltd.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Commissioner of GST &amp; Central Excise<\/span>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/r86NOwa3\" target=\"_blank\">2026 SCC OnLine CESTAT 1432<\/a><\/span>, Decided on 18-06-2026]<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; text-indent: 18pt; border: 2px solid black; border-radius: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; background-color: #DCDCDC;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">*Order by Ajayan T. V., Judicial Member<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Advocates who appeared in this case :<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">For the Appellant (s)<\/span>: S. Sivalinga Kesavan, Advocate<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">For Respondent(s)<\/span>: Ms. O.M. Reena, Authorized Representative<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pal Promoters Pvt. Ltd. not liable to pay service tax on the construction services rendered to Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation (TNHPCL), Tsunami District Implementation Unit, Pudukkotai (TDIU) and for Peoples Development Association (PDA) and the demand is to be set aside as does not fall under Commercial or Industrial Construction Service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67528,"featured_media":389231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,11],"tags":[108766,108767,85272,6651,108775,108776,108763,20601,108773,108768,108761,108774,85809,108762,108765,108771,108770,3208,108772,108764,108769],"class_list":["post-389226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-tribunals_commissions_regulatorybodies","tag-commercial-or-industrial-construction-service","tag-construction-of-complex-service","tag-85272","tag-cestat","tag-commercial-construction-activity","tag-commercial-construction-services","tag-construction-services","tag-finance-act","tag-harley-ram-nursing-home","tag-hospital-constructions","tag-m-ajit-kumar","tag-madurai-municipal-corporation","tag-member-judicial","tag-member-technical-and-ajayan-t-v","tag-pal-promoters-pvt-ltd","tag-peoples-development-association-pda","tag-pudukkotai-tdiu","tag-service_tax","tag-tamil-nadu-police-housing-corporation-tnhpcl","tag-tsunami","tag-tsunami-district-implementation-unit"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>CESTAT quashes Service Tax demand on Construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas | SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CESTAT set aside the service tax demand on construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas and held that services provided did not constitute commercial construction activity.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas, not &quot;Commercial or Industrial Construction Service&quot;: CESTAT quashes Service Tax demand on Pal Promoters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CESTAT set aside the service tax demand on construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas and held that services provided did not constitute commercial construction activity.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SCC Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T05:30:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Commercial-or-Industrial-Construction-Service.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"886\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"590\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bharti\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas, not &quot;Commercial or Industrial Construction Service&quot;: CESTAT quashes Service Tax demand on Pal Promoters\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bharti\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Bharti\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c6cc268a9b9ddd8dd8418036a2e8bf02\"},\"headline\":\"Construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas, not &#8220;Commercial or Industrial Construction Service&#8221;: CESTAT quashes Service Tax demand on Pal Promoters\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T05:30:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1307,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/Commercial-or-Industrial-Construction-Service.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"\\\"Commercial or Industrial Construction Service\\\"\",\"\\\"Construction of Complex service\\\"\",\"1994\",\"CESTAT\",\"commercial construction activity\",\"commercial construction services\",\"Construction services\",\"Finance Act\",\"Harley Ram Nursing Home\",\"hospital constructions\",\"M. Ajit Kumar\",\"Madurai Municipal Corporation\",\"Member (Judicial)\",\"Member (Technical) and Ajayan T. V.\",\"Pal Promoters Pvt. Ltd.\",\"Peoples Development Association (PDA)\",\"Pudukkotai (TDIU)\",\"service tax\",\"Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation (TNHPCL)\",\"Tsunami\",\"Tsunami District Implementation Unit\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Case Briefs\",\"Tribunals\\\/Commissions\\\/Regulatory Bodies\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\\\/\",\"name\":\"CESTAT quashes Service Tax demand on Construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas | SCC Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/Commercial-or-Industrial-Construction-Service.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T05:30:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c6cc268a9b9ddd8dd8418036a2e8bf02\"},\"description\":\"CESTAT set aside the service tax demand on construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas and held that services provided did not constitute commercial construction activity.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/Commercial-or-Industrial-Construction-Service.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/Commercial-or-Industrial-Construction-Service.webp\",\"width\":886,\"height\":590,\"caption\":\"Commercial or Industrial Construction Service\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas, not &#8220;Commercial or Industrial Construction Service&#8221;: CESTAT quashes Service Tax demand on Pal Promoters\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"SCC Times\",\"description\":\"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c6cc268a9b9ddd8dd8418036a2e8bf02\",\"name\":\"Bharti\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/06a70501db2ab8ab6d5dfd29559c29382270917d7bb0c1a5153790c34d56cafb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/06a70501db2ab8ab6d5dfd29559c29382270917d7bb0c1a5153790c34d56cafb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/06a70501db2ab8ab6d5dfd29559c29382270917d7bb0c1a5153790c34d56cafb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Bharti\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/author\\\/bharti\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"CESTAT quashes Service Tax demand on Construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas | SCC Times","description":"CESTAT set aside the service tax demand on construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas and held that services provided did not constitute commercial construction activity.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas, not \"Commercial or Industrial Construction Service\": CESTAT quashes Service Tax demand on Pal Promoters","og_description":"CESTAT set aside the service tax demand on construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas and held that services provided did not constitute commercial construction activity.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/","og_site_name":"SCC Times","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/","article_published_time":"2026-07-03T05:30:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":886,"height":590,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Commercial-or-Industrial-Construction-Service.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Bharti","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas, not \"Commercial or Industrial Construction Service\": CESTAT quashes Service Tax demand on Pal Promoters","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bharti","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/"},"author":{"name":"Bharti","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c6cc268a9b9ddd8dd8418036a2e8bf02"},"headline":"Construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas, not &#8220;Commercial or Industrial Construction Service&#8221;: CESTAT quashes Service Tax demand on Pal Promoters","datePublished":"2026-07-03T05:30:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/"},"wordCount":1307,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Commercial-or-Industrial-Construction-Service.webp","keywords":["\"Commercial or Industrial Construction Service\"","\"Construction of Complex service\"","1994","CESTAT","commercial construction activity","commercial construction services","Construction services","Finance Act","Harley Ram Nursing Home","hospital constructions","M. Ajit Kumar","Madurai Municipal Corporation","Member (Judicial)","Member (Technical) and Ajayan T. V.","Pal Promoters Pvt. Ltd.","Peoples Development Association (PDA)","Pudukkotai (TDIU)","service tax","Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation (TNHPCL)","Tsunami","Tsunami District Implementation Unit"],"articleSection":["Case Briefs","Tribunals\/Commissions\/Regulatory Bodies"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/","name":"CESTAT quashes Service Tax demand on Construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas | SCC Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Commercial-or-Industrial-Construction-Service.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-03T05:30:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c6cc268a9b9ddd8dd8418036a2e8bf02"},"description":"CESTAT set aside the service tax demand on construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas and held that services provided did not constitute commercial construction activity.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Commercial-or-Industrial-Construction-Service.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Commercial-or-Industrial-Construction-Service.webp","width":886,"height":590,"caption":"Commercial or Industrial Construction Service"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/07\/03\/cestat-quashes-service-tax-demand-on-construction-services-provided-to-tsunami-affected-areas\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Construction services provided to Tsunami affected areas, not &#8220;Commercial or Industrial Construction Service&#8221;: CESTAT quashes Service Tax demand on Pal Promoters"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/","name":"SCC Times","description":"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c6cc268a9b9ddd8dd8418036a2e8bf02","name":"Bharti","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06a70501db2ab8ab6d5dfd29559c29382270917d7bb0c1a5153790c34d56cafb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06a70501db2ab8ab6d5dfd29559c29382270917d7bb0c1a5153790c34d56cafb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06a70501db2ab8ab6d5dfd29559c29382270917d7bb0c1a5153790c34d56cafb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Bharti"},"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/author\/bharti\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Commercial-or-Industrial-Construction-Service.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67528"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389226"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":389233,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389226\/revisions\/389233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}