2014 (11) TMI 545 - CESTAT MUMBAI GROUP M MEDIA INDIA PVT LTD, LINTAS INDIA PVT LTD Versus COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE/SERVICE TAX THANE-I/MUMBAI-II AND COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE/SERVICE TAX MUMBAI-I & II Versus GROUP M MEDIA INDIA PVT LTD, LINTAS INDIA PVT LTD Levy of service tax on discount received by advertising agency - Whether service tax levy is sustainable in respect of discounts/incentives received by the advertising agency from the print/broadcast media in respect of advertisements placed by the said agencies on behalf of customers - Held that:- Tribunal in the case of Grey Worldwide (I) Pvt. Ltd. case, cited [2014 (9) TMI 180 - CESTAT MUMBAI], has already held that the service tax demands on these receipts are not sustainable, in the present case also, the same ratio has to be applied. Accordingly, we set aside the demands confirmed against the assessee-appellants M/s. Group M Media India Pvt. Ltd. and M/s. Lintas India Pvt. Ltd. - Decided in favour of assessee. No. - Appeals: ST/269/2009; ST/644/2011 & ST/205/2012 , APPEALS: ST/86156, 86255 & 86691 t 86693/2013 Dated - August 27, 2014 P R Chandrasekharan and Ramesh Nair, JJ. For the Appellant : Shri Prasad Pranjape, Adv. & Shri A R Krishnan, CA For the Respondent : Dr BS Meena, Addl. Commissioner (AR) JUDGEMENT Per: P R Chandrasekharan: There are eight appeals and three cross-objections involving a common issue. Of the eight appeals, three have been filed by M/s. Group M Media India Pvt. Ltd. and M/s. Lintas India Pvt. Ltd.; and five appeals have been filed by Revenue. The cross-objections have been filed one by Revenue and the other two by M/s. Group M Media India Pvt. Ltd. in two cases. The details of these appeals, the order against which the appeal has been filed, the period involved and the service tax demand involved are given in the table below: Period Demand (Rs.) involved 07/BR-03/ST/Th-I/2009 dated Jul.2003 to Oct. ST/269/2009 90,25,074/20/08/2009 2006 20/04/V/2012/OMMR/KS/ST Nov. 2006 to ST/205/2012 91,25,788/dated 17/01/2012 Sep 2007 19/ST/HB/12-13 dated Oct 2008 to ST/86255/2013 2,74,20,205/07/12/2012 Sept 2009 Appeal Nos. OIO No. and Date 17/ST/HB/12-13 30/11/2012 09-10/ST-II/WLH/2011 ST/644/2011 29/08/2011 21/ST/HB/12-13 ST/86691/2013 19/12/2012 23/ST/HB/12-13 ST/86692/2013 21/12/2012 22/ST/HB/12-13 ST/86693/2013 20/12/2012 ST/86156/2013 dated Oct 2009 Mar 2011 dated 01/04/2001 31/22007 dated 01/04/2008 31/03/2009 dated 01/04/2010 31/03/2011 dated 01/04/2009 31/03/2010 to to to to to 4,94,73,367/2,21,43,181/13,22,557/63,25,279/31,33,828/- 2. The short question involved in all these appeals, is whether service tax levy is sustainable in respect of discounts/incentives received by the advertising agency from the print/broadcast media in respect of advertisements placed by the said agencies on behalf of customers. Another issue involved is whether some amounts, which are due from the advertising agency to the Media which has not been claimed by the media and which is pending and the advertising agencies write back these amounts after a lapse of time as per the accounting procedure, whether service tax can be levied on these amounts. 3. The learned counsel/consultant for the assessee-appellants, M/s. Group M Media India Pvt. Ltd. and M/s. Lintas India Pvt. Ltd., submits that these issues have been examined at length by this Tribunal in an identical matter pertaining to M/s. Gray World Wide India Pvt. Ltd. vide final order No. A/1337-1338/14/CSTB/CI dated 30/07/2014, and this Tribunal after examining the matter at length, came to the conclusion that service tax is not leviable on these amounts inasmuch as these are either incentives or accounting adjustments and not consideration for any services rendered. 4. The Additional Commissioner (AR) appearing for the Revenue also confirms that the facts involved in the present appeals are also identical to those decided in the case of Grey Worldwide (I) Pvt. Ltd. cited supra. 5. In view of the fact that the Tribunal in the case of Grey Worldwide (I) Pvt. Ltd. case, cited supra, has already held that the service tax demands on these receipts are not sustainable, in the present case also, the same ratio has to be applied. Accordingly, we set aside the demands confirmed against the assessee-appellants M/s. Group M Media India Pvt. Ltd. and M/s. Lintas India Pvt. Ltd. and allow the appeals filed by them. The appeals filed by the Revenue are rejected. Cross-objections are also accordingly disposed of. (Dictated in Court)