No interim relief to DD owners, HC refuses to stay service tax on tickets

New Delhi, May 2

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GMR Group, which owns Delhi Daredevils, will have to pay 14 per cent service tax on the tickets sold by it after Delhi High Court on Monday refused to stay a central government notification by which the tax was imposed on non-recognised sporting events, like IPL, from June last year.

While refusing to grant any interim relief to GMR, a bench of justices S Muralidhar and Vibhu Bakhru issued notice to the Centre and Delhi government and sought their replies by September 27 on the plea of the company.

"IPL is already in progress. How can you seek stay when you have printed it (service tax) in your tickets?" the court asked and added that "service tax now charged would be subject to outcome of the writ petition".

GMR challenged a May 2015 notification by which 14 per cent service tax was levied from June 1, 2015 onwards on entry to entertainment events and access to amusement facilities where the cost of the entry ticket is above Rs 500.

The tax would not, however, be levied on 'recognised sporting events' which has been defined under the Finance Bill of 2015 as those events which are organised by a recognised sports body where the participating team or individual represent any district, state, zone or country.

Though IPL cricket is organised by a recognised body, the participating teams are franchisees and represent a commercial entity and the individual players also do not represent any district, state, zone or country, the Centre told the court.

The Centre also said the company has come very late to the court as the notification of May 2015 had come into effect from June 1 last year. — PTI