Baba Ramdev gets another ‘Supreme’ blow, now he will have to pay service tax for yoga camp

Yoga guru Swami Ramdev has again received a blow from the Supreme Court. Now his yoga camps have come under the purview of service tax. Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust, the organization organizing yoga camps of Swami Ramdev, will now have to pay service tax. The Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Abhay M Oak and Justice Ujjwal Bhuiyan has upheld the decision of the Service Tax Appellate Tribunal in this regard. In its decision, the Service Tax Appellate Tribunal had made it mandatory for Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust to pay service tax for organizing both residential and non-residential yoga camps.

Let us tell you that Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust charges entry fee for the yoga camps of Swami Ramdev. The bench of Justice Oak and Justice Bhuiyan said in its decision, ‘The Service Tax Appellate Tribunal has said it right. After charging the entry fee, yoga is a service in the camps. We see no reason to interfere with the order of the Tribunal. Therefore, the appeal of Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust is dismissed.’ Along with this, the court refused to interfere in the order dated October 5, 2023 of the Allahabad bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT).

Yoga camp comes under the category of ‘Health and Fitness Service’

Actually CESTAT (Customs Excise And Service Tax Appellate Tribunal) had admitted that the yoga camp organized by Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust charges fees from any person for participation. Therefore, the yoga camps organized by the Trust should come under the purview of service tax. The tribunal had said that the trust is engaged in providing yoga training in various residential and non-residential camps. For this, money is collected from the participants in the form of donations, but in reality it is an entry fee for providing the said services.

Patanjali will have to pay service tax of Rs 4.5 crore

The Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, Meerut Range had asked Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust to pay around Rs 4.5 crore, including penalty and interest, for such camps organized between October 2006 and March 2011. The trust had argued that it was providing services which are for the treatment of diseases and it was not taxable under the ‘Health and Fitness Services’ category. But the tribunal said that the claim of Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust that it is providing treatment for specific diseases suffered by the person is not supported by any positive evidence.

CESTAT had said, ‘In these camps, yoga and meditation are taught not to any one person but to the entire group together. No prescription is written to diagnose or treat any individual’s specific disease/complaint. The Trust collected the camp entry fee as donation. They had issued entry tickets of different price ranges. The ticket holder was given different privileges depending on the value of the ticket. Yoga camps organized by Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust – which charge fees – fall under the category of health and fitness service and such service is liable to service tax.’