The Supreme Court has directed the Delhi High Court to reach its final verdict quickly in the important matter concerning the levy of service tax on immovable property rentals by declining to stay the high court’s order in a special leave petition (SLP) filed by the Union Government.
Senior counsels Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi were instructed by Naik Paranjpe & Co partner Ameet Naik appearing for Home Solutions. They successfully convinced the Supreme Court bench of justices Mukundakam Sharma and Anil Dave last week that a stay on Delhi High Court’s interim order is out of question because a final judgement is awaited in the matter.
“There can be no recovery of service tax from Home Solutions until the final disposal of the petition by Delhi High Court on 14th December, 2010. The matter is made returnable by Supreme Court in 8 weeks,” said Naik Paranjpe & Co in a statement.
While declining to stay the operation of order dated 18 May 2010 by which the high court had disallowed the recovery of service tax from Home Solutions in respect of renting of immovable property alone, the bench ordered for the expeditious disposal of the matter by the next hearing date of 14 December 2010.
Legally India’s Legal Pulse column had earlier published a case synopsis relating to the issue of services tax on immovable property.