New Delhi: In a setback to the Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust, the Supreme Court has dismissed its curative petition while upholding a tribunal’s decision that it was liable to pay service tax for charging an entry fee for organising yoga camps, both residential and non-residential.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Vikram Nath, JK Maheshwari and Ujjal Bhuyan, which considered the curative petition, dismissed it saying no case is made out.
“We have gone through the curative petition and the relevant documents. In our opinion, no case to entertain the curative petition is made out within the parameters indicated by this court in the case of Rupa Ashok Hurra versus Ashok Hurra & Anr (2002). Hence, the curative petition is dismissed,” the bench said in its February 4 order, which was uploaded on Thursday.
It also dismissed the application of the trust for an open court hearing.
The trust has challenged the dismissal of the review petition by a bench of justices Abhay S Oka (since retired) and Bhuyan.
On January 7, last year, the Justice Oka-led bench had dismissed the petition seeking review of the April 19, 2024 order of the apex court refusing to grant any relief to the trust.
On April 19, 2024, the top court upheld an appellate tribunal’s ruling that the trust was liable to pay service tax for charging an entry fee for organising yoga camps, both residential and non-residential.
It had refused to interfere with the October 5, 2023 decision of the Allahabad bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT).
The top court, while dismissing the trust’s appeal had said, “The tribunal has rightly held that yoga in camps for a fee is a service. We do not find any reason to interfere with the impugned order. The appeal is dismissed.”
In its order, the CESTAT had held that yoga camps organised by the trust, which charges fees for participation, come under the category of “health and fitness service” and attract service tax.
It had noted that the trust, working under Yoga guru Ramdev and his aide Acharya Balkrishna, was engaged in providing yoga training at various residential and non-residential camps.
The tribunal had said a fee was collected from the participants by way of donation.
“Though this amount was collected as a donation, it was fees for providing the said services and hence covered under the definition of consideration,” it had noted, adding that the Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, Meerut range has raised the service tax demand of approximately Rs 4.5 crore for October, 2006 to March, 2011, with penalty and interest.
In its reply, the trust had contended it was providing services which are for curing ailments. They are not taxable under “health and fitness service“, it had said.
The appellate tribunal in its order had said, “In our view the appellant (Patanjali Trust) was engaged in providing the services that were classifiable under the taxable category of services provided by health club and fitness centre, as defined under Section 65 (52) of the Finance Act, to any person.
“The claim of the appellant that they are providing treatment for specific ailments being suffered by the person is not supported by any positive evidence. Instructions on ‘yoga’ and ‘meditation’ in these camps are not imparted to an individual but to the entire gathering together. No prescriptions are made for any individual in writing, diagnosing and treating the specific ailment/complaint of any individual,” it had said.
The appellate tribunal had said the trust collected the entry fee disguising it as donation.
“They issued entry tickets of various denominations. The holder of the ticket was granted different privileges depending on the denomination of the ticket. In return the appellant provided the person entry to the camp where Swami Baba Ramdev would give instructions in respect of yoga and meditation,” it had said.
