Patanjali: Big blow to Ramdev from Supreme Court, Patanjali will have to pay tax of Rs 4.5 crore

Patanjali: 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 Swami Ramdev's yoga camps, will now have to pay service tax.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan declined to interfere with the October 5, 2023 judgment of the Allahabad bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT).

Rejecting the appeal of the Trust, the bench said that the Tribunal has rightly held that conducting yoga in camps for a fee is a service. We find no reason to interfere with the impugned order. The appeal is dismissed. CESTAT had said in its order that the fee charged for participation in the yoga camp organized by Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust falls in the category of health and fitness service and is also subject to service tax.

Supreme Court gave this order
The tribunal, in its order, had said that the fees for the yoga camps were collected from the participants as donations. Although this amount was collected as donation, it was only a fee for providing the said services. Therefore it comes under the definition of fee.

The Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, Meerut Range, had demanded service tax of Rs 4.5 crore, including penalty and interest, for the period October, 2006 to March, 2011. In response, the Trust had argued that it was providing services which are for the treatment of diseases. It said that these services are not taxable under the head ‘health and fitness services’.