Ramdev denied court relief, must pay service tax on yoga camps.

The Allahabad bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) made a decision on October 5, 2023, refusing to interfere with the decision to classify Yoga camps organized by the Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust as a “health and fitness service” liable for service tax. The bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan dismissed the Trust’s appeal, upholding that Yoga camps charging fees for participation fall under the category of taxable services.

The CESTAT’s order noted that the Trust, associated with Yoga guru Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, provided Yoga training at various residential and non-residential camps, collecting fees from participants by way of donation. The Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, Meerut range had raised a service tax demand of approximately Rs 4.5 crore for the period of October 2006 to March 2011, with penalty and interest.

The Trust contended that the services provided were for curing ailments and not taxable under “health and fitness service”. However, the appellate tribunal held that the Trust’s services fell under the category of services provided by a health club and fitness center as defined under the Finance Act.

It stated that the instructions on ‘Yoga’ and ‘Meditation’ were imparted to the entire gathering, and no individualized prescriptions or treatments were provided. The tribunal also noted that the Trust had collected entry fees disguised as donations and issued tickets of various denominations, granting different privileges based on the denomination of the ticket.

In conclusion, the tribunal upheld the decision that the fees collected from the participants in Yoga camps organized by the Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust constituted consideration for providing taxable services, and therefore attracted service tax.