New Delhi: The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), affirming that Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust is liable to pay Rs 4.5 crore to tax authorities for charging an entry fee for organizing Yoga camps.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan declined to overturn the order issued by the Allahabad CESTAT bench against Yoga guru Ramdev and his associate Acharya Balkrishna’s Patanjali Trust.
The tribunal’s decision in October 2023 classified the Yoga camps conducted by Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust as health and fitness services, subjecting them to service tax due to the collection of participation fees from attendees. This ruling followed Ramdev’s appeal against the Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise of Meerut, who imposed a service tax demand of Rs 4.5 crore for the period between October 2006 and March 2011, along with penalties and interest.
Investigations revealed that the Patanjali Trust, led by Yoga guru Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, organized Yoga training sessions at various residential and non-residential camps, collecting funds from participants in the form of donations.