Anita Mathur v. Idea Cellular Ltd.
Case brief
What is this about?
The Supreme Court held that service tax on renting of immovable property for commercial use is valid under the residuary legislative power of Parliament (Entry 97 of List I) as it involves value addition due to location and scarcity, distinguishing it from direct taxation of land (Entry 49 of List II). The Court overruled the earlier Home Solution-I decision which denied value addition. Furthermore, the Court declared the retrospective amendment constitutionally valid, ruling that removing the basis of the prior judicial decision cures the defect, and dismissed the writ petitions as disposed.
What did the court decide?
Writ petitions dismissed as sans substratum; the first Home Solution case is overruled; the retrospective amendment to the Finance Act, 2010 is declared constitutionally valid.