English medium schools
Govt cant collect VAT from students: SC
The Supreme Court yesterday said that the government cannot collect value added tax (VAT) from the students of English medium schools. A 4-member Appellate Division bench, headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, also extended its stay order on a High Court verdict that had declared illegal the imposition of 7.5 per cent VAT on the tuition fees of English medium schools. The Appellate Division bench passed the order after a hearing on a leave to appeal petition by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) seeking a stay on the HC verdict. The SC allowed the government to move an appeal before the court against the High Court verdict, said court sources. On December 12 last year, the High Court had declared illegal the VAT on tuition fees of English Medium school. The court also directed the authorities concerned to stop collecting VAT from English medium schools from January this year. The court said that VAT on English medium schools is discriminatory since no VAT was imposed on fees of other institutions.
