Is Service Tax applicable on home delivery for AC restaurants?

Service Tax in Restaurant Service is leviable if food is served in premises only having Air Conditioner facility. If food is served in a non A/C premises there will be no Service Tax . Although there is no clarification from the department about the Home Delivery from an A/C Restaurant yet it is supposed by various experts that there will be no Service Tax in this case.

Dear, Service Tax in Restaurant Service is leviable if food is served in premises only having Air Conditioner facility. If food is served in a non A/C premises there will be no Service Tax . Although there is no clarification from the department about the Home Delivery from an A/C Restaurant yet it is supposed by various experts that there will be no Service Tax in this case. However, there has been a lot of confusion regarding levy of Service Tax on Home Delivery of Food as such food is not being eaten in a AC Restaurant. A clarification in this regard was sought from the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise and Service Tax Division (Chandigarh) in this regard. It has in a written communication replied that in the case of Transaction involving Pick-up/ Home Delivery of food sold by a Restaurant, the dominant nature of the transaction is that of Sale and not service as the Food is not served at the Restaurant. Moreover, no element of service is being offered at the Restaurant, be it ambiance, live entertainment, air conditioning, personal hospitality etc. The Service Tax can only be levied if there is an element of "Service" involved which would typically be the case where the food is served in a Restaurant. **`Conclusion`** Therefore, the above transaction is not chargeable to Service Tax, being sale in nature, only if, no amount is charged for such free delivery of food.