Booking Speakers For Events Is Not Event Management, No Service Tax Under That Head: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has ruled that merely booking speakers through agents at an event does not amount to 'event management' and therefore cannot be subjected to service tax under that category

The Court held that fees paid by HT Media Limited to international speakers through overseas booking agencies for the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit were wrongly taxed under the Finance Act, 1994.

A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan held that HT Media's contract with the international booking agencies was solely for securing speakers for their event and did not constitute 'event management' services.

Since service tax was sought to be levied only under the category of event management services, booking a speaker through an agent did not attract service tax

The court said, “The speaker does not plan, promote, organize or present the event. Thus, the speaker, is neither an “event manager” nor does he provide an “event management service”. Similarly, the booking agent who merely books the speaker also acts in the capacity of an agent or representative for agreeing to the terms of the speakers' presence at the event. Participation in the event cannot be considered as management of the event."

Calling this the central flaw in the tax demand, the bench added, “This precisely is the fundamental error committed by the revenue as well as by the Tribunal while imposing Service Tax on the service in question under the category of “event management services""

HT Media organises the annual Hindustan Times Leadership Summit. The dispute arose from various editions of the summit held between October 2009 and March 2012. During this period, the summit saw global figures such as former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, former US Vice President Al Gore, and astronaut Jerry Linenger take the stage.

To bring them to the event, the company worked with professional lecture booking agencies, including the Washington Speakers Bureau and the Harry Walker Agency. The agreements covered the speakers' appearance fees, travel plans, schedules, and other terms of their visits.

The tax department argued that securing speakers was an integral part of planning and organising the summit and that without them the event would lose its significance.

On that basis, it treated the payments made to the booking agencies as a taxable “event management service” under the Finance Act. The Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal accepted this reasoning and upheld the service tax demand for the normal period.

The Supreme Court disagreed. It said the contracts showed that the agencies were engaged only to book speakers and had no role in planning, promoting, organising, or conducting the event.

The Court held that the importance of a speaker to an event does not convert the act of booking that speaker into event management. On that reasoning, it allowed HT Media's appeals and set aside the tribunal's order.

Case Title: HT Media Limited v. Principal Commissioner, Delhi South Goods and Services Tax

Citation: 2026 LLBiz SC 14

Case Number: CIVIL APPEAL NOS. 23525 - 23526 OF 2017

For Appellant(s): Advocates Ashok Dhingra, Karan Bharihoke, AOR Sonia Gupta

For Respondent(s): Advocates V.C. Bharathi, Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR S.K. Singhania, V. Yogeshwaran, Annirudh Sharma II