Supreme Court Recognises Stem Cell Services as Healthcare Service in Service Tax Exemption Notification

The Supreme Court has ruled that stem cell banking, including the collection, processing, and storage of umbilical cord blood, qualifies as a “healthcare service” under the service tax exemption notifications of 2012 and 2014. 

A bench comprising quashed service tax demands of over ₹2 crore against Stemcyte India Therapeutics Pvt. Ltd. and ordered a refund of ₹40 lakh already paid. 

The Court held that stem cell banking is a preventive and therapeutic healthcare service, and found no basis for invoking extended tax limitation periods due to the absence of fraud or evasion. (Stemcyte India Therapeutics Pvt. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Central Excise and Service Tax)