Govt to exempt 14 more services from tax net

Advocates with a turnover of up to Rs 10 lakh, companies engaged in construction of metro projects, law firms, and entities providing public conveniences will not have to pay 12 per cent service tax .

The government on Wednesday announced that 14 more services would be exempted from payment of service tax by including them in the negative list which shall come into effect from July 1.

With the inclusion of 14 items, the total number of services in the negative list will go up to 38. All other services which do not figure in the list would be taxed.

Releasing the 107-page book "Taxation of service: An Education Guide", Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that with the expansion of the service tax base, it would be possible for "the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) to exceed the collection target of Rs 1.24 lakh crore in the current fiscal".

The government has collected Rs 97,000 crore on account of service tax in the last financial year. For the current year, the government has hiked the service tax rate by two per cent to 12 per cent.

As per the guide, the 14 services which will be exempted from payment of tax include lending of books, publications or any other knowledge enhancing content or material by public libraries.

Besides, services provided to the government, local authorities or a government authority for the repair and maintenance of an aircraft would also come in the negative list.

Also, services provided by advocates to other advocates and business entities up to a turnover of Rs 10 lakh in the preceding financial year is exempt from service tax.

It said services provided by way of public convenience such as provision of facilities of bathroom, washroom, urinals or toilets would be included in the list. .