From the many revelations made at a seminar in the city, the negative list appears to be the backbone of the new Service Tax Policy (or GST), that comes into effect on July 1. Also, the taxability of a service will be determined based on the “place of its provision” in the policy. Further, agricultural produce and educational services are exempt from the service tax net, but not reality show judges. The good news also is that the list of exemptions is exhaustive, going up to 100.
The seminar on “Impact of Budgetary Changes – Taxation of Services”, organised on Monday by the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Fapcci) in association with the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), Institute of Cost Accountants of India – Hyderabad Chapter and Institute of Chartered Accoun-tants of India jointly.
Ms Sheila Sangwan, member, Service Tax, CBEC said that the introduction of the negative (non-taxable) list would reduce litigations by disgruntled service tax-payers by simplifying the complicated interpretations of the law due to the erstwhile exhaustive positive list of services (taxable). A total of 119 services on the basis of a “positive list” were liable to service tax. To widen the tax base in keeping with the extension of services, the government widened the definition of “services.”