Service
Tax
A Service Tax can be defined
as an indirect tax levied on specific services known as "taxable
services". It cannot be imposed on any service that is not included
in the list of taxable services.
The indirect tax is governed by the Central Excise Commissionerates
working under the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC),
Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance. Being an indirect tax, it is
payable by the service provider, though it is borne by the recipient of
service
The list of services that will be tax is decided by the government
every year and in the last decade, service tax been levied on many
services. This tax also contributes to the government's revenue. The
rate of service tax is also determined by the Government and can be
changed every year. Service tax is generally levied on the gross value
of any service rendered by the service provider.
Companies and Individuals take help of professional accountants for
preparing and filing service tax returns. This helps save time and also
avoid any error in calculation. These professionals can also acquaint
companies with latest changes made in the Service tax as every year,
governments widens its list of taxable services.