Yesterday, the TRU has issued number of Notifications to give effect of implementation of Paradigm shift in taxation of Services –Budget 2012 by way of either rescinding or amending old Notifications including some of recently issued Notifications during the time of Budget 2012 i.e. 17th March, 2012, which were supposed to come into force from the date on which the new Section 66B (the new charging Section) i.e. 1st July 2012.

Dispelling the confusion about the applicability of Negative list based service tax regime to an extent, a number of Service Tax related notifications have been issued on 20th June, 2012. Vide Notification No. 27/2012 – Service Tax dated:- 20th June, 2012 the Central Government, hereby exempts taxable services provided by any person, for the official use of a foreign diplomatic mission or consular post in India, or for personal use or for the use of the family members of diplomatic agents or career consular officers posted therein from whole of the service tax leviable under section 66B of the said Act w.e.f. 1st July, 2012, subject to the following conditions, namely:-

In a function held today (20-6-2012) in North Block, Hon’ble Finance Minister released the Guidance Paper on the new approach to service tax. The public release of the Guidance Paper marks the culmination of the year long efforts made by the Government to introduce a negative list based comprehensive approach to taxation of services as a part of the Budget exercise. The new approach to taxation of services is intended to take the country and the economy a step closer towards the introduction of Goods and Service Tax (GST).

Service tax, like any other indirect tax, is a destination based consumption tax born the ultimate user and collected by the provider. The core of the system is section 66B which is the charging section levying service tax @ 12% on the value of all services, other than those services specified in the negative list which are provided or agreed to be provided in the taxable territory by one person to another and collected in such manner as may be prescribed.

The Union Budget 2012-13 had proposed taxation of services based on a ‘Negative list’. With the enactment of the Finance Act, 2012 (the Act) on 28 May 2012, the concept of ‘negative list’ is made applicable and made effective for implementation from 01-07-2012. The Department of Revenue has issued Service tax notifications on 1 June 2012, 5 June 2012 and 6 June 2012 providing effective dates of implementing the ‘Negative List’ and also for phasing-out the existing regime of taxing services.

Notification No. 40/2012-Service Tax- Govt exempts the services on which service tax is leviable under section 66B of the said Act, received by a unit located in a Special Economic Zone (hereinafter referred to as SEZ) or Developer of SEZ and used for the authorised operations, from the whole of the service tax, education cess and secondary and higher education cess leviable thereon.

Notification No.39/2012 – Service Tax Central Government hereby directs that there shall be granted rebate of the whole of the duty paid on excisable inputs or the whole of the service tax and cess paid on all input services (herein after referred to as ‘input services’), used in providing service exported in terms of rule 6A of the said rules, to any country other than Nepal and Bhutan, subject to the conditions, limitations and procedures specified hereinafter,-

Notification No. 38/2012 – Service Tax – Following further amendment in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No.28/2011-Service Tax, dated the 1st April, 2011, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i), vide number G.S.R. 293(E), dated the 1st April, 2011, namely:-

Notification No. 37/2012 – Service Tax Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Point of Taxation Rules, 2011, namely:— 1. (a) These rules may be called the Point of Taxation (Amendment) Rules, 2012. (b) They shall come into force on the 1st day of July, 2012.

Notification No. 35/2012 – Service Tax Central Government hereby rescinds the notification of the Government of India, in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) No. 32/ 2007 – Service Tax, dated the 22nd May, 2007, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section(i), vide number G.S.R. 378(E), dated the 22nd May 2007, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such rescission.