Would labour contracts in relation to a building or structure treated as a works contract? No. Labour Contracts do not fall in the definition of works contract. It is necessary that there should be transfer of property in goods involved in the execution of such contract which is leviable to tax as sale of goods. Pure labour contracts are therefore not works contracts and would be leviable to service tax like any other service and on full value.

Service Tax Notifications No. 13/2012-ST, DATED 17-3-2012 related to ‘Abatement from Service tax and Conditions for same on specified services’ which is to come into force from the date on which Section 66B comes into effect. Government has vide notification No. 19/2012 specified that Section 66B will come into effect from 01.07.2012.

All services except 17 in the negative list, and those which are exempted vide mega Notification No. 12/2012-ST dated 17.03.2012 will be taxed from July 1, the Finance Ministry has said. Under the ‘negative list’ approach, services specified in the list will remain outside the tax net. The government has widened the definition of ‘Services’ to bring in more activities under the tax net. At present, 119 services that come under ‘positive list’ are levied.

EXEMPTIONS UNDER MEGA NOTIFICATION N. 12/2012 dated 17.03.2012 w.e.f. 01.07.2012 1. Services provided to the United Nations or a specified international organization; 2. Health care services by a clinical establishment, an authorised medical practitioner or para-medics; 3. Services by a veterinary clinic in relation to health care of animals or birds; 4. Services by an entity registered under section 12AA of the Income tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) by way of charitable activities;

The Central Government vide Notification No. 19/2012-ST dated 05.06.2012 has announced Date of Introduction of new regime of most awaited Negative List approach in Service Tax, which will apply w.e.f. 01.07.2012 i.e. service tax would be applicable on all services except those mentioned either in the Negative List or in the Mega Exemption vide Notification No. 12/2012-ST dated 17.03.2012.

In the definition of ‘service’ contained in clause (44) of section 65B of the Act it has been stated that service includes a declared service. The phrase ‘declared service’ is also defined in the said section as an activity carried out by a person for another for consideration and specified in section 66E of the Act. The following nine activities have been specified in section 66E:

Normally, service tax is payable by the person who is providing the taxable service. However, the Central Government is empowered under Section 68(2) to notify the specified persons who are liable to pay service tax in respect of notified taxable services. In this budget a proviso has been inserted wherein the Central Government can notify the specified services and the extent of service tax which shall be payable such person and the remaining part of the service tax shall be paid by the service provider. In other words, by insertion this proviso both the service recipient and the service provider together is required to pay the service tax.

Although the negative list approach largely obviates the need for descriptions of services, such descriptions continue to exist in the following areas – • In the negative list of services. • In the declared list of services. • In exemption notifications.

The taxability of services or the charge of service tax has been specified in section 66B of the Act. To be a taxable a service should be – provided or agreed to be provided by a person to another in the taxable territory ♦ and should not be specified in the negative list.

A ‘Negative List’ approach for taxation of services is being introduced in the current fiscal. Under the new approach, all services except those in the ‘Negative List’ or otherwise exempted, would come into the tax net. The new system will come into effect from 1st July, 2012.