Rule 10- Place of Provision of a service of transportation of goods
1. What are the services covered under this Rule?
Any service of transportation of goods, by any mode of transport (air, vessel, rail or by a goods transportation agency), is covered here. However, transportation of goods by courier or mail is not covered here.
2 What is the place of provision of a service of transportation of goods?
Place of provision of a service of transportation of goods is the place of destination of goods, except in the case of services provided by a Goods Transportation Agency for transportation of goods by road, in which case the place of provision is the location of the person liable to pay tax (as determined in terms of rule 2(1)(d) of Service Tax Rules, 1994.
Illustration
A consignment of cut flowers is consigned from Chennai to Amsterdam. The place of provision of goods transportation service will be Amsterdam (outside India, hence not liable to service tax). Conversely, if a consignment of crystal ware is consigned from Paris to New Delhi, the place of provision will be New Delhi.
3 What does the proviso to this Rule imply?
The proviso to this Rule states as under:-
“Provided that the place of provision of services of transportation of goods by goods transportation agency shall be the location of the person liable to pay tax.”
Sub-rule 2(1)(d) of Service Tax Rules, 1994 provides that where a service of transportation of goods is provided by a ‘goods transportation agency’, and the consignor or consignee is covered under any of the specified categories prescribed therein , the person liable to tax is the person who pays, or is liable to pay freight (either himself or through his agent) for the transportation of goods by road in a goods carriage. If such person is located in non-taxable territory, then the person liable to pay tax shall be the service provider. The proviso to Rule 10 of these rules specifies that in the case where services of transportation of goods is provided by a goods transportation agency, the place of provision of such service will be the place where the person liable to pay tax, as determined in accordance with sub-rule 2(1)(d) of Service Tax Rules, 1994, is located. The implication is that the tax will be liable to be paid by the service provider, and consequently the place of provision will also be the location of the service provider.
Illustration 1
A goods transportation agency ABC located in Delhi transports a consignment of new motorcycles from the factory of XYZ in Gurgaon (Haryana), to the premises of a dealer in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Say, XYZ is a registered assessee and is also the person liable to pay freight and hence person liable to pay tax, in this case. Here, the place of provision of the service of transportation of goods will be the location of XYZ i.e Haryana.
Illustration 2
A goods transportation agency ABC located in Delhi transports a consignment of new motorcycles from the factory of XYZ in Gurgaon (Haryana), to the premises of a dealer in Jammu (non-taxable territory). Say, as per mutually agreed terms between ABC and XYZ, the dealer in Jammu is the person liable to pay freight. Here, in terms of amended provisions of rule 2(1)(d), since the person liable to pay freight is located in non-taxable territory, the person liable to pay tax will be ABC. Accordingly, the place of provision of the service of transportation of goods will be the location of ABC i.e. Delhi.
company ABC Nepal orders a consignment to be transported from Kokatta to Nepal through Goods transporter ,whether service tax isaplicable