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NEGATIVE LIST OF SERVICES (a) Services by Government or a local authority excluding the following services to the extent they are not covered elsewhere: (i) services by the Department of Posts by way of speed post, express parcel post, life insurance and agency services provided to a person other than Government; (ii) services in relation to an aircraft or a vessel, inside or outside the precincts of a port or an airport; (iii) transport of goods or passengers; or
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.
The Finance Minister has introduced the Finance Bill, 2012 proposing, inter alia, taxation of services based on a negative list. This announcement involves a paradigm shift by moving away from taxation of specified description of services to a new system of taxation of all services except those specified in the negative list or otherwise exempted. An important key for its implementation is to identify the taxing jurisdiction for a service.
Under the present system there are 88 exemption notifications. The need for exemptions is not obliterated with the introduction of negative list. While some existing exemptions have been built into the negative list, others, wherever necessary, have been retained as exemptions. In addition new exemptions are proposed to be introduced in the context of the negative list. For ease of reference and simplicity most of the exemptions are part of one single mega exemption notification (list of such proposed exemptions can be placed as Exhibit A2). In addition there are 9 more exemption notifications (list of such proposed exemptions is placed as Exhibit A3). The total number of exemption notifications, therefore, proposed to be issued in the new system would be only 10.
The following services provided in relation to transportation of goods are specified in the negative list. Services:- • by road except the services of (i) a goods transportation agency; or (ii) a courier agency • by aircraft or vessel from a place outside India to the first customs station of landing in India; or • by inland waterways.
The following services relating to transportation of passengers, with or without accompanied belongings, have been specified in the Negative List. Services by: • a stage carriage; • railways in a class other than (i) first class; or (ii) an AC coach; • metro, monorail or tramway; • inland waterways;
Financial sector Services Covered in Negative List –Services by way of – (i) extending deposits, loans or advances insofar as the consideration is represented by way of interest or discount; (ii) inter se sale or purchase of foreign currency amongst banks or authorized dealers of foreign exchange or amongst banks and such dealers;
