Vital amendments in service tax vide Finance Act 2008

Some Vital amendments have been notified in the Service Tax Act vide Finance Act, 2008.

1) The definition of ‘input service' has been amended to provide that ‘clearance of final products up to the place of removal' will alone be considered as input service. It has also substituted the words ‘from the place of removal', used earlier, by ‘up to the place of removal'.

2) The definition of ‘output service' has been amended to exclude the taxable service of goods transport agency (GTA) from its purview. Since GTA service is no longer an output service, a GTA service provider cannot utilise input CENVAT credit towards the service tax payable by him on such GTA services.

3) Another amendment about the duration of removal of capital goods to any place by the service provider for output services. Now, there is no time limit for return of such goods. Earlier, a limit of 180 days was stipulated

CST slashed to 2% from 1st June

The central government on Friday notified reduction in central sales tax (CST) to 2% with effect from June 1, 2008 compared to the current 3%. Elimination of CST is crucial to implementation of unified goods and service tax (GST) from April 1, 2010. CST was to be reduced from 4% to 3% on April 1, 2007. Reduction was not carried out then as Centre and state governments failed to agree on the compensation package. States are estimated to lose Rs. 12,000-13,000 crore in revenue due to the reduction in CST rate from 3% to 2%