Section 149 - Amendment of Act 32 of 1994

Finance Act 2002 replaces section 65, adds section 66 five percent service tax and revises valuation, penalties, credits

The Finance Act, 2002 amends the Service Tax Chapter of the Finance Act, 1994 by replacing section 65 with an extensive revised definitions schedule covering numerous services and service providers, substituting section 66 to impose a five percent service tax on specified categories of services phased in by notification, and modifying valuation and assessment provisions. It extends notice periods for escaped or under-assessed tax, prescribes assessment procedures, clarifies the relevant date for assessments, reduces a penalty rate, raises a monetary limit in a proviso, expands search-and-seizure powers, inserts input credit for like-category services, and grants a two-year power to the Government to remove implementation difficulties.