Unloading and haulting exp

[S.C. WADHWA]

Dear Experts,

We are paying service tax on GTA service on GR basis. But transporter in his invoice also charging unloading exp and some times haulting charges. Please confirm whether we should also have to pay service tax on unloading and haulting exp.

Please give your expert opinion.

Regards,

WADHWA

[Rajagopalan Ranganathan]

Sir,

Clause 109 of finance Bill amends Section 67 of F.A. 1994 to define consideration as follows: -

In section 67 of the 1994 Act, in the Explanation, for clause (a), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:-

‘(a) “consideration” includes-

(i) any amount that is payable for the taxable services provided or to be provided;

(ii) any reimbursable expenditure or cost incurred by the service provider and charged, in the course of providing or agreeing to provide a taxable service, except in such circumstances, and subject to such conditions, as may be prescribed;

(iii) any amount retained by the lottery distributor or selling agent from gross sale amount of lottery ticket in addition to the fee or commission, if any, or, as the case may be, the discount received, that is to say, the difference in the face value of lottery ticket and the price at which the distributor or selling agent gets such ticket.’.

This amendment will come into force on enactment of of Finance Bill 2015.

In respect of past period present provision of Section 67 of F.A. 1994 will prevail which states that "consideration" includes any amount that is payable for the taxable services provided or to be provided.

The amendment proposed in the Finance Bill 2015 gives more clarity to the definition of 'Consideration.'. Therefore in my opinion you have to service tax on both unloading and hauling charges wherever they are charged by GTA.

AI Summary

Service tax applies to unloading and hauling charges per Clause 109 amendment to Section 67 of the Finance Act 1994. A user inquired about the applicability of service tax on unloading and hauling charges included in invoices from transporters. An expert responded, referencing Clause 109 of the Finance Bill, which amends Section 67 of the Finance Act 1994. The amendment clarifies that 'consideration' includes any amount payable for taxable services, including reimbursable expenses. The expert advised that service tax should be paid on unloading and hauling charges as they are part of the consideration for the service provided by the Goods Transport Agency (GTA).