Service Tax on Grass Cutting / Vegetatin Clearance Services

[Asked by Guest]

We are a central govt organisation with about 1000 acres of govt land. We are outsourcing services of hiring of labour for grass cutting / vegetation clearance services. We will give the contract to authroised manpower supply vendor registered with labour commission, service tax, EPF & ESI through tendering only. The contract amount will be 20 - 40 lakhs per annum for clearing vegetation from this govt land. Does this service come under service tax ambit or NOT?? Kindly mention any service tax rule or GoI letter or any authority as it is required for making the contract. Thanks for this kind of valuable services

AI Summary

Service tax classification: recipient status and manpower supply vs pure labour determine tax liability under reverse charge.
Whether service tax applies to outsourced grass cutting and vegetation clearance depends on service classification and recipient status: if the recipient qualifies as Government certain exemptions may apply, but the cited exemptions for water and sewerage works do not directly cover vegetation clearance. Classification as manpower supply or pure labour (distinct from works contract) depends on control and contractual terms; if manpower supply is found and subject to reverse charge, the service receiver may be liable. Contract terms and the organisation's governmental status are determinative.