Prior to 1.7.17 stitching of clothes was out of Service Tax net as per Board's Circular. Extract of Board's Circular is appended below:-
F. No. B11/1/2002-TRU, dated 1-8-2002
4. A point has been raised as to whether tailors and jewellers will be covered under the service tax. Taxable service in this case is designing of goods intended to be worn by human being. A tailor is involved only in stitching of clothes. As such no designing activity is involved. Hence tailor will not be covered under the tax net. Similarly jeweller essentially makes jewellery and sells it. Therefore, no designing is involved. However a jeweller may avail services of a designer to design jewellery. Service provided by designer to jeweller would be covered under the tax net in the category of fashion designing.
Now this activity is not covered under exemption list of services, 5%, 12 %, 28% . Unless and until clarification is received from the Board, in my view it is covered under 18% slab (Service not elsewhere specified). Other experts may throw light on the issue. We may hope such clarificatory circular.