Payment of Service Tax under GTA when consignment note is issued by other transporter

[Yatin Bhopi]

Dear expert

Our CHA raising bills for transportation charges (by road) of export goods from factory to port without Service tax payment. The consignment note is issued by another transporter i.e. CHA is not having his own transport. We do not know whether he is raising bills for reimbursement or with markup price.

In this case whether service tax is payable by us or CHA?,

AI Summary

Who Pays Service Tax on Transport: Consignee or Consignor Bears Tax via Reverse Charge, Not Custom House Agent. A discussion on a forum addresses the issue of who is responsible for paying service tax when a consignment note is issued by a transporter other than the Custom House Agent (CHA). The CHA raises bills for transportation charges without service tax, and it is unclear if these are for reimbursement or markup. The consensus among participants is that the service tax should be paid by the party who pays the freight, typically the consignee or consignor, under the reverse charge mechanism. The CHA is deemed not responsible for the service tax since they are not the payer of the freight.