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

Reverse charge for goods transport agency services: service tax payable by the person who pays freight, not the arranging agent.
Liability for service tax on goods transport agency services under the reverse charge mechanism rests with the person who pays or is liable to pay freight. If a CHA arranges transport and pays the transporter but invoices the principal, the principal who pays the CHA is liable to discharge service tax under reverse charge; reimbursement or markup by the CHA does not remove that liability. Agents are not separately treated as freight payers in the reverse charge provision.