Applicability of service tax - contract buses

[Asked by Guest]

Sir I have come across a notification which says that service tax is not to be collected on contract buses hired for the purpose of commutong children from schools for pickup and drop. can i get the details of this matter with any rulings please. padmanabhan.n

[Mukesh Kumar]

You may see trade notice number 17 dated 13-3-2009 (available on this site) in which it is stated that: "It is further clarified that the activity of schools to transport children from and back to the school on the cabs owned and run by them does not constitute renting a cab and schools do not fall in the category of rent-a-cab operator. As regards hiring a cab by school from outside, the same has specifically been excluded from the scope of taxable service. Hence, activity of transportation of school children on cabs owned by school or hired by school does not attract Service tax."

Thank you MrMukesh kumar for the reply.

AI Summary

Service tax exemption for school transport: transporting students in school-owned or hired cabs is not taxable.
Service tax does not apply to transporting school children in cabs owned and run by schools, and hiring a cab by a school is expressly excluded from the scope of taxable service; therefore school-operated and school-hired contract transport for students does not attract service tax.