Clarification of service tax liability

[Guest]

Plz also clarify status of taxability if a res. complex >12 houses is constructed before 16/6/05 but sold after that date.

[Surender Gupta]

It is a settled that a person who has provided the service before brining that service into the tax net, the same shall not be liable to tax on the basis of receipt thereafter. But your query is more complex and needs detailed analysis and study.

AI Summary

Service tax liability: pre-enactment provision of service avoids tax on later receipts, but timing of sales raises unresolved issues. The query asks whether sale of flats from a residential complex built before introduction of service tax but sold after attracts tax. The operative principle is that services rendered before being brought within the tax net are not taxable merely because receipts arise later; applying this to multi-unit residential projects requires detailed factual and legal analysis regarding timing and characterization of the transaction.