Due date of Service Tax payment

[Sudhir Kumar]

Sir, Please provide the due date of payment of Service Tax for the period 2002-03 to 2005-06 ? As the department has calculated the interest taking into account the 25th of the succeding month as due date of payment. For ex. for April, 2002 it is 25.05.2002 similarly for May, 2002 it is 25th june, 2002.

[KASTURI SETHI]

Dear Querist,

You have given the wrong example. the date  i.e. 25the of the following month was last date for filing ST-3 return. Go through Rule 6 of Service Tax Rules.

RULE [6. Payment of service tax. — [(1) The service tax shall be paid to the credit of the Central Government, -

(i) by the 6th day of the month, if the duty is deposited electronically through internet banking; and

(ii) by the 5th day of the month, in any other case,

immediately following the calendar month in which the [service is deemed to be provided as per the rules framed in this regard]

[Mika Arrak]

For 2002-03 to 2005-06, the due date depended on the type of assessee:

• Companies: 25th of the following month

• Individuals / Firms: 25th of the month following the quarter

So, the 25th of the succeeding month applies only to companies.

For non-companies, interest should be calculated based on quarterly due dates, not monthly.

AI Summary

Service Tax payment deadlines: electronic payments by 6th, other payments by 5th; 25th was a return filing date.
Rule 6 prescribes that service tax is payable by the 6th day of the month when paid electronically and by the 5th day in other cases, both immediately following the calendar month in which the service is deemed provided; the 25th of the following month was the ST-3 return filing deadline, and companies often operated on a monthly 25th filing while non-companies used quarterly filing dates for interest calculation.