Applicability of service tax on online journals

[Sanjeev Sharma]

An Indian Company carrying on the business of publishing Journals – PRINT EDITION and ELECTRONIC VERSION. Electronic journals are available to subscribers through internet. Whether online journal business will be covered under sec. 65(105)(zh) - Data base access and retrivel services.

[Rama Krishana]

If i ask you being a professional, if it is not in the nature of data base access and retrieval than what is it? Once a journal is uploaded on the web server and access is granted through internet for value, it meets the conditions of the service database access and retrieval service.

[Sanjeev Sharma]

Main activity of the Company is to publish journals. Subscriber have option to get it in print form or electronically. If it is a printed journal, there is no service tax. But if it transmiited to subscriber through email , will it become - Online data access???.

[rishi mohan]

As per sec.65(105)(zh)Any service provided or to be provided to any person, by any person, in relation to on-line information and database access or retrieval or both in electronic form through computer network, in any manner. Therefore any Indian company or individual providing services in electronic form through internet or carrying on business of publishing electronic journals which are available to subscribers through internet are taxable under the head Computer Network (Online Information & Data Base Accessor retrieval).

[rishi mohan]

I just wish to add some more lines to my above reply that incase of printed material which is in form of paper may be exempted under excise and vat but you are still liable to pay service tax if you carrying on the business of publishing journals in a printed form.

AI Summary

Online information and database access: electronic distribution of journals treated as a taxable service under service tax rules. Electronic delivery of journals via internet or electronic transmission is treated as data base access and retrieval services or online information services and, when access is granted to subscribers for value, constitutes a taxable computer network/online information and database access or retrieval service; printed paper journals are addressed separately and may fall under other tax regimes but electronic provision is characterized as subject to service tax.