service tax on publishing e-journals

[Sanjeev Sharma]

An Indian Company publishes e journals. It collect monthly or yearly subscrption from the clients. In some cases, passwords are mailed to clients and then they access the journals online from the web site of the publisher company. In other cases, e journals are e mailed to the clients. In both situation, what is the liability or applicablity of service tax on the publisher company??

AI Summary

Service Tax Applies to Online Journal Subscriptions via Passwords, Not to Emailed Versions; Clarification Sought on Author Fees. An Indian company publishing e-journals seeks clarity on service tax applicability for subscriptions. If clients access journals online via passwords, it is subject to service tax as it involves providing information online. However, e-journals emailed directly to clients are not considered providing database access and thus are not liable for service tax. An individual running an online journal using an open access model inquires whether fees charged to authors for publishing their articles are subject to any tax.