The provisions of Service tax require that the invoices/bills/challans issued by the service provider to the service recipients are duly signed by the service provider or by the person authorized by him on his behalf. I happened to see some invoices without signature and there is a remark that 'since computer generated bills no signature is required'. Whether it is allowed? The views of the experts are solicited.
M. GOVINDARAJAN
Are Unsigned Service Tax Invoices Valid? Clarification Needed on Requirements Under Service Tax Law and Indian IT Act. A discussion on a forum addressed the issue of whether service tax invoices need to be signed by the service provider, as some computer-generated invoices lacked signatures with a note stating that signatures were unnecessary. One participant clarified that, except for the banking sector, there is no exemption under Service Tax Law for unsigned invoices. Another participant suggested that the practice might be permissible under the Indian IT Act and recommended consulting the act for confirmation. The forum sought expert opinions on the matter. (AI Summary)