Benefits of centralized registration

[Guest]

We are a large tax payer unit (LTU). We had individual service tax regsitration for all our offices and factories.

Now, we are moving to centralized registration. I appreciate your expert opinion, as to whether we can avail all input service tax credit at Centralized Registration (including payment made under reverse charge mechanism) and distribute from there either under Rule 7A, or rule 12A of the Cenvat Credit Rule, 2004. Also  I seek ayour opinion, if we intend to avail credit, whether we need to have all input service invoice addressed to Corporate Office or it is enough if those are addressed to respective places where services are availed. Can we avail credit on the input service invoices at centralized registration pertaining to period before centralization.

This is to comply with  to comply with rule 4A of service tax rules, 1994 which says that every person providing taxable service shall contain details like the name and address of the person receiving taxable service.

Please give your detailed opinion. ([email protected])

[ALOK GUPTA]

In centralized registration, Single registration is granted to many service providing points of the same service provider. In your case, you are a manufacturer, not an output service provider. Hence, I am of the opinion that facility of centralized registration is not meant for you. For service tax registartion of your branch offices to distribute credit under the Input Service Distributor category, facility of centralized registration is again not available. Hence, no reply of your query in respect of availability of CENVAT Credit under centralized registration may put forth.

AI Summary

Centralized registration not available to manufacturers, so cannot be used to consolidate or distribute input service credit. Centralized registration is intended for multiple service-providing points of the same service provider and is not available to manufacturers seeking to centralize or distribute Cenvat/input service credit as an Input Service Distributor. Therefore the manufacturer cannot use centralized registration to consolidate input service credits (including reverse-charge payments) or to change invoice-addressing consequences for retrospective credit allocation; credits must be managed under existing branch-wise registrations and prevailing invoicing rules.