Qualifying pure-agent reimbursements incurred by a clearing and...

Qualifying pure-agent reimbursements incurred by a clearing and forwarding service provider on behalf of a service recipient are excluded from taxable value where they are paid to third parties, reimbursed by the recipient, and appropriately recorded and adjusted in the provider's books. The note explains that such expenditure falls within Rule 5(2) of the Service Tax (Determination of Value) Rules, 2006. On the stated facts, the service-tax demand was set aside, with consequential deletion of interest and the penalty for suppression, because the reimbursed amounts could not be included in the value of taxable services.