<h1>Service Tax Exemption Clarified for Public Authority Fees; Applicable Only to Non-Statutory Services.</h1> The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) clarified the applicability of service tax on fees collected by public authorities performing statutory functions. The CBEC stated that such fees are compulsory levies deposited into the government treasury and do not constitute taxable services, thus exempt from service tax. However, if an authority provides services outside statutory duties for consideration, service tax may apply. The CBEC's power under the Central Excise Act does not extend to exempting taxable services, suggesting that a formal notification under the Finance Act would better clarify exemptions for statutory bodies, as done previously for the Reserve Bank of India.