Commercial Renting under service tax net from 1st June 2007

AIT News Network
NEW DELHI 

Service Tax on Commercial Renting, Business Consultancy, Execution of Works Contract, Mining of mineral, oil or gas, design service, development or supply of content, Asset Management Service has come into force with effect from 1st June 2007 vide Notification No 23/2007-Service Tax dated 22nd May 2007. However, Property Tax amount has been exempted while calculating service tax on commercial renting vide Service Tax Notification No. 24. Further, those landlords whose rent receipts are below Rs 8 Lakh from 1st June 2007 to 31st March 2008 will also be exempt from service tax vide Notification No. 6/2005-Service Tax as amended by Notification No.4/2007-Service Tax subject to the conditions of Notification. Even those whose rental receipts are above Rs 8 lakh will be required to pay service tax only after crossing receipts of Rs 8 Lakh.

The scope of “renting of immovable property” under the Finance Act 1994 as amended by the Finance act 2007 ; includes renting, letting, leasing, licensing or other similar arrangements of immovable property for use in the course or furtherance of business or commerce but does not include-

(i) renting of immovable property by a religious body or to a religious body; or

(ii) renting of immovable property to an educational body, imparting skill or knowledge or lessons on any subject or field, other than a commercial training or coaching centre;

The term“for use in the course or furtherance of business or commerce” includes use of immovable property as factories, office buildings,warehouses, theatres, exhibition halls and multiple-use buildings 

"taxable service" means any service provided or to be provided to any person, by any other person in relation to renting of immovable property for use in the course or furtherance of business or commerce.

“immovable property” includes—

(i) building and part of a building, and the land appurtenant thereto;

(ii) land incidental to the use of such building or part of a building;

(iii) the common or shared areas and facilities relating thereto; and

(iv) in case of a building located in a complex or an industrial estate, all common areas and facilities relating thereto, within such complex or estate,

but does not include-

(a) vacant land solely used for agriculture, aquaculture, farming, forestry, animal husbandry, mining purposes;

(b) vacant land, whether or not having facilities clearly incidental to the use of such vacant land;

(c) land used for educational, sports, circus, entertainment and parking purposes; and

(d) building used solely for residential purposes and buildings used for the purposes of accommodation, including hotels, hostels, boarding houses, holiday accommodation, tents, camping facilities.

An immovable property partly for use in the course or furtherance of business or commerce and partly for residential or

any other purposes shall be deemed to be immovable property for use in the course or furtherance of business or commerce(Vide Finance Act 2007)     

Works Contract (Composition Scheme for Payment of Service Tax) Rules, 2007 have been notified vide Notification No.32/2007-Service Tax. The person liable to pay service tax in relation to works contract service shall have the option to discharge his service tax liability on the works contract service provided or to be provided, instead of paying service tax at the rate specified in section 66 of the Act, by paying an amount equivalent to two per cent. of the gross amount charged for the works contract. Gross amount charged for the works contract shall not include Value Added Tax (VAT) or sales tax, as the case may be, paid on transfer of property in goods involved in the execution of the said works contract.   

Subject to the provisions of section 67, the value of taxable service in relation to services involved in the execution of a works contract shall be determined by the service provider in the following manner vide Notification No.29/2007-Service Tax:  

( i)  Value of works contract service determined shall be equivalent to the gross amount charged for the works contract less the value of transfer of property in goods involved in the execution of the said works contract.  

Explanation.- For the purposes of this rule,-  

(a)        gross amount charged for the works contract shall not include Value Added Tax (VAT) or sales tax, as the case may be, paid, if any, on transfer of property in goods involved in the execution of the said works contract;

(b)        value of works contract service shall include,-

(i) labour charges for execution of the works;

(ii) amount paid to a sub-contractor for labour and services;

(iii) charges for planning, designing and architect’s fees;

(iv) charges for obtaining on hire or otherwise, machinery and tools used for the execution of the works contract;

(v) cost of consumables such as water, electricity, fuel, used in the execution of the works contract;

(vi) cost of establishment of the contractor relatable to supply of labour and services;

(vii) other similar expenses relatable to supply of labour and services; and

(viii) profit earned by the service provider relatable to supply of labour and services;  

(ii) Where Value Added Tax or sales tax, as the case may be, has been paid on the actual value of transfer of property in goods involved in the execution of the works contract, then such value adopted for the purposes of payment of Value Added Tax or sales tax, as the case may be, shall be taken as the value of transfer of property in goods involved in the execution of the said works contract for determining the value of works contract service under clause (i).    

Further,Commercial or industrial construction service and services provided in relation to the execution of works contract, referred to in sub-clause (zzzza) of clause (105) of section 65 of the Finance Act, provided to any person by any other person in relation to construction of port or other port has been exempted  from the whole of the service tax- 

(Click here for full details of changes F. No. B1/16/2007-TRU dated 22.5.2007 of Joint Secretary (TRU) Ministry of Finance)