Negative List for Service Tax: Some Musings

Excise and Customs Reporter, Vol. 189, 2012

9 Pages Posted: 13 Feb 2012

Date Written: February, 12 2012

Abstract

The Finance Minister for the Government of India in his Budget Speech for 2011-12 proposed to initiate a public discussion on negative list for indirect taxation in the backdrop of the proposed ‘Goods and Service Tax’ (GST) framework. However the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), which is entrusted with the levy and collection of Service Tax, jumped the gun by proposing levy of service tax under a negative list regime. Introduced in 1994, the levy of service tax is upon enumerated activities defined as ‘taxable services’. Much water has flown since its introduction and while a fair certainty had been achieved on the ambit and principles governing this levy, levy of service tax under a negative list regime can effective unsettle the lessons learnt in the past. This paper examines the proposal in varied dimensions to ascertain the ramifications of the changes proposed in the first and second discussion paper issued by the Government of India relating for ‘public debate on a negative list of services concept’.

Keywords: Negative List, Service Tax, India, VAT

JEL Classification: H21, H25, H29, K34

Suggested Citation

Jain, Tarun, Negative List for Service Tax: Some Musings (February, 12 2012). Excise and Customs Reporter, Vol. 189, 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2004047

Tarun Jain (Contact Author)

Supreme Court of India ( email )

New Delhi
India

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