PUNE ‑ I COMMISSIONERATE S.No. Name of the officer Designation Telephone/Fax No. 01 Shri. S.V. Singh Addl. Commr. 26051806   KOLHAPUR COMMISSIONERATE   S.No. Name of the officer Designation Telephone/Fax No. 01 Shri. S.H. Dange Joint  Commr. 26129198   PUNE ‑ III COMMISSIONERATE   S.No. Name of the officer Designation Telephone/Fax No. 01 Shri. S. R. Deoghare Deputy. Commr. 26053887   I. WHAT IS SERVICE TAX The service sector has grown rapidly in the past decade , thereby occupying a major space in the Indian economy and contributes about 52 % to the Indian GDP today . Realizing the importance and bright future of this sector , the Government of India introduced taxation on services from 1994 .  As on June ' 2004 total 59 services services are attracting Service Tax .    For definition of above services please see Section 65 of Chapter V of the Finance Act , 1994 .    IV.  REGISTRATION Every person / Company rendering any of the taxable services is required to be registered as a Service Tax assessee . Taking registration is a very simple process . An application for registration is required to be submitted within 30 days of the imposition of Service Tax on a particular service . or date of commencement of service whichever is later . The assessee has to apply in the prescribed Form ST-1 to the respective Commissionerate/ Divisions.  The registration is granted within maximum seven days of the application being made . If registration is not granted within seven days , it will be deemed to have been granted to the assessee as per the sub rule (5) of Rule (4) of Service Tax Rules , 1994 .  Alongwith the ST-1 application form , the xerox copies of the following documents may be submitted .  (I) Proof of Address  (II) PAN Number (III) Shop Act Licence, if any  V. RECORDS TO BE MAINTAINED BY THE ASSESSEE The assessee is at liberty to maintain the records in his own format.However, the record should indicate the amount of all taxable transactions , the bills / invoices issued , amount received, etc.The assessee has to submit a list of all the accounts maintained by him at the time of filing the first Service Tax return. The assessee is required to preserve the records for the last five years.   VI. The S.T. 3 RETURN  All the assessees are required to submit six monthly Return in TRIPLICATE (In 4 copies if acknowledgement is required) a) The Return for the period  from APRIL to SEPTEMBER is to be filed on or before 25th OCTOBER of every year . b) The Return for the period  from OCTOBER to MARCH is to be filed  on or before 25th  APRIL of every year .   It is advised that the assessee should deposit the Service Tax sufficiently in advance in the month so that he can get TR-6 Challans from the Bank in next three to four days and then can file ST-3 Return before 25th i.e. before due date. The assessees are requested to avoid filing ST-3 Return on the last date as it leads to overcrowding and inconvenience to the assessee. If Service Tax is deposited on 25th, bank may not be able to give TR-6 Challan back on same day if there is heavy rush at the Bank and then the assessee may not be able to file his return in time . The late filing of Returns attracts penalty .                         Click here for model ST-3 Return                                              VII. PAYMENT OF SERVICE TAX A) The Service Tax is to be paid by Limited Companies on a monthly basis on or before 25th Day of the following month. The Service Tax is to be paid by Individuals, Proprietary Firms, etc ; on a Quarterly basis on or before the 25th Day of the month following the relevant Quarter i.e. a) For the Quarter April, May & June the Service Tax is to be paid on or before 25th July. b) For the Quarter July, August & September the Service Tax is to be paid on or before 25th October c) For the Quartet October, November & December the Service Tax is to be paid on or before 25th January. d) For the Quarter January, February & March the Service Tax is to be paid on or before 25th April. If Service Tax is not paid in time, the assessee will have to deposit interest along with Service Tax & penalty will also be leviable. B ) MODE OF PAYMENT OF SERVICE TAX  TR 6 Challan Service Tax is to be paid  in the designated Bank ( Normally in selected branches  of  Bank of Maharashtra & only for Chakan and Walchandnagar Bank of India ) along with 4 copies of TR 6 Challans. Four copies of TR 6 Challans duly filled in are to be submitted to the Bank along with cash/ cheque, Bank will keep two copies with them & two copies will be returned to the Assessee. Out of these two copies returned, Assessee will keep one copy with him & one copy will be submitted to the Service Tax Department along with ST 3 Return only. ( TR- 6 Challans should be in YELLOW COLOUR ONLY ) CLICK HERE FOR MODEL TR-6 CHALLAN   VIII. SERVICE TAX CREDIT Credit of Service Tax paid by another assessee is allowed in the same category of Service from 16.08.2002 . The  “ input service ”  and  “ output service ” should be within the same category . This is mainly to avoid double taxation .  For details  please see Service Tax Credit Rules ’ 2002 .  CLICK HERE FOR RETURN UNDER RULE-5 OF THE SERVICE TAX CREDIT RULES , 2002.        IX.  PENALTIES Chapter V of the Finance Act , 1994 , provides for imposition of the following penalties :-           1. Section 75 :- Interest rate is 15 % per annum i.e. 1.25% per month for depositing service tax after due date. 2. Section 75 A :- Penalty for failure to take registration is Rs. 500/- which is mandatory. 3. Section 76 :- Penalty for failure to pay Service Tax.  It is not sufficient that, assessee deposits Service Tax along with interest thereon.  In addition to Service Tax and interest they are also liable to pay penalty which may extend to Rs. 200/- per day for each day of delay .   4. Section 77 :- Penalty for late filing of return.  Assessee is liable to pay penalty of Rs. 1000/- per return for not submitting the return in time. 5. Section 78 :-   If the assessee with intent to evade payment of Service Tax , has suppressed  or concealed the value of taxable service or has furnished in accurate value of such taxable service , assessee is liable to penalty ,  in addition to service tax and interest  payable ,  equal to Service Tax sought to be evaded which may extent to double the Service Tax sought to be evaded . 6. Section 79 :- Penalty for failure to comply with notice.  If assessee does not produce documents to the Superintendent as per section 71, then he is liable to deposit, in addition to Service Tax and  interest thereon, penalty of 10 % to 50% of the Service Tax avoided.  X. Liability of Service Tax :- Liability of   Service Tax is normally on the service provider . However relation to any taxable service provided by person who is a non resident or is from out side India office in India , the person receiving the taxable service in India is liable for paying the Service Rule 2 ( d ) of Service Tax Rules , 1994 )   a) Service Tax Credit :-  From 16.08.02, Government has introduced Service Tax Credit to avoid double taxation.  This facility is available only within the same category of Service. ( refer Service Tax Credit Rules , 2002 ) . From 14.05.2003 - Service Tax Credit Rule 2002 has been amended to allow credit of Service Tax from input services for utilizing such credit towards payment of Service Tax in any output service  been issued on 14.05.2003 .   XI. MAJOR CHANGES IN 2003:  (A) It has been proposed in the Budget for introduction  of following new Services for Service  Tax levy.                         1)      Commercial Vocational Institutes, Coaching Centres and private Tutorials. 2)      Certification Services 3)      Maintenance  & Repair Services. 4)      Commissioning  and Installation Services. 5)      Business Auxiliary Services, namely Business Promotion and support Services including Customer care Services (excluding and Information Technology Services) 6)      Internet Café. 7)      Franchisee Services. XII. SERVICE TAX