Eye wash notice of Service Tax

[MAHESH KAPASI]

The notification  no. 25, of Service tax  dated July 13, 2006 exempting practicing chartered accountant, a practicing cost accountant and a practicing company secretary representing the client before any statutory authority in the course of proceedings initiated under any law for the time being in force, by way of issue of notice, from the whole of service tax, is an eye wash as still the services provided by lawyers for tax returns preparation and filing of such returns etc are exempted but not for practicing chartered accountant, a practicing cost accountant and a practicing company secretary as such it serves no purpose and service tax is discriminatory as between lawyers and chartered accountants, Cost accountants and company Secretaries  -for a single and similar service one class is exempted from the service tax and not the others. This is unconstitutional and I am sure Courts of law shall strike down it as illegal and ultra vires to the Constitution on this discrimination ground.

Also it is high time that general exemption limit for service tax be raised from Rs. 4 Lakhs to a realistic value of say Rs. 10 Lakhs at least.

MAHESH KAPASI

   Chartered Accountant

M. Com., LL.B., FCA, FICWA, FCS

Ex -Member: AMIMA, AMIBM, ACEA (London), MIIA (U.S.A.)