Service Tax Rules, 1997 — Third Amendment - 020/97 - Service Tax

Service Tax Rules, 1997 — Third Amendment

[Notification No. 20/97-S.T., dated 26-6-1997]

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) read with sub-section (2) of section 94 of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules to further amend the Service Tax Rules, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the said rules), namely :-

1. (i) These rules may be called the Service Tax (Third Amendment) Rules, 1997.

(ii) They shall come into force on the 1st day of July, 1997.

2. In the said rules,

(I) in rule 2, in sub-rule (1), in clause (d), after sub-clause (vii), the following sub-clauses shall be inserted, namely:-

"(viii) in relation to services provided by an air travel agent, every air travel agent who books the passage for travel by air for a customer;

(ix) in relation to services provided by a mandap keeper, every mandap keeper who raises the bill for services rendered to a client by such mandap keeper.".

(II) in rule 6, after sub-rule (1), the following sub-rule shall be inserted, namely :-

"(1A) The person responsible for collecting the service tax in relation to the services provided by an air travel agent, shall have the option, to pay an amount calculated at the rate of 0.25% of the basic fare in the case of domestic bookings, and at the rate of 0.5% of the basic fare in the case of international bookings, of passage for travel by air, during any calendar month, towards the discharge of his service tax liability instead of paying service tax at the rate of five per cent of the value of taxable service rendered by him and the option, once exercised, shall apply uniformly in respect of all the bookings of passage for travel by air made by him and shall not be changed during a financial year under any circumstances.

Explanation. -For the purposes of this sub-rule, the expression "basic fare" means that part of the air fare on which commission is normally paid to the air travel agent by the air line.".