Renting of parking space by Railways , bus stations , Service Tax

[vasudevan unnikrishnan]

In the mega exemption  notification  no. 25/2012-ST dated 20/06/2012, the  entry  at sl. No.24 there under reads—

“ Services by way of vehicle parking to general public excluding leasing of space to an entity for providing such parking facility”.

The Railway  station,bus station etc provide such services.However,iIn   many of such  cases, the authorities may entrust the job of collection of the parking fees to an outside agency through an agreement that irrespective of actual collection, the agency shall pay a fixed monthly charges to   the authority. In the above situation, it can never be construed as a lease of the space for parking and thus exempted. However, whether the authority will be taxable for ‘renting of immovable  property” ?. Here the para  6.1.1 of the Education Guide states that the negative list specifies that renting of vacant land, with or without a structure incidental to its use, in relating to agriculture ‘ only. Thus it would appear that the vacant land  in public places owned by the Railways, state transport bus stations, etc, allowed to be used for parking  of vehicles  will all get covered under the taxable service of Renting of Immovable property.

Expert advice solicited.

Posts / Replies

[CA Seetharaman K C]

As per the details provided under "Declared Services" where "Rental of Immovable Property" is covered, all these rentals would be taxable. Only rentals received from a non business entity is excluded

6.1 Renting of Immovable Property

Renting has been defined in section 65B as "allowing, permitting or granting access, entry, occupation, usageor any such facility, wholly or partly, in an immovable property, with or without the transfer of possession or control of the said immovable property and includes letting, leasing, licensing or other similar arrangements in respect of immovable property'

6.1.1 Is renting of all kinds of immovable property taxable?

No. Renting of certain kinds of immovable properties is specified in the negative list. These are-

   •  renting of vacant land, with or without a structure incidental to its use, relating to agriculture. (S.I no. (d) (iv) of Exhibit A1)

   •  renting of residential dwelling for use as residence (SI. No. (m) of Exhibit A1)

   •  renting out of any property by Reserve Bank of India

   •  renting out of any property by a Government or a local authority to a non-business entity.

Renting of all other immovable properties would be taxable unless covered by an exemption (refer 6.1.2).

6.1.2 Are there any exemptions in respect of renting of immovable property?

Yes. These are:-

   •  Threshold level exemption up to Rs. 10 lakh.

   •  Renting of precincts of a religious place meant for general public is exempt.

   •  Renting of a hotel, inn, guest house, club, campsite or other commercial places meant for residential or lodging purposes, having declared tariff of a room below rupees one thousand per day or equivalent is exempt.

   •  Renting to an exempt educational institution

6.1.3 Would permitting usage of a property for a temporary purpose like conduct of a marriage or any other social function be taxable?

Yes. As per definition allowing or permitting usage of immovable property, without transferring possession of such property, is also renting of immoveable property.

6.1.4 Would activities referred to in column 1 of a table below be chargeable to service tax?

S. No.	Journey	Taxability
1.	Renting of property to an educational body	Exempted if provided to an educational institution for the purpose of education which is exempt from the levy of service tax.
2.	Renting of vacant land for animal husbandry or floriculture	Not chargeable to service tax as it is covered in the negative list entry relating to agriculture
3.	Permitting use of immoveable property for placing vending/dispensing machines	Chargeable to service tax as permitting usage of space is covered in the definition of renting
4.	Allowing erection of a communication tower on a building for consideration.	Chargeable to service tax as permitting usage of space is covered in the definition of renting
5.	Renting of land or building for entertainment or sports	Chargeable to service tax as there is no specific exemption.
6.	Renting of theatres by owners to film distributors (including under a profit-sharing arrangement)	Chargeable to service tax as the arrangement amounts to renting of immovable property.