The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : Chamber plea on service tax

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 06, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Chamber plea on service tax

By Our Staff Reporter

MADURAI, DEC.5. The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the Centre to refrain from implementing recommendations of the Committee, constituted by the Centre to look into the modalities for collection of service tax levied on goods transport agency, as this will amount to `clear violation of the Supreme Court judgement.'

In a statement here on Saturday, the president, S. Rethinavelu, said the Centre should not levy service tax either on lorry freight charges or goods transport agency. In case this was to be levied compulsorily on goods transport agency, the tax should be collected and deposited only by such agencies.

Pleading with the Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, not to opt for imposition of the levy of service tax on consignor or consignee under any circumstances, Mr. Rethinavelu said widespread agitation by the lorry transporters was sparked by the Central Government's introduction in 1997 the service tax on transport of goods on road.

This forced the Centre to re-impose the levy on consignors or consignees paying the freight charges. Subsequently, when the case came for hearing, the Supreme Court struck down the provisions of the Finance Act of 1994 as amended in 1997 in so far as they made the persons other than the clearing and forwarding agents or the persons other than the goods transport operators as being responsible for collecting the service tax, and declaring that the said provisions were `ultra virus the act itself.'

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