Centre waives service tax on exports
Centre waives service tax on exports The centre has announced tax exemption on services rendered by ports, road transport and railways in a bid to provide relief to exporters hit by the appreciating Rupee. A finance ministry statement said that the government has issued a notification providing refund of service tax paid by exporters on four taxable services, which are not in the nature of input services but could be linked to export goods. The government collects 12% service tax along with 3% education cess on services. Earlier in July 2007, the Finance Ministry had provided a financial package of Rs 14 billion to exporters, especially to the textile, handloom, handicraft and other la bour-intensive industries, to tackle the issue of Rupee appreciation. The exemptions will help exporters save a substantial amount paid as service tax, on the movement of export consignments through road, railway and ports. The government has expressed hope that it will help in meeting the export target of USD 160 billion in 2007-08.
