SERVICE TAX ACT

Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994

[As on 1-4-2017]

SECTION 64. Extent, commencement and application -.

1. This Chapter extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
2. It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
3. It shall apply to taxable services provided on or after the commencement of this Chapter.

SECTION 65. Definitions. — ***

[SECTION 65A. Classification of taxable services. —****]

SECTION [65B.Interpretations.—

In this Chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,—

1. “Actionable claim” shall have the meaning assigned to it in section 3 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882);
2.       “Advertisement” means any form of presentation for promotion of, or bringing awareness about, any event, idea, immovable property, person, service, goods or actionable claim through newspaper, television, radio or any other means but does not include any presentation made in person;
3. “Agriculture” means the cultivation of plants and rearing of all life-forms of animals, except the rearing of horses, for food, fibre, fuel, raw material or other similar products;
4. “Agricultural extension” means application of scientific research and knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education or training;
5. “Agricultural produce” means any produce of agriculture on which either no further processing is done or such processing is done as is usually done by a cultivator or producer which does not alter its essential characteristics but makes it marketable for primary market;

6. “Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee or Board” means any committee or board constituted under a State law for the time being in force for the purpose of regulating the marketing of agricultural produce;
7. “Aircraft” has the meaning assigned to it in clause (1) of section 2 of the Aircraft Act, 1934 (22 of 1934);
8. “Airport” has the meaning assigned to it in clause (b) of section 2 of the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994 (55 of 1994.);

(9)              [ *             *                      *                      * ]

(10)            “Appellate Tribunal” means the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal constituted under section 129 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962);

(11)           [ *             *                      *                      * ]

12. “Assessee” means a person liable to pay tax and includes his agent;
13. “Associated enterprise” shall have the meaning assigned to it in section 92A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);
14.         “Authorised dealer of foreign exchange” shall have the meaning assigned to “Authorised person” in clause (c) of section 2 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999);
15. “Betting or gambling” means putting on stake something of value, particularly money, with consciousness of risk and hope of gain on the outcome of a game or a contest, whose result may be determined by chance or accident, or on the likelihood of anything occurring or not occurring;
16. “Board” means the Central Board of Excise and Customs constituted under the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963 (54 of 1963);
17. “Business entity” means any person ordinarily carrying out any activity relating to industry, commerce or any other business or profession;
18. “Central Electricity Authority” means the authority constituted under section 3 of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 (54 of 1948);
19. “Central Transmission Utility” shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (10) of section 2 of the Electricity Act, 2003 (36 of 2003);
20. “courier agency” means any person engaged in the door-to-door transportation of time-sensitive documents, goods or articles utilising the services of a person, either directly or indirectly, to carry or accompany such documents, goods or articles;
21. “Customs station” shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (13) of section 2 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962);
22. “Declared service” means any activity carried out by a person for another person for consideration and declared as such under section 66E;
23.      “Electricity transmission or distribution utility” means the Central Electricity Authority; a State Electricity Board; the Central Transmission Utility or a State Transmission Utility notified under the Electricity Act, 2003 (36 of 2003); or a distribution or transmission licensee under the said Act, or any other entity entrusted

with such function by the Central Government or, as the case may be, the State Government;

(23A)      “foreman of chit fund” shall have the same meaning as is assigned to the term “foreman”

in clause (j) of section 2 of the Chit Funds Act, 1982 (40 of 1982);

(24)                  [ *                   *                      *                      * ]

25. “ goods” means every kind of movable property other than actionable claim and money; and includes securities, growing crops, grass, and things attached to or forming part of the land which are agreed to be severed before sale or under the contract of sale;

26. “    goods transport agency” means any person who provides service in relation to transport of goods by road and issues consignment note, by whatever name called;

(26A) ”Government”means the Departments of the Central Government, a State Government and its Departments and a Union territory and its Departments, but shall not include any entity, whether created by a statute or otherwise, the accounts of which are not required to be kept in accordance with article 150 of the Constitution or the rules made thereunder;’

27. “ India” means, —

1. 1. the territory of the Union as referred to in clauses (2) and (3) of article 1 of the Constitution;

1. 2. its territorial waters, continental shelf, exclusive economic zone or any other maritime zone as defined in the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (80 of 1976);

1. 3. the seabed and the subject underlying the territorial waters;

1. 4. the air space above its territory and territorial waters; and

1. 5. the installations, structures and vessels located in the continental shelf of India and the exclusive economic zone of India, for the purposes of prospecting or extraction or production of mineral oil and natural gas and supply thereof;

28. “ information technology software” means any representation of instructions, data, sound or image, including source code and object code, recorded in a machine readable form, and capable of being manipulated or providing interactivity to a user, by means of a computer or an automatic data processing machine or any other device or equipment;

29. “ inland waterway” means national waterways as defined in clause (h) of section 2 of the Inland Waterways Authority of India Act, 1985 (82 of 1985) or other waterway on any inland water, as defined in clause (b) of section 2 of the Inland Vessels Act, 1917 (1 of 1917);

30. “    interest” means interest payable in any manner in respect of any moneys borrowed or debt incurred (including a deposit, claim or other similar right or obligation) but does not include any service fee or other charge in respect of the moneys borrowed or debt incurred or in respect of any credit facility which has not been utilized;

31. ”local authority” means —

1. 1. a Panchayat as referred to in clause (d) of article 243 of the Constitution;

1. 2. a Municipality as referred to in clause (e) of article 243P of the Constitution;

1. 3. a Municipal Committee and a District Board, legally entitled to, or entrusted by the Government with, the control or management of a municipal or local fund;

1. 4. a Cantonment Board as defined in section 3 of the Cantonments Act, 2006 (41 of 2006);

1. 5. a regional council or a district council constituted under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution;
   6. a development board constituted under article 371 of the Constitution; or
   7. a regional council constituted under article 371A of the Constitution;

(31A) - ’’lottery distributor or selling agent” means a person appointed or authorized by a State for the purposes of promoting, marketing, selling or facilitating in organizing lottery of any kind, in any manner, organized by such State in accordance with the provisions of the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 (17 of 1998);

32. “metered cab” means any contract carriage on which an automatic device, of the type and make approved under the relevant rules by the State Transport Authority, is fitted which indicates reading of the fare chargeable at any moment and that is charged accordingly under the conditions of its permit issued under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988) and the rules made thereunder [but does not include radio taxi];

33. “money” means legal tender, cheque, promissory note, bill of exchange, letter of credit, draft, pay order, travelercheque, money order, postal or electronic remittance or any such similar instrument but shall not include any currency that is held for its numismatic value;

34. “negative list” means the services which are listed in section 66D;

35. “non-taxable territory” means the territory which is outside the taxable territory;

36. “notification” means notification published in the Official Gazette and the expressions

“notify” and “notified” shall be construed accordingly;

37. “person” includes,—

1. an individual,
2. a Hindu Undivided Family,

3. a company,
4. a society,
5. A limited liability partnership,
6. a firm,
7. an association of persons or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not,
8. Government,
9. a local authority, or

10. every artificial juridical person, not falling within any of the preceding sub- clauses;

38. “port” has the meaning assigned to it in clause (q) of section 2 of the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 (38 of 1963) or in clause 4 of section 3 of the Indian Ports Act, 1908 (15 of 1908);

39. “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Chapter; (39a)            “print media” means,—

1. “book” as defined in sub-section (1) of section 1 of the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 (25 of 1867), but does not include business directories, yellow pages and trade catalogues which are primarily meant for commercial purposes;

2. “newspaper”as defined in sub-section (1) of section 1 of the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 (25 of 1867)

(40) “[***].;

41. “renting” means allowing, permitting or granting access, entry, occupation, use or 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;

42. “Reserve Bank of India” means the bank established under section 3 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934);

43. “securities” has the meaning assigned to it in clause (h) of section 2 of the Securities Contract (Regulation) Act, 1956 (42 of 1956);

44. “service” means any activity carried out by a person for another for consideration, and includes a declared service, but shall not include—

1. an activity which constitutes merely,—

1. 1. a transfer of title in goods or immovable property, by way of sale, gift or in any other manner; or

1. 2. such transfer, delivery or supply of any goods which is deemed to be a sale within the meaning of clause (29A) of article 366 of the Constitution; or

1. 3. a transaction in money or actionable claim;

2. a provision of service by an employee to the employer in the course of or in relation to his employment;

3. fees taken in any Court or tribunal established under any law for the time being in force.

Explanation 1         . — For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that nothing contained in this clause shall apply to,—

1. the functions performed by the Members of Parliament, Members of State Legislative, Members of Panchayats, Members of Municipalities and Members of other local authorities who receive any consideration in performing the functions of that office as such member; or

2. the duties performed by any person who holds anypost in pursuance of the provisions of the Constitution in that capacity; or

3. the duties performed by any person as aChairperson or a Member or a Director in a body established by the Central Government or State Governments or local authority and who is not deemed as an employee before the commencement of this section.

‘Explanation 2. - For the purposes of this clause, the expression “transaction in money or actionable claim” shall not include —

1.   any activity relating to use of money or its conversion by cash or by any other mode, from one form, currency or denomination, to another form, currency or denomination for which a separate consideration is charged;
2.   any activity carried out, for a consideration, in relation to, or for facilitation of, a transaction in money or actionable claim, including the activity carried out —

1. 1.   by a lottery distributor or selling agent on behalf of the State Government, in relation to promotion, marketing, organising, selling of lottery or facilitating in