Where
to approach for registration?
Registration application should be submitted by
every person liable to pay service tax to the
Superintended of the Central
Excise.
The
Jurisdiction of Central Excise Department for the
purpose of Service Tax Matters
is same as under the Central
Excise
Act, 1944.
Generally,
all commissionerates of Central Excise have a Service
Tax cell, headed by
Assistant Commissioner/
Deputy Commissioner. However, in certain commissionerates,
separate
service tax divisions have been constituted.
The
work is also delegated to Central Excise Divisions
in many commissionerates.
Who should apply for registration under Service
Tax law?
All persons providing taxable services are required
to register with the Central Excise Department.
Under
section 69(2) w.e.f 13.05.2005,central government
has notified
i)
an input service distributor
ii) any provider of taxable service whose aggregate
value of taxable service in a financial year
exceeds
a. Rs.3 Lakhs(upto 31.03.2007) or
b. Rs 7 lakhs (from 1.04.2007)
For the purpose of obtaining mandatory registration
w.e.f from 16.06.2005.
Procedure for registration
The application for registration for Service Tax should
be made in form ST-1 (in duplicate). The form can be
obtained from the jurisdictional Commissionerates or
downloaded from http://www.servicetax.gov.in/st-formmainpg.htm.
Time
limit for making the application
Under rule 4(1) the application for registration
is to be made within thirty days from the date
of notification of the taxable service.
Time limit for granting registration
Department is required to issue the registration
certificate within 7 days of the receipt of application.
In case of failure to issue registration certificate
within 7 days, the registration applied for is deemed to be granted.
What are the documents required for registration?
To obtain registration the service provider must
submit:
a)ST
1 Application form (in duplicate) duly filled and
signed by the authorized signatory
b) Attested photocopy of PAN card or PAN allotment
letter.
c) Proof of address
Following
additional documents are also required to be submitted:
In case the service provider is a company
registered under the Indian Companies Act
1956
1) Memorandum and Articles of Association
2) List of Directors with contact addresses
along with telephone/telex/fax/e-mail
3) Extracts of Boards resolution authorizing
any of the directors /employees of the
company to sign ,deal and comply with
the provisions
of the
service tax rules
In case the service provider is a partnership firm
1) Partnership deed
2) Power of attorney authorizing any of the partner/employees
of the firm to sign, deal and comply with all the matters
relating to Service
tax as
required
under the provisions of the service tax rules
3) In absence of power of attorney,ST1 Application and
other documents should be signed by all the partners
4) List of all partners with contact addresses along
with telephone/telex/fax/e-mail
In case the service provider is a Proprietor ship
firm:
ST 1 application and all other documents relating
to Service Tax should be signed by the proprietor
or any
other person
duly authorized
by
him to sign
,deal and comply with the provisions of the Service
Tax Rules by executing a Power of Attorney in
favor of the
said person.
Time Limit for making application for registration
under Service tax
Every person liable to pay the service tax should
make an application to the concerned Central
Excise Officer
for registration
within
a period of
30 days
of the Service Tax having come into force. In
cases where a person commences the business
of providing
a taxable
service after such
service has been
notified, he is required to make an application
for registration within a period of
30 days from the date of commencement of his
activities.
Time Limit for Issue of Registration Certificate by
The Superintendent of Central Excise
Registration certificate in form ST-2 shall be
issued within 7 days from the date of submission.
Superintendent
shall issue the certificate after due verification
of application. If the registration certificate is
not granted within the said period, the registration
applied for shall be deemed to have been granted.
However, while granting registration the rule
do not permit
the jurisdictional officer to question about the
correctness of the declaration made by the
service provider.
Registration in case of one or more than one Service
from one premise only
Where an assessee is providing more than one taxable
services from one premise only, he seeks a single
registration for all such services provided by
him. Rule 4(4)
For this purpose he can submit a single ST-1
application form. While submitting the application
he should
indicate all the taxable services provided
by him. – Circular
No. 72/2/2004 – ST dated 2/1/2004
Registration in case where services are provided
from more than one premise
Rule 4(2) has been changed with effect from
01-04-2005, and consequently the new provisions
are being
discussed hereinafter:
Before amending the rule 4(2) there were
separate procedure for obtaining registration
on the
basis of Centralized
Billing system or Centralized Accounting
System. But, from 1-4-2005 an assessee
is providing
services from
more than one premises the following
procedure is to be followed:
However the registration granted under
the provisions of erstwhile rule 4
(as existing
immediate before
01-04-2005) shall remain valid for
all purposes.
1
Option First – Rule 4(1) – Separate
Registration
Separate registration for each premises
from where services are being provided
then obtain
service
tax registration by simply filing
a ST-1 form alongwith relevant documents
before
the Superintended
of
Central
Excise.
Note:
- Where the assessee is having
more than one office and does not
have either
central
accounting system or central billing
system, he is required
to obtain separate registration for
each premises.
2
Option Second – Rule 4(2) and Rule 4(3) – Single
Registration
- Registration may be obtained
at the premises from where
Central Billing
is made or Central
Accounting is done and the
registration will be granted
by
different
authorities depending upon
the following situation
Situation
one – Where all the premises are falling
under the jurisdiction of one commissionerate
- Registration shall be granted by the Commissioner
or Chief Commissioner of Central Excise instead of
Superintended of Central Excise – Rule 4(3)(a)
Situation
two – Where all the premises are not
falling under the jurisdiction of one commissionerate
- Registration shall be granted by the Director
General of Service Tax – Rule 4(3)(b) read with circular
/ letter no. F. No. 340-20-2005 dated 12-05-2005
Help Centres for Service tax:
The local help centres can be contacted for further
details. For help centres addresses click here:
http://www.servicetax.gov.in/help-ctrs.pdf
Amendment in Registration Certificate
There may be various reasons for which a registration
number is required to be amended:
- Assessee ceases to provide one or more services
that were being provided by him earlier
- Assessee starts providing new services
- Address has been changed
- Constitution (And not the ownership) has been changed.
There is no specific provision in the Service Tax
Act and Rules made thereunder. Therefore to
get the registration
certificate amended is optional to the assessee
and there is no time limit for the same.
When assessee ceases to provide taxable services
/ Surrender of registration certificate
Where is a registered person ceases to provide
taxable services for which he is registered,
he should surrender
the registration certificate. Rule 4(7)
Consequence for delay or non registration under
service tax
Before 10-09-2004 there was a mandatory penalty
of Rs. 500/- for delay or non registration
in seeking registration under section 75A.
From 10-09-2004 the section 75A has been omitted
and consequently there is no mandatory
penalty is there
for failure to apply for registration.
But, even after deletion of section 75A
there may be a maximum penalty of Rs.
1000/- for
failure
to pay
registration under section 77.
However, penalty under section 77 is
general penalty and not mandatory and
before imposing
this penalty
the proper office has to issue a show
cause notice and give an opportunity
of being
heared.
What
is to be done with the registration when—
a. A registered assessee transfers his business to
another person, or
b. A registered assessee ceases to carry on the activity
for which he is registered ?
a. When a registered assessee transfers his business
to another person, the transferee should obtain a fresh
certificate of registration.
b. When a registered assessee ceases to carry on the
service activity for which he is registered, he should
surrender his registration certificate to the Central
Excise authorities
