Monday, December 27, 2010

No service tax on canned software ,if seller is not charging more than M.R.P from end customer as per Notification No. 53/2010 - Service Tax

No service tax on canned software ,if seller is not charging more than M.R.P. It is to avoid double taxation as software as service and as product, one time it is service tax  and another time is central excise .


Notification is reproduced for easy reference.

 Notification No. 53/2010 - Service Tax
                                                                                                             New Delhi, the 21 st December,2010 




[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZZETE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II, SECTION 3,
SECTION (i)]
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
                                                                                                    
 G.S.R.  (E).- In exercise of the powers conferred  by sub-section (1) of section 93 of the
Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994), the Central Government, on being satisfied that it is necessary in the
public interest so to do, hereby exempts  the taxable service referred to in item (v) of sub-clause
(zzzze) of clause (105) of section 65 of the said Finance Act (hereinafter referred to as ‘such service’),
for packaged or canned software (hereinafter referred to as ‘said goods’) from the whole of service
tax, subject to the condition that-
(i) the value of the said goods domestically produced or imported, for the purposes of levy of the duty
of Central Excise or the additional duty of customs leviable under sub-section (1) of section 3 of the
Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975), if imported, as the case may be, has been determined under
section 4A of the Central Excise Act 1944 (1 of 1944) (hereinafter referred to as ‘such value’); and
(ii) (a) the appropriate duties of excise on such value have been paid by the manufacturer, duplicator
or the person holding the copyright to such software, as the case may be, in respect of software
manufactured in India; or
(b) the appropriate duties of customs including the additional duty of customs on such value, have
been paid by the importer in respect of software which has been imported into India;
(iii) a declaration made by the service provider on the invoice relating to such service that no amount
in excess of the retail sale price declared on the said goods has been recovered from the customer.
Explanations.- For the purpose of this notification, the expression,-
(i) “appropriate duties of excise” shall mean the duties of excise leviable under section 3 of the Central
Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944) and a notification, for the time being in force, issued in accordance with
the provision of sub-section (1) of section 5A of the said Central Excise Act; and
(ii) “appropriate duties of customs” shall mean the duties of customs leviable under section 12 of the
Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962) and any of the provisions of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of
1975) and a notification, for the time being in force, issued in accordance with the provision of subsection (1) of section 25 of the said Customs Act.
                                                                                               [F. No. 354/189/2010-TRU]
                                                                                          (VIKAS)
Under Secretary to the Government of India




Ravindra Kumar