Service tax on legal service

Save Share

This query is : Resolved

sunil (Querist)

09 June 2014 Whether service Tax is paybale under reverse mechanism on all gross amount i.e. which includes typing charges or other clearical charges in addition to legal service or it will restrict to amount of legal service when only a single bill of has been raised with bifurcation of all types of charges.

CS,CA F,Numrologi TusharSampat

CS,CA F,Numrologi TusharSampat (Expert)

09 June 2014 it is applicable only on fees payable to lawyer excluding reimbursement or like exp.

sunil

sunil (Querist)

09 June 2014 Whether for this we have to take separate bill of legal consultancy and of reimbursement expenses or a consolidated bill baving bifurcation maybe entertained. please clearify

Aashok Kumar Sharma online

Aashok Kumar Sharma

(Expert)

24 July 2025 For service tax under reverse charge on legal services, the tax is applicable **only on the professional/legal fees** payable to the advocate or law firm. It **does not apply to reimbursed expenses** such as typing charges, clerical charges, or other out-of-pocket expenses.

### Regarding billing:

* **A consolidated bill with clear bifurcation** of legal fees and reimbursed expenses is acceptable.
* There is **no mandatory requirement to have separate bills**, but the breakdown must be clear to segregate taxable legal fees from non-taxable reimbursable expenses.

This way, service tax under reverse charge can be correctly applied **only on the legal fees portion**.

---

If the invoice lumps all charges together without proper bifurcation, the entire amount might be treated as taxable, so it's always better to ask the lawyer to provide a detailed breakup for clarity and compliance.

You need to be the querist or approved CAclub expert to take part in this query .
Click here to login now