service tax - public charitable tax

Save Share

This query is : Resolved

Ranu (Querist)

30 May 2016 I have public charitable trust and I have the certificate of 12AA. my query: do trust needs to pay service tax despite of having 12aa?

Rupesh Jain

Rupesh Jain (Expert)

31 May 2016 if you giving servicing then you have to pay service tax.

Ranu

Ranu (Querist)

31 May 2016 no I m not giving service tax. I m taking services

Aashok Kumar Sharma online

Aashok Kumar Sharma

(Expert)

24 July 2025 Thank you for the clarification! Let's break this down clearly.

---

### ✅ **Your Situation:**

* You are a **public charitable trust**.
* You have a valid **Section 12AA certificate** (which gives income tax exemption).
* You are **not providing services**, but **receiving services**.

---

### 🧾 **Does a 12AA-registered Trust Have to Pay Service Tax?**

Let’s answer this from **two angles**:

---

### 1. 🏢 **If You Are Not Providing Any Taxable Service:**

> ✅ **You do not need to pay service tax.**

* Service tax is a **tax on providing taxable services**, not on receiving them (except in some **reverse charge** cases — more below).
* **Section 12AA of the Income Tax Act** only provides **income tax exemption**. It **does not give exemption from indirect taxes** like **service tax**, **GST**, etc.
* So, if you are not providing any service to others (for a fee), you're **not liable to pay** service tax.

---

### 2. 🔁 **If You Are Receiving Services (As You Mentioned):**

In some cases, **service recipients** are liable under **Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM)**.

#### 🔁 **Examples of services under reverse charge** (as per Service Tax Rules before GST):

* **GTA (Goods Transport Agency)**
* **Legal services by advocates**
* **Sponsorship services**
* **Security services**
* **Manpower supply services** (in some cases)

✅ If you receive **any of these specific services**, you **may be liable** to **pay service tax under reverse charge**, even as a **trust**.

However, certain exemptions did apply for **charitable trusts**, especially if:

* The trust's activities fall under **relief of poor, education, medical relief**, etc.
* The service received is used **only for charitable purposes**.

🔍 In **Notification No. 25/2012 – ST**, there were **specific exemptions** available for services received by certain registered charitable trusts **for specified activities**.

---

### ✔️ **Summary:**

| Scenario | Service Tax Payable? |
| ----------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| You're not providing any services | ❌ No |
| You're receiving services | ❌ No (in most cases) |
| You're receiving services under RCM (e.g. legal, GTA) | ✅ Maybe (only if not exempt) |
| You provide services (e.g. paid training) | ✅ Yes (unless specifically exempt) |

---

### 📌 Action Points:

1. **Review the services you’re receiving.**
2. **Check if any fall under Reverse Charge.**
3. If yes, confirm whether exemption under **Notification 25/2012-ST** applies to your trust’s specific activity.
4. Maintain **proper documentation** showing usage for charitable purposes.

---

Would you like help reviewing which services are covered under **RCM** or if your **charitable activities are exempt** under that notification?

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