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Service rendered by Tour operator agent

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Neha

22 Points Posted on 15 July 2008

A tour operator is engaged in providing services such as accomodation, sight seeing, eurail booking, arranging food outside India, will these services which are rendered & received outside India, if covered under Service Tax?

If answer to above is yes, please provide relevant section & rate of Service Tax, exemption or abatement if any or totally exempted?

If the travel agent/tour operator arranges for visas & while billing charges to his client cost of visas (which is a reimbursement of visa charges paid by tour operator to foreign consulates on behalf of his client)alongwith his service charges, & also collects service tax on service charges so charged @ 12.36%. In this connection, pl let us knw above services covered under which section of ST, at present he has registered himself as tour operator/ other travel agent.

Replies (1)

CA PRAMOD SARAOGI

Chartered Accountant

961 Points Posted on 21 July 2008

Services rendered by Tour Operators in respect of foreign Tours do not attract Service Tax (Para 6.7 of Trade Notice No 1/2000 dated 27/04/2000 PUNE-I COMMISSIONERATE ) However, this trade notice has been withdrwan vide Circular No 96/7/2007-ST dated 23/08/2007 but this will not have any impact on the above conclusion. Thus , Services rendered by tour operators are confined to services in India in respect of a tour within Indian Territory . Services rendered in respect of out bound tourism are outside the perview of Service Tax.

Travel agent services covers only booking of Passage and excludes air travel U/s 65(115a). Thus Services will in any case will not fall under this category.