Indian Service Tax

Business Exihibition Service

Effective Date: 10/09/2004.

Authority: Finance (No.2) Act, 2004

Definition

"Business Exhibition" means an exhibition -

• to market or

• to promote or

• to advertise or

• to showcase

any product or service, intended for the growth in business of the producer or provider of such product or service, as the case may be, [Section 65 (19a)].

Taxable Service

Taxable service means any service provided to an exhibitor, by the organiser of a business exhibition, in relation to business exhibition, [Section 65(1 05)(zzo)]

Value of taxable service: Gross amount

Exemptions: See Notification No. 18/2004-ST, dt. 10-9-2004. For full text see under "Airport Services".

Person liable to pay: Service provider of Business Exhibition Service.

Head of Account: To be issued.

Changes from 10/9/2004

F.No. B2/8/2004-TRU, Date: 10/9/2004

04. Business exhibition services

4.1 Business exhibition service is a service rendered to an exhibitor by an organizer of a business exhibition that intends to market, promote, advertise or show case products or services for growth in business of the producers or providers of such products or services. Thus, organizers of events such as trade fairs, road shows, fashion shows, display show-cases kept in airports, railway stations, hotels etc. would be covered under this new levy. A display of consumer goods in shops or shopping centers for customers to select and purchase would normally not attract any service tax, as normally no separate charges are collected by the shop-keepers for displaying such goods. However, in case an amount is collected for merely displaying an item, the same would be chargeable to service tax.

4.2 While event management service (a currently taxable service) also relates to organizing such events, but in that case, the services are rendered to the organizer by an event manager in relation to planning, promoting, organizing etc. Thus, an organizer of a business exhibition is not covered under Event Management Services, but would be covered under the new levy of 'Business Exhibition Services'. Similarly, while services rendered in relation to a circular, label, documents, hoardings or any other audio visual representation of a product or service falls under 'advertisement services', the services relating to actual exhibition or display of the product or services would fall under the category of 'Business Exhibition Services'.

[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, IN PART II, SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (i)]

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

(Department of Revenue)

                                       New Delhi, the 29th November, 2007. 

Notification No.43/2007-Service Tax

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, specified in sub-clause (zzo) of clause (105) of section 65 of the said Finance Act (hereinafter referred to as the said service), provided in relation to business exhibition of goods by the organiser of business exhibition to a manufacturer of goods falling under Chapters 57, 61, 62 and 63 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as the said manufacturer), from  the whole of the service tax leviable thereon under section 66 of the said Finance Act, subject to the following conditions, namely:-

(a) prior to availment of exemption under this notification, the said manufacturer has exported goods falling under Chapters 57, 61, 62 and 63 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as the said goods) and is registered as exporter of said goods with any of the following organisations, namely:

(i)               Apparel Export Promotion Council;

(ii)              Carpet Export Promotion Council;

(iii)             The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council;

(iv)              Handloom Export Promotion Council;

(v)              The Indian Silk Export Promotion Council;

(vi)              Powerloom Development & Export Promotion Council;

(vii)             Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council;

(viii)            Wool & Woollens Export Promotion Council;

(ix)             Wool Industry Export Promotion Council;

(x)              Jute Manufacturers Development Council;

(b) the exemption shall be claimed by the said manufacturer for the said service received;

(c) the exemption claimed by the said manufacturer shall be provided by way of refund of service tax paid on the said service;

(d) the said manufacturer claiming the exemption has actually paid the service tax on the said service;

(e) no CENVAT credit of service tax paid on the said service has been taken under the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004.

2.         The exemption contained in this notification shall be given effect to in the following manner, namely:-

(a) the person liable to pay service tax under section 68 of the said Finance Act shall pay service tax as applicable on the said service provided to the said manufacturer and such person shall not be eligible to claim exemption for the said service;

(b) the said manufacturer shall claim the exemption by filing a claim for refund of service tax paid on the said service to the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise or the Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise, as the case may be, having jurisdiction over the factory of manufacture or warehouse;

(c) the claim for refund shall be filed on a quarterly basis, within sixty days from the end of the relevant quarter during which payment of the value of the said service and the service tax thereon has been made;

(d) the refund claim shall be accompanied by documents evidencing payment of service tax on the said service for which claim for refund of service tax paid is filed;

(e) the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise or the Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise, as the case may be, shall, after satisfying himself that the said service has been actually used by the said manufacturer in relation to business exhibition of the said goods manufactured by him, refund the service tax paid on the said service.

3.         The exemption contained in this notification shall be valid upto 31st March, 2009.

4.         This notification shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

[F.No.341/15/2007-TRU]

(G.G. Pai)

Under Secretary to the Government of India