Chartered Accountant
1538 Points
Joined October 2007
With the advent of service tax, an interesting question has arisen whether tax is deductible at source under the IT Act even in respect of the service tax component of the professional fee/contract amount payable to the service provider/contractor.
Though Section 194C requires deduction of tax ``out of sum payable'', it has to be read with Section 190. If the sum comprises a receipt which is patently not income and does not belong to the recipient, such as service tax, such sums should be excluded for the purpose of TDS. Even the ratio laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of Chowringhee Sales Bureau [(1973)87ITR542] that sales tax is a part of the turnover, will not support a view that service tax is part of professional fees as that decision was given in a different context. Service tax law is unambiguous about the status of the moneys collected as it is in the hands of the service provider. So, let there be no TDS on service tax.