Practising chartered accounts, cost accountants and company secretaries have been exempted from payment of service tax when they represent a client's case before any statutory authority.

This exemption would be available from Thursday.

However, such exemption would not be available for consultancy or chamber services, according to Institute of the Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) council member, Mr Ved Jain.

Audit, accounting and certification work of the practising chartered accountants would continue to attract service tax.

The exemption comes after the ICAI, the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India represented to the Government not to levy service tax for certain specified services provided by them, which are also provided by other professionals.

In particular, a case was made that while these professionals appearing before statutory authorities on behalf of clients had to pay service tax, lawyers providing similar services paid no such tax.

Hence, these professionals sought exemption till other professionals providing similar services were also taxed.