« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Income Tax Return Filing: 10 Mistakes To Avoid When Filing ITR For AY 2024-25  Old vs New Tax Regime: Who should move to the New Tax Regime from the old one?  Income Tax Calculator FY 2023-24: How To Know Your Tax Liability Online On IT Dept's Portal?  BackBack Income Tax Act amendment on cards on tax treatment of MSME dues  ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-4 forms for FY 2023-24 available for e-filing. Check details here  Income tax slabs FY 2024-25: Experts share these 8 benefits for taxpayers in new income tax regime  How To File ITR Online - Step by Step Guide to Efile Income Tax Return, FY 2023-24 (AY 2024-25)  Old or new tax regime for TDS on salary? This post-election 2024 event will impact your tax planning  What Are 5 Heads Of Income Tax?  Income Tax Dept releases interim action plan for FY25 on tax collection, refund approvals   Income Tax Return: 5 lesser-known tax-saving tips from Section 80 «  Now, software may hold up tax refunds... CLB chairmanship extended for 2 years... » More service tax sops for exporters September, 20th 2007 There is more relief in store for harried exporters. The list of services on which exporters have been granted exemption from payment of service tax may be expanded. Commission paid to foreign agents which forms a sizeable chunk of the service tax paid by exporters in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and textiles could be one of the services added to the list. The government is also examining the exporters demand to exempt service tax on movement of goods from factories to inland container depots (ICDs). The finance ministry announced service tax exemption only on transportation of goods from ICDs to ports. It is, however, unlikely that the government would provide exemption (known as zero-rating) instead of refunds. Exporters had argued that service tax should be zero-rated as giving refunds would just add to the paperwork and result in delayed payments. Sources said the finance ministry is working on a mechanism to check misuse of the exemptions. The finance ministry, on Tuesday, notified refund of service tax for exporters for transporting goods in ports and from ICDs to ports through rail and roads. Government sources said the finance ministry was favourably considering inclusion of commission paid to foreign agents in the list of exempted services for exporters. Although it cant be said when it would happen, there is a fair chance that commission to foreign agents will be included in the exemption list, the source said. According to Fieo director-general Ajay Sahai, the government should not exclude commission to foreign agents as it forms a sizeable component of service tax paid by exporters. In the pharmaceutical sector, foreign agents charge 15% commission while in the textiles sector, commission is as high as 10%. A 12.5% service tax on these services results in a burden of about 1.8% of the export value, Mr Sahai explained. Officials from the commerce and industry minister pointed out that the government was also looking at the demand to exempt movement of goods from factories to ICDs. Exporters have argued that giving exemptions only for transportation from ICDs to ports is unfair to land-locked states. Exporters in states such as Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir end up spending much more on transportation from factories to ICDs than from ICDs to ports. This demand is also being taken into account, the official said.