« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Budget 2024 makes new income tax regime more attractive: See how much taxes you can now save  ITR filing 2024: New vs old income tax regimes, 6 key things to consider while filing your tax return  These five technical glitches may impact your Income tax return (ITR) filing. Know here  ITR filing 2023-24: How to optimise Section 80D deductions at the time of filing tax returns  ITR filing 2023-24: Top 7 mistakes to avoid for hassle-free income-tax return filing this year  Income tax returns for FY 2023-24: Keep these 8 tax law changes in mind while filing ITR this year  ITR Filing 2024: Know who can and cannot file income tax returns using ITR-1 this year  Income Tax Filing: 10 necessary guidelines that you must be aware of  Why you should file your income tax returns before July 31  What is Form 26AS? How to download Form 26AS to file Income Tax Return (ITR)  Income Tax Return: What are the alternatives to Form 16 that can be used while filing ITR? «  CBDT norms to address taxpayers` grievances... Govt may bring excise duty, service tax closer... » Budget may seek fresh excise, service tax rates October, 27th 2006 The forthcoming budget could seek some tweaking of the excise and service tax rates as part of efforts to converge the rates at a later stage. At present, the average excise rate stands at 16 per cent, while it is 12 per cent for service tax. While finance ministry officials admit that a complete convergence of the two rates is not possible in the immediate future, there is merit in moving towards a common rate since at present a company can avail a 16 per cent cenvat on a service which attracts 12 per cent tax. Officials said a single rate would also be essential to ease the transition to a general goods and service tax. They pointed out that though the service tax base had been widened, the new services were not generating greater revenue. “The increased service tax collection is mainly on account of a wider base and not because of higher collection from new taxes,” an official said. The government has collected Rs 12,412 crore by way of service tax in the April-August period, which is around 65 per cent more than the collection of Rs 7,527 crore in the same period last year. Another proposal which the ministry is working on relates to introduction of mandatory electronic filing of tax returns for individuals.