From 1 January 2014, all those who paid a service tax of more than Rs 1 lakh in the previous financial year will be required to pay the tax using Net banking. It can be availed of only if the assessee has a bank account with Net banking facility, and the bank is among those registered for providing this facility.

Procedure

To pay the tax, the assessee needs to log on to the NSDL-CBEC website, www.cbec.nsdl.com. After clicking on the e-payment menu, he needs to enter the 15-digit assessee code, select the type of duty/tax and bank name. He can then click on the 'proceed' button.

Verification

The assessee will be guided to a page where he can verify the details and can also modify or edit these, if incorrect. After verification, the assessee must click on the 'submit' button, which will direct him to his bank's website.

E-payment

He can log on to the online banking facility with his user name and password. He will be directed to a page with details entered on the NSDLCBEC website. To pay tax, he will need to enter the amount to be paid for each accounting code, and after verification, confirm the payment.

Acknowledgement

On successful payment, a printable challan counterfoil with Challan Identification Number (CIN) will be displayed, along with the payment details and bank name through which the payment was made.

Points to note:

> The challan counterfoil should be retained as proof of payment of tax.

> Assessees can visit the NSDL-CBEC website to know which banks provide the e-payment facility for service tax.

> This website also allows an assessee to pay excise duty by following the same procedure.