« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Delhi HC Rules GST Registration Cannot Be Cancelled Retrospectively Without a Clear Show Cause Notice (SCN)  Belated income tax return AY 2026-27: How to file, late filing charges and what you may lose  Major Financial Changes from August 1, 2026: ITR Deadline, RBI MPC Meeting, Tatkal Ticket Rules & More  Government proposes to ease tax relief conditions for offshore funds  TallyPrime Connected Banking: Automating Banking and Accounting  ITR Filing Deadline 2026: Is July 31 the Last Date to File Your Income Tax Return? Latest Official Update  ITR filing deadline nears: How to file income tax return online on e-filing portal - quick 15-step guide  Will the ITR Filing Deadline Be Extended Beyond July 31 for FY 2025-26? Here's the Latest Update for Taxpayers  Income Tax Refund Delayed for AY 2026-27? 5 Common Reasons Your Refund May Be Stuck and How to Fix It  ITR Filing 2026: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Asks Tax Officials to Let Honest Taxpayers Correct Genuine Mistakes  Will Your FCNR Deposit Stay Tax-Free After Returning to India? Tax Rules Explained for NRIs «  Goods & service tax regime may lift FDI: PwC... A bogey called `misuse' of the Mauritius conduit... » IITs, IIMs may face tax for placement August, 21st 2006 Hiring those whiz kids from IITs and IIMs is set to turn costlier. The government is planning to tap the placement services offered by management and engineering institutes under the ambit of service tax. The indirect tax department has instructed its field formations to conduct surveys and gather data about the fees the institutions charge for the placement services. The survey will zero in on how many such institutes charge placement fees and whether they were paying service tax on it. Sources told that the survey will give them a fair idea of the quantum of the tax. The move follows an appeal won by IIM Bangalore against the imposition of the tax. The issue had come to light after IIM Ahmedabad and IIM-B were issued show-cause notices in March this year by the service tax department. Both the IIMs had strongly disputed the claim and contested the notices. While the commissioner appeals in Bangalore had rejected the demand raised by the department, the notice to IIM-A is yet to be adjudicated upon. The manpower recruitment service was brought under the service tax net in Budget 06. Subsequently in Budget 07, government substituted commercial concern with any other person with regard to taxation of 17 services and it came into effect from May 1, 06. This was basically aimed at expanding the scope of service providers. The claims raised by the department were for the last fiscal. Turning down the appeals, the Commissioner (appeals) had ruled that the institute (IIM-B) was not a commercial concern. The CBEC is also examining the possibility of issuing a circular to clarify the issue, after examining in detail the data collected though the survey, sources said. IIMs and other such institutes pay service tax to the department for the management or other consultancy service provided by them. But they were not paying the tax on the recruitment fee. Multinational recruiters pay about $5,000 per student to IIM-A while local companies pay a fixed fee depending on the day their recruitment is slotted, plus a charge per student. The fee ranges from Rs 40,000 to Rs 1.75 lakh, meaning that a company slotted for the first day (popularly called day zero), would pay a higher fee. Besides, there is Rs 50,000 charge per student. The fees differ among the IIMs.