« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Mock Test Papers Series - I & II for Students appearing in CA Foundation January 2027 Examination.  Income Tax Rules 2026: CBDT Introduces Revised Form 161 for Penalty Waiver, Clarifies Misreporting Categories and Taxpayer Relief  ITR Filing and Income Tax Audit Deadline Extended: 5 Critical Things Taxpayers Must Know  Filing Belated ITR for AY 2026-27? Know Which Losses You Can Carry Forward and Which You May Lose  CBDT Extends Tax Audit Report Deadline to October 21, ITR Filing Last Date to November 21 for AY 2026-27  CBDT Extends AY 2026-27 ITR Filing Deadline for Tax-Audit Cases: New Dates and Key Compliance Details  Foreign Assets Missing From Your ITR? Income Tax Department Opens One-Time Disclosure Window  Tax Audit Deadline September 30: Why AIS, TDS and GST Figures May Not Match Your ITR and What Taxpayers Should Do  Tax audit deadline September 30: Common mistakes taxpayers should avoid  Your ITR says ‘verified’, but the refund hasn’t arrived? 5 reasons why your money could be stuck  Missed the ITR Deadline but TDS Refund Is Due? Here’s How You Can Still Claim Your Money «  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.