Panel asks Govt to share service tax with Railways: Reports
07/09/2016 10:02
A Parliamentary Panel has said that it has recommended sharing with Railways the service tax paid on passenger fares on specified classes and freight which is collected by Finance Ministry and pursuing the matter vigorously with the authorities concerned. In its latest report, the Standing Committee on Railways has noted that service tax on specified classes of passenger and freight was to the tune of Rs 1478.10 crore and Rs 3449.34 crore during 2012-13 and 2013-14, respectively. As per reports, although several requests have been made to Finance Ministry for exemption from payment of service tax on freight and fare, these were not agreed to by the Ministry. As per reports, the Committee, headed by TMC MP and former Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi, had also noted that the concessions given by the Railways on various categories should also be taken up with the ministries concerned. Furthermore, the panel noted that the Railways had to pay four per cent dividend to general revenues, which was about Rs 10,000 cr from their internal generation in 2015-16, thus severely restricting expenditure on creation of assets.
