Declared Service Under Service Tax Act

Service tax act 1994 lays down taxability of services under various categories. However there are services which have been declared as services. Below is the extract of Section 66E

• renting of immovable property
• construction of a complex, building, civil structure or a part thereof, including a complex or building intended for sale to a buyer, wholly or partly, except where the entire consideration is received after issuance of completion-certificate by the competent authority.
• temporary transfer or permitting the use or enjoyment of any intellectual property right
• development, design, programming, customization, adaptation, upgradation, enhancement, implementation of information technology software
• agreeing to the obligation to refrain from an act, or to tolerate an act or a situation, or to do an act;
• transfer of goods by way of hiring, leasing, licensing or in any such manner without transfer of right to use such goods
• activities in relation to delivery of goods on hire purchase or any system of payment by instalments
• service portion in the execution of a works contract
• service portion in an activity wherein goods, being food or any other article of human consumption or any drink (whether or not intoxicating) is supplied in any manner as a part of the activity
• assignment by the Government of the right to use the radio-frequency spectrum and subsequent transfers thereof

There are lot of issues and confusion surrounding what does

agreeing to the obligation to refrain from an act, or to tolerate an act or a situation, or to do an act actually mean

The above provision is quite subjective and could quite create lot of issue. For example service tax could be levied in below situations

1. Amount paid for non-competing
2. Cancellation Charges
3. Forfeiture of Advance payment