| He added that more and more services will be brought under the service tax net and the the scope of existing services will be widened further. He was speaking at an open house on service tax issues, organised here on Saturday by the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI). |
| "The government has been reducing the excise and customs rates regularly and what is left is service tax. When VAT is implemented from April 1, 2005, almost verything will come under the service tax net." |
| Shobha Ram, Commissioner, Service Tax, said that every year, the number of service being brought under service tax net as well as the scope of existing services under the net, has been increasing. |
| He said that from three services under the service tax net 10 years ago, today, there are 71 services and the revenue from service tax has risen from Rs 400 crore a decade ago t Rs 7,890 crore this year. |
| Responding to querries on the applicability of service tax, Mathur said that some confusion does exist. |
| "There is no final answer to the many issues raised by GCCI members. I think it will be difficult to have an 100 per cent clarity on all issues." |
| Ram said that at present a major drive is on to widen the service tax net in Gujarat. While there were 8,900 persons registered last year, today, the number has crossed 16,000. |
| "We collected a service tax revenue of Rs 130 crore last fiscal year and aim to almost double it to Rs 250 crore this financial year," Shobha Ram said. |
| Earlier, in his address, GCCI vice-president Rajendra Shah said that while the department has adopted a proactive approach in making service tax information easily available to the industry, there are still several areas where adequate clarity does not exist. |
| "There is also no distinction between the organised and unorganised sector while levying of service tax," Shah said. |
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