The first organisation to end up paying service tax on real estate could well be the government itself, since it has considerable plans for the coming year. The Central Board of Direct Taxes, for instance, has a budget of Rs 1,678 crore to buy ready-made buildings, primarily for office use.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs has smaller plans, of Rs 143 crore. Another Rs 239 crore has been kept aside for building houses for the police and Rs 840 crore for office space... the list goes on.