 "Securities And Exchange Board Of India")
Providing succour to two sectoral watchdogs, the Union Budget for 2016-17 unveiled Monday that they will exempt "regulatory services" provided by Securities And Exchange Board Of India (SEBI) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) from the service tax ambit with effect from April 1, 2016.
Besides, exemption would be extended to the services provided by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
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Currently, the service tax for these services is 14%.
There has been uncertainties on whether Sebi's regulatory services can be taxed, especially after the government moved to negative list for service tax few years back.
Among others, in the latest Budget, the service of life insurance business provided by way of annuity under the National Pension System regulated by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has also been exempted from the service tax ambit.
At present, the service tax in this regard was 3.5%.
