Service tax on new services, including services provided by stock and commodity exchanges, as proposed by finance minister P Chidambaram will come into effect from May 16. Following President Pratibha Patil’s nod to the Finance Bill, 2008, the government on Saturday issued seven notifications operationalising the changes in service tax laws.Tax on seven services, which are specifically mentioned in the category of taxable services, will come into force with effect from May 16, an official release said.Chidambaram in his budget speech had proposed tax on new services, including asset management service provided under ULIP, services provided by stock/commodity exchanges and clearing houses and customised software.Services provided by money changers, persons running games of chance and tour operators using contract carriage vehicles would also come under the tax net.There were doubts on whether these services attract tax, and Chidambaram in the budget speech had clarified that they do. Refund of service tax paid by exporters on additional services like purchase and sale of foreign currency will also come into effect from the same day, the release stated.
