Vide Notification No. 15/2012 dated 17.03.2012, the Ministry of Finance has specified that in respect of services provided by an individual advocate to any business entity, the service-tax payable by the advocate shall be Nil and that the person receiving the service shall pay 100% of the tax.
Paragraph 3 of the Notification states that it shall come into force from the date on which section 66B of the Finance Act, 1994 comes into effect. S. 66B of the Finance Act, 1994 is proposed to be inserted by clause 143 (F) of the Finance Bill 2012 with effect from such date as may be notified by the Central Government. Consequently, Notification No. No.15/2012-Service Tax dated 17.3.2012 will come into effect only after the Finance Bill 2012 is passed and the Central Government issues a notification bringing it into force.
Notification No. 15/2012 dated 17.03.2012 Exempting Individual Advocates (73.9 KiB, 5,740 hits)
yes, good provision, clients do not want to pay service tax when advocates tell them to pay, so let clients themselves be liable when they file their ROI claiming legal services expenses exemption .
individual lawyers need to slog in the clients’ matters to protect legally under prevailing laws and so it is not fair for them to pay service tax themselves;
i will go a step further, independent advocates as professionals slog on abstract knowledge application of law on facts in the issues brought by clients for the advocate’s expert advice; besides advocates do not get salary every month from any institution or government, and they need to live on the income generated from their services which is not astronomical generally, just to meet their day to day living today unlike in the past when Advocates services were practically given for a song, i.e., the clients put whatever they like to pay in the back pocket of Advocates gown but today we have no such pocket as such but some symbolic hanging behind his shoulder when puts on the advocates gown. In those days clients honorably paid their mite but today every client wants practically free service of advocate saying that he is poor client while is a millionaire, why govt advocates or panel advocates are paid by relevant authority as per their relevant department prescription once in six months or per year provided that advocate pays 20% of the total income earned from the said department, invariably.
So the income tax rates and liability is needed to be reduced by every finance minister, so that some sensible relief is possible for the advocate, i believe!
1. Is an Individual Advocate liable to get himself registered with the Service Tax Department and file a return on regular basis for the taxable services rendered by him?
2. Would it be necessary for the Advocate to state in his Bill/Invoice that “The client is liable to pay Service Tax on the Billed amount”?
negative list or positive list – why are advocates always exempt from service tax – how are different from other professionals or is it deemed they do not provide any services