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CBEC vide its Notification No. 20/2015-Service Tax dated 21-10-2015 amended Notification No. 25/2012-Service Tax, dated the 20th June, 2012 to provide following new exemptions from levy of service tax:
1.No More Service Tax on Yoga Tranining : Now ‘Yoga’ get place in Mega Exemption Notification w.e.f. 23-10-2015. Earlier the exemption was extendedto only Services by an entity registered under section 12AA of the Income tax Act, 1961 by way of ‘Charitable Activities’ which covered only activities relating to advancement of religion, spiritualityof religion, spirituality.
Now by effect of this notification the service tax exemption is also available to activities relating to advancement of ‘Yoga’.
2.Business Facilitator or a Business Correspondent Service Tax Exeption is extended to services provided in RURAL AREA by Business Facilitator or a Business Correspondent (including their intermediary) for account opening under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (including cash deposits, cash withdrawals, e-life certificate (insurance), Aadhar updating) are fully exempted under service tax.
It may be noted that prior to amendement by this notification upto 20-10-2015 the Service Tax exememtion to Business Facilitator or a Business Correspondent was read as under:
Services by the following persons in respective capacities –(g) business facilitator or a business correspondent to a banking company or an insurance company, in a rural area;
The New Notification No. 20/2015-Service Tax dated 21-10-2015 is as under:
[TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II, SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (i)]
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
(DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE)
NOTIFICATION
No. 20/2015-Service Tax
New Delhi, the 21st October, 2015
G.S.R. .(E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994), the Central Government, being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby makes the following further amendments in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) No. 25/2012-Service Tax, dated the 20th June, 2012, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R. 467 (E), dated the 20th June, 2012, namely:-
1. In the said notification,-
(i) in the opening paragraph, in entry 29, for clause (g), the following clauses shall be substituted, namely-
(g) business facilitator or a business correspondent to a banking company with respect to a Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account covered by Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana in the banking companys rural area branch, by way of account opening, cash deposits, cash withdrawals,obtaining e-life certificate, Aadhar seeding;
(ga) any person as an intermediary to a business facilitator or a business correspondent with respect to services mentioned in clause (g);
(gb) business facilitator or a business correspondent to an insurance company in a rural area; or
(ii) in paragraph 2,-
(a) after clause (g), the following clause shall be inserted, namely :-
(ga) Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account means a Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account opened under the guidelines issued by Reserve Bank of India relating thereto;
(b) in clause (k), in sub-clause (ii), for the words religion or spirituality, the words religion, spirituality or yoga shall be substituted.
[F. No. 354/101/2015 -TRU]
(Santosh Kumar Mishra)
Under Secretary to the Government of India
Note:- The principal notification was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, by notification No. 25/2012 – Service Tax, dated the 20th June, 2012, vide number G.S.R. 467 (E), dated the 20th June, 2012 and last amended vide notification No. 12/2015 – Service Tax, dated the 30th April, 2015 vide number G.S.R. 348(E), dated the 30th April, 2015.
Download updated Mega Exemption Notification No.25/2012-ST dated 20-06-2012
Source: http://www.cbec.gov.in/htdocs-servicetax/st-notifications/st-notifications-2015/st20-2015
