CBEC writes to Railways, Shipping on service tax exemption

Even as the Budget 2009-10 proposed service tax on goods carried by rail and ship, the Finance Ministry has written to the Ministries of Railways and Shipping asking for a list of essential commodities that are to be exempted from the levy.

"I have written to the Ministry of Railways (asking) which commodities should be treated as essential. Also service tax has been levied on transportation of goods on the coastal track. For that I have written to the Department of Shipping," Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) Chairman P C Jha told PTI.

He said after getting their inputs as to "what according to them is essential commodities", a decision will be taken in this regard.

The move will provide relief to the common man, already paying high prices for essential commodities even after inflation has been in the negative zone for quite some time.

Even as wholesale price inflation stood at (-)1.21 per cent for the week ended July four, prices of food articles like cereals pulses, spices, and fruit and vegetables remained firm.