The Finance Ministry on Thursday clarified that the Swachh Bharat cess will come into effect on November 15, at the rate of 0.5 per cent on all services that are presently liable to service tax. This will translate into a tax of 50 paisa on every ₹100 worth of taxable services, a release said.
The proceeds from this cess will be used to finance and promote Swachh Bharat initiatives, it said, adding that the provisions including those related to computation of taxable value, assessment, exemption, payment, penalty applicable to service tax would also apply in respect of the new cess.
Some doubts had been raised — what would be the Swachh Bharat cess on services where service tax is being paid under the alternative rates of service tax, and what would be the value of taxable services for computation of Swachh Bharat cess. Hence the clarification, it said.