CUTTACK: The Central GST & Excise Comissionerate in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela have issued instructions to all officers under it about exemption of lawyers rendering legal services to business entities from service tax or GST.
Principal Commissioner of Central GST & Excise Bijoy Kumar Kar informed this to the Orissa High Court in a compliance affidavit on Thursday. The affidavit stated that the legal services provided by a lawyer or a partnership firm of lawyers to any person other than a business entity and to a business entity with a turnover up to `10 lakh in the preceding financial year are exempted from levy of service tax/GST.
On March 31, the Court had expressed concern that despite knowing that lawyers are not liable to pay service tax or GST, notices continue to be issued to them by the GST Commissionerate. The Court also expressed concern that practicing lawyers have to face harassment on account of the department issuing notices calling upon them to pay service tax/GST when they are exempted from doing so.
The Court had directed the Commissioner GST & Central Excise to issue clear instructions to all the officers in the GST Commissionerates in Odisha that no notice demanding payment of service tax/GST will be issued to lawyers rendering legal services as far as GST regime is concerned.
The direction was issued on a petition filed by a lawyer seeking quashing of notices issued by the GST Commissionerate, Bhubaneswar demanding payment of service tax/GST from him. Several lawyers present during the hearing also stated that they too had received such notices. Taking note of the compliance affidavit, the division bench of Chief Justice S.Muralidhar and Justice B.P.Routray disposed of the petition.