Service Tax - Online Invoice without Digital Signature
GOVERNMENT has amended the Service Tax Rules to to allow a person located in non taxable territory providing online information and database access or retrieval services to a non-assessee online recipient to issue online invoices not authenticated by means of a digital signature for a period upto 31st January, 2017.
Rule 4C(1) of the Service Tax Rules reads as:
Any invoice, bill or challan issued under rule 4A or consignment note issued under rule 4B may be authenticated by means of a digital signature .
Now, a proviso is added to this sub-rule:
'Provided that a person located in non-taxable territory providing online information and database access or retrieval services to a non-assessee online recipient located in taxable territory may issue online invoices not authenticated by means of a digital signature for a period upto 31st January, 2017'
Incidentally, cross border business to consumer [B2C] OIDAR [online information and database access or retrieval]services provided by a foreign service provider to a person in India has become taxable from 1st December, 2016 onwards. For more see and 2982.
Notification No. , Dated: December 19, 2016