Review of Service Tax Circulars
The government is planning to undertake an extensive review of all circulars and instructions relating to service tax issued since 1994. The review is to be undertaken by Mr. T. R. Rustagi, former Joint Secretary, TRU. Now the government has invited suggestions from trade and industry, departmental officers and all others concerned on the proposed review. The suggestions can be sent to Mr Rustagi or to the TRU by the 3rd of July, 2006. There are hardly 200 circulars issued in the last 12 years of Service Tax and it is rather easy to review them. Incidentally, Mr. Rustagi must have been responsible for most of these circulars.
But there are over 2000 circulars each in Customs and Excise and reviewing them would be a Herculean task. But it is certainly worth undertaking as certainty is one of the cannons of taxation. To take the review a step further, the courts and the tribunals should also undertake a review of all the orders passed by them, at least once in every ten years. All those cases which have precedential value should be identified and the rest of the cases should be unceremoniously dumped into the dustbins of history. These dumped cases should never be allowed to rise like the Phoenix, to be cited before any judicial proceedings. This would make the case law also reasonably manageable.