Service Tax- DGST no more Registering Authority
Records to be shown to CAG’s Audit too
Service Tax Rules stipulate that in cases of the Centralised Registration pertaining to units located under different Chief Commissioners, the DGST is the Registering Authority. Now the registration can be done by the Commissioner under whose jurisdiction the premises or offices, from where centralised billing or accounting is done, are located.
As per Rule 5(4) of the Service Tax Rules,
Every assessee shall make available, at the registered premises, at all reasonable time, such records as mentioned in sub-rule (3), for inspection and examination by the Central Excise Officer authorised in writing by the jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise, as the case may be.
Now the Rules are amended to provide that these records are to be provided to audit party deputed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. So it is once again proved that after all the CAG does not have any constitutional powers to just go and audit anyone he feels like. He derives his powers from the Central Excise Rules and now the Service Tax Rules.
Once while I was a Government servant I wrote that the CAG’s auditors have no real power to visit a factory for Audit except by Central Excise Rules and the Revenue ministry can simply remove this power by deleting this clause from the Central Excise Rules. The AG was so furious that he persuaded my boss to charge-sheet me.
Now the Revenue ministry has given the power to AG to audit Service Tax assessees too. More objections, Show Cause Notices, and un-ending litigation is bound to follow.
When CAG’s officers don’t visit Income Tax or Customs assessees why should they visit Central Excise and Service Tax assessees?
Notification No. dated the 2nd November, 2006