How to file Service Tax Return in India

Service tax, an indirect tax collected by the service provider in India in exchange for his services by the end customers. At present, a service tax of twelve point three percent is levied on the value of tax payable service. Service Tax Registration is mandatory for any person or Entrepreneur who gives services of a value exceeding Rupees nine Lakhs.
Form ST-3 and Form ST-3A are filled in order to file Service Tax Return. For e-Filing of Service Tax return you can register at ACES (Automation of Central Excise and Service Tax ), fill in the declaration form, you will be issued a T-PIN and a Password on your email id. After that visit the official website of ACES and click service tax button so as to log in with your pin and password. You can either fill data in service tax return and submit it or use Excel utility to fill data and upload it. If the former option is to be followed, go to the homepage and Fill ST-3 using Fill option in RET menu.  Fill and submit, an acknowledgment will appear after successful submission and your entry can be revised until ninety days of filling the data. And just as easy as it sounds, you will find that you have filed Service Tax Return without much difficulty. Important part though is that you should fill all the data very carefully and never ever share your password and PIN with anyone. It should be a confidential information.  You can also download the excel utility if you choose the second way to file the Service Tax Return.

Service Tax Return should be filed before due return to avoid penalties and a proper record of data should be maintained to avoid any legal issues. You can always fill the forms offline in case you are not comfortable sharing your data online.  In such case scenario, you can walk up to the Tax Office and file Service Tax Return. Anyhow, The filing should be done on time and should be done carefully. All the information should be kept confidential.

Delay as told before can lead to penalties as follows;

1. A Delay up to 15 days will cause a penalty of Rupees Five Hundred.
2. Beyond 15 days and up to 30 days will cause a penalty of Rupees Thousand.
3. A Delay beyond 30 days will cause a penalty of Rupees thousand plus Rupees Hundred per day of delay beyond 30 days, from 31st day onwards. This Rupees Hundred per day continues till limit of Rupees Twenty Thousand is reached and finally, a legal action is taken towards you or your business.

To file Service Tax Return you can also take help of certain legal entities or solution providers like LegalRaasta itself. Be responsible and file your service tax return on time

This article has been contributed by Simmi Setia, Content Writer at LegalRaasta, an online portal for GST Software, GST Return Filing, GST Registration, Section 8 Company Registration, Nidhi Company Registration, IEC Registration, Fssai License, File ITR Online.