Last date for payment of Service Tax is 31st March even for Online Payment

It is quiet strange that we have to make payment of taxes even before we actually receive the income. Service tax is required to be paid on accrual basis. But for the month of March or Last Quarter the last date of payment is 31st of March. In case you fail to make the payment of Service Tax, Interest shall be payable on the Late Payment. 

No one likes to pay extra, why should we? The due date for payment of service tax is separate for Individual/Partnership Firms and others.

For Individual/Partnership Firms Quarterly Due Dates:

The Due Date for Payment of Service Tax in case of Individual/Partnership Firm is 5th of the Following Quarter in which the Payment is received. However, in case the Service Tax Provider opts for online payments, he is given a grace period of 1 day and thus the Due Date for Payment of Service Tax if the Payment is made online is 6th of the following Quarter.

What needs to be highlighted here is that the above due dates are not applicable for the quarter ending in March. To avoid the interest provisions, payment of Service Tax needs to be done by the last day of March.     

For Others Monthly Due Dates:

For all Service Tax Payers (except Individual and Partnership Firms), the Due Date for payment of Service Tax is 5th of the Following Month in which the Service Tax is collected. However, if the payment is made online the due date for payment of service tax becomes 6th of the following month.

Again the above provision does not apply for the month of March. 31st March is the Due Date

Late Payment of Service Tax

In case there is late payment of service tax to the Central Govt., the Payment shall be made along with interest computed @18% (Simple Interest). Earlier the Interest for Late Payment of Service Tax was 13% but was later increased to 18% with effect from 1st April 2011 vide Notification No. 14/2011- Service Tax dated 1-3-2011.

Watch a video on this –

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