Role of a Chartered Accountant :

Since with the introduction of the negative list the gamut of service tax has expanded substantially, there would be a great need for professionals to advice and assist the assessees. A Chartered Accountant with strong grounding in accounting coupled with his training and experience is well-equipped to position himself in the role as an advisor and facilitator for due compliance of service tax law. The nature of professional services could be:

(1) Advisory services: With the comprehensive coverage of service tax, a great deal of professional acumen would be required to interpret and understand the law and advise the applicability of service tax qua an activity or service. A Chartered Accountant would be able to fill this void.

(2) Procedural compliance: The service tax law envisages registration, payment of tax, filing returns and assessments involving interface with the Excise Department. A Chartered Accountant with his experience and expertise would be the best person to assist the assessee in all the above functions and ensure compliance.

(3) Personal representation: As per the service tax law read with the Central Excise Act and Rules, a Chartered Accountant is allowed to appear before the assessment authority, Commissioner (Appeals) (first appeal) and Tribunal (second appeal). Here too with his experience and expertise a chartered accountant would be well positioned to represent his clients. When the matter goes up to the High Court or Supreme Court, the Chartered Accountant can assist/ advise the advocates.

(4) Certification and audit: With the widening of tax base there will be a phenomenal growth in the number of service tax assessees. In the ensuing years the department would have to evolve a mechanism where there is management by exception i.e. generally accept all the returns as correct and pick and choose those returns which need detailed scrutiny. In this mechanism a chartered accountant could be of great assistance. Service tax returns and financial statements could be certified by the Chartered Accountant from the perspective of service tax similar to an audit under section 44AB of the Income-tax Act.

(5) Onerous task to keep pace: The service tax like excise is administered more by way of trade notices issued by various Commissionerates. A chartered accountant will have to keep himself abreast of the latest notifications and trade notices in addition to the changes in law so as to meet the client expectations. Thus, in order to render good value added services in the area of service tax a Chartered Accountant has an onerous task to keep pace with the latest in the legal front.