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Trucks parked at Yashwanthpur in Bangalore on Saturday following the indefinite strike called by the All-India Motor Transport Congress. — G R N Somashekar

New Delhi , Aug. 21

THE All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) has rebutted the Government's claim that service tax is levied on transport booking agents alone. In a statement issued here on Saturday, the AIMTC said, "the Government's contention is not correct."

Elaborating further, the AIMTC stated, "Goods have to be booked for transportation. A malicious attempt is being made by the Government to segregate the transport industry by using vague definitions."

According to Mr B.N. Dhumal, President, AIMTC, the fact remains that all the goods are booked and transported. "If a truck operator himself books the goods in Delhi and transports them to Chennai to deliver, the truck operator becomes the service provider and is liable to pay service tax," he pointed out.

Coming out strongly against the Finance Ministry, AITMC stated that the details should be discussed and thrashed out before any law is made, and not afterwards. "The Finance Minister has consistently refused to meet our delegation for the past one month," the AITMC said.

Meanwhile, the strike called by the truckers has evoked mixed response with some organisations not participating in the strike. However, AIMTC argued that whatever be the Government's claims, reports from different parts of the country is that more than 90 per cent trucks are not plying and the strike would continue till the Centre withdraws service tax.

It also said that the meeting with the Revenue Secretary was not fruitful. The strike, which began at 6 a.m. on Saturday, is causing a loss of around Rs 500 crore per day to truckers, Rs 4,000 crore to the Government besides resulting in production losses of Rs 15,000 crore on a daily basis, they claimed.

More Stories on : Taxation | Roadways | Trade & Labour Unions

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