Traveling in air-conditioned stage carriers of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC) will turn costlier with the State transport utility deciding to collect six per cent service tax along with ticket charges.
“The Transport Department has notified the decision and we have received the order. Instructions have been given to upgrade the software and the service tax will be collected along with ticket charges as soon as it is completed,” Chairman and Managing Director, KSRTC, M.G. Rajamanickam told.
The six per cent service tax to be collected is based on the directive of the Union Finance Ministry by the provisions of the Finance Act, 2016 will only marginally burden the commuters, the CMD pointed out.
The State transport utility will have to remit Rs.1.5 lakh daily as service tax and Rs.45 lakh monthly.
In the present financial situation, he said the KSRTC management cannot even think of paying the service tax directly from the income being generated.
But the KSRTC authorities of computer section (EDPC) is not at all ready to implement the things are they are not even willing to solve the issues of Conductors who are asking questions to them. All private operators and Karnataka RTC has already started collecting the service tax and our RTC has not yet done anything so far.
What’s the issue with it? Why can’t they simply edit the software or website by adding the charge of tax? What is the problem here? Lack of time or lack of knowledge? Who will pay the tax for being late? And who can take actions on it?
