New Delhi: You will have to pay Goods and Services Tax (GST) on your outstanding credit card dues, finance lease and exit fees levied by mutual fund houses. Exit load of around 1 to 3 per cent of fund value is charged by mutual fund houses when you withdraw within one year from the start of the scheme.
The interest or charges for delayed payment of brokerage amount will also fall under GST ambit, including stockbroking services given to non-residents. There will, however, be no GST on additional interest levied for the delayed payment of the loan, considering no tax is charged on loan interest.
The government has, however, clarified that free services provided by banks to their customers will not be chargeable to tax. Earlier banks received notices from the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGST) to pay service tax, penalties and interest on free services offered to customers with their bank accounts. The notice was given to big banks, including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. It created a huge uproar as it had to be collected for the period of last five years, with tax liability running into crores.
It was considered that free services which are offered along with savings accounts should be chargeable to tax. The idea was to bring these free services under the tax ambit. For example, there are no charges for first five ATM transactions. Similarly, no cost is levied for an issue of chequebook and debit cards. Most of these services are given along with a bank account that mostly has to maintain a minimum.
Having said that, considering GST will now be levied on exit load charges and outstanding credit card dues you now need to plan your finances better. Any delay in payment on EMI can cost you more with additional taxes being levied now.
