AC train fares to cost more from tomorrow
Trinamool Congress, which was holding railway portfolio, exiting from the UPA government. TMC had been consistently opposing the service tax being levied on these services.
Passengers travelling in AC classes were brought under service tax from July this year as per the Finance Bill 2012 but the levy had been kept on the back-burner due to opposition from Trinamool Congress.
The service tax decision was taken after a meeting between Railway Minister C P Joshi and Finance Minister P Chidambaram here.
On concessional tickets, service charges will be 30 per cent of the total fare.
Service tax on freight was announced in the 2009-10 Union Budget but the then Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had protested the move.
Freight services had also witnessed a hike of 20 per cent to 30 per cent this year in March before the budget.
Insiders in Railway Ministry say the imposition of service tax is a pointer of the reformative measures that the government plans to initiate to strengthen the financial
health of the national transporter and revitalise it.
The ministry has now come to Congress after 16 years.
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