0.5% Swachh Bharat cess from Nov 15

New Delhi: All services, including air travel, telephony, eating out and banking will become expensive from November 15 as the government on Friday decided to impose a 0.5 per cent cess on all taxable services to fund the Swachh Bharat programme. 

The additional cess would be over and above the 14 per



cent Service Tax rate which is already being levied and may yield the government an additional Rs 400 crore during the remainder of the current fiscal. The decision to impose 0.5 per cent cess will translate into a tax of 50 paise only on every Rs 100 worth of taxable services.