Service tax is a central tax, which has been imposed on certain services and is the latest addition to the genus of indirect taxes like customs and central excise duty. India, a developing country, was somewhat slow in discovering the potential of this kind of indirect taxation for enhancement of revenue collection and it was the Finance Act 1994 that first introduced the service tax provisions through its Chapter V. Service Tax is collected by Central Excise Department.
“Value Added Tax” (VAT) is a tax on value addition and a multi point tax, which is levied at every stage of sale. It is collected at the stage of manufacture/resale and contemplates rebating of tax paid on inputs and purchases.