School transport to be taxed in Hyderabad

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Hyderabad: Parents will henceforth have to pay a service tax of 12.36 per cent on the school transport fee of their wards.
With the Central government charging Service Tax on vehicles hired for transport from this financial year, schools will pass on the tax to the parents. All schools will have to register with the Central Excise department and will be fined if they fail to do so.
Some schools have not only received circulars about the service tax, they have also been informed that they will have to pay the last four months’ arrears, starting from April.
A disappointed Srinivas Reddy, president of the AP Private Recognised Schools’ Association, said, “On one hand the government is talking about the Right To Education and dreams of 100 per cent literacy while on the other it is not exempting kids from this tax.”
“How fair is it? We have no option but to burden parents with this extra payment. The government should reconsider this,” he added.
Sangeetha Varma, general secretary of the association who is also correspondent of Richmond High School, is also not happy. “With such moves, where is the commitment of the government in working towards eliminating illiteracy? We have not received any circular yet. Once we do, we will file a representation to the government,” she said.
A rough amount of Rs 130 extra is  expected to be levied if the transport fee is Rs 1,000 for example.