Can the service tax paid also be availed as credit?
Yes. From 10.9.2004, Cenvat Credit has been extended across goods and services. This means a manufacturer of final products can avail the credit of excise duty paid on the inputs, and he can also avail the service tax paid on various services like insurance, telephone etc for payment of central excise duty on final products. Similarly, a service provider can also avail the credit of central excise duty paid on the inputs/capital goods /input services used for providing the out put service.
