Service tax liability and reverse charge rules govern who pays, how value is determined and when compliance is required.
Service tax applies to specified services under the Finance Act with liability generally on the provider and in defined situations on the recipient under reverse charge; taxable value is determined under section 67 and rules, with abatements and composition options. Registration, periodic payment, invoicing and retention of records are mandated; CENVAT credit is available on inputs/input services subject to conditions. Export and import of services have distinct rules for exemption, refund and recipient liability. Enforcement includes interest, mandatory penalties, adjudication with prescribed officer limits and appellate remedies, and an advance ruling mechanism.

Renting of immovable property taxable when used for business; government offices performing statutory functions excluded.
Applicability of service tax depends on use: the service category "renting of immovable property" is taxable when premises are used in the course or furtherance of business or commerce; occupancy by a government office for performing statutory functions is not use in furtherance of business and is therefore not taxable under that service category.

Business support services defined as distribution and logistics - freight-related delivery and haulage charges are liable to service tax.
Delivery order charges and inland haulage charges collected by shipping companies for conveyance and handling of outward surface postal mails constitute distribution, management and logistics services, fall under business support services and are liable to service tax.

Commissionerate code accuracy in TR-6 and GAR-7 challans ensures correct Service Tax revenue reporting by assessees.
Service Tax assessees and collecting banks must quote the correct Commissionerate code, division and range codes on TR-6 and GAR-7 challans to avoid misreporting of Commissionerate-wise revenue; the notice reproduces prescribed codes for Ahmedabad Commissionerate (SD), divisions SD01-SD03 and ranges SD0101-SD0305 and requests trade bodies to inform constituents.

Pure agent principle: reimbursable expenditures failing valuation conditions must be included in taxable service value.
Valuation rules exclude expenditure of a service provider acting as a Pure Agent only if all eight conditions of Rule 5(2) are met; many reimbursable items claimed by Custom House Agents (documentation, transport, storage, handling, inspection, port and terminal charges, etc.) are not covered by pure agent treatment because they are used in producing the output service, and where CHAs charge amounts above actual expenditure the pure agent conditions are breached and such sums must be included in the taxable value.

Commissionerate code accuracy: taxpayers must quote correct code in TR 6/GAR 7 so service tax credits post to the right Commissionerate.
Assessees and banks have been entering incorrect Commissionerate codes in TR 6 and GAR 7 challans into the EASIEST system, causing service tax receipts to be credited to the wrong Commissionerate; taxpayers must quote the correct Commissionerate code for Pune II and trade associations are requested to notify their members to ensure proper crediting and accurate Commissionerate wise revenue reporting.

Designation of recovery officers under Finance Act empowers attachment and recovery for government dues within specified divisions.
Designation of specific officers in the Service Tax Commissionerate, Ahmedabad authorizes recovery of Government dues and attachment of property within their respective divisional jurisdictions under section 87(c) of the Finance Act, 1994, naming an Assistant Commissioner for Division I, a Deputy Commissioner for Division II, and an Assistant Commissioner for Division III.

Assessee code validation required - banks must accept only PAN/TAN based or temporary assessee codes and verify structure.
Banks' receiving branches must validate that GAR-7 contains the mandatory PAN/TAN based 15 character Assessee Code or, if not allotted, a 15 character Temporary Code; challans with old or non conforming Assessee Codes will be rejected. Branches must ensure the Assessee Code is structurally correct per the RT form specification and complete other prescribed fields where validation does not match.

Place of provision determines service tax liability; services supplied outside Jammu and Kashmir remain taxable despite object located there.
Service tax applicability on law firms classified as business support service is governed by the place of provision; Chapter V of the Finance Act applies throughout India except Jammu and Kashmir, and tax incidence is attracted with reference to where the taxable service is provided. If the service provider and recipient are outside Jammu and Kashmir, Chapter V applies even when the object of the service is in Jammu and Kashmir.

Rebate of service tax: jurisdictional excise handles refunds for exported goods; Service Tax Commissionerate handles exported services refunds.
Where inputs and input services relate to manufacture of goods exported by EOUs, the jurisdictional Central Excise or Customs authority will process and disburse the rebate or refund of unutilised CENVAT credit; if an EOU/STP/EHTP provides or exports taxable services, it must register with the jurisdictional Service Tax Commissionerate, which will sanction rebate or refund claims for inputs and input services used for export of such services.

Service tax on mining activities clarified: site formation and cargo handling taxable; extraction not taxable before legislative inclusion.
Site formation, clearance, excavation and earthmoving preparatory to mining are taxable under the site formation and clearance, excavation and earthmoving and demolition service. Coal cutting and mineral extraction up to the pithead are integral mining operations and are not subject to service tax prior to legislative inclusion of mining services. Handling and transport post-pithead are taxable under Cargo Handling service and Goods Transport by Road, except transport by mechanical systems not involving road carriage; cargo handling remains taxable for loading and unloading even when mechanical systems are used.

Assessee code requirement must be quoted on GAR challans to ensure correct accounting under the electronic accounting system.
Assessees must quote a 15-character PAN/TAN-based assessee code and the correct commissionerate code on GAR challans when paying excise or service tax under the Electronic Accounting System to prevent mispostings and incorrect inter-commissionerate allocation of revenue.

Proper challan classification: ensure separate, complete challans so revenue is credited correctly and refunds follow for misallocated payments.
Assessees must present separate GAR-7 challans for each major head and fill all entries correctly so deposited amounts are credited to the proper major and minor heads. If payment is made under a wrong head, the assessee must credit the amount under the correct head and apply separately to the proper officer for refund of the amount deposited under the wrong head.

Accounting code correction: amendment to Primary Education Cess entry affecting excise deduct refund and drawback accounting.
Corrigendum instructs that the Sl. Code under the sub head "deduct refund and drawback" within union excise duties (table at page 2) should be read as 00380113 instead of 00380118, amending the accounting entry for Primary Education Cess as per Corrigendum Coord/13 6/98 99/Vol.IV/454 dated 09 10 2007.

Accounting of Education Cess: new minor head codes established and RAT balances directed to be transferred and notified.
New Minor Head 505 for Secondary and Higher Education Cess is opened under the Major Heads for Customs, Union Excise Duty and Service Tax with specified numeric, serial and SCCD codes; amounts held under Receipt Awaiting Transfer (RAT) should be transferred to the new Minor Head and Commissioners must be informed to issue Trade Notices. The existing Minor Head 504 is re named Primary Education Cess but retains its accounting codes; corresponding sub heads include Tax Collection, Other Receipts (interest/penalty) and Deduct Refunds.

Conclusion of adjudication: voluntary payment of service tax with interest and penalty terminates Finance Act proceedings against the payer.
Payment of service tax with interest and the prescribed penalty by a person issued a show cause notice leads to conclusion of the entire adjudication proceedings under the Finance Act in respect of that person; where notices are served on other persons under the subsection, proceedings in respect of those other persons are also deemed concluded. The same payment-based conclusion principle applies to the parallel subsection for other cases.

Cenvat credit utilization: specified input services may be used fully for taxable services without the general utilization cap.
Cenvat credit on the seventeen specified input services may be utilized without application of the 20% utilization restriction when those services are used for providing taxable services. These services cannot be apportioned to individual services and are treated like capital goods; credit is not available where they are used exclusively for exempted services, but where credit is taken it may be used in full for payment of service tax on taxable services.

Inclusion of YQ and YR charges affirmed as part of taxable service value; they form consideration for air carriage.
YQ and YR surcharges collected by airlines constitute part of the gross consideration for services provided by an aircraft operator to a passenger embarking in India for an international journey and are includible in the taxable value of that service; valuation rules treat any amount received in connection with the service before, during or after provision as part of taxable value, and method of vivisection is irrelevant when the amount is integral to the consideration.

Service tax registration documents: specify PAN, address proofs and additional branch proof for centralized registration.
Service Tax ST-1 registration requires a copy of the assessee's PAN card; proof of address for the premises to be registered (telephone or electricity bill, rent agreement in the name of the entity, or passport for proprietors/partnerships); and, where applicable, partnership deed or company Memorandum of Association. For centralized registration, proof of address must be furnished for each premises/branch. Previously submitted documents need not be resubmitted for addition/deletion of services unless a new premises/branch is added, when address proof for the new location is required.

Mandatory e-payment of service tax: interim RBI-authorised bank branches designated to collect e-payments for other commissionerates.
Mandatory e-Payment of service tax by large taxpayers will be received under an interim accounting arrangement: RBI has authorised Allahabad Bank, Parliament Street Branch, New Delhi (BSR Code 0210163), and Central Bank of India, Janpath Branch, New Delhi (BSR Code 0280318), to accept e-payment collection for e-payment receipts of Commissionerates not authorised for physical collection.