Service tax accounting allocation establishes Deduct Refund sub heads for taxable services to record refunds and receipts.
A separate sub head "Deduct Refund" has been created under major head 044 Service Tax for all specified taxable services. The notice prescribes new minor head and sub head alpha numeric account codes, with distinct entries for Tax Collections, Other Receipts and Deduct Refunds. Annexures I-IV list the affected service categories and the exact account and SCCD codes to be used by accounting officers to record tax receipts and refund deductions.

Visits to assessees' premises now require prior written notice and Commissioner approval, except on credible evasion intelligence.
Routine visits by Central Excise officers to service tax assessees must be preceded by a written notice stating purpose and required documents, given at least fifteen days in advance, and conducted only with the prior approval of the Commissioner; the restriction does not apply where specific information or intelligence of evasion or contravention exists and exigent action is warranted.

Advertising agency classification: printing and publishing directories not taxable unless they prepare or design advertisements.
Compilation, printing and publishing of telephone directories, Yellow Pages and business directories that consists of printing and publishing readymade advertisements supplied by advertisers is analogous to newspapers and periodicals and does not constitute an advertising agency service for service tax purposes. Charges for services that involve making, preparation or creative development of advertisements, including designing, visualising or conceptualising, are taxable as advertising agency services.

Invalidation of receiver liability for service tax: refund claims to be filed under Section 11B and processed promptly.
The Supreme Court invalidated rules shifting service tax liability to receivers for Goods Transport Operators and Clearing & Forwarding Agents, creating refund entitlement. Refunds must be claimed under Section 11B by filing Prescribed Form "R" within six months of the judgment (27 July 1999). Valid claims filed in time are to be finalised within twelve weeks and refunded or credited to the Consumer Welfare Fund. No refunds arise for Goods Transport Operator services provided on or after the exemption effective date of 2 June 1998; Clearing & Forwarding services remain refundable where paid by receivers.

Service tax liability shift for clearing and forwarding agents requires agents to pay tax instead of the engaging principal.
The Service Tax regime was amended to transfer payment responsibility for taxable services provided by clearing and forwarding agents from the principal or client to the agents themselves, effective 1 September 1999. Such agents are liable under Section 68(1) and must follow existing registration, return filing, assessment and recordkeeping requirements; taxable value remains the gross remuneration or commission paid to the agent.

Service tax liability shift: clearing and forwarding agents must now directly pay service tax and comply with registration and returns.
Clearing and forwarding agents are now directly liable to pay service tax on taxable services they render; the taxable value remains the gross remuneration or commission received from the principal or client. Existing requirements for registration, returns and assessment continue to apply, and Commissioners must issue trade notices with procedures for registration, document maintenance, filing and payment to facilitate implementation and compliance.

Management consultant classification clarified: secretarial industrial legal services are excluded from that scope and reclassified.
Services limited to secretarial assistance-filing returns and forms and maintaining records-by ESI, PF and other industrial law practitioners do not change or improve management and therefore are excluded from the scope of the term Management Consultant for service tax classification; prior guidance treating them as management consultants should be modified and practitioners informed.

Advertising agency classification: creation of advertisements attracts service tax, mere printing and publishing of directories does not.
The Ministry concluded that compilation, printing and publishing of telephone directories, Yellow pages and business directories that consist of printing readymade advertisements supplied by advertisers are akin to newspapers and do not attract service tax as an advertising agency. However, if those persons undertake activities of making or preparation of advertisements - such as designing, visualising or conceptualising - the charges for those creative services are taxable and liable to service tax.

Service Tax reconciliation: computerised challan matching required to ensure correct headwise accounting and verification.
Computerised reconciliation of Service Tax receipts under Major Head 044 requires duplicate TR-6 challans to be entered sub-heading wise at divisional computer cells, transmitted to Headquarters for compilation into 044 statements, and verified by Range Officers. Payments must be made and recorded using the prescribed Major/Minor/Sub-head accounting codes and Sl. Code so amounts are posted to the correct head of account; assessees must complete challans with required identifiers and verifying officers must certify and return verified statements to the designated accounts authority.

Taxable value inclusion of surcharges on telephone bills expands the service tax base and must be levied accordingly.
Service tax on telephone connections must be calculated on the gross total amount charged to the subscriber; surcharges collected for delayed payment are part of the taxable value. Consequently, service tax is to be levied on the gross bill, so payment after the pay-by date requires tax to be charged on the bill amount (exclusive of service tax) plus the surcharge.

Centralisation of service tax administration shifts filings and registrations to Commissionerate headquarters to streamline administration and taxpayer convenience.
Service tax administration for metropolitan Commissionerates is centralised at the Commissionerate Headquarters to improve administrative efficiency and convenience; all assessees must file registrations and returns at the designated Headquarters office, and may contact the Assistant Commissioner or the Superintendent, Service Tax at the specified office for difficulties, effective from the notice's stated commencement.

Service tax on international roaming: tax applies to the home operator's gross bill including foreign usage and roaming surcharge.
Where foreign visited network usage charges and roaming surcharges are forwarded to and included by the Home Network operator in a subscriber's monthly bill, the taxable value is the gross total amount charged by the telegraph authority; service tax is chargeable on the comprehensive bill inclusive of foreign usage and roaming surcharges, and Circular No. 22/2/97 applies mutatis mutandis to international automatic and plastic roaming facilities.

Service tax on international roaming applies to gross subscriber bills including foreign usage and roaming surcharge.
The service tax is chargeable on the gross total amount billed by the Home Network operator to subscribers, inclusive of foreign usage bills forwarded by visited networks and any roaming surcharge; Board's Circular No. 22/2/97 applies mutatis mutandis to international automatic and plastic roaming facilities provided by cellular operators.

Service tax centralisation in metro commissionerates to reduce taxpayer inconvenience; decentralisation allowed elsewhere for efficiency.
Service tax administration in metropolitan commissionerates is to be centralised at the Commissionerate Headquarters to reduce inconvenience to assessees caused by divisional decentralisation. Commissioners of other commissionerates may decentralise where that better serves administrative efficiency and assessee convenience. Doubts about centralisation or decentralisation should be referred for discretionary determination and any special local arrangements must be notified to higher administrative authorities.

Service tax administration centralized at metro headquarters; decentralisation elsewhere subject to Commissioner discretion and higher authority referral.
In metropolitan areas, service tax administration shall be conducted from Commissionerate Headquarters to avoid multi-office visits by assessees; other Commissionerates may decentralise subject to administrative efficiency and convenience. Doubts on centralisation or decentralisation are to be referred to the Chief Commissioner of Central Excise for discretionary local arrangements, with intimation to the Board and the Directorate General (Service Tax).

Service tax head allocation directs specified service providers to deposit tax under assigned major and minor account heads.
Allocation of designated Major Head, Minor Head and Sub Head account codes requires specified service providers to deposit service tax under assigned heads; the notice lists new account codes under Major Head 0044 for listed services and prescribes sub heads for tax collections, other receipts and deduction of refunds, with an annexed schedule supplying detailed account codes for each service category.

Service tax account heads designated for specified professional and agency services to ensure payments under prescribed accounts.
Service tax payers within newly brought-in service categories must remit tax, record other receipts and account for refund deductions exclusively under the prescribed Major, Minor and Sub-heads of Accounts listed in Annexure H, which specifies account codes for tax collections, other receipts and deduct refunds for each identified service category.