Administrative machinery for collection — Investigation etc.

Service tax administration centralization assigns registration, assessment and search powers to Assistant Commissioners, escalation to Commissioner for long periods.

A headquarters Cell, headed by an Assistant Commissioner, will manage Service Tax administration: Superintendents will acknowledge Form ST-1 and assess quarterly returns; the Assistant Commissioner will sign Form ST-2, order provisional assessments, and exercise assessment powers for valuation, best-judgment and escaping assessments and rectification, except where periods of five years or more require the Commissioner to act. Only designated officers will collect Service Tax; routine checks are barred, though Assistant Commissioners may authorise verification visits, and searches by Assistant Commissioners need Commissioner approval.