Service tax exclusion on delayed payment surcharge: surcharges on telephone bills are not subject to service tax under valuation rules.
Service tax is not leviable on surcharges collected for delayed payment of telephone bills because the taxable value of telegraph/telephone services includes only amounts charged for the services themselves; surcharges do not alter that value. The Board withdraws its earlier contrary circular and directs finalisation of pending disputes and communication to trade and field formations.

Change of Service Tax Directorate address: future correspondence must be sent to the relocated Mumbai office and contacts.
Change of address for the Directorate of Service Tax, Mumbai: the Directorate has relocated to 9th Floor, Piramal Chambers, Jijibhoy Lane, Lalbagh, Parel, Mumbai, with new telephone and fax contact points. All future correspondence to the Directorate should be sent to the new office address and numbers.

Service tax directorate relocation: future correspondence must be sent to the new Mumbai address and contact details.
The Directorate of Service Tax has been relocated to the 9th floor of Piramal Chambers, Parel, Mumbai, with effect from 17-8-2000; the Trade Notice provides the new postal address and telephone and fax contact points and directs that all future official correspondence to the Directorate be made at the new address.

Payment by cheque deemed made when handed to bankers; no interest or penalty if deposited before due date and honoured.
Where a taxpayer deposits service tax by cheque into an authorized bank before the due date and the cheque is later honoured, the payment is deemed made on the date the cheque was handed to the Government's bankers, and the Department need not recover interest or impose penalty solely because the bank credited the account after the due date; however, if the cheque is dishonoured or clearance is abnormally delayed due to the assessee's lapse, penal action may be taken.

Deemed payment by cheque: deposited before due date and honoured, no interest or penalty recovery thereafter.
Where a service tax cheque is deposited in an authorized bank before the due date and is subsequently honoured, the payment is deemed to have been made on the date the cheque was handed to the Government's bankers; in such cases the department should not recover interest or impose penalty merely because the bank credited the amount after the due date, though dishonour or abnormal delay attributable to the assessee permits penal action.

Public Mobile Radio Trunking Services not taxable as telephone-connection services; clarifies exclusion and centralises interpretation authority.
PMRTS provide wireless connectivity among subscribers via radio terminals or trunking handsets without using telephone lines or instruments and without simultaneous two way voice communication; therefore PMRTS are not services "in relation to a telephone connection" and do not fall within that taxable scope. All interpretive or policy questions on service tax must be referred to the Board for examination and clarification; field offices must not issue independent clarifications.

Adjudication powers reassigned to Additional Commissioner with approval routes for commissioner and Chief Commissioner.
Amendment prescribes that an Additional Commissioner, as approved by the Commissioner, or where none exists in the commissionerate an Additional Commissioner of the Zone as approved by the Chief Commissioner, shall exercise the powers previously exercised by the Collector under sub para (e) of para 3 of the administrative machinery provision for collection of service tax.

Service tax administration moved to divisional headquarters; assessees must approach their local Deputy or Assistant Commissioner for registration and assessment.
Service Tax matters are to be handled at respective Divisional Headquarters; all work including registration and assessment is to be pursued with the jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner of the Central Excise division for assistance and enquiries.

Clearing & Forwarding Agents classification triggers service tax liability and mandates survey and registration nationwide.
Activities consisting of renting storage tanks and supplying connected pipelines, pumps and valves for loading and unloading cargo are treated as Clearing & Forwarding Agents, bringing those services within service tax scope; Commissionerates are directed to survey, register such establishments and report actions taken to the Directorate.

Service tax on clearing and forwarding activities requires registration and survey of establishments providing tank and pipeline rentals.
Providing storage tanks, pipelines, pumps and related loading/unloading facilities on a rental basis for handling liquid cargo is treated as Clearing & Forwarding Agents under Section 65(12) of the Finance Act, 1994 and thus falls within service tax coverage; Commissionerates are directed to survey for such establishments, register those liable, and report results to the Directorate of Service Tax.

Powers of adjudication revised: senior Central Excise officers assigned differing Service Tax adjudication limits following appealability guidance.
Operative changes amend monetary thresholds for Service Tax adjudication: Additional Commissioner has no monetary limit; Joint Commissioner is allocated a specified higher limit; Assistant Commissioners/Deputy Commissioners are assigned a lower monetary ceiling. These revisions follow a finding that Commissioner orders under Section 73 are not appealable to the Tribunal, and the remaining provisions of the earlier circular continue unchanged.

Service tax recoverability: refunds issued under struck down rules may be reclaimed with interest after statutory enactment.
The Finance Act, 2000 enacts service tax provisions formerly in Clause 112, with a limited retrospective application for services by goods transport operators and clearing and forwarding agents from 16 July 1997 to 16 October 1998. Refunds previously made pursuant to court orders striking down specified sub clauses of Rule 2(1)(d) of the Service Tax Rules, 1994 before presidential assent are recoverable within thirty days of assent; late payment attracts interest from the day after the thirty day period until payment.

Service tax on tour and rent-a-cab services imposes registration, valuation and payment obligations under applicable service tax rules.
Service tax applies to Rent a Cab Scheme Operators and Tour Operators from 1-4-2000. A rent a cab operator is any person renting cabs; a tour operator is any person operating tours in tourist vehicles or using vehicles leased from permit holders. Taxable value is the gross amount charged for services, inclusive of rental, accommodation, food and other ancillary charges. Abatements are available for package tours (60%) and for sole accommodation booking services (90%) subject to billing requirements. Registrations (Form ST 1), payment via specified challans, provisional assessment, half yearly ST 3 returns, and assessment and appellate procedures mirror central excise processes.

Service Tax definition changes expand taxable Tour Operator and Rent a Cab coverage, restore levy and bar consequential refunds.
The Budget and Directorate guidance: exempt mechanised slaughter houses from Service Tax from 1-3-2000; withdraw exemptions for Tour Operators and Rent-a-Cab Scheme Operators as of 1-4-2000, expanding their definitions so all cab-renting businesses and tour operators using permit-covered vehicles (including non-permit holders using leased/hired permitted vehicles) become taxable and must register; and include Finance Bill clauses retrospectively validating shifts of tax liability to service receivers for GTOs and C&F agents, disallowing consequential refunds and enabling recovery with interest of any refunds already made.

Service tax scope expanded as definitions of tour operators and cab rental broadened, triggering wider registration and tax liability.
The Budget changes introduce a full exemption for mechanised slaughter houses and terminate prior exemptions for Tour Operators and Rent a Cab services, necessitating levy and registration of those service providers under widened statutory definitions; amendments also validate retrospective rules shifting liability for Goods Transport Operators and Clearing & Forwarding Agents to service receivers, disallowing refunds and permitting recovery of amounts previously refunded with interest.