Service tax registration: require only ST-1 information and grant promptly; verification may follow ex post.
Grant of service tax registration must be based only on the information prescribed in the ST-1 form; no additional documents may be demanded. Any verification of the applicant's bona fides should be performed on an ex-post-facto basis without delaying issuance, and officers causing delays should face appropriate action.

Corrigendum correcting circular reference requires updating the cited circular number and informing trade and field formations.
Corrigendum corrects a typographical error in the earlier circular's Table: the entry against Sl. No. 15 should read F. No. B.43/1/97-TRU dated 06.06.1997 instead of the incorrect F. No. B.43/7/97-TRU; trade and field formations are to be informed and a Hindi version will follow.

Service tax compliance: registration, mandatory e payment, invoicing, returns and CENVAT credit usage clarified for taxpayers.
Consolidates procedural requirements for service tax administration: mandatory registration and separate registration for input service distributors; monthly/quarterly payment schedules with mandatory e payment for taxpayers exceeding the prescribed payment threshold; invoicing and consignment note particulars to enable CENVAT credit; half yearly ST 3 returns with e filing and provisions for revised returns; self and provisional assessment mechanisms; CENVAT credit rules clarifying non availability of credit to consignor/consignee for GTA services beyond place of removal and admissibility criteria for input services; audit, interest, penalty, adjudication, revision and appeal frameworks are specified.

Service tax classification and valuation clarified: codified departmental positions on taxable services, exemptions, exports and CENVAT consequences.
Circular consolidates and codifies departmental positions on service tax technical issues, superseding prior clarifications except specified statutory orders. It prescribes a coding system for issue identification and states departmental views do not override law. The circular clarifies scope and classification (examples include courier, consulting engineer, manpower recruitment, mandap keeper, and business exhibition services), valuation principles (exclusion of non consideration amounts, treatment of spare parts), export/import of service rules (composite international journey valuation), CENVAT credit limitations, composition scheme constraints, exemption treatment for statutory functions, and taxability of sub contractors and certain financial and port services.

Help centre assistance for tax and trade queries enables e-mail support and e filing guidance with timely departmental responses.
A Help Centre provides in-person departmental officers for Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax queries and logistic support; it is a compliance assistance facility, not a grievance forum. An e mail enquiry system and dedicated e filing support route queries through the chamber to senior officers at the Commissionerate, with replies to be sent back to the chamber and efforts made to respond within three working days, and updates available on the departmental website.

E-payment focal point branches designated to collect and remit service tax and central excise receipts, with settlement and compliance obligations.
Specified bank branches are designated as Focal Point Branches to collect e-payments of Service Tax and Central Excise for Commissionerates without physical collection, while physical collection arrangements continue. These branches must submit Commissionerate-wise and Major Head-wise scrolls and challans daily to the Pay & Accounts Officer, settle funds with RBI CAS Nagpur via their Link Cell, comply with RBI remittance guidelines, and bear delayed period interest on late remittances.

Central Public Information Officer appointment: contact list published under RTI Act to provide designated information officers and contact details.
Sh. Praveen Jain is designated Commissioner of Central Excise, Delhi I and will act as the Central Public Information Officer under the Right to Information Act, 2005. Pursuant to Section 4(2) an updated list of the Appellate Authority, the CPIO and listed Central Assistant Public Information Officers is published, providing each official's designation, office address and contact details to facilitate public access to information.

e-Payment collection procedure: banks accept electronic receipts centrally with commissionerate-wise scrolling and reconciliation.
Designated banks may accept electronic payments across Commissionerates while Focal Point Branches collate physical and e-payments to prepare Commissionerate-wise and Major Head-wise scrolls. A specified CBS branch will handle e-payments for Commissionerates without physical collection and prepare stamped receipted challans in four copies for distribution to the Pay & Accounts Office, taxpayers, and divisional officers. Reporting to the bank link cell and fund settlement with the Reserve Bank of India will follow existing Commissionerate-wise and Major Head-wise procedures.

E-payment authorization permits a bank to collect service tax electronically for all commissionerates with interim accounting safeguards.
A designated bank is authorised to accept e-payments for all Central Excise and Service Tax Commissionerates without commissionerate-wise restriction while physical collection remains limited to authorised Commissionerates; FPBs will collect payments and prepare Commissionerate-wise, Major Head-wise scrolls, and a Delhi branch will process e-payments for non-covered Commissionerates and prepare four hard-copy challans for distribution to Pay & Accounts Office, taxpayer, and divisional officer to enable accounting and reconciliation, with reporting and fund settlement following existing procedures.

Service tax scope clarification: draft circular consolidates technical rulings, withdraws prior clarifications and defines taxable services and valuation.
The draft circular consolidates departmental interpretations on service tax, superseding prior technical clarifications and establishing a reference coding system for taxable services and issues. It restates that the document reflects administrative interpretation, not statute, and applies statutory definitions and valuation rules to specific fact patterns-clarifying taxability of activities such as courier and exhibition services, mandap letting, authorized service station reimbursements, composite international air tickets, services by sovereign authorities and Department of Posts, and financial services items like entry/exit loads.

Mandatory e-payment of service tax clarified alongside registration, CENVAT credit limits, return filing and adjudication procedures.
Consolidates procedural service tax rules: registration (including centralized registration and PAN based Service Tax Code), payment and mandatory e payment procedures, invoice and consignment note requirements, classification under section 65/65A, half yearly return filing with e filing, self and provisional assessment, CENVAT Credit clarifications (GTA credit inadmissible to consignor/consignee to discharge liability by fiction; consignee may claim input service credit; outward transport credit limited to "place of removal"; mobile phone service credit admissible under the 2004 Rules), interest on delayed payments, scrutiny and audit obligations, adjudication, revision and appeals mechanisms.

E-payment authorisation: Allahabad Bank approved to accept electronic service tax payments nationwide for all commissionerates.
Allahabad Bank has been approved and nominated to accept electronic payments for collection of indirect taxes; it is authorised to accept e-payments for all Central Excise and Service Tax Commissionerates without commissionerate-wise restrictions, supplementing the existing roster of banks designated for service tax e-payment under the established accounting arrangements.

Heads of accounts updated for newly taxable services and education cess, requiring designated accounting codes and trade notice.
New Heads of Accounts under Major Head 0044 for Service Tax and an Education Cess account have been opened effective 01-06-2007 for seven newly taxable services. The Controller of Accounts provided accounting codes for three sub-heads per service-Tax Collection, Other Receipts (for interest and penalties), and Deduct Refunds-and requested that Commissioners be informed and Trade Notices issued. The "Deduct Refunds" sub-head is not to be used by assessees.

Service tax accounting codes for new taxable services and education cess established, directing updated collection and accounting procedures.
Service tax accounting codes have been opened for seven categories of newly taxable services and for the Education Cess, effective 1-6-2007, under Major Head "0044-Service Tax", with distinct sub-heads for Tax Collection, Other Receipts (for interest and penalties) and Deduct Refunds (for departmental refund allowance). The Controller of Accounts requests that these codes be intimated to Commissioners and that a Trade Notice be issued to inform assessees; Education Cess uses code 00440298.

Consignment note requirements allow 'truck number not known' endorsement for small consignments, with later entry when vehicle identified.
Goods transport operators must issue a consignment note listing consignor/consignee, vehicle registration, goods, origin/destination and service-tax-liability. If vehicle registration is unknown at booking for small consignments, the customer's copy may be endorsed "truck number not known"; the agency must record the vehicle number in its copy when identified. For transshipment, the agency must note sequential vehicle numbers and leg details in its copy. Trade and field formations are to be notified of this procedure.

Mandatory e-payment GAR-7 challans require use of the full PAN-based assessee code and bank double-stamping for correct accounting.
Mandatory use of GAR-7 challans for e-payment requires assessees to provide accurate, legible entries including the full PAN-based assessee code from the registration certificate so payments are credited correctly; pre-printed challans are recommended, separate coloured challans must be used by major head, and banking procedures require submission of a single copy with a receipted counterfoil and double date-stamping by the bank.

Service tax exemption for foreign missions and diplomats hinges on MEA-issued entitlement certificates and authenticated undertakings.
Service tax exemption applies to taxable services supplied to foreign diplomatic missions/consular posts for official use and to diplomatic agents or career consular officers for personal use, subject to an entitlement certificate issued by the Protocol Division of MEA on the principle of reciprocity. For official-use exemptions an authenticated copy of the certificate plus an original signed undertaking with running serial number must be furnished to service providers, who must record the undertaking reference on invoices and retain documents for verification. For personal-use exemptions a photo-identification card with unique serial number and an authenticated photocopy must also be furnished and recorded. MEA notifies withdrawal to revenue authorities and benefits cease from withdrawal date.

Service tax revisions expand taxable services and introduce valuation and composition options affecting works contracts and rentals.
Amendments expand the scope and administration of service tax by notifying newly taxable services and activating revised definitions and the charging provision; they merge multiple telecom service categories into a single telecommunication service and amend corresponding rules. Valuation rules for works-contract-related services are prescribed and an optional composition scheme is introduced. Rental services are exempt to the extent of property tax actually paid, with a self-adjustment mechanism for post-payment of property tax. Export and inbound service rules are updated to classify the newly specified services under the relevant rules.

Service tax scope expansion: seven newly specified services added and works contract composition option introduced.
The Finance Act, 2007 revisions expand the list of taxable services and amend the charging and definitional provisions, with key changes effective from 1 June 2007. Seven services are newly specified as taxable, existing service definitions and exclusions are clarified or modified, and rules have been amended to reclassify telecommunication services and to categorise services for export/import rules. Renting of immovable property receives an exemption linked to actual property tax paid, construction of ports is exempted under certain services, and works contracts are to be vivisected for service-value determination with an optional composition scheme available to service providers, subject to loss of CENVAT credit.

Service tax on exchange services: transactional clearing activities outside taxable categories; paid data feeds are taxable.
Exchanges and their clearing houses render transaction-oriented services-trading facilitation, clearing and settlement, validation, account and payment maintenance-and process data incidentally without separate charges; these activities are services but do not fall within the taxable categories of provision and transfer of information and data processing, on-line information access, business auxiliary services, or club and association services. However, where exchanges supply on-line information to third parties for a separate payment, that supply is taxable.