Service tax automation enables online registration and electronic filing with phased module rollout and digital-signature deferred.
Implementation of the Automation of Central Excise and Service Tax (ACES) introduces a phased, workflow-based platform replacing legacy applications, initially providing Service Tax Registration (REG) and Service Tax Returns (RET) modules. It prescribes registration procedures for new, existing, non-assessee and LTU users, specifies user ID permanence and registration-number formats, and sets out online and offline return preparation, upload, validation and status tracking. Digital-signature acceptance is designed but initially not activated, so e-returns will be accepted without signed hard copies; system requirements and service-desk contact are provided.

E-payment authorization for tax collection enables a bank to receive central excise and service tax electronically across commissionerates.
Oriental Bank of Commerce was authorized to collect Central Excise duties and Service Tax through bank-mediated electronic payments for all Central Excise, Service Tax and LTU Commissionerates, pursuant to approval by the Chief Controller of Accounts, CBEC; the Trade Notice announces commencement of the arrangement and requests wide publicity to trade associations.

Leviability of service tax on construction: government canals exempt, private revenue-generating canals taxable under construction service rules.
Canal construction is taxable as a commercial or industrial construction service only if the structure is used, occupied, or engaged primarily for commerce or industry; government-built canals for public projects do not fall within commercial activity and are not chargeable, while privately developed, revenue-generating canals are taxable. Separately, works contracts for specified infrastructure-including canals and related irrigation projects-executed through turnkey or EPC arrangements are excluded from service tax liability.

Service tax on railway freight suspended, with the levy placed in abeyance by government notifications.
Service tax on railway freight, introduced by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009 and notified to take effect from 1 September 2009, has been kept in abeyance by issuance of subsequent notifications suspending the levy; copies of those notifications are circulated as administrative instructions.

Designation of Central Public Information Officer reassigned under RTI Act, adjusting CPIO and CAPIO officer roles.
The Office modifies prior orders to reassign RTI functions: the Assistant Commissioner (P&V) Hqrs is designated as CPIO (P&V) in place of the Superintendent (Vigilance), and the incumbent Superintendent (Technical-II) is designated as CAPIO, updating the officials responsible for processing RTI matters under the RTI Act.

Service tax on directors' remuneration: payments for board duties are not taxable, separate consultancy fees are.
Remunerations paid by a company to its Managing Directors or Directors, even if labelled as commissions, are not commissions within the scope of Business Auxiliary Service and are not chargeable to service tax. Amounts paid for performance of board or managerial functions are not payments for Management Consultancy Service; however, separately compensated advisory or consultancy services provided by directors are taxable as management consultancy.

Reconstitution of Regional Advisory Committee updates membership for the specified years and directs trade associations to publicize it.
Reconstitution of the Regional Advisory Committee modifies Trade Notice No. 07/ST/2009 to update committee membership for the financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11, specifying the current officer composition and directing trade associations to widely publicize the change among members and constituents.

Reverse charge on imported services: input service tax credit permitted when such services qualify as inputs under CENVAT rules.
Reverse-charge treatment of services imported from abroad is a deeming device that makes such services subject to the ordinary charging provision; the reverse-charge provision does not itself charge a separate tax. Therefore, tax paid by the recipient under the reverse-charge mechanism is tax chargeable under the primary charging provision, and CENVAT credit for such tax must be allowed where the imported service qualifies as an input service under the CENVAT Credit Rules.

Service tax on renting of immovable property: department instructs revenue protection measures pending appeal outcome.
The Department notes a High Court view that the renting of immovable property for business use does not automatically constitute a taxable service, but has filed an appeal and instructs service tax formations to safeguard revenue by pursuing payment or using legal remedies pending final disposal.

Service tax scope expanded to include new services and procedural rules revised to streamline appeals and refund processes.
Amendments expand the scope of service tax by adding specified transport, cosmetic and plastic surgery, and legal consultancy services and by revising definitions of Business Auxiliary Service, Information Technology Service and Stock broker Service; the charge provision is amended to include individually specified services and rule making authority is granted for place of supply and the relevant date for tax determination. Procedural changes replace Commissioner revision with departmental appeals, and rule changes adjust cenvat payments and credit recovery rules.

Service tax expansion: new taxable services and revised exemption/refund scheme affecting exporters and territorial scope.
The Finance (No.2) Bill, 2009 and linked notifications expand the taxable service list (notably rail, coastal and inland water transport of goods, legal consultancy between business entities, and cosmetic/plastic surgery excluding reconstructive procedures), amend scope of existing services (Business Auxiliary Service, stock broker/sub broker status, IT software right to use), tighten CENVAT write off and allocation rules, modify the works contract composition condition, extend territorial coverage to the Continental Shelf and EEZ, and replace the export refund regime with an exemption route and a trust based refund scheme with specified documentation and processing timelines.

Cenvat credit compliance: audit identifies systematic credit misuse and recommends rule amendments to secure revenue.
Audit of service tax administration recorded widespread compliance deficiencies in cenvat credit and levy of service tax. Recurring cenvat issues included excess utilisation without separate accounts, credit on outward transportation beyond place of removal, credit for non taxable IT services, absence of reversal for credit on written off output services, use of invalid documents, and claims for services prior to the effective credit date. Audit also documented non levy/non payment across construction, intellectual property, software, foreign supplier services and other categories, and recommended statutory and rule amendments to clarify credit scope and recovery mechanisms.

Cenvat credit rules clarified: works-contract composition bars inputs credit but permits capital goods and input services; refund interest allowed.
Interest on delayed refund of amounts deposited under appeal is permissible under the refund-interest provision inserted by recent finance legislation. Rule 3(2) of the Works Contract Composition Scheme bars CENVAT credit on inputs for contracts under composition but does not preclude CENVAT credit on input services or capital goods; the Ministry issued a clarificatory circular. CENVAT credit on capital goods received in a given financial year is limited to fifty percent of duty paid for that financial year, and policy matters must be referred to the Board or designated divisional contacts.

Central Public Information Officer designation clarifies departmental CPIOs and appellate authorities for service tax divisions ensuring RTI request allocation.
Deputy and Assistant Commissioners heading Service Tax divisions are designated as Central Public Information Officers for their divisions, with Joint/Additional Commissioners as Appellate Authorities; Administrative Officers and the Superintendent (Vigilance) are designated CPIOs for Administration/Establishment and Vigilance respectively. A Deputy/Assistant Commissioner (Technical) is appointed CPIO (Coordinator) to receive and allocate RTI applications to relevant CPIOs, handle overlapping or residual requests, and is subject to appeal to the Joint/Additional Commissioner (Technical).

SEZ service tax exemption allows in SEZ consumption to be exempt; refund process and documentary conditions apply for out of SEZ use.
Notification 15/2009 exempts services consumed within an SEZ from service tax, limiting refunds to services consumed outside the SEZ. Refund claims must include the Approval Committee-approved list of specified services and documents evidencing payment of service tax. The Assistant/Deputy Commissioner must verify actual end use and may conduct further verification for significant claims. Existing Board circulars on sanction, pre audit, jurisdiction, STC codes and payment evidence apply. An ad hoc interim payment mechanism is available for complete claims, and refund claims must be finalised within prescribed expedited timeframes. Commissioners must monitor disposal and report implementation difficulties.

Designation of CPIO under RTI Act: change of officer in Service Tax commissionerate updates official RTI point of contact.
The Trade Notice amends a prior notice by designating Dr. Shobhit Jain as the Central Public Information Officer for the Service Tax Commissionerate, New Delhi, replacing the previous CPIO for Headquarters and thereby updating the official point of contact for processing RTI Act requests and managing related information responsibilities.

Designation of Mentor to supervise local implementation of the Service Tax Return Preparer Scheme and address practitioner issues.
Designation of a zone-level Mentor to supervise local implementation and smooth functioning of the Service Tax Return Preparer Scheme, responsible for addressing issues raised by return preparers and assessees and coordinating with the DGST-designated Resource Centre; the notice names the officer appointed for the Bhopal zone and provides contact details to facilitate communication and grievance resolution.

Restriction on Cenvat credit applies to input services for capital goods where both taxable and exempt outputs are supplied.
Clarification that the Cenvat credit restriction applies to credit on all inputs and input services, including those related to capital goods; the limitation is applicable where a manufacturer or service provider furnishes both taxable and exempted outputs, and thus service tax on input services for capital goods is not exempt from the Rule 6 restriction.

Designation of collection branch: new focal point for service tax and central excise collections and refund payments.
The Chief Controller of Accounts, CBEC authorized City Back Office Branch, Bank of Baroda as the new focal point branch for collection of Central Excise duties and Service Tax and for payment of refund claims under the LTU Commissionerate in Delhi; the Parliament Street Branch will remain a collecting branch only, and stakeholders are requested to publicise the change.

Return scrutiny framework mandates preliminary and risk based detailed checks to validate self assessed service tax returns and refer discrepancies.
A two-tiered Return Scrutiny Manual requires preliminary scrutiny of all service tax returns for completeness and arithmetic accuracy, and detailed scrutiny of selected returns-chosen by risk parameters-for issues of classification, exemptions, valuation and CENVAT credit availment; scrutiny officers validate returns and refer findings to audit or anti-evasion wings, and manual procedures and prioritisation rules apply until an automated ACES module is operational.