Service tax exemption for SEZ services: committee approval and certificate required, with annual renewal and supplier invoicing.
A procedural regime is prescribed for claiming the service tax exemption for services to SEZ developers or units: a committee chaired by the Chief Commissioner will examine applications; applicants must file the prescribed form with the Development Commissioner, who certifies and forwards it to the Commissioner of Central Excise, Kolkata VII for verification and onward transmission to the Chief Commissioner. Timelines of ten days are set at each stage. If approved, the Chief Commissioner issues a certificate to be supplied to service providers and referenced on invoices; certificates expire at the end of the financial year and require annual renewal.

Voluntary Compliance Scheme allows regularisation of unpaid service tax with structured payments and immunity from penalties upon full payment.
The VCES 2013 allows persons with unpaid service tax for 1 October 2007-31 December 2012 to declare dues to a Designated Authority in prescribed form, pay at least fifty percent by the declaration deadline and the balance by prescribed dates with interest for delay; CENVAT credit cannot be used for scheme payments. On full payment and issuance of an acknowledgement of discharge, the declarant obtains immunity from penalty, interest or other proceedings under the Chapter, and the declaration becomes conclusive; payments are non refundable.

Designated Authority nomination for voluntary compliance scheme: Assistant Commissioner (Technical) to accept Form VCES 1 filings at facilitation centre.
The Assistant Commissioner (Technical) is appointed as the Designated Authority for VCES 2013 for the Chennai Commissionerate; service providers must file a declaration in duplicate on the prescribed Form VCES 1 with enclosures at the Integrated Facilitation Centre located on the ground floor of the Designated Authority's office within the prescribed time.

Centralized Registration requires online ST 1 filing and timely submission of supporting documents or the application may be rejected.
Centralized registration requires online filing of Form ST 1 and submission of the printed application with specified documents to the Divisional Deputy/Assistant Commissioner within fifteen days, failing which the application may be rejected. After grant, prior single registrations must be surrendered and the Range Superintendent notified within two months, with CENVAT credit balances at branches reported within fifteen days. Until formal communication of centralized registration, service tax payments and compliance must continue at each branch.

Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme allows regularisation of service tax dues with immunity from penalties and other proceedings.
The VCES permits persons with service tax dues to declare and regularise liabilities provided they hold or obtain service tax registration; declarations attract interest but grant immunity from penalties and other proceedings under the Finance Act for declared dues. Tax dues already covered by a show cause notice or order of determination, or arising from the same issue for subsequent periods, are excluded. Rejection under section 106(2)(a)(iii) is confined to cases where an inquiry was formally initiated by requisition of accounts, documents or evidence under statutory provisions and was pending on the cutoff date; general informational communications do not invoke this exclusion.

Extension of service tax return filing deadline allows additional time to submit Form ST-3; ACES availability indicated.
The Government ordered an extension of the filing deadline for Form ST-3 for the stated service tax period, postponing the original due date and permitting additional time to file; the electronic Form ST-3 is expected to be made available on the ACES portal before the extended deadline, and the trade notice informs stakeholders to consult the official order on the department website.

Extension of ST-3 filing deadline to end-August due to delayed ACES availability, under Service Tax Rules authority.
An administrative order under sub-rule(4) of rule 7 of the Service Tax Rules extends the submission deadline for Form ST-3 for the period 1 October 2012 to 31 March 2013 from 25 April to 31 August, citing expected availability of the Form ST-3 on the ACES electronic filing system around 31 July; the instruction is issued to relevant Commissioners and departmental heads for implementation.

Erection services for pandals and shamianas constitute a declared service and attract service tax under applicable law.
Erection and laying of pandal or shamiana to prepare a place for events is a declared service under section 66E B(f), typically performed with the supplier's specialised labour and often bundled with ancillary supplies. Applying the Supreme Court's attributes for a transfer of right to use goods, the supplier retains effective possession and control after erection, so the activity does not amount to transfer of right to use goods and is subject to service tax as preparation of an event site.

Extension of filing date for service tax returns grants assessees additional time due to reported filing difficulties.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs, exercising powers under sub rule (4) of rule 7 of the Service Tax Rules, 1994, extends the submission deadline for Form ST-3 for the quarter 1 July-30 September 2012 from 15 April to 30 April 2013 to accommodate assessees facing difficulties in filing returns and to avoid delay and inconvenience.

Service tax registration: new service providers must register in designated ranges under restored pre negative list coding.
The notice restores pre Trade Notice registration status and accounting codes for listed services while assigning services outside the negative list to selected service tax ranges; new service providers must register in the designated ranges, existing assessees remain in their current ranges, and registered providers seeking to add new taxable services may do so through their existing jurisdictional range officer.

Service tax return deadline extended; filing window adjusted due to ACES availability and anticipated filing congestion.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs, invoking sub-rule(4) of rule 7 of the Service Tax Rules, 1994, extends the submission date for Form ST-3 for the period 1 July 2012 to 30 September 2012. The extension responds to late availability of the ACES electronic filing facility and the risk of network congestion from simultaneous filings, and is communicated to all relevant commissioners and directorates to implement the revised filing timeline.

Service tax amendments reshape negative list, narrow exemptions, reduce abatement and introduce a voluntary compliance settlement scheme.
Amendments expand negative list definitions and adjust assessment and penalty provisions: widening vocational-course and manufacturing-process definitions, deleting a limiting word to broaden agricultural testing exemptions, allowing determination of demand for an eighteen-month period when extended-period grounds fail, capping a specified penalty, introducing director-level penalties for willful offences, and restructuring cognizability and bailability of certain offences. Exemptions are narrowed and harmonised, abatement for construction services is reduced, advance ruling eligibility is extended to resident public limited companies, and a Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme (VCES) offers staged settlement with immunity subject to exclusions; key changes commence on enactment or specified effective dates.

Revised Return Form ST-3 requires assessees to file the July-September return by the extended deadline and electronically.
Notification introduces the Revised Form ST-3 for assessees to furnish data solely for the period 1 7 2012 to 30 9 2012 and amends the Service Tax Rules to provide an extended last date for filing that return. The revision retains the existing structure but requests service wise data where practicable. The paper form is notified for legality, while rule requires electronic filing; the electronic ACES version may differ in interface and functionality and will be made available on ACES, with the filing deadline to be extended if ACES access is delayed.

Service tax accounting codes restored; taxpayers must select appropriate service descriptions or amend registrations online in ACES.
The notice restores service-specific accounting codes for payment of service tax and directs that registrations under the positive list remain valid; new taxpayers must select relevant descriptions from the 120-item Annexure. Taxpayers registered as "OTHER THAN THE NEGATIVE LIST" should file an online amendment in ACES to opt for appropriate description(s); pending ST-1 amendments listing "all taxable services" may not require change and field officers should guide taxpayers. DG Systems will display the 120 descriptions and corresponding accounting codes in Form ST-1 and ST-2.

Transportation of milk: classified as foodstuff, thus covered by exemption for rail and vessel transport services.
The term foodstuff in Notification No.25/2012 ST includes milk; therefore transportation of milk by rail or vessel from one place in India to another is covered by that Notification, and field formations and taxpayers should be informed accordingly.

Point of taxation clarified: reminder letters for life insurance renewals do not attract service tax unless an invoice is issued.
Reminder notices or letters sent to policyholders for renewal premiums do not constitute invoices and do not create a point of taxation; the tax point is governed by the Point of Taxation Rules and is determined by the earlier of invoice issuance or receipt of payment, and if an invoice is issued the point of taxation must be determined accordingly. This clarification applies only to the life insurance sector.