Service Tax registration timeframe: prompt issuance required, with office directives and an escalation route for delayed certificates.
All applications for issuance of the Service Tax registration certificate (ST-2) are to be processed and issued within seven days of submission; divisional officers were directed to ensure compliance and clear pending registrations by an administrative cutoff. A supervisory escalation mechanism permits taxpayers who do not receive the certificate within the stipulated period to submit written complaints to the designated Additional Commissioner (Systems) by post, fax, or email.

Cenvat credit on outward transportation denied where transport beyond the place of removal falls outside the meaning of clearance and is ineligible.
Cenvat Credit for service tax on outward transportation is disallowed where transportation occurs beyond the place of removal, because clearance denotes the removal of final products from factory premises to clear those premises; transport after that point falls outside the statutory meaning of clearance and is therefore not eligible for Cenvat credit, reversing a prior appellate allowance.