Business auxiliary service exemption excludes specified input, production and ancillary services in agriculture, printing and textiles from service tax.
Exemption relieves taxable services provided to a client by any person in relation to business auxiliary service-where such services involve procurement of inputs, production or processing of goods for or on behalf of the client, provision of services on behalf of the client, or incidental or auxiliary services-and provided in relation to agriculture, printing, textile processing or education, from the whole of the service tax leviable under the Finance Act.

Exemption for government tax-collection services: service tax not leviable on banks and financial institutions collecting duties or taxes.
Exempts from service tax the taxable service rendered by a banking company, a financial institution (including a non-banking financial company), any other body corporate or any other person to the central or a state government where the service relates to collection of duties or taxes levied by that government, relieving such service from the whole of the service tax otherwise leviable.

Service tax exemption conditions tightened: exemptions denied where Cenvat credit claimed or prior exemption previously availed.
Multiple Service Tax notifications are amended to restrict exemptions by provisos denying relief where Cenvat credit on inputs or capital goods has been taken or where the service provider has availed a specified earlier exemption; mandap keeper catering invoices must show catering charges and no Cenvat credit claimed; sale-of-goods exemptions require no Cenvat credit or repayment equal to credit before sale; "call centre" definition is broadened; wording "erection" is added alongside commissioning and installation.

Service tax invoice requirements and input service distributor credit rules clarified; insurers given optional simplified premium-based payment method with exceptions.
A new Rule 4A requires every provider of taxable services to issue a serially numbered, signed invoice, bill or challan listing the provider's name, address and registration number, the recipient's name and address, description, classification and value of the taxable service and the service tax payable; input service distributors must issue serially numbered documents for each recipient showing provider and distributor particulars, originating invoice serial number and date, recipient particulars and the amount of credit distributed.

Limited taxable value for convention services when catering is included reduces the service tax base absent Cenvat benefit.
The notification limits the taxable value of convention services that include catering by exempting service tax to the extent it exceeds tax computed on a value equal to sixty per cent of the gross amount charged, where that gross amount is inclusive of catering charges. "Catering service" means supply of a substantial and satisfying meal. The exemption does not apply if Cenvat credit on inputs or capital goods has been taken or if benefits under the 2003 Service Tax notification have been availed.

Service tax exemption for rent-a-cab operators caps taxable value for levy, subject to Cenvat and prior-notification restrictions.
The Central Government exempts service tax on rent-a-cab services to the extent that tax exceeds the amount computed on a value equal to forty per cent of the gross charge for the service, effectively capping the taxable value; the exemption is not available where Cenvat credit has been taken or where the operator has availed the benefit under the earlier specified notification.

Service tax exemption scope narrowed; commission agent treatment limited to agricultural produce; abatement rate increased by amendments
Amendments alter three service tax notifications: one rephrases relief to apply only to the portion of service tax exceeding tax calculated on a value equivalent to sixty percent of the gross amount charged; another limits exemption to commission agents dealing in agricultural produce and replaces the Explanation with definitions of "commission agent" and "agricultural produce"; the third substitutes a higher percentage in place of the earlier stated percentage for the relevant provision.

Rescission of service tax notifications withdraws prior notifications while preserving actions taken before rescission.
The Central Government, exercising powers under the Finance Act, 1994, rescinds three specified service tax notifications issued in 1998, 2001 and 2003, withdrawing their operative effect henceforth while explicitly preserving anything done or omitted under those notifications prior to rescission.

Service tax credit amendment deletes wording on unpaid input service provider tax, altering eligibility under rule six.
Amendment to the Service Tax Credit Rules, 2002 omits from rule 6 the words referring to cases where service tax has not been paid by the input service provider; the change is made under powers of the Finance Act and comes into force on publication in the Official Gazette.

Service tax timing clarified: advance receipts must be taxed in the tax period to which the service value relates.
Clarifies timing of service tax liability where payment is received before the service is provided: insertion to Rule 6(1) specifies that when the value of a taxable service is received in advance, service tax must be paid on the portion of the service value attributable to the relevant month or quarter.

Notification reference correction: clause citation in the Service Tax notification amended to clause (105).
Corrigendum to the Service Tax notification published in the Gazette corrects the English text: in the specified line, for "clause (90) of sub section (1)" read "clause (105)", thereby amending the clause reference in the notification's published text.

Service tax exemption for Special Economic Zone services subject to developer/unit approval, in zone consumption, and recordkeeping requirements.
Exemption from service tax applies to taxable services provided to a developer or unit of a Special Economic Zone for consumption within the zone, conditional on approval of the developer by the Board, approval of the unit by the Development Commissioner or Board, and maintenance of proper accounts of receipt and utilisation of such services.

Correction of notification reference substitutes 7/2004-CE with 3/2004-ST in a service tax notification.
The instrument replaces the figures and letters previously cited as 7/2004-CE with 3/2004-ST in the Government notification issued under the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), effecting a correction to the official citation in the Gazette entry.

Delegation of Central Excise powers grants service tax enforcement authority to CE (Intelligence) officers across India.
Notification appoints Central Excise Intelligence officers as Central Excise Officers for service tax, vesting them with nationwide powers equivalent to Central Excise officers of corresponding ranks under the Central Excise Act, the Finance Act and the Service Tax Rules, and lists specific Intelligence designations mapped to equivalent Central Excise ranks.

Tour operator service tax exemption: taxable base limited to a proportion of gross tour charges, with specified exceptions.
Tour operator services (other than services in relation to a package tour) are exempt to the extent the service tax exceeds the amount calculated on forty per cent of the gross amount charged for the tour, where the bill indicates that amount as the gross charge. The exemption does not apply if Cenvat credit on inputs or capital goods has been claimed under the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004, or if the operator has availed the benefit of the earlier concession notification; a package tour means transportation and accommodation are both arranged by the tour operator.

Extension of notification validity extends operative deadline and updates applicability for earlier service tax notification under central finance powers.
Under authority of section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994, Notification No. 01/2004-ST substitutes in paragraph 2 of Notification No. 9/2003-Service Tax the figures, letters and words "29th day of February, 2004" with the figures, letters and words "30th day of June, 2004", extending the date of applicability set by the earlier notification.

Service tax exemption for services paid in convertible foreign exchange, subject to non-repatriation condition, later rescinded.
The central government exempts specified taxable services from the whole of service tax when payment for those services is received in India in convertible foreign exchange, but the exemption does not apply if the payment is repatriated from India or sent outside India; the notification was rescinded effective 15 March 2005.

Exemption for maintenance or repair of computer services removes service tax liability for qualifying customer-facing repairs.
Exemption of service tax is granted for services supplied to a customer by any person relating to the maintenance or repair of computers, computer systems or computer peripherals, thereby excluding such services from the service tax levy under the statute; this exemption was subsequently rescinded by a later notification.

Service tax exemption on contract-value basis limits taxable amount when commissioning and installation agencies opt for it.
Exemption allows a commissioning and installation agency, at its option, to have service tax measured on a percentage of the gross contract amount for supply together with erection, commissioning or installation; the benefit is available only if the agency has not taken the alternate notification benefit for the same contract and has not availed Cenvat credit on inputs or capital goods, and the gross amount charged includes the value of plant, machinery, equipment, parts or other material sold during provision of the service.

Exemption for erection, commissioning and installation services relieves non commercial agencies from service tax liability, later rescinded.
Notification No. 18/2003 exempts taxable services relating to erection, commissioning or installation provided by a commissioning and installation agency other than a commercial concern from service tax levy under the Finance Act, 1994; the phrase was amended by a subsequent notification and the notification was later rescinded.