Service tax exemption for services provided to the United Nations and declared international organisations removes levy on such taxable services.
All taxable services provided to the United Nations or to an international organisation declared under the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act are exempted from the whole of the service tax otherwise leviable, the Central Government having exercised its powers to supersede an earlier notification; the term international organisation is defined by reference to organisations covered by that Act's schedule.

Taxability of professional services: practising accountants and corporate secretaries' management or recruitment work treated as taxable services.
The notification inserts an Explanation that services provided by a practising chartered accountant, practising company secretary or practising cost accountant are not covered by the exemption where those services fall within other taxable service categories; illustratively, services relating to organizational management or manpower recruitment by such practitioners are to be treated as management consultant or manpower recruitment agency services, and thus not exempt.

Service tax credit entitlement clarified: credit allowed when input and output services fall in same category.
Service tax credit is allowed to an output service provider for service tax paid on input services used in relation to rendering taxable output services, subject to documentary evidence, payment of value and tax, the matching of input and output service categories, restrictions where output services are exempt or non-taxable, requirements to maintain separate accounts or accept prescribed limits if accounts are not maintained, limitations on telephone connections, rules on utilisation and prohibition of refunds, transferability on specified transfers of establishment, recordkeeping and return filing, and recovery provisions for wrongly availed credit.

Taxable service classification revised: notification reference substituted to redefine which services fall within service tax scope.
Amendment substitutes the prior reference to the taxable service provision in Notification No. 6/99 with a different clause-based reference within the charging provision, thereby modifying which services are treated as taxable under that notification; the change is effected by exercise of powers under the Finance Act and takes effect from the stated commencement date in August 2002.

Service tax payment rules: cheque presentation deemed payment upon bank presentation subject to realization and revised return form introduced.
Rule 2 expands taxable scope to include life insurance and to treat services provided by non-residents without an Indian office as taxable in relation to the recipient in India. Rule 6 adds sub-rule (2A) deeming cheque presentation to the designated bank as the date of payment for service tax, subject to realization. The notification replaces Form ST-3 with a revised return requiring month-wise values and realisations, service tax payable, adjustments under rule 6(3), interest, payment mode details, supporting challan/journal references, a self-assessment declaration and official acknowledgement.

Service tax exemption for beauty parlour hair dyeing services removes tax liability for those services under the Finance Act.
The Central Government, under the Finance Act, 1994, exempted the taxable service provided to a customer by a beauty parlour in relation to hair dyeing from the whole of service tax leviable under the Act by Notification No. 11/2002 ST dated 1-8-2002, to come into force on 16 August 2002; that notification was later rescinded by a subsequent notification effective in 2005.

Exemption for cargo handling services removes service tax liability for handling agricultural produce and goods bound for cold storage.
Exemption of taxable services provided by cargo handling agencies in relation to agricultural produce or goods intended for storage in cold storage removes the service tax leviable under section 66, granted by Notification No. 10/2002-S.T. effective 16 August 2002; the relief applies to services "in relation to" such produce or cold-storage goods and was subsequently rescinded by a later notification.

Life insurance service tax exemption: insurer-provided services to policyholders excluded from service tax under notification.
A central government notification exempts the whole of the service tax levied on taxable services provided by an insurer carrying on life insurance business to a policy holder, exercising executive power to remove service tax liability in relation to those insurer-to-policyholder services from the notification's commencement.

Effective date appointment enables service tax amendments to commence, allowing levy under the Finance Act provisions.
Appointment of the Effective Date under section 149 of the Finance Act, 2002 designates 16 August 2002 for commencement of amendments to Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994, thereby enabling the levy of service tax under the amended levy provision; issued via Notification No. 08/2002-Service Tax dated 01/08/2002.

Service tax inclusion: Armenia added to the Notification schedule under amendment governed by statutory provision.
Notification No.7/2002, issued under the power of section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994, amends Notification No.1/2001-Service Tax by inserting a new serial number 84 in the Schedule immediately after serial number 83, the new entry specifying "Armenia".

Service tax amendment adds Armenia to the schedule, modifying the territorial scope of the service-tax notification.
The central government, exercising statutory power under the Finance Act, issues a notification amending the schedule of an earlier service-tax notification by inserting a new serial entry (No. 66) identifying "Armenia" after serial number 65, thereby adding that territory to the notification's schedule.

Diplomatic telephone exemption applies to Armenia embassy and diplomatic mission members' phones under amended service tax notification
The amendment inserts proviso clause (vii) to Notification No.5/96 specifying that the entry at serial No.98 relating to Armenia is applicable only to telephones of the Embassy and telephones of members of the mission holding diplomatic rank, and adds a corresponding Schedule entry for serial No.98 (Armenia) after serial No.97.

Diplomatic telephone exemption confined to embassy telephones and mission members of diplomatic rank under amended service tax notification.
The notification is amended to insert a proviso clause restricting the benefit for Serial No.97 (Sri Lanka) so that it applies only to telephones of the Embassy and members of the mission holding diplomatic rank; a corresponding schedule entry for serial 97 (Sri Lanka) is also added under the government's statutory amendment power.

Diplomatic telephone exemption limited to embassy phones and mission members of diplomatic rank for Belarus under amended service tax notification.
The amendment confines the notification's applicability for Belarus so that it applies only to telephones of the Embassy and to members of the mission holding diplomatic rank, and inserts Belarus as a new serial entry in the Schedule immediately after the existing serial No.95, under authority conferred by the Finance Act, 1994.

Exemption extension for hotels providing mandap keeper and catering services continued by notification altering the expiry date.
The amendment substitutes the expiry date in paragraph 2 of Notification No.12/2001-Service Tax so that the period during which the exemption for hotels providing mandap keeper services together with catering is extended to a later specified date; the Central Government invokes section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994 and records public interest as the basis for this temporal extension.

Extension of service tax to installations and vessels in the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone under territorial waters law.
The notification extends Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994 to installations, structures and vessels in the continental shelf of India and the Exclusive Economic Zone, exercising powers under specified clauses of the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones Act, 1976 and noting a prior substituted territorial description and later suppression.

Service tax amendment replaces a registration-based exclusion with an exclusion based on being other than a commercial concern.
The Central Government, under section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994, amends Notification No. 6/2001-Service Tax by substituting the exclusion "which is not registered under the law relating to Shops and Establishment or any other law of a State for the time being in force" with the phrase "other than a commercial concern", effective prospectively and preserving prior actions.

Exemption for hotel catering as mandap keeper limits service tax liability where catering charges are expressly billed, with exclusions.
Exemption covers taxable service by a hotel as mandap keeper where catering (supply of a substantial and satisfying meal plus mandap-related services) is included and billed as such; it limits service tax liability according to the notification's valuation rule. The exemption is unavailable if Cenvat credit on inputs or capital goods has been taken or if the hotel has availed a separate specified notification benefit. Definitions of food and hotel are supplied.

Service tax amendment clarifies insurance agent scope, separating general insurance business from insurance auxiliary service.
The amendment modifies rule 2(1)(d) of the Service Tax Rules, 1994 by substituting wording so that references pertain to activities "in relation to general insurance business" and by inserting a separate clause treating "insurance auxiliary service by an insurance agent" as services provided by any person carrying on the general insurance business in India, thereby distinguishing the tax characterisation of general insurance business from insurance auxiliary services performed by agents.

Self-assessment memorandum requires declarant to affirm service tax assessment, payment and interest compliance and attach interest worksheet.
Substitution in Form ST-3 establishes a Self-Assessment Memorandum whereby the assessee or authorised representative must declare that return particulars match records, that service tax has been correctly assessed and paid under the Act and rules, and that duty was paid within the prescribed time or, if delayed, that interest leviable under the statute has been deposited; a worksheet of interest calculation is to be attached, and signature, date and acknowledgement provisions are prescribed.