Service tax valuation: works contracts for repair, maintenance and finishing taxed on a fixed portion of total contract value.
The amendment specifies that for works contracts not excluded elsewhere, including maintenance, repair, reconditioning, restoration or servicing of goods and maintenance, repair, completion and finishing services of immovable property (such as glazing, plastering, tiling or installation of electrical fittings), service tax shall be payable on seventy per cent of the total amount charged for the works contract, effective from 1 October 2014 under the Finance Act empowered amendment to the 2006 valuation rules.

Reverse charge: recovery agent services taxed to recipient; director services and split liability updated effective October.
The notification expands the reverse charge scope by inserting recovery agent services to banks, financial institutions or NBFCs as taxable entirely on the service recipient (provider Nil; recipient 100%), substitutes the entry describing director-to-company services, and amends the TABLE to show separate percentage columns. It also revises the liability split for a specified item to 50% provider / 50% recipient effective from October, with the notification operative from the date of issue except as provided.

Electronic payment requirement: service tax must be paid via internet banking, with limited written exemption by the commissioner.
The amendment clarifies that recovery agent services to banking and financial institutions and director services to their company are attributed to the recipient, and requires that every assessee electronically pay service tax through internet banking, subject to written discretionary exemption by the relevant Assistant or Deputy Commissioner.

CENVAT credit conditions updated: Abatement rates altered and motorcab, contract carriage credit rules clarified.
Amendments to Notification No.26/2012 revise abatement entries and prescribe that CENVAT credit on inputs, capital goods and input services used for providing the taxable service has not been taken under the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004; they redefine certain transport service descriptions (substituting "motorcab" and inserting contract carriage/radio taxi), detail permissible CENVAT credit treatment for renting of motorcab input services depending on supplier taxation, and fix specified effective dates for several changes.

Authorisation validity for SEZ services tied to Form A-1 verification; providers may supply on Form A-1 pending authorisation.
Authorisation for provision of specified services to SEZ Units or Developers is valid from verification of Form A-1 by the Specified Officer; if Form A-1 is not submitted to the Assistant or Deputy Commissioner within fifteen days of such verification, validity commences from the date of submission. Providers may supply services on Form A-1 pending formal authorisation, but the SEZ Unit or Developer must provide the authorisation copy immediately; failure to provide it within three months from the date services were deemed supplied shifts service tax liability to the provider.

Service tax exemption amendments expand and recast exempt services, redefining educational, hotel, waste treatment and commodity exemptions.
The amendment revises the Mega Exemption Notification by inserting an exemption for Common Bio medical Waste Treatment Facility services to clinical establishments, substituting and omitting multiple exemption entries to redefine coverage for educational institutions (including student transport, catering, security, cleaning and examination services), hotels with declared tariffs below a specified threshold, specified agricultural inputs and commodities, non airconditioned contract carriage exclusions, municipal services, and loading/unloading/warehousing of rice and cotton; it also adds exemptions for certain services received from abroad and introduces a defined life micro insurance product, while updating key definitions including "educational institution", "life micro insurance product", "radio taxi" and "recognised sports body".

Service tax notification amendment deletes a specified entry from condition (a) second proviso, altering the notified conditions.
Removes serial (xix) and the entries relating thereto from condition (a) of the second proviso in paragraph 3 of Notification No. 6/2013-Service Tax, thereby deleting that specified item from the notified conditions under the service tax notification.

Service Tax amendment adds cord blood stem cell preservation and rice handling services to specified service descriptions.
Amendment to the Service Tax notification inserts two new entries: services by cord blood banks for preservation of stem cells or related services; and services by way of loading, unloading, packing, storage or warehousing of rice, thereby including these activities within the notification's specified service descriptions.

Service tax non-recovery on authorised person and sub-broker services to exchange members relating to forward contracts.
The Central Government directed that service tax payable on services provided by an authorised person or sub-broker to a member of a recognised association or a registered association, in relation to a forward contract, shall not be required to be paid in respect of such taxable service on which the service tax was not being levied during the specified historical period in accordance with the prevailing practice.

Definition of governmental authority broadened to include entities with substantial government equity or control performing municipal functions.
Substitutes clause (s) to define governmental authority as an authority, board or other body set up by primary legislation or established by government with substantial government participation by equity or control, when formed to carry out functions entrusted to a municipality under the constitutional municipal-functions provision; effected by Notification No. 02/2014 amending Notification No. 25/2012.

Service tax amendment broadens territorial language to include country, expanding the notification's territorial scope.
Amendment substitutes the phrase "district, State or zone" with "district, State, zone or Country" in entry 11, item (a) of the opening paragraph of Notification No.25/2012, thereby broadening the notification's territorial descriptor under the service tax framework.

Export exemptions updated to include meat, cotton, cotton yarn and exports subject to minimum export price or duty.
Amends Notification No. 6/2013-Service Tax by inserting exports of Meat and Meat Products, Cotton, Cotton Yarn and exports subject to Minimum Export Price or Export Duty into paragraph 3, condition (a), adding parallel entries in both provisos and linking certain insertions to the relevant paragraph of the Foreign Trade Policy.

Epayment threshold lowered, expanding mandatory electronic payments for more service taxpayers effective January 2014 under amended Service Tax Rules.
The amendment substitutes the proviso to rule 6(2) of the Service Tax Rules, 1994 to lower the epayment threshold, expanding the class of taxpayers required to remit service tax electronically; the change is made under the Finance Act and comes into force on the first day of January following notification.

SEZ reporting obligations: SEZ units and developers must file Form A-3 quarterly reporting specified services received without tax.
The amendment requires the SEZ Unit or Developer to furnish to the jurisdictional Superintendent of Central Excise a quarterly statement in Form A-3 detailing specified services received without payment of service tax, to be filed by the 30th day of the month following each quarter; a transitional deadline requires the July-September 2013 quarter statement to be furnished by 15th December 2013.

Service tax amendment: canteen food or beverage services in air-conditioned or centrally heated factories specified for notification inclusion.
Inserts entry 19A into Notification No.25/2012-Service Tax: "Services provided in relation to serving of food or beverages by a canteen maintained in a factory covered under the Factories Act, 1948, having the facility of air-conditioning or central air-heating at any time during the year." The amendment is effected under section 93(1) of the Finance Act, 1994 by Notification No.14/2013-Service Tax dated 22nd October 2013.

Service tax amendment expands covered services to those provided by National Skill Development Corporation and approved partners under skill schemes.
The Central Government amends the principal Service Tax notification to insert Entry 9A, covering any services provided by the National Skill Development Corporation, a Sector Skill Council approved by that Corporation, an assessment agency approved by the Sector Skill Council or the Corporation, or a training partner approved by the Corporation or the Sector Skill Council, when such services relate to the National Skill Development Programme, a vocational skill development course under the National Skill Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme, or any other scheme implemented by the Corporation.

Exemption on services to SEZ units allows ab initio non payment or refund of service tax subject to approval and conditions.
Exemption from service tax and applicable cesses is granted for services received by SEZ Units or Developers and used for authorised operations, either by refund of tax paid or by permitting ab initio non payment where services are exclusively used. Claimants must obtain Approval Committee approval of specified services, file Form A 1 and receive Form A 2 authorisation for non payment, provide the authorisation to service providers, maintain records, file quarterly Form A 3 returns, and, where refund is sought, apply in Form A 4 within prescribed timelines; refunds and distribution with DTA units follow CENVAT rule 7.

Export entitlement calculation revised: incremental growth must be measured per IEC and specified export categories are excluded.
A new proviso requires computation of export performance and entitlement under paragraphs 3.14.4 or 3.14.5 of the Foreign Trade Policy to be based on incremental growth for each exporter (IEC holder) without combining group company exports or transferring performance between IECs, measured in freely convertible currency to designated markets. A specified list of export categories is excluded from calculation and entitlement, including imports/trans-shipment, SEZ/EOU/EHTP/STPI/BTP/FTWZ-origin exports, deemed exports, service and third-party exports, precious metals and stones, ores, cereals, sugar, crude petroleum products, milk products, exports on another's behalf, supplies to SEZ units, items requiring export authorization (except SCOMET), meat products, exports to certain jurisdictions, and SEZ/EOU/etc. products exported through DTA units.

Voluntary service tax compliance scheme requires registration, specific declaration and acknowledgement forms, and prescribed payment procedures.
The rules require that declarants be registered under the Service Tax Rules if not already registered; declarations must be made in Form VCES-1 with the authority issuing Form VCES-2 acknowledgement within seven working days. Tax dues and applicable interest must be paid to the Central Government as prescribed for service tax payments, with CENVAT credit prohibited for this purpose. Upon receipt of full payment details, the authority must issue Form VCES-3 acknowledgement of discharge within seven working days.

Taxability of construction services tied to timing of payment and conditions on CENVAT credit and land value inclusion.
Amendment clarifies that construction for sale is taxable where consideration is received wholly or partly before issuance of the completion certificate and distinguishes residential units meeting specified carpet area and price thresholds from other constructions. Taxability is subject to two conditions: CENVAT credit on inputs has not been taken under the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004, and the value of land is included in the amount charged to the service receiver.