Exemption for exporter commission services limited by FOB value; strict documentation, registration and periodic filing required.
Exemption applies to service tax on commission agent services provided by agents located outside India and used for export of goods, subject to a cap linked to the free on board value and to conditions including declaration of commission in the shipping bill, invoices issued in the exporter's name, registration with an export promotion council, possession of Import Export Code, prior intimation to the jurisdictional authority in Form EXP3, and certified half yearly filing in Form EXP4 with supporting originals and agreements; specified export categories are excluded and excess commission beyond the cap is taxable.

Rebate of service tax for exporters: entitlement via prescribed rates or document-based refund subject to specified conditions.
Rebate of service tax is allowed to exporters for specified services used for export, by refund, subject to exclusions including services covered by certain CENVAT Credit Rules provisions and where CENVAT credit has been taken. Claims may be made either under a Schedule of rates applied as a percentage of FOB value or on the basis of certified documents evidencing actual service tax paid; procedural registration, shipping bill declarations, minimum thresholds, time limits, certification and verification by Central Excise officers apply, and rebates are recoverable if export proceeds are not realized within the foreign exchange period.

Service tax construction: references to section 66 are to be read as section 66B for levy and collection.
The Order declares that, for purposes of service tax levy and collection, references to the earlier charging provision in Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994 or any other Act shall be construed as references to the newly inserted charging provision, thereby removing doubt about existing cross references.

Exemption for SEZ services: refund or ab initio non-payment of service tax for specified services used in authorised operations.
Exemption from service tax and related cesses is granted to SEZ units or developers for services used in authorised operations either by refund of tax paid or by ab initio non-payment where services are wholly consumed within the SEZ; non-wholly consumed services receive a refund limited by an export-turnover-to-total-turnover formula. Eligibility requires Approval Committee approval of specified services, non-utilisation of CENVAT credit, maintenance of specified records, submission of prescribed forms and supporting invoices, and compliance with verification, filing timelines and auditor certification requirements.

Rebate of duty and service tax on inputs: procedural conditions and documentation for exported services claims.
Rebate of excise duty on inputs and of service tax and cess on input services used in providing services exported (except to Nepal and Bhutan) is available under rule 6A, subject to conditions that the service is exported under rule 6A, duty and tax have been paid to suppliers or to the Central Government if paid directly, total rebate meets a minimum threshold, and no CENVAT credit has been availed; non-compliance or incorrect claims render any rebate recoverable with interest. The notification prescribes pre-export declaration, verification by the jurisdictional officer, procurement and invoice requirements, post-export claim documentation, and sanction procedures using Form ASTR-2.

Service tax scope clarified: substitution narrows referenced clauses to telecommunication service and service portion in works contracts.
The notification replaces the words referring to several clause identifiers in the original service-tax definition with the phrase "of telecommunication service and service portion in execution of a works contract", thereby modifying the textual scope of services referenced in the principal notification; the amendment takes effect from 1st July, 2012 and cites the principal notification it amends.

Point of Taxation amendment clarifies taxable event as supply 'provided or agreed to be provided' and removes specified sub rules.
Amends the Point of Taxation Rules, 2011 by omitting sub rules (b) and (f) of rule 2 and substituting the phrase "provided or to be provided" with "provided or agreed to be provided" wherever it occurs; titled Point of Taxation (Amendment) Rules, 2012 and commencing on the 1st day of July, 2012.

Person liable for service tax redefined to allocate recipient liability for specified services and preserve provider liability otherwise.
The amendment broadens rule 2 definitions to include banking companies, financial institutions, non-banking financial companies, body corporate, goods carriage, insurance agent, legal service, life insurance business, renting of immovable property and supply of manpower, inserts a place of provision cross-reference to the Place of Provision of Services Rules 2012, and recasts the person liable for service tax to allocate recipient liability for specified services while preserving provider liability otherwise.

Rescission of prior service tax notification ends its prospective effect while preserving past actions.
Rescinds prior service tax notification No. 32/2007, subject to a saving for things done or omitted before rescission, under powers conferred by the Finance Act, 1994. The rescission takes effect on the first day of July, 2012, and is published with administrative particulars for record.

Rescission of notifications terminates specified service tax notifications, subject to prior actions, and takes effect imminently.
The Central Government, invoking sub-section (1) of section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994, rescinds the Service Tax notifications specified in the accompanying table, while preserving validity of things done or omitted to be done before such rescission; the notification sets an effective date on which the rescission comes into force.

Small service provider exemption restricts CENVAT credit and excludes branded and reverse charge services when claimed.
Exemption relieves providers whose aggregate value of taxable services in a financial year is below the notified threshold from service tax, excluding services provided under another person's brand or trade name and services subject to reverse charge; providers may opt out for the year. CENVAT credit cannot be availed on input services or capital goods during exemption, credit may be taken only after starting to pay service tax, providers must pay an amount equivalent to credit on inputs in stock when availing exemption, and any unutilised balance credit shall lapse; values from all premises are aggregated for the threshold test.

Service tax exemption for technology incubators requires recognition and annual submission of specified formats to claim and retain benefit.
Exemption from service tax is provided for taxable services rendered by Technology Business Incubators, Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Parks, and recognized bio incubators, conditional on recognition by national bodies and compliance with prescribed reporting. Claimants must submit Format I with incubator details and annex Format II containing each incubatee's particulars and taxable service details before availing the exemption and must repeat the filing annually by 30th June.

Exemption to goods transport agency services: exporters may claim service tax relief subject to prescribed documentation and procedural compliance.
Exemption is granted for service tax on specified goods transport agency services used by an exporter for export of goods, conditional upon production of the consignment note, prior intimation to the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner in Form EXP1, registration with an export promotion council, possession of Import Export Code, registration under the Act, liability to pay service tax for the specified service, issuance of invoices in the exporter's name, and filing half yearly returns in Form EXP2 with certified supporting documents and exporter's certification referencing shipping bill numbers.

Reverse charge: recipient bears service tax on specified notified services, with provider often relieved and recipient allocated payment.
This notification prescribes specified taxable services subject to the reverse charge, shifting service tax payment obligation from provider to recipient for listed services (insurance and recovery agents, goods transport agencies for road freight paid by specified recipients, sponsorships, legal services including senior advocates' representational services to business litigants, director-to-company services, renting of passenger vehicles to non-similar-business persons, manpower and security services, works contract service portion by unincorporated persons, services involving aggregators, and certain cross-border vessel transportation). The Table allocates percentages of tax payable by provider and recipient and contains clarifying explanations on recipient identification and valuation choices.

Property tax deduction reduces taxable value of rent for service tax purposes, excluding interest or penalty payments.
Exemption reduces the taxable value of renting immovable property by permitting deduction of property tax levied and collected by local bodies from gross rent, excluding amounts paid as interest or penalty, and requiring pro rata apportionment of property tax where tax and service periods differ for the purpose of computing service tax.

Place of provision of services: recipient location rule with specified exceptions determining tax jurisdiction for services.
The place of provision of services is generally the location of the recipient, defaulting to the provider's location if the recipient's location cannot be ascertained. Definitions supply rules for identifying provider and recipient locations. Specific rules displace the general rule: performance-based services are where performed; immovable-property and event services are where the property or event is located; goods transport is at destination; passenger transport at embarkation; on-board services at first scheduled departure; and specified services (banking/financial to account holders, online data services, intermediary services, short-term vehicle hire) are located at the provider. A notification power exists to prevent double taxation, and where multiple rules apply, the later rule governs.

Diplomatic mission service tax exemption requires Protocol certification, ID verification and supplier recordkeeping for tax-free services.
Exempts taxable services for official use of foreign diplomatic missions and for personal use of diplomatic agents, career consular officers and family members from service tax, contingent on a Protocol Division certificate based on reciprocity, issuance of unique identification cards for individuals, provision by the head of mission of an authenticated certificate and an original undertaking stating the purpose, supplier retention of these documents, maintenance by the mission of a serial account of undertakings, invoice disclosure of undertaking serial or unique ID, and loss of exemption upon withdrawal of the certificate or ID.

Service tax exemption on specified services limited to part of value, subject to CENVAT credit conditions.
The notification exempts specified taxable services from service tax to the extent the tax exceeds the amount computed on a prescribed percentage of the amount charged, subject to conditions set for each service-predominantly the non-availment of CENVAT credit on inputs, capital goods or input services-and defines how "amount charged" must be computed for categories such as leasing interest, bundled supplies, motorcab renting and construction services.

Service tax exemption: broad categories of public interest, health, education, infrastructure and essential transport services exempted.
Notification No.25/2012 exempts a detailed list of specified services from service tax under section 66B of the Finance Act, 1994, effective 1 July 2012. Exemptions cover services to the UN and specified international organisations; health-care and allied services including clinical establishments, ambulance transport, cord blood banks and biomedical waste treatment; charitable activities by section 12AA entities; educational and skill-development services; construction and infrastructure works for governmental use; transport of essential goods and specified passenger services; and various public-purpose and small-turnover service categories, subject to definitions, thresholds, exclusions and transitional provisos contained in the notification.

Service tax amendment substitutes a section reference to align taxable service provisions, effective from the commencement date.
The Order, issued under the removal-of-difficulty power, comes into force on the first day of July, 2012, and directs that in sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 68 of the Finance Act the figure "66" be substituted by "66B", effectuating a consequential amendment to align cross-references with the newly inserted taxable-services provision.