Access to registered premises: authorised officers may inspect and demand records, trial balance and tax audit report promptly.
Every assessee must furnish a duplicate list of records accounting for service transactions (taxable or exempt), input services and payments, inputs and capital goods transactions, other business activities, and other financial records when filing a return for the first time or by the specified deadline. An authorised officer may access registered premises to carry out scrutiny and, on demand, the assessee must provide within a reasonable time not exceeding fifteen working days the records mentioned above, the trial balance or equivalent, and the income-tax audit report under section 44AB for scrutiny.

Review committee composition amended to substitute commissioner membership, effected under statutory power conferred by section eighty-six.
Amendment to the administrative framework for Review Committees under sub-section (1A) of section 86 of the Finance Act, 1994: Notification No. 44/2007-S.T. substitutes the table entry for Sl. No. 29 in Notification No. 19/2007-Service Tax, revising the designated commissioner posts that constitute the Review Committee at that serial number.

Exemption for exhibition services: refund mechanism allows exporters to recover service tax paid on organisers' exhibition services.
Services by organisers for business exhibitions to manufacturers of goods under Chapters 57, 61, 62 and 63 are exempt from service tax provided the manufacturer exported such goods and is registered with an enumerated export council, actually paid the service tax, did not take CENVAT credit, and claims the exemption by refund. The liable service provider must pay the tax; the manufacturer files a quarterly refund claim within sixty days with the relevant Assistant/Deputy Commissioner, supplying proof of payment, and the officer refunds the tax after verifying actual use of the service for exhibition of the specified goods.

Export-related service exemption: specialized container cleaning and approved storage exempt when contractual and accreditation conditions are met.
Amendment adds exemptions for export-related services: specialized cleaning of export containers is exempt if the exporter supplies a copy of the written agreement with the buyer requiring such cleaning and the service provider is accredited by the competent statutory authority; storage and warehousing services are exempt when goods are stored in a storage or warehouse approved by the competent authority and the facility is used exclusively for export goods. The notification is effective on publication in the Official Gazette.

Service tax exemption for export-related services requires refund claims supported by export proof and no CENVAT credit.
Exempts specified taxable services received by an exporter and used for export of goods from service tax, provided the exporter claims refund of service tax actually paid, no CENVAT credit was taken, and the refund is claimed under this notification. The person liable to pay service tax must discharge tax when supplying such services to an exporter and is not eligible to claim exemption unless also the exporter. Exporters must file quarterly refund claims with the jurisdictional officer, obtain a service tax code if unregistered, and submit evidence of export and payment; refunds are paid after verification and recoverable if sale proceeds are not realised.

Refund of service tax: exporters may claim refund for specified export-related services used in export of goods.
Exempts specified taxable services received by an exporter and used for export of goods from service tax, allowing the exporter who has actually paid such tax to claim a refund. Refunds must be claimed quarterly within sixty days of the relevant quarter, filed with the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise with export and tax-payment evidence, and are payable after verification of actual use for export; refunded amounts are recoverable if export proceeds are not realised within the FEMA period.

Service tax payment deadlines updated: electronic payments earlier; individuals and firms permitted quarterly timing; year-end liabilities payable by year end.
Service tax is payable to government credit by the 6th day of the month when deposited electronically and by the 5th day in other cases, for payments received in the preceding calendar month; individuals, proprietors and partnership firms apply those deadlines to the quarter following receipt. No service tax is payable for value attributable to services provided during periods when such services were not taxable, and service tax on values received in the month or quarter including the financial year end is payable by the last day of the financial year.

Tour operator services tax treatment clarified; billing and package tour definition determine exemption eligibility by notification amendment
The amendment replaces prior entries to define package tour and to classify tour-operator services into package tours, accommodation-booking-only services, and other tour-related services; applicability of service tax or exemption depends on the invoice/bill indicating that charges are inclusive of tour cost, specify accommodation charges, or state the gross amount for the tour, and exemption does not apply where the invoice only records service charges for arranging or booking accommodation without the accommodation cost.

Delegation of authority for service tax amended to reassign specified commissioner posts covering Raigad and Mumbai zones.
The Board, exercising delegation power under the Finance Act, substituted the Sl. No. 35 entry in Notification No. 19/2007 Service Tax to designate the Commissioner of Central Excise, Raigad and the Commissioner of Central Excise (Service Tax), Mumbai, together with the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals), Mumbai Zone II, as the officers to whom specified service tax delegation attaches.

Diplomatic service exemption corrected-notification numbering amended to reflect exemption provision in Gazette publication officially for clarity.
Corrigendum directs that in Notification No. 33/2007-Service Tax (G.S.R. 386(E)), dated 23rd May, 2007, on page two, line thirty eight, the notation "(i)" be replaced with "(ii)" to correct the internal numbering of the provision concerning exemptions for services provided to diplomatic missions and consular posts.

Service tax on international in bound roaming: government directs non collection for prior period due to prevailing practice.
The Central Government directed that service tax payable on roaming services provided by a telegraph authority to an international in bound roaming subscriber, which was not being levied in accordance with a generally prevalent practice, shall not be required to be paid in respect of such roaming service provided during the aforesaid period, exercising powers under section 11C of the Central Excise Act, 1944 read with section 83 of the Finance Act.

Rescission of service-tax exemptions restores chargeability for services to diplomatic missions while preserving past actions.
The Central Government rescinds specified notifications that had exempted certain taxable services provided to diplomatic missions, withdrawing those exemptions and restoring service-tax chargeability under the Finance Act, while preserving legal effects of actions taken or omissions made before the rescission.

Diplomatic service tax exemption: personal services for diplomats and family exempt when certified and documented under procedures.
All taxable services for personal use of diplomatic agents or career consular officers and their family members are exempt from service tax when the Protocol Division issues a reciprocity-based certificate and an identification card with a unique number; the head of mission furnishes an authenticated certificate and a numbered undertaking referencing that unique number; accounts of undertakings, invoice annotations, and retention of identification, certificate and invoice copies by the service provider are required; withdrawal of certificate or identification card terminates the exemption.

Diplomatic mission service tax exemption subject to certification, documented undertaking, invoice notation and retention obligations.
Exempts all taxable services provided for the official use of a foreign diplomatic mission or consular post in India, conditional on a Protocol Division certificate based on reciprocity. The head of mission or authorised person must provide the service provider a duly authenticated copy of that certificate and an original, serially numbered undertaking stating the services are for official purposes; maintain a record of undertakings with provider and invoice details; ensure invoices cite the undertaking serial number and date; and the provider must retain documents for verification. Withdrawal of the certificate terminates the exemption from the date of withdrawal.

Composition scheme for works contract service permits alternative tax discharge with conditions on CENVAT and irrevocable election.
A composition scheme allows the person liable for service tax on a works contract to discharge liability by paying an amount equivalent to two per cent of the gross amount charged, with the gross amount excluding VAT or sales tax on transfer of property in goods; providers who opt in cannot take CENVAT credit on inputs for the works contract, and the irrevocable option must be exercised prior to payment and applies to the entire works contract until its completion.

Expansion of taxable service classifications broadens scope of services received from abroad under service tax rules.
Rule 3, clause (i) of the Taxation of Services (Provided from Outside India and Received in India) Rules, 2006 is amended by substituting the brackets, letters and word "(zzzh) and (zzzr)" with "(zzzh), (zzzr), (zzzy), (zzzz) and (zzzza)", thereby adding three additional coded service entries to the scope of the import-of-services rules; the amendment is made under sections 93 and 94 read with section 66A and takes effect on the first day of June, 2007.

Export of Services amendment expands covered service entries and removes 'provided outside India' restriction, altering export eligibility.
Substitution in rule 3(1)(i) expands the list of clause identifiers to include additional service entries, and rule 3(2)(b) is amended by omitting the words "provided outside India," thereby altering the territorial wording applicable to that clause. The instrument, titled Export of Services (Second Amendment) Rules, 2007, is promulgated under sections 93 and 94 of the Finance Act, 1994 and comes into force on the first day of June, 2007.

Valuation of works contract services: gross contract value less value of goods transfer, with VAT-based valuation applied.
Rule 2A requires that the taxable value of works contract service be computed as the gross amount charged for the works contract less the value of transfer of property in goods involved in the contract, with gross amount excluding VAT or sales tax paid on such transfers. The rule specifies that works contract service value includes labour charges, subcontractor payments for labour and services, planning and design fees, charges for hired machinery and tools, consumables used in execution, establishment costs and related expenses, and profit attributable to supply of labour and services. If VAT or sales tax is paid on the actual value of goods transfer, that VAT valuation shall be adopted for this purpose.

Adjustment of service tax permitted where excess payments due to later property tax deduction may be adjusted within one year.
Where service tax paid on renting of immovable property exceeds the liability because property tax was not deducted from gross rent, the assessee may adjust such excess amount against service tax liability within one year from payment of the property tax; details of the adjustment must be intimated to the Superintendent of Central Excise within fifteen days of the adjustment.

Telecommunication service substitution clarifies which persons are liable for service tax under the amended notification.
Replaces, in paragraph (A) sub paragraph (i) of Notification No. 36/2004 regarding the person liable to pay service tax, the phrase "a telephone connection or pager or a communication through telegraph or telex or a facsimile communication or a leased circuit" with the single expression "telecommunication service," made under the powers conferred by sub section (2) of section 68 of the Finance Act, 1994, with the amendment to come into force on the stated commencement date.