Service tax on consulting engineers and manpower recruitment agencies comes into force following government notification.
The Central Government, exercising powers under the Finance Act, 1997, appoints a date in July 1997 as the commencement date for imposition of service tax on services provided by consulting engineers and manpower recruitment agencies specified in the noted sub clauses of clause (41) of section 65 of the Finance Act, 1994, thereby bringing those taxable services into charge from that appointed date.

Exemption for air travel agent commissions: excess invoiced value over airline commission excluded from service tax.
Exemption excludes from service tax the portion of the taxable service value attributable to air travel agents that exceeds the commission actually received from the airline for booking passage; only the commission received is treated as the taxable element of the agent's booking service.

Service tax exemption for mandap keepers limits taxable portion of gross charges where catering is supplied and conditions met.
Exempts from service tax the amount by which tax payable on a mandap keeper exceeds the tax calculated on sixty per cent of the gross charge for mandap use and associated facilities, including catering charges, subject to conditions: the mandap keeper must also supply catering with a bill showing catering charges included; must not have taken cenvat credit on inputs or capital goods; and must not have availed the separate catering-notification benefit.

Service tax option for air travel agents: fare based payment replaces standard percentage charge for all bookings yearly.
Amendment designates air travel agents who book passage and mandap keepers who raise bills as responsible for collecting service tax. It permits an air travel agent to elect a simplified fare based method to discharge service tax by paying a prescribed fraction of the basic fare of passage instead of the general percentage of the taxable service value; the election must apply uniformly to all the agent's bookings and cannot be changed during a financial year. "Basic fare" is defined as the part of the air fare on which commission is normally paid to the agent.

Service tax commencement on air travel agent and mandap keeper services specified under the Finance Act effective from appointed date.
Under powers conferred by statutory appointment, the Central Government designates the first day of July, 1997 as the date on which service tax shall come into force in respect of the taxable services identified in the specified sub clauses of the definition of taxable services in the Finance Act, 1994.

Service tax liability extension: custom house and steamer agents treated as service providers when they raise bills.
The amendment to the Service Tax Rules inserts sub-clauses treating an agent who raises the bill as the service provider: specifically, a custom house agent who bills clients for services rendered and a steamer agent who bills a shipping line for services rendered, thereby clarifying identification of the taxable person in such agency services.

Service tax commencement for Customs House Agents and steamer agents activates levy while carving out specified service exclusions.
Service tax under the Finance Act, 1997 is appointed to commence on a specified date, making the levy applicable to services including Customs House Agents and steamer agents, while expressly excluding service tax on certain taxable services specified in clause (41) of section 65 of the Finance Act, 1994; the notification uses powers under the Act to fix the operative commencement date and list exclusions.

Exemption to diplomatic services clarified, limiting telephone coverage and expanding the list of covered missions.
Amendment substitutes the proviso to clarify telephone-related exemptions: for France, Norway and Spain limited to Embassy building and Ambassador's residence; for Singapore, Thailand and Burkina Faso limited to official telephones; for Bahrain limited to telephones of the Consulate General in Mumbai. It also inserts additional country entries into the Schedule of Notification No. 5/96-Service Tax, thereby expanding the list of missions covered by the exemption framework.

Service tax amendment mandates revised reporting fields in reporting form, changing tax and payment disclosure requirements.
The Service Tax (Amendment) Rules, 1997 substitute specified column headings in Form ST-3 to require month-wise break-up of taxable service value, separate identification of service tax leviable and collected, a field for interest payable, and consolidated entries for total amount paid with challan or journal slip references, government credit and interest paid, thereby restructuring the payment and reporting columns for clearer tax liability and payment reconciliation.

Service tax exemption clarified to apply to embassy and ambassadorial telephones, and schedule entries for countries updated.
Amendment revises the notification to clarify that the exemption for France and Norway applies specifically to telephones of Embassy buildings and Ambassador's residences, and alters the Schedule by omitting one serial entry and inserting entries for Mexico, Norway and Egypt after the France entry, thereby changing the listed exemptions under the notification.

Service tax exemption for telegraph and general insurance services to UN and declared international organisations, removing tax liability.
Exempts taxable services provided by the telegraph authority and insurers carrying on general insurance business to the United Nations or an international organisation from the whole of service tax leviable under the service tax law, exercised by the Central Government in the public interest. "International organisation" means an organisation declared by the Central Government under the legislation concerning United Nations privileges and immunities to which the Schedule to that legislation applies.

Service tax exemption for Jan Arogya Bima Policy: insurer services to policyholders relieved from service tax, later rescinded.
Exempts taxable services provided by insurers carrying on general insurance business to policyholders of the Jan Arogya Bima Policy from the whole of service tax leviable under the service tax levy, granted by the Central Government under its executive power in the public interest; the exemption was subsequently rescinded by a later notification.