Reverse charge obligations expanded to mutual fund distributors, lottery agents, and services involving aggregators with recipients liable.
Amendment places specified services-those by mutual fund agents or distributors to mutual funds or asset managers, by selling or marketing agents of lottery tickets to distributors or selling agents, and any service involving an aggregator-under the reverse charge mechanism. The Table is amended so the service provider column is Nil and the recipient/other person bears the tax liability at the full specified percentage. Certain wording is omitted from an existing entry and varied effective dates are prescribed, with a general commencement date for the notification.

Service tax exemptions revised to clarify exempt services, add categories, update definitions and set commencement date.
Amendment revises the service tax exemption notification by substituting, omitting and inserting specified entries to clarify exempted services. It expressly exempts health care services by clinical establishments, authorised medical practitioners and para-medics, limits ambulance transport exemptions, adds exemptions for common effluent treatment, certain pre conditioning of fruits and vegetables, admissions to museums and protected wildlife areas, and exhibitions, and revises artist performance and food item exemptions. Definitions for national park, tiger reserve, wildlife sanctuary, zoo, recognised sporting event and trade union are incorporated. The amendments generally take effect on the first of April, 2015.

Aggregator liability: web based platforms must ensure in territory tax representation and compliance including digital authentication of records.
Amendments define an aggregator and a brand name or trade name, impose liability on aggregators or their representatives for service tax in the taxable territory, require appointing an in territory person where no presence exists, expand recipient liability for services by mutual fund and lottery agents, make registration subject to Board specified conditions, authorize digitally signed invoices and electronically preserved records authenticated by digital signature, and substitute or omit specified fee and table entries with certain changes contingent on legislative assent.

Exemption scope expanded to include land customs station, extending export-related service relief and effective from April first.
Amendment substitutes the words "port or airport" with "port, airport or land customs station" in the Table against Sl. No. 1 of Notification No. 31/2012-Service Tax, thereby extending the exemption for specified services received by exporters of goods to land customs stations; made under sub section (1) of section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994, effective from 1 April 2015.

Rescission of notification withdraws a prior service tax notification while preserving actions taken before rescission.
The Central Government rescinds Notification No. 42/2012 - Service Tax, withdrawing its operative effect under powers conferred by the Finance Act, on grounds of public interest. The rescission is promulgated by Gazette notification and includes a savings provision preserving actions done or omitted to be done before the rescission.

Jurisdictional assignment of show cause notices: Central Excise Intelligence may delegate adjudication to appropriate commissioners.
Specifies that the Principal Director General/Director General of Central Excise Intelligence is empowered under rule 3 of the Service Tax Rules to assign show cause notices issued by the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence for adjudication to Principal Commissioners of Service Tax, Principal Commissioners of Central Excise, Commissioners of Service Tax or Commissioners of Central Excise, thereby formalising the delegation and assignment mechanism for service tax-related intelligence matters.

Territorial jurisdiction revised for service tax commissioners; specified wards and districts reassigned under amended notification.
Amendment substitutes specified Sl. Nos. and corresponding column entries in Table-3 of a prior service tax notification to redefine the territorial jurisdiction of Principal Commissioners and Commissioners of Service Tax and Central Excise. The substitution lists detailed municipal wards, localities, districts, taluks, hoblis and maritime areas assigned to named Commissioners, thereby clarifying which Commissionerates will exercise administrative and enforcement functions for service tax within the enumerated areas.