Research approval under income-tax provisions enables tax-beneficial donations subject to audit, reporting and withdrawal for noncompliance.
Approval to Vasantdada Sugar Institute, Pune, effective 1-4-2003, in the category of other Institution partly engaged in scientific research, is subject to conditions: funds must be used for scientific research; research must be via faculty or enrolled students; books of account must be audited and audit report furnished by the return due date; and a separate auditor-certified statement of donations and amounts applied to research must accompany the audit report. Approval is withdrawable for failures including noncompliance with bookkeeping, audit, donation-statement, genuine research activity, or applicable rules conformity.

Correction to notified income tax amount: the Gazette notification is amended to correct a misstated monetary figure.
Correction to an Income Tax Gazette notification: the last paragraph of S.O. 489(E), dated 29 March 2007, is amended by replacing the previously published figure "Rs. 8.11 lakhs" with "Rs. 8.11 crore," thereby rectifying the misstated monetary amount in the notification.

Section 35AC amendment replaces a specified notified project with a different charitable project, altering eligibility under the notification.
The Central Government amends the notification by substituting in paragraph 5 the originally notified land development and construction project for a school and associated buildings at Kheda, Gujarat, carried out by the National Association for the Blind (Kheda District Branch), with the project of running a Polio Hospital, Rehabilitation and Research Centre at Hiran Magri, Udaipur, Rajasthan, carried out by Narayan Seva Sansthan, thereby altering the notified charitable project under the notification.

Section 35AC notification amendment substitutes charitable project entries, altering eligible project descriptions and beneficiary details.
Amendment under Section 35AC substitutes the Kheda District land development and construction project by the Kheda branch of the National Association for the Blind with a Rehabilitation project for the blind across all talukas of Mehsana District carried out by the Mehsana District branch, and makes corresponding substitutions in both the notification's enumerated list and its descriptive scheme provision.

Scheme eligibility expanded: shipments from non-EDI ports now qualify for Focus Product and Focus Market benefits.
Deletion of the phrase 'through EDI enabled ports' from Paras 3.9.2 and 3.10.2 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-2009 eliminates the EDI-enabled port precondition and thereby makes shipments from non-EDI-enabled ports eligible for benefits under the Focus Product Scheme and the Focus Market Scheme.

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.

Rescission of service tax exemption for port construction withdraws prior relief while preserving past acts and omissions.
The Central Government rescinds the notification that exempted construction of ports from service tax, subject to a saving for acts or omissions prior to rescission, and provides that the rescission shall come into force from the notified commencement date under exercise of powers conferred by the Finance Act.

Service tax exemption for port construction: construction and works-contract services excluded from tax, subject to specified exclusions.
Exempts commercial or industrial construction service and services in relation to execution of works contract supplied for construction of a port or other port from service tax under the Finance Act, excluding completion, finishing, repair, alteration, renovation, restoration, maintenance or repair of existing ports; defines "port" and "other port" by reference to section 65 and states the exemption's effective date, with the notification later rescinded by a subsequent notification.

Service tax exemption for renting of immovable property allows deduction of local property taxes from taxable value.
Exempts the taxable service of renting of immovable property by allowing deduction of property tax levied and collected by local bodies from the gross amount charged for renting when computing the value for service tax; interest or penalty paid to local authorities is not deductible, and property tax must be apportioned where tax periods differ.

Service tax effective date set for coming-into-force of Finance Act provisions governing new levy and amended services.
The Central Government, by Notification No. 23/2007-Service Tax, exercising powers under clause (A) and clause (B) of section 135 of the Finance Act, 2007, appoints 1st June 2007 as the date on which those clauses shall come into force, thereby bringing into effect the new levy and changes in existing services as provided by the Finance Act, 2007.

Exemption limit for commercial samples increased, expanding eligibility for duty-free importation under customs notification.
Amendment increases the exemption limit for commercial samples imported to execute or secure export orders by substituting higher monetary thresholds in Notification No.154/94-Cus: the threshold in Sl. No. 3, condition (iv) and the threshold in Sl. No. 3, condition (v), item (A), sub-item (b) are raised by Notification No. 74/2007-Cus dated May 21, 2007.

Exemption for effluent treatment plant machinery extended to handloom and handicraft sectors, enabling duty-free importation.
Amendment inserts tariff entries granting a nil duty exemption for machinery and equipment for effluent treatment plants for the handloom and handicraft sectors, and substitutes the notification condition to extend eligibility from the leather industry to include the handloom and handicraft sectors.