Interest rate for late payment under service tax increased, raising statutory interest rate for defaults effective April.
The Government, exercising statutory amendment power under the Finance Act provision, amends Notification No.8/2006-Service Tax by substituting the previously specified rate of interest for late payment with a higher rate; the substitution is effected by replacing the earlier wording with the new wording in the principal notification and the amendment is effective from the first day of April of the stated year.

Concessional duty exemptions expanded to cover additional specified components and tariff headings for manufacture use.
Amendment broadens concessional duty exemptions in Notification No. 25/1999 by substituting and inserting Table entries in LIST A to add additional tariff headings and component descriptions-including aluminium Tedlar, toughened glass, silver paste, various metal wires and alloys, ceramic and polymeric parts, blade fuses and bodies, para nitro benzyl alcohol-and by adding new serial entries listing polyester insulation tapes, degaussing coils, specified aluminium wires and deflection yokes for colour picture tubes.

Exemption for packaged software: transaction-value duty excluded where retail price declaration is not required, subject to declaration and registration.
Exemption from the transaction-value component of excise duty is granted for packaged or canned software not required to declare retail sale price under Legal Metrology or other law, excluding from duty the value representing consideration for transfer of the right to use. The manufacturer must declare such consideration to the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise, and the provider of the right to use must hold the requisite service tax registration. Packaged software is defined as off-the-shelf software developed for a variety of users.

Rate of interest for late payment amended to a higher rate under service tax notification, effective April.
The notification amends the principal service tax notification by substituting the previously stated interest rate with a higher rate, thereby increasing the rate of interest for late payment of service tax; the amendment takes effect from the stated commencement date so that the higher rate applies to late payment liabilities arising on or after that date.

Definition of Water Supply Project expands tariff exemption scope by clarifying included facilities and treatment processes.
The notification substitutes the Explanation for "Water Supply Projects" to define a Water Supply Project as including a water pumping station, water storage facility (reservoir) and a water treatment plant performing desalination, demineralization, purification or similar processes intended to make water fit for agricultural or industrial use, thereby clarifying which components and processes qualify under the tariff provision.

Classification of services for import: specific service sub clauses designated as performed in India for tax treatment.
The amendment revises rule 3 of the Taxation of Services (Provided from Outside India and Received in India) Rules, 2006 by adding a new bracketed entry in clause (i) and substituting rule 3(ii) with a list of specified service sub clauses from clause (105) of section 65 which are to be treated as services performed in India for the purpose of import of services.

Exemption for job workers in ready-made garments allows duty liability to rest with principal when procedural conditions are met.
Exempts certain job workers in the ready-made garments sector from the registration requirement where the person on whose behalf the goods are manufactured assumes and pays excise duty under the prescribed payment mechanism and both parties comply with procedural formalities and liabilities; the exemption excludes job workers authorised to pay the duty themselves, and uses the payment provision's definition of "job worker."

Excise exemption restriction: branded textile and clothing items excluded, only unbranded goods remain eligible for exemption.
The notification amends the exemption table for specified textile and clothing tariff entries to limit exemption to all goods other than those bearing a brand name or sold under a brand name, thereby excluding branded goods from the exemption; it also substitutes an updated year figure in the opening paragraph proviso of the principal notification.

Export of Services classification: specified service categories treated as exported when provision occurs outside India under amended rules.
Amendment to Rule 3(1) of the Export of Services Rules substitutes clause (ii) with an enumerated list of sub clauses of clause (105) of section 65 of the Finance Act, 1994, declaring the services specified therein to be provision of such services as are performed outside India for export classification, and inserts an additional identifier into clause (i).

Excise duty amendment alters effective rates for specified textile goods and restricts concession to non branded cotton goods.
The amendment replaces the table entry for S. No. 9 to cover goods of Chapters 61, 62 and 63 (with specified exclusions) and limits the concession to goods of cotton, not containing any other textile material, excluding branded goods; it clarifies that such cotton goods include fabrics even when containing non cotton sewing threads, labels, elastic tapes, zip fasteners and similar items.

Service tax exemption for port-based works contracts: services for construction, repair or renovation of port structures excluded from levy.
Exempts services in relation to execution of works contracts provided wholly within a port for construction, repair, alteration or renovation of wharves, quays, docks, stages, jetties, piers and railways from the whole of service tax leviable thereon under the Finance Act; the exemption was later rescinded by a subsequent notification.

Excise duty rate increase alters tariff entries and removes specified exemption items, replacing currency notation in the notification.
Amends the principal notification by substituting the currency letters with the specified symbol in the tariff table, substituting the previously stated duty rate with the revised rate in column (4), and omitting the listed serial entries and their related table entries, thereby removing those exemption items from the notification.

Service tax exemption for works contract services within airports removes service tax liability under the Finance Act.
Services in relation to works contracts provided wholly within an airport and classified under the specified sub clause of section 65 are exempted from the whole of the service tax leviable under section 66 of the Finance Act by central notification under section 93(1); the exemption instrument was later rescinded by a subsequent notification.

Effective rate of duty increased for specified items, amending prior notification to raise the lower excise rate.
Amendment to Notification No.59/2008-Central Excise substitutes the currency notation in the Table and replaces the previously prescribed lower rate in the Table's rate column with a higher lower rate, thereby increasing the effective rate of duty on the listed items; the change is made under section 5A(1) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 as a further amendment to the principal notification.

Exemption for air freight: service tax on air transportation of goods relieved to the extent air freight is included in customs value.
Exempts service tax on air transportation of goods insofar as the value attributable to air freight is included in the customs value determined under the Customs Act; the exemption limits relief to an amount equal to the air freight so included and is enacted under the Finance Act's enabling provision.

Exemption for exported transportation-related services: services for goods carried entirely outside India are exempt from service tax.
Services mentioned in sub-clauses (zzn), (zzp) and (zzzp) of clause (105) of section 65, when provided to a person in India in respect of goods transported from a place outside India to a final destination outside India, are exempt from the whole of service tax leviable under section 66; the exemption was notified under the Finance Act and later rescinded by a subsequent notification.

Excise exemption amendments: notification revises manufacturer definition and tariff entries, altering scope of exempted goods.
Amendment revises the exemption notification by substituting the currency symbol, expanding the Explanation so that manufacturer for goods under Chapters 61-63 includes persons liable to pay excise under the specified rule, and altering Annexure entries: replacing a tariff subheading with a broader heading, expanding exempted chapters and specific headings and tariff item, and narrowing Chapter 69 treatment by excluding certain ceramic tiles except those printed, decorated or ornamented in factories without full tile production facilities.

Tariff valuation expanded to include made up textile articles, extending excise notification coverage and updating weight measure reference.
Amendment expands tariff valuation coverage by substituting the opening description to include articles of apparel and clothing accessories under Chapters 61 and 62 and other made up textile articles or sets under Chapter 63, and updates the statutory cross reference by replacing the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 with the Legal Metrology Act, 2009.

Rescission of exemption revokes prior excise notification, terminating specified printing and calculating device exemptions.
The Central Government, exercising power under Section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, rescinds Notification No. 49/2006 Central Excise (30 December 2006) that granted miscellaneous exemptions (including for printing blocks, printing types, mathematical calculating instruments and pantographs), on grounds of public interest, subject to a saving for actions done or omitted prior to the rescission.

Exemption for insurer services under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana removes service tax liability on specified insurance services.
Exemption applies to taxable services provided by an insurer carrying on General Insurance Business for providing insurance under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, exempting the specified service in sub-clause (d) of clause (105) of section 65 from the whole of service tax leviable under section 66 of the Finance Act by notification under section 93(1); the 2011 notification was later rescinded by a 2012 notification.