Service tax on restaurant services applies where premises have air conditioning and a liquor licence, taxing on premises service.
Service tax applies to restaurants only where the establishment has air conditioning at any time during the financial year and holds a licence to serve alcoholic beverages, with the taxable event limited to serving food or beverages on the premises (excluding home delivery, take away and MRP sales). Short term accommodation is taxable for continuous stays under three months, subject to a declared tariff exemption threshold; providers not availing Cenvat credit are liable on a reduced portion of the gross charged. (AI Summary)

Excise duty on branded ready-made garments applies; unbranded goods exempt but manufacturers may opt to pay duty and claim cenvat.
Excise duty applies to ready-made garments and made-up textile articles sold or bearing a brand name, while goods not bearing a brand name remain exempt subject to conditions. Unbranded manufacturers may elect an optional duty regime with cenvat credit; specified processes like affixing a brand are treated as manufacture; tariff valuation ties assessable value to a portion of retail sale price; job workers are exempt from certain procedural obligations when the principal discharges duty, though job workers may be authorised to pay duty themselves. (AI Summary)

Mutuality principle blocks service tax where member controlled associations provide services to themselves, negating a provider-recipient relationship.
Service tax liability for club or association subscriptions requires a distinct provider-recipient relationship; where an association is member controlled, non profit, and uses subscriptions for members' benefit so that surpluses return to members, the mutuality doctrine treats members and association as one, rendering the transactions self-service and outside service tax. Incorporation does not defeat mutuality; only if mutuality is absent must exclusion clauses and other definitional tests be invoked to assess chargeability. (AI Summary)

Export of service: destination-based test and deemed export treatment determine when cross-border payments qualify as exports.
Export of service is a destination based concept determined either by where the service is provided/received (Rule 3(1)) or by receipt of payment in foreign exchange under a deeming provision (Rule 3(2)). These two tests operate independently: Rule 3(1) captures services consumed abroad, while Rule 3(2) treats specified foreign paid services as exports even when place of provision would not qualify. The article stresses the distinction between the paying service recipient and actual beneficiaries, and illustrates application with the Microsoft stay case and air travel examples, noting potential reverse charge liability for domestic recipients. (AI Summary)

First stage dealer status depends on transfer of possession and manufacturer's invoice for Cenvat credit eligibility.
When goods are dispatched directly from the manufacturer to the consignee with the manufacturer's excise invoice, the consignee is the purchaser for central excise purposes and may take Cenvat credit on that invoice alone. Intermediate persons who do not receive possession are not purchasers, cannot issue cenvatable invoices for the consignment, and their registration is not necessary for the consignee's claim. Credit entitlement therefore depends on transfer of possession and the manufacturer's invoice. (AI Summary)

Dual GST structure with segregated input tax credits and IGST mechanism for inter state supplies proposed.
The proposal establishes a dual GST comprising Central GST and State GST enacted by separate statutes with common substantive features. Taxes are paid into distinct central and state accounts and ITC is ring fenced to the corresponding tax head, prohibiting cross utilisation except under an IGST mechanism for inter state supplies; IGST would be levied by the Centre, allow credit to importing dealers, and use a clearing house for inter state credit transfers. Specified central and state indirect levies are to be subsumed, certain items excluded, imports taxed on a destination basis, and implementation requires legislative and constitutional changes. (AI Summary)