G.S.R.(E):- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) read with sub-section (2) of section 94 of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Service Tax Rules, 1994, namely :-

These Rules may be called the Service Tax (Amendment) Rules, 1998.

They shall come into force on the 16th day of October, 1998.

2. In the Service tax rules, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the said rules), -

(I) in rule 2, in sub-rule (1), -

(A) after clause (c) the following clause shall be inserted, namely :-

"(cc) "half-year" means the period between 1st April to 30th September or 1st October to 31st March of a financial year";

(B) for clause (d) the following clause shall be substituted, namely :-

"(d) "person liable for paying the service tax" means, -

(i) in relation to a telephone connection or pager, -

(a) the Director General of Posts and Telegraphs, referred to in clause (6) of section 3 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (13 of 1885); or

(b) the Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, Delhi, a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956); or

(c) any other person who has been granted a licence by the Central Government under the first proviso to sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (13 of 1885);

(ii) in relation to general insurance business, -

(a) the Chairman of the General Insurance Corporation of India, Mumbai; or

(b) the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the National Insurance Company Limited, Calcutta;

or

(c) the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the New India Assurance Company Limited, Mumbai; or

(d) the Chairman-cum-Managing Director, of the Oriental Insurance Company Limited, Delhi; or

(e) the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the United India Insurance Company Limited, Chennai; or

(f) any other person carrying on general insurance business and who has obtained a certificate of registration under section 3 of the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938); and

(iii) in relation to service provided by a clearing and forwarding agent, every person who engages a clearing and forwarding agent and by whom remuneration or commission (by whatever name called) is paid for such services to the said agent;";

(C) after clause (d) the following clause shall be inserted, namely :-

"(e) "quarter" means the period between 1st January to 31st March or 1st April to 30th June or 1st July to 30th September or 1st October to 31st December of a financial year.";

(II) for rule 4, the following rule shall be substituted, namely :-

"4. Registration. - (1) Every person liable for paying the service tax shall make an application to the concerned Central Excise Officer appointed under rule 3 in Form ST-1 for registration within a period of thirty days from the date on which the service tax under section 66 of the Finance Act, 1994 (32 of 1994) is levied :

Provided that where a person commences the business of providing a taxable service after such service has been levied, he shall make an application for registration within a period of thirty days from the date of such commencement.

(2) Where an assessee is providing a taxable service from more than one premises or offices and has a centralised billing system in respect of such service rendered to clients from such premises or offices at any one premises or office, he may opt for registering only the premises or office from where such centralised billing is done.

(3) Where an assessee is providing a taxable service from more than one premises or offices, and does not have any centralised billing system, he shall make separate applications for registration in respect of each such premises or offices to the concerned Central Excise Officer.

(4) Where an assessee is providing more than one taxable service, he may make a single application, mentioning therein all the taxable services provided by him, to the concerned Central Excise Officer.

(5) The Central Excise Officer shall after due verification of the application form, grant a certificate of registration in Form ST-2 within seven days from the date of receipt of the application. If the registration certificate is not granted within the said period, the registration applied for shall be deemed to have been granted.

(6) Where a registered assessee transfers his business to another person, the transferee shall obtain a fresh certificate of registration.

(7) Every registered assessee, who ceases to provide the taxable service for which he is registered, shall surrender his registration certificate immediately.";

III. in rule 5, sub-rule (2), the word "quarterly" shall be omitted;

IV. for rule 6, the following rule shall be substituted, namely :-

"Payment of service tax. - (1) The service tax on the value of taxable services received during any calendar month shall be paid to the credit of the Central Government by the 25th of the month immediately following the said calendar month :

Provided further that where the assessee is an individual or proprietary firm or partnership firm, the service tax on the value of taxable services received during any quarter shall be paid to the credit of the Central Government by the 25th of the month immediately following the said quarter."

(2) The assessee shall deposit the service tax liable to be paid by him with the bank designated by the Central Board of Excise and Customs for this purpose in Form TR-6 or in any other manner prescribed by the Central Board of Excise and Customs.

(3) Where an assessee has paid to the credit of Central Government service tax in respect of a taxable service, which is not so provided by him either wholly or partially for any reason, the assessee may adjust the excess service tax so paid by him (calculated on a pro rata basis) against his service tax liability for the subsequent period, if the assessee has refunded the value of taxable service and the service tax thereon to the person from whom it was received.

(4) Where an assessee is, for any reason, unable to correctly estimate on the date of deposit the actual amount payable for any particular month or quarter, as the case may be, the assessee may make a request in writing to the Central Excise Officer to make a provisional assessment of the tax on the basis of the amount deposited and the Central Excise Officer, may, on receipt of such request, order provisional assessment of tax and where the Central Excise Officer makes a provisional assessment, the provisions of Central Excise Rules, 1944 relating to provisional assessment, except so far as it relates to execution of bond, shall, so far as may be, apply to such assessment.

(5) Where an assessee under sub-rule (4) requests for a provisional assessment he shall file a statement giving details of the difference between the service tax deposited and the service tax liable to be paid for each month in a memorandum in Form ST-3A accompanying the quarterly or half yearly return, as the case may be.

(6) Where the assessee submits a memorandum in Form ST-3A under sub-rule (5), it shall be lawful of the Central Excise Officer to complete the assessment, wherever he deems it necessary, after calling such further documents or records as he may consider necessary and proper in the circumstances of the case.

Explanation. - For the purpose of this rule and rule 7, "Form TR-6" means a memorandum or challan referred to in rule 92 of the Treasury Rules of the Central Government.

(7) The person liable for paying the service tax in relation to the services provided by an air travel agent, shall have the option, to pay an amount calculated at the rate of 0.25% of the basic fare in the case of domestic bookings, and at the rate of 0.5% of the basic fare in the case of international bookings, of passage for travel by air, during any calendar month or quarter, as the case may be, towards the discharge of his service tax liability instead of paying service tax at the rate of five per cent of the value of taxable service rendered by him and the option, once exercised, shall apply uniformly in respect of all the bookings of passage for travel by air made by him and shall not be changed during a financial year under any circumstances.

Explanation. - For the purposes of this sub-rule, the expression "basic fare" means that part of the air fare on which commission is normally paid to the air travel agent by the airline.

(8) The value of the taxable service in relation to the services provided by a clearing and forwarding agent to a client for rendering services of clearing and forwarding operations in any manner shall deemed to be the gross amount of remuneration or commission (by whatever name called) paid to such agent by the client engaging such agent.";

V. for rule 7, the following rule shall be substituted, namely :-

"7. Returns. - (1) Every assessee shall submit a half-yearly return in Form `ST-3' or `ST-3A', as the case may be, along with a copy of the Form TR-6, in triplicate for the months covered in the half-yearly return.

(2) Every assessee shall submit the half-yearly return by the 25th of the month following the particular half-year.

(3) The Central Excise Officer shall thereupon, assess the service tax payable including interest, if any, payable thereon and complete the assessment memorandum. A copy of the return so assessed shall be sent to the assessee.

(4) The service tax determined and paid by the assessee shall be adjusted against the service tax assessed by the Central Excise Officer under sub-rule (3) and where the service tax so assessed is more than the service tax determined and paid by the assessee, the assessee shall pay the deficiency, along with amount of interest determined thereon, within ten days of the receipt of the copy of the return from the Central Excise Officer and where such service tax is less, the assessee may apply for refund in accordance with the provisions of section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944).";

VI. in Form ST-2, in paragraph 1, for the words "collecting service tax on" the words "payment of service tax on services of" shall be substituted;

VII. for Form ST-3, the following form shall be substituted, namely :-
 

1. Name of the assessee .............................

2. Whether an individual or proprietary firm or partnership firm or any other (please specify) ....................

3. Category of services ...................

4. Service Tax Registration No. .........................
 

I/We declare that the above particulars are in accordance with the records and books maintained by us and are correctly stated.

Place : Signature of the Assessee

Date : or his authorised representative
 

1. The Service tax has been paid correctly.

2. The Service tax has been short/excess paid to the extent of Rs. ...................... The correct assessment of the service tax is as per the following details.

The assessee is requested to pay the deficiency of Rs. .......................... within 10 days from the receipt of this Assessment Memorandum. The assessee may apply for Refund if any, in ....................
 

(Signature and stamp of the Central Excise Officer)

Date :"