Steep service charge after the first of March (8)
I believe the answer is:
macerate
'steep' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'service charge after the first of march' is the wordplay.
'service' becomes 'ace' (ace is a kind of service).
'charge' becomes 'rate' (rate is a kind of charge**).
'after' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'the first of' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'march' is 'm'.
'ace'+'rate'='acerate'
'acerate' after 'm' is 'MACERATE'.
(Other definitions for macerate that I've seen before include "Cream tea (anag) -- soften by steeping in liquid" , "Steep in liquid like cream tea" , "Soak" , "Soften food by soaking" .)