Tariff classification clarifications assign specific goods to precise excise headings, affecting duty chargeability and exemption eligibility.
Clarification identifies correct Central Excise Tariff headings for specified goods: composite paper items under sub heading 4818.90; dicalcium phosphate for animal feed under sub heading 3103.00 (not eligible for Notification No. 181/86 exemption); silver alloy brazing rods over two percent silver under sub heading 7101.70; calcined magnesite under Heading 25.05; carbide reaction sludge under sub heading 3801.90; synthetic beverage concentrates under sub heading 3302.10; calcined bauxite under Heading 26.01; certain pickles under Heading 21.03 (others under 20.01); soap grade fatty acid mixtures under sub heading 1505.00 (eligible for Notification No. 116/86); lozenges under sub heading 1704.90; playing cards under Heading 95.04; cigarette filter rods under Heading 56.01; "Gudaku" paste under sub heading 2404.90; solid/cushion tyres under Heading 40.17; silicon under sub heading 2801.90; and silkworm cocoons as outside tariff scope.

Immunity from prosecution limited: settlement power under income-tax law cannot extend to prosecution under other central statutes.
Settlement Commission under Section 245(H) of the Income-tax Act lacks competence to grant immunity from prosecution for offences under other Central Acts where concealment of income or tax evasion is not an offence under those Acts; pending settlement applications should be processed on the basis of that legal opinion and confined to the Commission's statutory tax-settlement powers.

Tobacco dust classification treated as tobacco under tariff, not subject to a separate excise duty provision.
Particulate 'dust of tobacco' arising in the conversion of raw tobacco to cut tobacco is to be regarded as falling within the tariff description of manufactured tobacco (as with cut tobacco) and, where no duty rate is prescribed under that tariff heading, is not subject to a separate excise charge.

Classification of woollen knitted shawls as articles of hosiery when produced by cutting, stitching, and finishing.
Shawls produced by cutting, stitching and finishing tubular woollen knitted fabric-washed, dried, calendered, slit, cut to size, edge secured and tasselled-are not woven woollen fabrics and are classifiable as articles of hosiery under Item 68 of the erstwhile tariff.

Agent turnover classification determines audit requirement; commission-only agents versus principal-like agents treated differently for turnover
Applicability of the audit obligation under Section 44AB depends on whether an agent functions as an agent or as a principal; for agents like kachha arahtias only gross commission is counted as turnover, while for agents like pacca arahtias the total sales/turnover must be included. Characterisation requires examination of contract terms and functional indicators such as substitution of goods, liability to third parties, disclosure practices, dominion over goods, remuneration structure, personal interest in profits or losses, and indemnity arrangements.

Assessable value for captive consumption: add profit measured as profit before tax, excluding interest and depreciation.
Fixing assessable value for captively consumed goods requires adding a profit component; the term "gross profit before tax" in the Board's earlier instruction means profit before tax and excludes interest, depreciation and similar charges, with profits considered net only after provision for payment of taxes.

Assessable value computation: deduct only duty payable under schedules, excluding input-credit notifications, from cum-duty price.
Deduct from the cum-duty price the amount of duty actually payable on the goods under assessment as specified in the First Schedule read with notifications under Rule 8; notifications granting input-duty credit are not to be treated as the deductible duty. Field formations must review inconsistent assessments and take remedial action in accordance with the 1982 explanatory instructions.

Destruction of EOU manufacturing waste: duty-free clearance allowed for valueless scrap; domestically attributable waste remains dutiable.
100% Export Oriented Units may destroy low value or valueless manufacturing waste and have such destroyed material cleared without payment of customs duty under the statutory clearance provision for refuse, but any portion of waste attributable to manufacture of finished goods cleared for home consumption or released as domestic rejects must be cleared on payment of customs duty in accordance with the statutory provision governing refuse connected to domestic clearance.

Change of previous year risks wealth tax escapement; officers must condition or refuse changes to protect revenue.
Change of previous year must be scrutinised to prevent wealth-tax escapement because the valuation date for wealth is linked to the previous year; officers may impose conditions or refuse consent if terms do not safeguard revenue, must compare rates and deductions between original and proposed years, treat returns showing changed previous year as applications, and invoke revision powers where change causes loss of revenue.

Classification of rivets: forged-and-tempered rivets fall under the residuary tariff item rather than roughly shaped forging.
Forged rivets that undergo a subsequent tempering process, which materially alters their quality and gives them a finished shape, do not qualify as "pieces roughly shaped by rolling or forging" under Tariff Item 25(8) or under Item 25(11) and are classifiable under the residuary Item 68 of the Central Excise Tariff.

Tariff classification of synthetic organic colouring matter clarified: dye- and pigment-based preparations fall under colouring-matter headings.
Synthetic organic colouring matter includes both dye-based and pigment-based materials and their preparations; pigment- or dye-based preparations that are dyestuffs fall within the specific subheadings for pigment dyestuffs and synthetic organic dyestuffs, while the residual subheading covers only preparations other than those dyestuffs. Naphthol and fast colour bases are excluded from the colouring-matter chapter and classified elsewhere, and chapter notes extend coverage to preparations made from specified products.

Duty exemption for non-reusable packing material allows clearance into domestic tariff area subject to safeguards.
Packing material accompanying duty free imports from Free Trade Zones may be cleared into the Domestic Tariff Area without duty where such material is not durable or suitable for repeated use; durable or re useable items remain liable to duty. Collectors must ensure the material is genuinely non reusable by implementing safeguards to prevent abuse, and a report on the procedure is to be submitted after six months.

Exemption for corrugated kraft-paper boxes upheld despite metal stapling or binding cloth used on corners.
Exemption applies to corrugated boxes made wholly of kraft paper even if corners are stapled with metal pins or reinforced by binding cloth; metal stapling and binding cloth affixed over pins are treated as incidental reinforcements necessary for carrying heavy or bulk contents and for export, and do not disqualify the boxes from exemption under the notification.

Classification of toughened glass: replaceable refrigerator glass is treated as toughened glass, not a functional appliance part.
Toughened glass sheets used in refrigerators, produced by controlled heating and chilling to attain increased thermal endurance and strength, are characterised as toughened glass rather than functional parts of the appliance. Used as replaceable covers or tray components that do not affect refrigerator operation, they fall within the specific tariff classification for toughened glass; this view is reinforced by the 1985-86 Budget inclusion and departmental appeals against judgments treating similar glass as residuary parts.

Recognition of Provident Funds: Board clarifications instruct commissioners to apply and circulate guidance on recognition and de recognition.
The Board issued administrative clarifications concerning recognition and de-recognition of Provident Funds based on minutes of a meeting with Income tax officials; Commissioners are directed to apply those clarifications in recognition/de recognition cases and to notify officers under their charge.

Voluntary disclosure immunity: admit concealed income or wealth and pay tax to avoid penalty and prosecution under the scheme.
The circular prescribes that taxpayers making voluntary disclosures of concealed income or wealth must fully disclose amounts, file or re-file returns for the relevant years and produce evidence of tax payment within the immunity period; completed assessments require approach to the Commissioner, pending assessments require revised returns, and declarations made before detection attract immunity from penalty and prosecution provided the taxpayer admits the truth and pays taxes, subject to exclusions such as prior departmental detection and unaffected liabilities like compulsory deposits and estate duty.

Penalty immunity for voluntary disclosure: no initiation of penalty proceedings where disclosure, tax payment and cooperation occur.
Direction that tax officers shall not initiate penalty proceedings for concealment or inaccuracy or related failure penalties for assessment years up to and including 1985-86 where, before detection, the person voluntarily made a full and true disclosure within the specified disclosure window, paid the tax on the disclosed income by the specified cut-off, and cooperated in any assessment enquiry; the order took effect on 17 February 1986.

Voluntary disclosure immunity prevents penalty proceedings when full disclosure, tax payment, and cooperation occur.
Direction that Wealth-tax officers shall not initiate or impose penalty proceedings for concealment or inaccurate particulars for assessment years up to and including assessment year 1985-86 where a person, prior to detection, voluntarily and in good faith made a full and true disclosure of net wealth within the prescribed period, paid the tax on that net wealth by the cutoff date, and cooperated in any enquiry relating to assessment of the net wealth.

Tariff classification: coffee powder treated as 'coffee' under the general heading, not excluded by residuary item.
Coffee powder falls within the broad Tariff Item 2 heading Coffee; absence of a specific rate for powdered coffee does not amount to exclusion from Item 2 under the Explanation to Item 68, and the question of whether conversion is "manufacture" is peripheral to the primary classification inquiry.

Voluntary higher income declaration: penalty under section ten will be considered liberally while deposit obligation remains.
Declaration of higher income suo motu before the prescribed deadline will not by itself trigger penal consequences; taxpayers will be assessed at normal rates and earlier assessments will not be reopened on that ground. For years when the Compulsory Deposit Scheme applied, the obligation to make the compulsory deposit continues, but liability to penalty under section 10 will be considered liberally in view of the reasonable cause defence, and officers are instructed to facilitate such voluntary disclosures.