Modvat credit expansion: revised procedure for claiming credit on countervailing duty now applies at all customs houses nationwide.
Modvat credit for countervailing duty paid on imported goods: a revised administrative procedure initially prescribed for the Bombay Customs House is to be allowed at all Customs Houses, enabling importers to follow the same mechanism nationwide for claiming Modvat credit in respect of countervailing duty paid on imported inputs.

Assessable value inclusion of drilling rigs requires chassis and attachments to be valued, with Modvat credit available where admissible.
Assessable value of truck chassis-mounted drilling rigs must include the cost of the truck chassis and all attached components as they are integral parts of a single drilling-rig entity, attached at removal from the factory. Inclusion applies irrespective of component ownership, and the manufacturer may claim Modvat credit for duty already paid on those components if admissible.

Manufacture by processing: appeal argues insulation creates a new product, warranting tariff reclassification on that basis.
Appeal filed against a CEGAT order turning on whether insulating copper strips constitutes manufacture that creates a new product with a distinct name, character and use and thus warrants reclassification under a different tariff item, contrary to the Tribunal's view that insulation is not manufacture.

Deemed credit confined to purchases, not available for stock transfers in job work ferrous and non ferrous metals.
Deemed credit on metals received for processing on a job work basis is restricted to credits arising from purchases of ferrous and non ferrous metals and is not available for metals received by way of stock transfers or other non purchase movements.

Invoice submission rule: require invoices with RT returns only when used as duty paying documents; otherwise not routine.
Invoices are to be submitted with RT returns only when accepted as duty paying documents in lieu of gate passes; otherwise invoices should not be insisted upon routinely but may be called for where doubts arise, notably on valuation.

Assessable value inclusion: cloth covers for mattresses must be included when goods are cleared with covers for excise assessment.
For Central Excise purposes, mattresses, pillows and cushions cleared without covers are assessed on the foam alone; where these goods are cleared with covers, whether assembled or unassembled, the cost of the cloth covers must be included in the assessable value, thereby modifying the earlier Board guidance that covers should be excluded.

Sectionwise and subjectwise index required for authorised representatives to catalogue favourable ITAT decisions for reuse.
The Board directs that Authorised Representatives maintain a sectionwise/subjectwise index of favourable ITAT decisions for the Bench they represent, using the prescribed proforma; sectionwise indices must be in numerical order and subjectwise indices in alphabetical order, the registers must be handed over on transfer, and maintenance is to commence in respect of Tribunal orders issued from 1st October, 1987 onwards.

Deduction under section 80C for housing loan repayment requires completion and chargeability to house property income.
Deduction for repayment of loans for purchase or construction of residential property is allowable only if the property's construction is completed after the cut-off date and the income from the property is chargeable to tax under Income from House Property in the relevant assessment year; if construction remains incomplete by the end of the previous year relevant to an assessment year, no deduction is admissible for that assessment year and TDS should be applied accordingly.

Control of litigation: mandatory annual review of judicial branches to identify litigation-driving provisions and withdraw appeals.
Control of litigation is to be achieved by a mandatory Annual Review of the Judicial Branch in each CIT office, conducted by the Chief Commissioner using a prescribed proforma that supplies statistics on workload, disposal and success rate and identifies legal provisions generating litigation. The review must provide separate data for the nine-month period ending 31 March and the three-month period ending 30 June, with the consolidated report for the year ending 30 June submitted to the Board with comments by the prescribed deadline. The review also aims to enable screening and withdrawal of appeals rendered infructuous by changes in law or accepted court decisions.

Timely case record delivery ensures authorised representatives receive flagged briefs before hearings for effective departmental representation.
Assessing officers must forward Briefs with Records, with relevant papers flagged, to authorised departmental representatives in time before hearings; for Departmental Appeals, the Commissioner's file authorising the appeal must also be sent. Responsibility for sending records is fixed on ITO(J)/IAC(J). Commissioners must monitor compliance and report defaults for appropriate action, with repeated failures recorded in the Annual Confidential Report.

Stay orders: file caveats and centrally designate judicial officers to monitor and follow up on stays.
The Board mandates immediate caveat filing where appeals and stay applications against favourable departmental judgments are anticipated, and requires designation of one IAC (Judicial) in multi Commissioner Charges and one ITO (Judicial) in other Charges to centrally monitor, coordinate and follow up on all stay orders; officers receiving stay orders must promptly contact the designated judicial officer and circulate these instructions within their Charges.

Appeal delegation: Chief Commissioners decide contesting adverse tax judgments under monetary-limit guidelines with specified exceptions.
Authority to accept or contest adverse tax litigation judgments is delegated to Chief Commissioners under guidelines requiring selective filing of appeals and references based on cumulative revenue effect across years and related cases, with first-instance questions of law to be contested regardless of revenue. Certain adverse judgments (prosecution risk, departmental strictures, accepted audit objections, conflicts with Board directives, or cases requiring consistent treatment across years) must be contested irrespective of amount, while judgments consistent with Board views or arising from procedural failures need not be contested. Prior Board approval is required for specified categories including special leave petitions, public sector undertakings, and high-revenue or disputed cases; deviations require timely Board approach and fortnightly reporting to an Integrated Judicial Reference System.

Customs duty-free export compliance required - collectors must enforce prescribed airport procedures and penalise officials for non-observance.
The circular mandates that prescribed procedural requirements for export sales through airport Customs duty free shops must be strictly observed, and directs Collectors to take cognisance of any default and initiate disciplinary or punitive action against officials who fail to comply with the required Customs duty free export protocols.

Deemed credit restriction limits eligibility to primary metal and specified non ferrous waste, altering input credit entitlement.
The notification narrows the scope of deemed credit to primary metal and to waste and scrap of non ferrous metals, permitting the exemption for such waste and scrap only where input credit on the originating material was not taken or has been debited back; deemed credit for primary metal applies to stock held on or after 1 3 1986 and for non ferrous waste and scrap to stock held on or after 2 11 1987.

Permission under Rule 57F(2) must be granted promptly to prevent operational disruption and trade hardship.
Applications for permission to remove inputs outside the factory for testing, repairs, refining or partial processing and their return for further manufacture must be disposed of within seven days; delays cause trade hardship and production disruption, defaults should be viewed seriously by Collectors, and field formations and trade interests must be appropriately informed.

Reallocation of administrative functions centralises supervisory control under Director General (Admn), streamlining oversight and approvals.
Reallocation redesignates Director General (Special Investigation) as Director General (Admn) with supervisory control over specified Directorates; transfers of senior officers remain Board prerogative while intra-Directorate movements require Director General (Admn) approval; a small headquarters staff will be formed from existing Directorates and temporary cadre control will reside with the Director of Inspection (I.T.).

Classification of graphite flakes: processed powders treated as mineral substance not elsewhere specified, excluding them from natural mineral exemption.
Processed graphite flakes and powders recovered after grinding, ball-mill washing, jet-mill flotation/decantation, repeated milling and screening are considered outside the exemption for natural black minerals and are classified as mineral substances not elsewhere specified for tariff purposes.

Delegation of regional authority to Chief Commissioners enhances administrative control and consolidates field jurisdiction under them.
Instruction No. 1775/CBDT delegates defined powers, functions and regional jurisdiction from the Board to Chief Commissioners/Directors General (Investigation), makes all regional Commissioners/Directors of Inspection administratively subordinate to them and requires that their staff be drawn from existing sanctioned strength without separate posts; specified Director General roles are unaffected and detailed authorities are set out in annexures, with communications to be channelled through the regional Chief Commissioner/Director General except in emergencies.

Deemed excise credit for rerollable steel materials allowed without duty documents when used unmelted in manufacture.
The Government directed that ingots and rerollable iron or steel materials purchased on or after the specified date may be deemed to have paid duty at a uniform deemed rate, and that credit of duty may be allowed where such materials are used without undergoing melting in the manufacture of goods under Chapters 72 and 73, permitting Modvat credit without production of duty-paid documents.

Tax-deduction Account Number obligation: all deductors must apply for TAN and quote it in TDS documents.
Section 203A mandates that all persons responsible for deduction of tax at source must apply for and obtain a Tax-deduction Account Number (TAN) and quote it in challans, TDS certificates and periodical returns; application is by prescribed Form 49B under the notified rules, with centralised allotment in certain metropolitan charges and assistance available from the concerned Income-tax Officer or local Public Relations Officer.