Review Committee authorization flaws can invalidate departmental appeals; ensure proper meeting, dated signatures and demonstrated application of mind.
Review by a committee of two Commissioners requires two stages: formation of an opinion that the appellate order is not legal or proper and issuance of a review-cum-authorization directing a named officer to file an appeal. Recurrent judicially-noted defects include defective or missing authorizations (undated, singly signed, names absent), lack of application of mind in file notings, and absence of any recorded meeting or concurrence. Committees must ensure meaningful notings, separate valid authorization orders, strict compliance with signature and dating formalities, and may use video conferencing to record deliberations.

Direct payment to bank account: rebate and refund amounts credited via NEFT/RTGS upon claimant authorization.
Facility introduced to pay rebate/refund amounts directly to assessee/exporter bank accounts. Fresh claims on or after 01.11.2012 must include a one-time authorization in duplicate and a cancelled cheque with IFSC; pending claims require authorization if orders are not issued. Sanctioning authorities will send a signed consolidated statement and a cheque to the designated bank branch; the bank will credit individual accounts via NEFT/RTGS after deducting applicable charges.

Arrear file due diligence: exhaustive tracing, detailed data capture and initiation of statutory enforcement measures.
Officers must perform exhaustive tracing and populate arrear files with comprehensive data-full addresses, PAN/IEC, bank details, lists of movable and immovable assets, adviser contact details, landlord information, and partners/directors particulars including PAN, addresses, bank accounts and identity documents-and report positive results; where not already done, initiate statutory action under Section 142(1)(a) and (b) of the Customs Act, 1962 as applied to Central Excise read with Section 11 of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

Cenvat credit use for basic excise duty may fund NCCD on final products, subject to specified tariff exceptions.
Cenvat credit of basic excise duty paid on inputs used in or in relation to manufacture of final products may be utilised for payment of National Contingency Calamity Duty (NCCD) on those final products, except as barred by the fifth proviso which disallows such utilisation for goods falling under specified tariff items. Cenvat Credit Rules also require that credit of NCCD itself be used only for payment of NCCD, without affecting the permissibility of using basic excise duty credit for NCCD.

Indirect Tax Ombudsman provides conciliation and binding awards for grievances against indirect tax authorities and summary proceedings.
The Indirect Tax Ombudsman resolves grievances against Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax authorities after exhaustion of departmental remedies. Complaints must be in writing or electronically followed by a signed printout and may allege delay in refunds, adjudication, registration, non-adherence to disbursement rules, discourteous conduct, non-acknowledgement of communications or breaches of administrative instructions. Proceedings are summary and not bound by strict rules of evidence. The Ombudsman may effect conciliation or pass a binding award, will protect taxpayer rights and maintain confidentiality except as required for fair proceedings.

Service tax deposit obligation: providers must remit collected tax before input providers' CENVAT credit may be utilized.
Providers who collect amounts from recipients as service tax are obliged to remit those amounts forthwith to the credit of the Central Government. Recipients claiming CENVAT credit must retain records evidencing value, tax paid, credit taken and supplier identity, since the burden of proof for admissibility of CENVAT credit rests on the recipient. Trade bodies and enforcement formations are advised to verify payment by input service providers before utilization of CENVAT credit.

Rebate and refund amounts will be paid directly to assessees' bank accounts via NEFT/RTGS on submission of authorization.
Facility permitting payment directly to assessee/exporter bank accounts for rebate/refund claims, replacing cheque issuance. Fresh claims filed on or after 01.06.2012 require a one time authorization in duplicate with a cancelled cheque showing IFSC; pending claims without orders must submit authorization immediately. Divisional sanctioning authorities will forward periodic statements and a consolidated cheque to the bank, which will credit individual accounts via NEFT/RTGS after deducting applicable charges per RBI guidelines. Divisional offices retain a copy of the authorization and claimants may contact jurisdictional officers for difficulties.

CENVAT credit eligibility clarified for boiler components: bona fide boiler parts allowed, foundation/support structure components excluded.
Components that are genuinely parts of a boiler are classifiable as boiler parts and eligible for CENVAT Credit, while structural components used for laying foundations or making structures to support capital goods/boilers are not admissible; the determination is fact-specific and must follow existing legal provisions and judicial precedents.

Electronic payment of rebate and refund claims to exporters' bank accounts streamlines disbursal and replaces cheque issuance.
Facility to pay rebate and refund claims directly to exporters' bank accounts instead of cheques; claimants must provide a one-time authorization, divisions will forward weekly statements and a consolidated cheque to the designated bank, which will transfer funds via NEFT/RTGS after applicable charges, and divisions will record the bank scroll, deface originals, complete files and send them for post-audit while pre-audit procedures remain unchanged.

Exemption eligibility: eligible units may claim area based excise exemption even if option is exercised after sunset.
Eligible new or substantially expanded units that commenced commercial production on or before the sunset date remain entitled to area based excise exemption for goods even where excise levy was imposed subsequently. The sunset clause is an eligibility cutoff only; exercising the written option may occur after the sunset, and the ten year concession period is computed from commencement of production, not from the date the option is exercised.

Recovery of arrears: prioritise attachment under Section 11, then pursue asset tracing and third party recovery measures.
Standing instructions require beginning Central Excise recovery by attachment and sale under Section 11, with physical verification and, when attachment is not feasible, initiation of proceedings under Section 142. Divisional Officers are authorised to prepare certificates, circulate them across divisions/zones, and pursue asset identification through simultaneous written enquiries to Sub Registrar, municipal authorities, banks, RTA, Registrar of Companies, post office, police and trade associations; identified assets may be auctioned via the Chief Commissioner's auctioneer, while unresolved cases are referred via TRC to investigative agencies or considered for write off.

Exemption period computation for industrial units: start date depends on whether production began before or after notification publication.
Computation of the ten year exemption period under Notification No. 56/2002 CE: if a unit (new or expanded capacity) commenced production during the period between 14 June 2002 and 14 November 2002, the period is computed from the notification's publication date; if production (new unit or expanded capacity) commenced after publication, the period is computed from the date of commencement of commercial production or commencement of production from the expanded capacity.

Classification of boiler structural components as parts of boiler secures CENVAT credit under Rule 2(k)(iii).
Structural components that are essential to a Boiler System are classifiable as parts of Boiler and thus qualify as inputs for CENVAT credit; the exclusion for goods used to lay foundations or make structures for support of capital goods does not apply where the components form an integral part of the Boiler rather than mere external supports.

Mega Power Project exemption clarified: FDRs lodged with factory jurisdiction, may be submitted periodically; concessional removal rules excluded.
The Circular clarifies that when a project's Mega Power Project certificate is provisional, the required Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) equal to the excise duty must be furnished to the jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner of the factory from which goods are cleared. FDRs may be submitted periodically for successive clearances, but each must meet the prescribed term. The Central Excise concessional removal Rules, 2001 do not apply to removals for use in a project under this notification.

Cenvat credit utilization permitted for arrears under Section 11A but restricted for routine duty payments.
The proviso to rule 3(4) limits use of cenvat credit to the balance on the last day of the relevant month or quarter for routine duty payments under rule 8, including late payments; however, arrears determined under Section 11A are not subject to that temporal restriction and may be paid using cenvat credit accrued after the period to which the arrears relate.

Exports to Nepal remain eligible under DRP pre revocation and permitted irrespective of payment currency, subject to RBI compliance.
Exports cleared under DRP invoices before 1 March 2012 but exported within the prescribed period remain governed by the DRP: duty refund is to be credited to the Government of Nepal and the rebate element is not admissible to Indian exporters. Exports under rebate claims or under bond/LUT to Nepal are permitted whether payments are in Indian Rupees or foreign convertible currency, provided RBI guidelines are followed.

Excise duty rate changes: standard central excise and CENVAT raised to 12% with targeted sectoral reclassifications and exemptions.
General central excise revisions increase the standard CENVAT/central excise rate to 12% and adjust related concessionary slabs; sectoral changes amend ad valorem and specific duties, expand targeted exemptions (including certain food preparations, lifesaving drugs and aircraft parts), impose new levies and slab realignments for tobacco and cigarettes, and modify valuation and abatement rules for branded garments and jewellery, with several measures provisional pending enactment and cross-referenced to notifications dated 17 March 2012.

Central excise duty reforms: revised tariff structure and provisional valuation and procedural changes now take effect.
Central excise and customs duties have been revised under Finance Bill, 2012 proposals and associated notifications, with several changes provisionally effective from the midnight of 16th/17th March, 2012. Key measures include revised excise rate structure for non petroleum goods, sectoral tariff adjustments (notably for cement, automobiles, tobacco, textiles, footwear, precious metals and batteries), RSP/tariff value valuation rules for goods under section 4A, consolidation of concession notifications, amendments to Cenvat Credit and procedural rules, and customs tariff, SAD and classification amendments. Legislative amendments align offence, arrest and search provisions and adjust adjudication thresholds.

Branded jewellery excise liability limited to items with indelible brand marks on the article itself, not packaging.
Excise duty on precious metal jewellery of heading 7113 is leviable only when the trade/brand name, mark, symbol or cross-referenced number is indelibly affixed or embossed on the article itself; branding limited to packaging, boxes, pouches, warranty cards or certificates does not make the goods branded for excise purposes, and house marks used for identification at exchange or resale are excluded.

Concentrate classification determines excise liability: beneficiation, not mere crushing or screening, is required to attract duty.
Excise duty on iron ore is leviable only when the product meets the HSN-based definition of a concentrate-ores with foreign matter removed by special treatments because such matter would hamper metallurgical operations or for economical transport-so that beneficiation processes that materially improve ore grade (not mere crushing or screening) are necessary to attract duty.