Payment of advance tax: an attested photocopy of the taxpayer's challan counterfoil suffices as proof with the return.
For three-counterfoil challans banks will send one foil to the assessing officer, one to the zonal accounts office and one to the taxpayer for record; the taxpayer may file with the return an attested photocopy of the taxpayer's retained counterfoil, which constitutes adequate proof of payment for advance tax and self-assessment tax under the statutory proof-of-payment requirement.

Failure to deduct tax at source may avoid penalty and prosecution if proper tax and interest are paid by the prescribed deadline.
Employers who failed to correctly deduct tax at source on salaries, including perquisites and allowances, may avoid initiation of penalty or prosecution if they pay the proper tax together with interest by the prescribed extended deadline; the relief also covers prior guidance on salaries and perquisites paid abroad, while coercive recovery of unpaid tax remains permissible, and applies to assessment years beginning 1989-90 through 1994-95.

Manufacture under central excise questioned for blending duty-paid methanol with motor spirit; expert opinion to guide case decisions.
Whether mixing duty-paid methanol with duty-paid motor spirit constitutes manufacture under the Central Excises and Salt Act was referred for technical advice; the Ministry obtained the Chief Chemist, CRCL's opinion and directed that pending cases be decided in light of that expert opinion, with trade and field formations to be advised accordingly.

Classification of domestic flour mills as milling machinery under tariff heading 84.37 affirmed; motor fitment optional.
Domestic flour mills, whether stone type or stoneless type, are complete mechanical milling units with hoppers, grain regulators and optional motor fitment, used to pulverise cereals. Relying on the HSN Explanatory Note and the specific listing for grinding machines for milling cereals, the Board clarifies that domestic flour mills are classifiable as milling machinery under heading 84.37, and earlier instructions are superseded.

Tax deduction at source authorisation: standardised forms and proof-of-payment required before remittance to non-residents.
The Circular prescribes streamlined application and authorisation forms under section 195(1) for remittances to non-residents, requires verification of payer claims against the Income-tax Act and relevant Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements, and mandates production of proof of deposit of tax deducted at source and submission of that proof with Form 27 to the income-tax office before and after remittance.

Export rebate procedure enables self removal or sealed export with AR 4 processing to claim duty rebate through designated authorities.
New rules and Notification No. 41/94 set a consolidated procedure for rebate of excise duty on exports (excluding mineral oil and ship stores) to countries other than Nepal and Bhutan, permitting self removal without prior Central Excise examination or export under Central Excise seal. Both routes require a six copy AR 4 with prescribed declarations; the Superintendent verifies duty payment, endorses copies for the rebate authority and accounts, Customs verifies seals and endorses export copies, and the exporter files a rebate claim within the statutory period with supporting AR 4 and shipping documents for sanctioning by the designated authority.

Tax holiday eligibility for software exports: on site development by units still qualifies if the unit produces and exports the software.
Where a unit located in an EPZ/EOU/STP produces software and exports it, development of the software at the client's premises does not disqualify the unit from the five year tax holiday, provided the software is a product of the unit and the statutory conditions are fulfilled. The 1993 Explanation that produce includes computer programmes is clarificatory and does not withdraw benefits from software exporters in EPZs/EOUs for years prior to the amendment.

Revenue reconciliation: mandated timelines and strict CAO/PAO procedures to verify PLAs and resolve discrepancies promptly.
The Board mandates strict timelines and procedures for verification of PLA and reconciliation of revenue receipts: CAOs must receive PLA copies by the 10th and verify PLA entries against original TR-6 documents within 15 days, reconcile with PAO figures within ten days of scroll receipt, and complete reconciliation for any period within six months; registers and on-the-spot transfer adjustments are required for misclassifications, PAOs must maintain progressive difference registers and notify collectors of long-outstanding items, and Collectors must monitor monthly and report unresolved cases upward.

Classification of micronutrients as fertilisers confirmed, shifting tariff treatment to other fertiliser category and guiding pending assessments.
Micronutrients listed under Schedule 1 Part A of the Fertilizer Control Order and their mixtures are recognised as fertilisers and, under the Interpretative Rules of the Central Excise Tariff, merit classification with fertilisers; they should therefore be classified under the tariff category for Other Fertilisers, and the earlier circular treating them as plant growth regulators is withdrawn.

Export deduction limited to cut and polished minerals; washed raw blocks are excluded from the tax benefit.
Eligibility for the section 80HHC export deduction requires that minerals be both cut and polished before export; mere cutting and washing into raw blocks does not qualify, reflecting an objective to incentivise value addition through polishing and finishing.

Revised counsel fee schedule governs departmental prosecution counsel remuneration and requires existing counsel consent before implementation.
Sanctioning a revised schedule of fees for Prosecution Counsels, the instruction puts the new scale into effect from 1 4 1995, requires obtaining consent from currently engaged counsels to the revised rates, and excludes two metropolitan centres where fees follow rates prescribed by the Ministry of Law Branch Secretariats; the instruction notes concurrence of the Ministry of Law and Justice.

Job-Work scope clarified under Notification requires departments to identify and report similar cases for administrative action.
Supreme Court judgment dated 1-9-1994 construed the scope of the term Job-Work in Notification No. 119 of 1975. The Board directs departments to identify similar cases pending in the Supreme Court, move High Courts or Tribunals where appropriate, and submit a detailed report on action taken, pending similar cases with revenue implications and departmental references, and pending High Court/Tribunal matters with initiated actions and revenue consequences.

Tax deduction at source for interest on securities requires withholding on credit or payment and strict depositor compliance.
Deduction of tax at source under section 193 must be made when interest on securities is credited or paid, with credit to any suspense or other account deemed to be credit to the payee. The Finance Act, 1994 prescribes withholding rates and a surcharge for domestic companies, while exemptions and lower deduction apply where conditions are met (listed debentures paid by account-payee cheque below the resident threshold, Form No. 15F declarations, certificates under section 197, and statutory or notified exempt securities). Deductors must deposit tax timely, issue Form No. 16A, quote TAN, file annual returns in Form No. 25, and comply with rounding and penalty provisions.

Deemed MODVAT credit denied where inputs have not borne excise duty, barring ship-breakers from claiming credit.
Deemed credit under the MODVAT mechanism cannot be allowed on scrap generated by ship breaking because such scrap has not borne excise duty; therefore the provisions permitting deemed credit are inapplicable and field formations should deny deemed credit to ship breakers for such scrap.

Service tax on telephone services: decentralised SSA registration and prescribed booking and reporting obligations enforce collection procedures.
A revised procedure decentralises collection of Service Tax on telephone services to Secondary Switching Areas (SSAs), which must register individually using form ST-1 and receive form ST-2 registration certificates; SSAs must submit quarterly returns, intimate monthly collections to the Collector by the fifth of the following month, and book collected tax under the accounting head "0044-Service Tax - Service Tax on Telephone Billing" by the fifteenth, with penal interest and penalties credited to the minor-head for other receipts and no TR-6 challan used.

Modvat credit document acceptance: specified supplier invoices may be accepted conditionally to permit transitional credit.
The Board prescribes that invoices/documents issued by a manufacturer from his factory or depot, a wholesale distributor/dealer of the manufacturer, or an importer from his godown may be accepted as valid for allowing Modvat credit, provided they contain the details required by the relevant notifications and are issued by persons registered under the transitional registration provision; acceptance by the Assistant Collector is limited to the transitional period but pre-registration documents may be accepted if the issuer was eligible to issue such documents.

Customs airport designation enables import unloading and export loading under applicable customs rules and EXIM policy.
Declaration that the International Airport, Ahmedabad (including the Air Cargo Complex) is designated as a Customs Airport and is open for unloading of imported goods and loading of export goods, subject to observance of all customs rules, procedures and the prevailing EXIM policy; this supersedes the earlier public notice governing customs operations at the airport.

Excisability of sugar syrup: intermediate-stage syrup classified as dutiable under the tariff, attracting central excise liability.
The Board clarifies that sugar syrup produced as an intermediate in manufacture of aerated water and Ayurvedic medicines, prepared with additives and filtration and possessing a shelf life, is marketable and constitutes an excisable item, liable to central excise duty under the tariff description for sugar syrup.

Communication of Board instructions: ensure all collectors of appeals and specified wings are placed on mailing lists.
The Board directs that copies of all notifications, circulars and instructions be separately endorsed to each Collector (Appeals) and that specified Sections and Directors/Deputy Secretaries of Customs & Central Excise wings be placed on the mailing/despatch lists. An annexure lists the Collectors, Directorates and Board office posts to be included to ensure systematic distribution of those communications.

Excise duty changes on copper and aluminium utensils: specific duties and exemptions tied to input credit eligibility.
The circular revises excise treatment for copper and aluminium inputs to utensil manufacture: unwrought copper and most aluminium plates/sheets intended for utensils are exempt, untrimmed copper sheets/circles and aluminium circles are subject to a specific per ton duty if input duty credit is not taken, and exemptions apply only to units other than primary metal producers, who may instead opt to pay ad valorem duty to claim Modvat/input credit. Captive use exemptions for circles have been withdrawn.