Legacy dispute resolution clarifications on eligibility, deposit adjustment, PAN waivers and the scope of discharge protection for declared matters.
Clarifications under the Sabka Vishwas Scheme address scope, eligibility and deposit treatment: additional enactments are included; deposits made after show cause notice but before adjudication may be adjusted when issuing the payable statement; deposits during enquiry or audit, including those paid under protest, are to be adjusted by the designated committee and excess deposits are not refundable where a declaration is filed; eligibility for categories is fixed as on the relevant date; PAN requirements may be waived in specific cases; discharge certificates cover only the declared matter and period.

Document Identification Number (DIN) requirement for CBIC communications ensures authenticity; missing DIN renders specified communications invalid.
A mandatory electronic Document Identification Number (DIN) must be generated and quoted on specified CBIC communications (search authorizations, summons, inspection notices, arrest memos and enquiry letters) from 8 November 2019; communications lacking a system generated DIN are invalid unless issued under narrow exigent exceptions with written reasons and must be regularized within 15 working days by superior approval, post facto DIN generation and filing of the printed DIN pro forma. Recipients may verify DINs online.

Scheme eligibility clarifications: pending audits with quantified dues qualify for settlement under the legacy dispute resolution framework.
Clarifications on the Sabka Vishwas Scheme state that Final Audit Reports not resulting in a Show Cause Notice are treated as pending audits and qualify as quantified tax dues for the Scheme; voluntary disclosure declarations may be accepted without verification subject to safeguards against false declaration; admitted liabilities in returns filed by the cut off (including paid liabilities where relief for interest is sought) are eligible; a single declaration may cover multiple returns though relief is applied per return; third parties in possession of defaulter assets may declare and settle dues; appeals filed after the cut off are not covered unless withdrawn with an undertaking.

Declaration eligibility in legacy dispute resolution clarified: voiding of ineligible filings and specific appeals and arrears treatment.
Only eligible persons may file declarations under the Scheme; ineligible declarations made by incorrect responses are void. Appeals pending before forums other than highest courts are deemed withdrawn, including departmental appeals, while appeals or writs before the highest courts require formal departmental withdrawal applications after issuance of a discharge certificate. Each unpaid-return is a separate case; amount in arrears and tax dues are the net outstanding duty after prior payments, and relief is applied to that net amount with pre-deposits adjusted thereafter. A written binding waiver of appeal is required where a taxpayer chooses not to file an available appeal.

Adjudication of show cause notices to proceed despite prior callbook status; complete proceedings expeditiously in law.
Adjudication of show cause notices previously kept in the callbook should proceed: the Department secured a stay of the High Court order and directed, via Board Instruction of 03.01.2017, that field formations adjudicate these cases in accordance with law and implement time bound action plans to complete proceedings expeditiously.

Declaration under Sabka Vishwas Scheme: electronic filing required, committee estimate, payment and electronic proof yield discharge certificate.
Declarations under the Sabka Vishwas Scheme must be filed electronically in Form SVLDRS-1 for each case; the system issues an auto acknowledgement. The Designated Committee verifies the declaration, issues an estimate in Form SVLDRS-3, and the declarant must pay the indicated amount electronically within thirty days. Proof of withdrawal of appeals or writs must be furnished electronically. After payment and any required proof, the committee issues a discharge certificate in Form SVLDRS-4 within thirty days, or within thirty days of filing where Form SVLDRS-3 is not issued under the proviso.

Legacy dispute resolution: duty linked relief with full waiver of interest and penalties to clear past indirect tax disputes.
The Sabka Vishwas Scheme, 2019 provides a time bound, automated mechanism to settle legacy Central Excise and Service Tax disputes and permit voluntary disclosures. Relief is linked to the duty amount communicated or admitted and includes scaled duty reductions with full waiver of interest and penalty. Eligibility covers adjudication, appeals, investigations and quantified audit demands subject to specified exclusions. Declarations are processed by Designated Committees with automated relief calculation; successful payment and appeal withdrawal lead to issuance of a conclusive discharge certificate subject to narrow reopening for false voluntary disclosures.

E-payment integration: Central Excise and Service Tax payments now require challan creation on CBIC portal and payment via ICEGATE.
Payments of Central Excise and Service Tax arrears must be initiated by creating a challan on the CBIC GST portal using the CE/ST registration number, selecting account heads and amounts, then generating a Challan Temporary Identification Number (CTIN). The taxpayer clicks "Make Payment" to be redirected to ICEGATE, selects unpaid challans, chooses NEFT/RTGS, obtains a printable mandate and completes payment online or at an authorized bank; online payments are confirmed on ICEGATE and routed back to CBIC GST.

Portal migration mandates use of the new cbic-gst portal for central excise e filings and grants extended filing deadlines.
Migration to the consolidated portal requires users to move from ACES to www.cbic-gst.gov.in; ACES will be disabled during transition, existing users must log in with current credentials under "Tax Payer Log in," new users must register online to obtain an ARN and divisional approval for issuance of registration and temporary password, and e filing deadlines for prescribed monthly returns and ER I/ER 2 particulars due in April have been extended while electronic payment procedures are revised on the new portal.

Extension of time limit for filing ER-1 and ER-2 returns granted due to system migration; filing deadline administratively extended.
Extension of time limit for filing monthly returns ER-1 and ER-2 is directed due to migration and integration of legacy data which disabled the ACES application; the e filing deadline for April 2019 returns is administratively extended from the original May date to a new date in June 2019 to allow taxpayers to file production, removal particulars and CENVAT credit information.

Electronic filing migration: Excise and service tax filings move to an integrated CBIC portal with mandated password and registration procedures.
Migration of Central Excise and Service Tax electronic filing and arrears payment from the ACES application to an integrated CBIC-ACES-GST portal will disable ACES transactional menus during migration; taxpayers may still pay via E-payment or the EASIEST portal. Post-migration, existing users must authenticate with ACES credentials and change passwords to access filings, amendments and refunds; new users register through a TRN/OTP process that yields an ARN and, on approval, a registration number and temporary password. Departmental officers will use SSO access to an "ACESGST" icon to process transactions, with read-only legacy icons retained temporarily.

Safeguard duty on solar cells: Supreme Court stay requires informing High Courts to prevent adverse interim orders.
Imposition of safeguard duty on imported solar cells was notified following DGTR findings; the Supreme Court stayed a High Court interim order that had restrained issuance of safeguard notifications and stayed further proceedings in the related petition. Departments are instructed to inform High Courts that the issue is sub judice before the Supreme Court to avoid adverse orders and to consider review, appeal or SLP proposals in consultation with legal officers if adverse orders arise.

Concessional import duty for EOUs updated to align with current trade policy and GST, affecting exemptions and bond requirements.
Notifications amend customs and central excise provisions governing EOUs/STPIs/EHTPs and DTA units to align with the present Foreign Trade Policy and GST regime. Imported goods may be temporarily cleared without payment of customs duties, IGST and compensation cess (with GST liability governed separately); duty on later DTA clearance is the duty exempted at import; depreciation for capital goods is preserved; redundant references and superseded provisions are removed; job worker GST registration and a revised B 17 bond with GSTIN references are mandated while existing bonds remain valid.

Eligibility for budgetary support clarified with verification, documentation and disposal timelines to streamline industrial grant claims.
Clarifies operational aspects of the Scheme of Budgetary Support: units previously covered by residual excise exemptions are not eligible; kits comprising in house and third party sourced inputs qualify as manufactured products when supplied as finished kits; Chartered Accountant certification is recognised; assessees may obtain separate registrations to segregate eligible operations. The Central Tax officer at the principal place of business sanctions claims for multi location assessees; month wise details must accompany quarterly refund applications. Claims must be disposed within two weeks, not exceeding thirty days. Support is a grant subject to CAG audit and decisions of the sanctioning authority are final.