Valuation uniformity: assessable value must include notional profit, job work cost construction, and credit term interest inclusions.
Administrative valuation rules require inclusion of previous year gross profit as notional profit for captive consumption; job work outputs valued under Rule 7 by comparable market value or cost construction using landed raw material cost plus job charges (excluding consignor's selling profit); interest elements within the general credit period and amounts in excess of normal bank interest are includible in assessable value; effective sales tax rates (excluding input set off) are deductible; discounts such as warranties, campaign, regional, special or year end bonuses not known at removal are not deductible, while uniform prompt payment discounts are deductible.

Unjust enrichment: adjudicators must examine consumer benefit before confirming demands or allowing refunds.
Unjust enrichment must be assessed during adjudication: refunds only after claims are admissible on merits and within time and after the question of unjust enrichment is decided; adjudicators must examine whether the benefit was passed to consumers, and the issue should be raised in the show cause notice.

SSI exemption: endorsement of each product not required for registered small scale units; exemption covers all items manufactured.
Clarification that SSI exemption applies to all products manufactured by a unit once the unit is registered as a small scale industry; separate endorsement of each product on the registration certificate is not required to claim the exemption, and this guidance supersedes previous instructions.

Modvat credit on specially denatured ethyl alcohol limited to ethyl alcohol content; denaturant excluded only.
Modvat credit for inputs of specially denatured ethyl alcohol is confined to the ethyl alcohol component; the denaturant portion is excluded from credit. The Board concluded that, because the Notification refers to ethyl alcohol, the input credit facility should be limited to the ethyl alcohol content only.

Modvat credit certificates: consignment agent-issued documents not equivalent to stockyard-issued certificates, therefore Modvat credit not allowed.
Certificates issued by stockyards of Integrated Steel Plants, signed in full by the authorised stockyard officer with name and designation, alone qualify as Board-prescribed documents for claiming Modvat credit; certificates issued by consignment agents are not equivalent and Modvat credit must not be allowed on their strength.

Concessional duty eligibility for sodium carboxymethyl cellulose affirmed as CMC under notification, directing reassessment and compliance by suppliers.
The Board accepted technical advice that sodium carboxy methyl cellulose is the common, commercial form of carboxy methyl cellulose and therefore falls within the scope of the concessional duty notification for CMC; pending assessments for supplies to the specified oil companies are to be finalised accordingly and field formations and trade informed.

Packaging marking requirements for cigarette packets clarified: approvals must follow excise marking rules; month/year marking left to enforcing department.
Approvals for cigarette packet wrappers and wholesale coverings will be granted in enforcement of existing Central Excise marking obligations: individual retail packets must display factory name and address, licence/registration number and trade brand, while wholesale packages must show batch/lot identification (if any), an annually starting running serial number, the number and quantity of retail packages, and kind and quality of goods. The Standards of Weights and Measures requirement to show month and year of manufacture is acknowledged but its form (printed or otherwise) and practical implementation are left for the enforcing department to determine.

Separate accounting for DEEC duty-free inputs required; record in Form IV and not permitted for job work.
Duty-free inputs received under the DEEC Scheme must be accounted for separately in the raw material register in Form IV titled "REGISTER FOR RAW MATERIALS RECEIVED UNDER DEEC SCHEME", while duty-paid inputs for claiming Modvat credit remain in RG 23A Pt. I; DEEC goods accounted in this manner are not permitted for job work.

Tariff classification of bus duct systems clarified to require uniform treatment under the electrical equipment tariff heading.
The Board concludes that isolated-phase and industrial bus duct systems-aluminium conductor bars in a metal duct with insulators and accessories like arrestors, surge suppressors and potential transformers, serving as connection apparatus in power-generation and distribution installations-are classifiable as electrical machinery and apparatus, and orders uniform tariff classification under the relevant electrical equipment heading to ensure consistent treatment across collectorates.

Use of power in manufacture: footwear made without power from parts made with power remains eligible for exemption.
If a manufacturer assembles or manufactures footwear without using power, prior use of power in producing the purchased parts does not constitute use of power in the manufacture of the footwear; footwear made from such parts remains eligible for exemption under the notification provided no power is used by the final manufacturer or his job workers.

Computerised accounts acceptance: Collectors may accept computerized private records subject to specified conditions under existing guidance.
Collectors are authorised to accept private records, including computerised records, in lieu of prescribed statutory forms for matters relating to production, manufacture, storage, delivery or disposal of goods and accounting of raw materials, subject to conditions the Collector may specify; the Board reiterates an earlier circular permitting such acceptance and considers no amendment of the Central Excise Rules necessary.

Money credit declaration validity continues despite notification changes; fresh declaration required if inputs or final products change.
Money credit declarations filed under Rule 57(O) remain effective after a notification change provided the declared inputs and final products are unchanged; a fresh declaration is required only if there is a variation in inputs or in the final products, whether consequent to an amended notification or other change.

Classification of cotton fabrics ordered reclassified under tariff heading to ensure uniform assessment and administrative consistency, not retrospective.
The Central Board, invoking Section 37B, directs that grey cotton canvas, cotton ducks, cotton tyre cord fabrics and cotton belting fabrics shall henceforth be classified under Heading No. 52.05 of the Central Excise Tariff to ensure uniformity; the order does not alter past closed assessments and Collectors must issue trade notices and inform officers to effect consistent assessment practice.

Restriction on new bonding facilities: prohibit duplicate warehousing where oil companies already have facilities, with revenue impact tests.
Extension of warehousing facilities is restricted: not to extend new bonding facilities in any State where similar facilities have been granted to any one oil company to avoid unnecessary blocking of revenue. Officials forwarding proposals must assess distance to existing warehouses, mode of dispatch (pipeline or road), quantum and period of revenue blockage, and likely annual revenue loss from transit or storage before recommending grants.

Valuation tolerance for ice cream packaging set to allow fill variations due to manual packing and air loss.
The Central Excise circular prescribes tolerance limits for valuation based on the value declared on each ice cream pack to account for manual filling variability and air loss: 5% for 100 ml cups, 3% for packs between 100 ml and 500 ml, and 2% for packs above 500 ml, reflecting the principle that permissible error decreases with larger pack sizes.

Modvat credit procedural requirements relaxed: permission no longer required for removal of intermediate goods for jobwork, easing compliance.
Amendments prevent denial of Modvat credit on procedural grounds and withdraw the permission requirement for removal of intermediate goods for jobwork. The prior administrative procedure is confined to a separate notification, and a revised Annexure I intimation format is prescribed for notifying the Collectorate with details of assessee, inputs, jobworker, resultant goods, transit loss and scrap return.

Modvat credit verification required: strict original duty document checks and time-bound declarations to prevent misuse.
Strict verification of original duty-paying documents and endorsed gate passes is required before allowing Modvat credit, adhering to Circular No. 18/86 time limits; DICCE will monitor. Declarations under Rules 57G/57F/57H must be verified within three months with cent-per-cent checks by Superintendents and 20% checks by Assistant Collectors, and Form RG-23A supporting documents must be de-faced upon verification. Special audits and enhanced Anti-Evasion scrutiny are to target large Modvat claimants.

Bond security composition clarified: follow the standing circular on bank guarantee and cash deposit, earlier telex withdrawn.
Clarifies that B 13 bond security composition shall follow the earlier circular F.No. 214/16/84 CX.6 (Circular No. 40/84 CX.6), treating the later telex instruction as withdrawn, and permits the Collector to accept a lower bank guarantee or cash deposit depending on case merit.

Marking requirements relaxed for export-oriented cigarette manufacturing; outer containers may show factory code and pincode.
Relaxation of marking requirements for cigarettes manufactured by 100% EOUs applies where export goods are moved under prescribed Central Excise procedures; individual packet and wrapper printing obligations are relaxed if all outer corrugated fibreboard containers bear the legend "NBEL - followed by Pin Code Number of the factory." The concession does not apply to goods cleared for the domestic tariff area and requires engagement with the Collector of Central Excise for compliance.

Adjudication powers clarified: Export rebate and bond cases to be adjudicated by Additional and Deputy Collectors without monetary limits.
Clarifies that where collusion, wilful mis-statement or suppression of facts occurs, Show Cause Notices must be issued and cases decided by Collectors. Cases under the first proviso, Section 35B(1) relating to export rebate and bond matters shall be adjudicated by Additional Collectors and Deputy Collectors without monetary limits; other monetary limits in the earlier circular continue to apply.