Exemption of slag from 100% EOU: dumped, unsold slag in domestic area is excise exempt under the notification.
Slag generated in a 100% export oriented unit and abandoned or dumped in the domestic tariff area without realisation of sale proceeds is fully exempted from excise duty under Notification No. 125/84-C.E.; field formations are to be informed.

Rebate on export duties paid through RG23A register now allowed in cash under MODVAT scheme.
The Board directs that cash rebate for duties on exported goods, previously allowed where duties were paid by debits in the RG 23 register, will apply mutatis mutandis to payments made through debits in the RG 23A register under the MODVAT scheme, and field formations are to be advised to implement this extension.

Prima facie admissibility of deductions: Section 143 adjustments limited to patent errors, contested claims need further proceedings.
Substituted Section 143 permits intimation where tax, interest or refund is determinable on the face of a return after specific adjustments: rectification of arithmetical errors; allowance of losses, deductions or reliefs that are prima facie admissible though not claimed; and disallowance of claims that are prima facie inadmissible. Only patent, obvious errors may be adjusted at intimation stage; reliance on past assessments or prolonged inquiry is not permissible. Matters not determinable on the face of the return must be handled through further assessment procedures and may lead to rectification applications under Section 154 if adjustments exceed the proviso's scope.

Product classification: oil seals made wholly or predominantly of rubber are classifiable under rubber goods heading rather than vehicle parts.
Oil seals made wholly of rubber, or where rubber predominates or imparts the essential character under rules of interpretation, are classifiable as articles of vulcanized rubber other than hard rubber under the relevant tariff heading rather than as motor vehicle parts, consistent with the sectional exclusion and HSN Explanatory Notes.

Excisability of adhesives: on-site prepared glues consumed within cigarette factories are not treated as excisable goods.
Adhesives prepared on-site in cigarette factories from duty-paid starch or dextrine by adding water and steam, consumed within the factory due to limited shelf-life and not ordinarily marketed, do not appropriately qualify as excisable 'goods'; the Board directs lower formations to apply this view and finalise pending assessments accordingly.

Approval under section 80-O: applications must use the prescribed form and are delegated to Chief Commissioners.
Applications for approval of agreements under section 80-O must be made and verified in the prescribed form; with effect from April 1, 1989, approval authority is delegated to Chief Commissioners/Directors-General of Income-tax and pending applications are transferred to them. Thereafter, applications must be filed before the concerned Chief Commissioner/Director-General in the prescribed form with enclosures signed by the person authorised to sign the return, filed in triplicate.

Separate bonds under the Intermediate Advance Licensing Scheme now allow intermediate manufacturers and exporters to execute individual bonds.
The Import Export policy amendment under the Intermediate Advance Licensing Scheme removes the joint bond requirement and allows the Intermediate Manufacturer and the manufacturer of the export product to execute separate individual bonds, thereby modifying para 3 of the Board's earlier instructions; field formations are to be advised for implementation.

Deduction under section 80-O: approval, eligibility and procedural requirements govern foreign earned royalties and technical service income.
Deduction under section 80-O allows a fifty percent deduction on net income in convertible foreign exchange from royalties, commissions, fees or similar payments earned by an Indian company from a foreign Government or foreign enterprise, conditional on prior approval of the agreement by the delegated authorities and filing in the prescribed Form No.10F before the relevant filing cut-off; eligibility requires qualifying types of income rendered or used outside India, written agreements evidencing timing of services, exclusion or apportionment of non-qualifying elements in composite contracts, and examination of overlap with foreign-project deduction provisions.

Exemption for raw materials used in clinker manufacture affirmed where materials are captively consumed, extending benefits to clinker-only producers.
Exemptions under Notifications 447/86 and 448/86 apply to limestone, raw feed and slurry and not to cement clinkers; for factories producing only cement clinkers the exemption conditions remain satisfied if those exempted goods are captively consumed in the manufacture of cement clinkers. The notifications do not require that cement clinkers be captively consumed in cement manufacture, and Notification 119/86 separately deals with cement clinkers, so the exemption benefits extend to clinker-only and clinker-and-cement producers.

Modvat credit denial for mercury used as electrodes in caustic soda manufacture confirmed; treated as machinery not input.
Modvat credit on mercury used in caustic soda manufacture is not permitted because the mercury functions as electrodes within the electrolysis system and is treated as machinery rather than an input; field formations should be notified and past cases settled accordingly.

Neutral packing for polyester viscose blended yarn extended temporarily; collectors must report on the facility's working promptly.
The circular extends the prior experimental permission allowing exporters to use neutral packing for specified polyester viscose blended yarn categories for a further limited period, and directs all Collectors of Central Excise to submit a report on the working of this facility to the Board by the stated deadline to permit assessment of the experiment.

Modvat credit clarified: retrospective application permits credit on captively manufactured inputs from the rule's commencement.
The explanation clarifies that Modvat credit is admissible on inputs manufactured in a factory and captively used for the manufacture of final products specified under the relevant notification; it makes explicit what the unamended rule already permitted and is to be applied from the rule's commencement, enabling settlement of pending cases and instructing field formations to act accordingly.

Modvat credit refund permitted for higher notional credit on inputs used in export by small scale units.
The Board clarifies that credit taken on inputs may be utilised for duty on home clearances or refunded, and there is no bar to refunding the higher notional Modvat credit taken by an SSI unit in respect of inputs used in export production; such higher notional credit is refundable in accordance with the refund provision.

Modvat credit eligibility clarified: processing tools excluded while consumable furnace inputs qualify for credit.
Clarification distinguishes qualifying consumable metallurgical inputs from non-qualifying tools, moulds and maintenance items for Modvat credit. Burnt lime, coke dust and fluorspar qualify as inputs charged into the furnace; Tungsten Carbide Tips, Grinding Wheels, Ingot Moulds, Bottom Plates, Lancing Pipes, Refractory Bricks and D.B. Dolomite do not. Thermocouple tips qualify only if incorporated into the finished product, and prepared binders and resins qualify for credit only when used in the manufacture of dutiable moulds, not when used for furnace maintenance or exempt moulds.

Modvat credit inadmissibility on sulfuric acid: credit disallowed where spent acid is not subject to duty in manufacture.
The Board concluded that Modvat credit on inputs used to produce spent sulphuric acid is not permissible because no duty is charged on the spent sulphuric acid, and therefore credit on such inputs cannot be allowed; the prior instruction is affirmed and field formations must be informed.

National Savings Scheme repayments to legal heirs are not income under section 80CCA(2), and annuity payments to nominees are exempt.
Amounts in a National Savings Scheme account paid on the death of the assessee to legal heirs are not within the ambit of section 80CCA(2) and are not chargeable to tax in the hands of those heirs; similarly, Gross Insurance Value elements under annuity plans paid to nominees or legal heirs after the assessee's death are not covered by section 80CCA(2) and are not taxable in their hands.

Deduction under section 80CCA: payments to specified LIC annuity plans qualify for deduction for the relevant assessment year.
The Board clarifies that amounts paid under the notified LIC annuity plans Jeevan Dhara and Jeevan Akshay during the previous year relevant to the assessment year qualify for deduction under section 80CCA even if such payments were made before the date of the Government notification specifying those plans, subject to the statutory deduction limits for that assessment year.

Deduction under section 80-O denied for overhead and establishment charges paid to Indian service providers.
The Attorney General advised that amounts described as overhead and establishment charges paid by a foreign enterprise to an Indian company, incurred in India and separately specified from technical service fees, do not qualify for deduction under Section 80-O; this opinion was circulated to officers for information and necessary action.

Unpaid dividend transfer procedures: companies must follow rules, assist claimants and update processes to facilitate recovery.
Amounts unclaimed for three years must be transferred to the General Revenue Account and claims processed under the Companies Unpaid Dividend Rules. Companies should enable survivorship transmission by article amendment, publicise dividend payment authorisation to nominees or bankers, promptly update shareholder addresses, assist claimants, display the prescribed rules and claim formats at the registered office, discontinue redundant endorsements on account payee warrants, consider extending warrant validity, notify particulars of transferred dividends in AGM notices, and apply the revised indemnity bond threshold for larger claims.

Name reservation criteria: use of restricted words requires prescribed authorised capital and placement conditions for company name allotment.
Guidelines tie permissibility of specified key words in proposed company names under sections 20 and 21 to prescribed minimum authorised capital levels and to whether the word is the first word of the name or appears elsewhere; separate authorised capital thresholds are specified for categories such as "Corporation," international descriptors, national identifiers, "Industries/Udyog," and commercial designations, with the latter contemplated for companies carrying on multiple activities or changing their name.