Exemption for HSD oil extended to deep sea trawlers acting as floating factories when used in onboard processing for export.
Deep sea fishing trawlers equipped with freezing and processing facilities operate as "floating factories" carrying out cleaning, cutting and canning at sea; HSD is required both for propulsion and for onboard processing. Consequently, HSD used in that context is a necessary consumable used in connection with the manufacture of articles for export, and the exemption for such HSD is allowed for trawlers approved as 100% EOUs, provided all other conditions of the notification are satisfied.

Waiver of interest: attribution of assessment delay determines extent of waiver beyond the first year under income tax rules.
Waiver of interest requires first determining whether delay beyond the initial one-year period is attributable to the assessee; if not, waiver or reduction is to be applied from the end of the first year and may extend up to the date of completion of the assessment, excluding any subperiods found to be the assessee's responsibility.

Classification of Murabba as preserved fruit/vegetable preparation confirms its tariff placement under heading 20.01.
Murabbas are correctly classifiable as preserved food preparations rather than Unani medicaments and therefore fall within heading 20.01 of the Customs Tariff, reflecting their character as preparations of fruits or vegetables whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter.

MODVAT credit for consumable pyrometer tips allowed where tips melt in process and qualify as inputs.
The pyrometer tips used to measure molten metal temperature are consumable items that get melted in the process and, as such, satisfy the MODVAT Rules' criterion of inputs; MODVAT credit may therefore be allowed for duty paid on these tips when they are consumed in the manufacture of metals like iron and steel.

Automobile cess applicability clarified: earthmoving machinery including dumpers is not subject to the automobile cess under classification rules.
Earthmoving machinery, including dumpers, is not chargeable to the automobile cess because it is classified under the First Schedule to the I (D & R) Act rather than the automotive heading relied upon for cess liability; the Ministry of Law advised this view and the Board accepted it, providing an administrative clarification of classification-based tax treatment under the Automobile Cess Rules.

Notification of chassis bodies export under bond clarifies registration, bond obligations, movement permissions and input credit treatment.
Rule 191(B) clarifies that built-up motor vehicles are excluded from small scale exemption while body manufacturers alone may qualify; registration may be granted with a general description of vehicle types and the entire premises may be treated as manufacturing area. Body builders must execute a bond equal to twice the excise duty on chassis obtained in any month, and exporters must execute a bond equal to the duty on the finished vehicle less twice the chassis duty. Movement between body-building sites may be permitted by the Collector and input duties are available as credit or refund.

Classification of glass fabric reinforced laminates affirmed under tariff chapter heading, including when used as insulating materials.
The circular clarifies that glass fabric reinforced laminates are classifiable under Chapter 70 (Heading No. 70.14) of the Central Excise Tariff even when used as insulating materials, explaining that a typographical error in the Notes to Chapter 70 mis-stated the scope by using 'or' instead of 'of' before insulating materials; classification of insulating materials otherwise depends on composition and Collector discretion, and past assessments should be finalised in accordance with this correction.

Classification of book binding cloth as amylaceous coated textile supports its tariff placement under the heading for coated book cover fabrics.
Product manufactured by sizing cotton fabric with tapioca and guar flours, inorganic fillers and dyes, then backfilling and calendering; chemical analysis shows fabric plus substantial starch and ash. The HSN Explanatory Note describes plain weave fabrics heavily coated with gum or amylaceous substances used for outer covers of books or the like, and the Board concluded that the specific description is satisfied and that such coated fabrics fall under Heading 59.01 even if they have other end uses.

Conveyance allowance exemption requires a certificate confirming the allowance is granted 'in the performance' of duties.
Exemption of additional conveyance allowance for Development Officers is conditional on an employer's certificate confirming the allowance was granted in the performance of duties and actually incurred to meet expenses wholly, necessarily and exclusively for those duties; assessing officers may insist that the certificate use the statutory phrasing to reflect the requisite nexus between allowance and duty-related expenditure.

Deletion of Rule 56B requires semi finished goods to be cleared on payment of duty or under alternative procedural provisions.
Deletion of Rule 56B removes the special permission regime for semi finished goods, requiring such goods to be cleared on payment of duty or under an alternative procedural provision; commodities covered by MODVAT must be cleared accordingly, while non MODVAT commodities are to follow their designated alternative removal or duty payment routes. A transitional period is provided for publicity and review of existing permissions to align them with current law.

Taxation of non-resident contractor income: apportion taxable receipts with prescribed profit allocation for onshore activities.
Non-resident contractors' income from turnkey oil and gas contracts must be apportioned between activities abroad and activities in India; income attributable to installation, hook-up and commissioning performed in India is taxable in India, and where sale occurs in India a portion of the profits attributable to the sale is also taxable. A prescribed method allocates a fixed proportion of gross receipts as net income and designates a smaller proportion of that income to the sale element; fees for technical services are excluded from these guidelines and taxed under treaty or statutory rules. Application requires the non-resident's agreement and is time limited.

Classification by predominance determines tariff heading for doubled yarn; filament predominance makes Fenaplast a filament yarn for tariff purposes.
Doubled yarns formed by twisting filament and spun yarns without deliberate novelty effects are classified by the predominance of filament or staple components; where filament predominates, the yarn is treated as filament yarn for tariff purposes, and Fenaplast, being polyester predominant, is classifiable with filament predominant yarns under the tariff.

Change in accounting method: tax department may accept switch from accrual to cash where banking regulators certify validity.
Where State Financial Corporations change interest recognition from accrual under the mercantile system to cash basis, the Income-tax Department may accept the cash system for assessment if the Reserve Bank of India and IDBI are satisfied that the change is legal, valid and bona fide, and regulatory certification is taken into account by assessing officers.

Basic pay determination for rewards: revised pay scales govern pay drawn on the last day; minima and maxima under review
Rule 4 of the Reward Rules prescribes that basic pay for computing rewards is the pay drawn on the last day of the relevant financial year; consequently, where pay scales are revised during the year, the basic pay as per the revised scales may be used to determine the reward for that financial year. The question of revising the fixed minimum and maximum reward limits is being examined and will be decided separately.

Classification of soapstone as talc-government accepts identical treatment for excise exemption where notification conditions are met.
The Government accepted a tribunal decision treating talc and soapstone as identical for exemption under Notification No. 23/55-C.E. and will not appeal; soapstone may therefore qualify for the excise exemption when used as a filler, extender, diluent or suspending agent and when all conditions of the notification are met. The conference noted HSN explanatory notes and earlier Board guidance distinguishing soapstone from talc and recommended that any formal extension of the exemption be effected by amending the notification. Field formations and trade are to be informed and pending assessments finalised under these guidelines.

Company secretary appointment as part-time director need not have Central Government approval if no substantial management powers are conferred.
Appointment of a whole time company secretary as a part time director does not require prior Central Government approval provided the appointee is not vested with substantial powers of management; the controlling test is whether substantial managerial authority is conferred on the secretary in the part time director role.

Tariff heading classification permits metallised or laminated films from duty paid bare films to claim concessional duty.
Lacquered, metallised and laminated plastic films made from duty paid bare films are classifiable under Heading No. 39.28 and, where the bare films can be proved to have been manufactured out of duty paid plastic materials falling under Heading Nos. 39.01-39.15, the finished films may be treated as made out of those duty paid materials and eligible for the concessional rate of duty specified in the relevant notification, subject to other conditions being satisfied.

Tax deduction at source from salaries: employers must withhold tax on estimated annual salary and apply prescribed exemptions and deductions.
Employers must deduct income-tax at source from salary payments by applying the average rate to the employee's estimated annual salary, including prescribed valuation of perquisites, and only where estimated salary exceeds the exemption threshold; specified exemptions, standard deduction and allowable chapter deductions must be applied in computing taxable salary for withholding, while employees may furnish prescribed declarations to consolidate incomes and claim relief, and deductors must obtain and quote a tax-deduction account number and use prescribed challans when remitting withheld tax.

Applicability of Section 139(10) clarified: returns below taxable limit valid only for the initial and subsequent assessment years.
Clarification concerns the applicability of Section 139(10): returns filed below the taxable limit on or after 1 April 1986 are to be treated as invalid except for proviso based exceptions, and the provision applies to the assessment year 1986-87 and subsequent assessment years; officers are to be informed for implementation.

Tobacco product classification: 'Gul' treated as a tobacco product under the residuary tariff heading, not as a dentifrice.
The tobacco-based product 'Gul', containing tobacco dust and additives, is characterised principally by its tobacco-derived intoxicating effect and trade identity as a tobacco product; accordingly it is classifiable under the residuary tobacco sub-heading and not under Chapter 33 as a dentifrice, with instructions to notify field formations and finalise pending assessments on this basis.