Amendments in Customs and Central Excise - Budget 2010-2011

Central excise and customs amendments: revised duty rates and a new self-assessment framework with valuation and credit changes.

Immediate-effect notifications implement Finance Bill, 2011 proposals for Customs and Central Excise: a 10% standard central excise rate for non-POL goods and merit rate increase to 5%; commodity-specific changes for cement, garments, vehicles and precious metals; withdrawal of many exemptions replaced by a 1% nominal levy (no Cenvat credit) or a 5% concessional/tariff rate; broad amendments to Cenvat Credit Rules clarifying inputs and input services, limiting ship breaking credit and tightening reversals; re-drafted recovery, interest and penalty rules including an inserted first charge on defaulters' property; customs reforms include fused lower duty slabs to 2.5%, valuation changes for packaged software, new export/import duty adjustments, and introduction of a trust based self-assessment regime with accompanying procedural and electronic filing changes.