Unjust enrichment: refund claims must be examined on merits and time bar with specific reasons before rejection.
Adjudicating officers must examine refund claims sequentially and issue speaking orders addressing: (i) the merits of the refund claim, (ii) the time bar or limitation aspect, and (iii) the question of unjust enrichment, recording specific reasons on each aspect; rejection should not rest solely on unjust enrichment to avoid appellate remands and delay.

Exemption for asbestos products requires manufacturers to maintain shift registers recording raw materials and output to verify fly ash content.
Field formations must require manufacturers of asbestos cement products to maintain a daily shift register, using a prescribed proforma, recording each shift's raw material usage (asbestos, cement, fly ash, pulp), number of batches, total input and total finished output so that the percentage of fly ash in the finished product can be calculated from production records to verify eligibility for excise duty exemption.

Extended limitation for show cause notices: collectors must apply independent judgment before invoking prolonged enquiries, avoid routine notices.
Collectors must not invoke the extended five year period for show cause notices routinely; extended limitation is reserved for cases with good and sufficient reasons such as fraud, collusion, willful misstatement, suppression of facts or contravention with intent to evade duty. In matters of classification uncertainty or where excisability or rate was unclear, demands should ordinarily be limited to the shorter period from the relevant date unless prior assessments or other facts justify extended treatment, and indiscriminate use of extended powers will be viewed seriously.

Classification of HDPE strips and sacks mandated under specified tariff headings to ensure uniform assessment and trade notice.
The Board directs uniform tariff classification: HDPE strips and tapes of width not exceeding 5 mm must be classified under sub heading 3920.32 and sacks made therefrom under sub heading 3923.90, issued as an administrative order to ensure consistent assessment practice and to be notified to Collectors and Assessing Officers pending final judicial determination.

Product classification of aluminium wire rods now depends on coil status, not cross sectional dimension, affecting assessments.
Classification of aluminium wire rods is governed by coil status: products supplied in coils are treated as wire and those not in coils as rods; cross sectional dimension is no longer relevant following the alignment of Chapter 76 to the HSN, and pending assessments should be settled accordingly.

Modvat credit allowed on duty-paid glass bottles used as packaging despite job-work or fixed asset treatment.
Modvat credit is allowable on duty-paid glass bottles used as packaging for aerated water even if received via endorsed gate pass or treated as fixed assets. Credit must not be denied solely because bottles were shown as plant and machinery or returned after printing/decoration by a job worker, provided duty was paid at the rate applicable to glass bottles. Existing job-work notification procedures may be extended to cover such activities.

Permission to store non-duty-paid goods outside factory premises now allows both levy and free-sale sugar subject to safeguards.
Delegation of powers under Rule 47(5) authorises permission for storage of non-duty-paid goods outside factory premises. The prior restriction requiring clearance only against levy quota for sugar stored in outside godowns is withdrawn. Henceforth both levy and free-sale sugar may be stored and cleared from outside godowns, subject to the usual safeguards and conditions.

Neutral packing permission for exports allowed, subject to collector approval, anti-evasion checks and post-facto reporting.
Collectors of Central Excise may grant relaxation of Rule 185(1) to permit neutral packing for all commodities meant for actual export on application by assessees, subject to anti-evasion checks by field formations and with a report to Government for post-facto approval.

Product classification as disinfectant means ITEOL-3 should be treated under the disinfectant tariff heading and assessments finalised accordingly
After expert consultation the Board determined that ITEOL-3, a formulation of dichloroxylenol and essential oils marketed as an antiseptic/disinfectant, is appropriately classifiable as a disinfectant under the Central Excise Tariff and assessments should be finalised accordingly. A product will fall under the medicament grouping only if its packaging and presentation confer the essential character of a medicament (indications, dosage, method of use); presence of alcohol may exclude it from medicament treatment. Absent such presentation, classification as a disinfectant is appropriate.

Dutiability of coloured granules: colouring plastic granules by melting does not constitute manufacture for excise purposes.
Colouring plain plastic granules by melting and reconstituting into coloured granules does not amount to manufacture for Central Excise, because the molten state is an intermediate non-marketable stage, the end product remains granular with no new name, character or use, and Chapter 39 notes do not classify colouring as a manufacturing process.

Modvat credit eligibility clarified: petroleum coke and coke dust held ineligible where chapter is not specified; recover credits.
Modvat credit is allowable only on goods specified by the Central Government notification; goods falling under Chapter 27, including petroleum coke and coke dust, are not covered by Notification No. 177/86 and therefore ineligible for Modvat. Where credit has already been allowed on such items, those allowances are to be treated as a mistake of law and immediately recovered, with compliance reported to the Board.

Classification of polyurethane foam mattresses: guidance on HS heading allocation and administrative referral under Harmonized System.
Classification of mattresses made from duty-paid flexible polyurethane foam slabs or sheets is questioned as either plates/sheets of cellular plastics or as mattresses of cellular plastics for tariff purposes; the Board encloses correspondence with industry and the Nomenclature Committee's consideration at its 27th Session and directs administrations to use that guidance and pursue further enquiries locally.

Exemption for spent calcium bisulphite solution affirmed; full excise exemption applies to sulphite process spent liquor for rayon pulp.
The Board confirms that the full exemption under the notification applies to spent calcium bisulphite solution produced in the sulphite process for rayon grade wood pulp, noting that spent liquor from all pulp processes is generally regarded as black liquor and that the notification was intended to extend exemption to rayon grade spent liquor; pending assessments should be finalised and field formations and trade advised accordingly.

Measurement of irregular marble slabs: prior measurement practice applies for the interim period, preserving manufacturers' duty option.
A previously prescribed measurement formula treating one cubic metre of marble block as equivalent to thirty square metres of marble slabs, applicable where slabs are manufactured with conventional or converted gang saws and allowing manufacturers the option to discharge duty on that basis, was deleted by Notification No. 7/92-C.E. but later restored by Notification No. 56/92-C.E.; the Board directs that the practice prevailing prior to 1-3-1992 applies for the period 1-3-1992 to 30-3-1992 for Central Excise duty calculation on irregular shaped marble slabs.

Waiver of CL/PL filing allows gate-pass clearance of inputs subject to duty payment and credit reversal.
Sub rule (1A) to Rule 57F permits removal of inputs for home consumption with prior permission of the Collector on payment of excise duty equivalent to restricted Modvat credit availed under Rule 57A; filing of classification list or price list is waived and clearance may be allowed on a gate pass cross referencing the RG 23A, Part II entry so that the exact amount of credit taken is identified and reversed.

Modvat credit restricted where indigenous inputs supply intermediate goods to advance licence holders; separate streams for direct exports and deemed exports must be maintained.
An intermediate advance licence holder may use indigenous raw materials to manufacture intermediate products supplied under Rule 191BB without exceeding advance licence quantities, but is not entitled to claim Modvat credit on those indigenous inputs. Imported replenishment and materials imported against an Advance Licence for direct export obligations form distinct streams from deemed exports and cannot be mixed; Collectors must issue guidance and enforce inspections to ensure compliance.

Manufacturer classification: distinct firms get separate exemption limits, while a single manufacturer's multiple factories are aggregated.
The operative rule treats the identity of the manufacturer as decisive for aggregating clearances under the exemption notification: different firms are normally separate manufacturers entitled to separate exemption limits, limited companies are distinct entities, and where the same manufacturer controls multiple factories their clearances must be combined; whether partnerships with common partners constitute the same manufacturer is a question of fact determined by factors such as partnership composition, existence of factory, licence and nature of goods.

Modvat credit on sulphuric acid allowed in full for detergent manufacture, with spent acid clearance and duty conditions.
Modvat credit on sulphuric acid used in detergent manufacture is allowed on the full quantity of concentrated sulphuric acid physically employed in production, despite separation of a portion as 'Spent Acid'. Spent Acid classifiable with concentrated sulphuric acid must be cleared on payment of duty under the applicable clearance provision unless exempt. Existing contrary instructions are rescinded and the instruction is to be circulated to Principal Collectors and Collectors of Central Excise for compliance.

Adjudication limits: tiered officer authority established; fraud-related demands reserved to senior collectors and appeals realigned accordingly.
Adjudicatory authority in central excise is reallocated by monetary-tiered limits: Collectors have unrestricted jurisdiction, Additional/Deputy Collectors have intermediate jurisdiction, and Assistant Collectors limited jurisdiction; confiscation and penalty powers follow these limits. Allegations of fraud or suppression must be issued and decided only by Collectors or the Collector (Judicial), and Additional Collectors are excluded from issuing such demands; Additional Collectors are also excluded from the statutory definition of 'Collector' for appeal purposes, so appeals from their post-amendment orders lie to the Collector (Appeals).

Classification of grooved rubber sole plates: H profile vulcanised rubber designated under the excise tariff, with uniform application.
Grooved rubber sole plates of vulcanised rubber (other than hard rubber), manufactured by moulding and trimmed to an H profile and used by the Railways, are to be classifiable under the appropriate tariff subheading of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985; the Board orders circulation of this classification to all Principal Collectors and Collectors of Central Excise for observance and issuance of Trade Notices.