Option to avail exemption: written option must be filed before first clearance; special window allowed for existing units.
The amending notification requires a written option to avail exemption to be exercised by the manufacturer before effecting the first clearance and is effective from the date of exercise. Units already operating under the June 2003 notifications as of 5 November 2003 had until 30 November 2003 to submit the written option; units not yet effecting their first clearance may submit the written option any time in the current financial year, provided it is submitted before their first clearance.

Jurisdiction of Maritime Commissioners limited to port of exportation; bonds and rebate claims must be filed with corresponding Maritime Commissioner.
Jurisdiction of Maritime Commissioners is confined to the port, airport, land customs station or post office from which the export actually takes place; each Commissioner of Central Excise responsible for such export locations has been designated a Maritime Commissioner. Claims for rebate of duty may be lodged with the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise with jurisdiction over the factory or warehouse or with the Maritime Commissioner for the port of exportation, and bonds for export without payment of duty must be executed with the corresponding jurisdictional officer or Maritime Commissioner.

National Calamity Contingent Duty calculation: levy based on crude oil produced and supplied from oil fields, not refinery receipts.
The circular directs that National Calamity Contingent Duty on crude petroleum oil is chargeable on the total quantity produced and supplied from the oil field to refineries, not on the net quantity received by refineries; field formations are to be informed and the view follows consultation with the revenue policy wing and administrative conference discussions.

Departmental appeal procedure: tighten representation, filing and drafting standards to improve effectiveness of excise and customs appeals.
Guidelines require effective Departmental representation before Commissioner (Appeals), timely filing of appeals with proper authorization and correct statutory citations, and submission of appeal copies to CDR/Jt. CDR after CEGAT filing for technical scrutiny. Show Cause Notices must be carefully drafted, avoid trivial or frivolous invocations of the suppression clause, and attach relied-upon documents. All orders-in-original, including refunds, must be speaking orders reviewed by Review Branches. Commissionerates must appoint nodal officers to maintain case databases and coordinate with the Directorate of Legal Affairs.