E-payment of refunds: sanctioned rebate amounts to be transferred via RTGS/NEFT to beneficiary bank accounts.
Electronic payment of sanctioned refund, rebate and drawback amounts shall be made through authorized banks via RTGS/NEFT. Claimants must provide a one-time bank-certified authorization; refund authorities will forward a signed statement (Annexure B), a consolidated cheque and an electronic copy to the bank periodically, at least monthly. Banks will credit beneficiary accounts after applicable charges and generate UTRs and periodic scrolls for reconciliation by the PAO with issued cheques; discrepancies are to be verified and reported.

Equitable distribution of cases: administrative officers must allocate work evenly among standing counsels and SPPs to protect litigation quality.
The Board directs administrative officers to ensure equitable distribution of cases among Sr./Jr. Standing Counsels and Special Public Prosecutors (SPPs), noting that uneven assignment-where some counsel are overburdened and others receive few or no matters-harms litigation quality and prevents reliable performance evaluation; Chief Commissioners must implement measures to allocate work properly within their jurisdictions in accordance with existing appointment and engagement guidelines.

Segregation of foreign materials from honey grade brass scrap treated as process waste, cleared on transaction value and classified accordingly.
Segregation of attached impurities from honey grade brass scrap is an essential pre treatment in manufacture and produces materials of distinct character and use; those segregated foreign materials are process waste, not removal of inputs as such, and must be cleared on payment of duty based on their appropriate classification and transaction value.

Twitter Taxpayer Engagement enables filing of local service suggestions and grievances through a dedicated government handle.
A dedicated Twitter account has been established for trade and taxpayer use to register suggestions, queries and grievances concerning local operational matters and taxpayer services, excluding matters directly related to policy; trade associations and industry stakeholders are requested to circulate this information widely so stakeholders can use the handle for local issue redressal and engagement with the excise office.

Excise duty on jewellery: registration deadline extended and staged payment permitted to align past months' liabilities.
Imposition of Central Excise duty on jewellery requires jewellers to obtain Central Excise registration, with the registration time limit extended to 01.07.2016. Although liability to pay duty is effective from 1 March 2016, assessees may make payments for March, April and May together with the excise duty payment for June 2016. Trade associations and chambers are requested to notify their members.

Infrastructure Cess levy on specified goods: new accounting minor head and subheads established for collection and refunds.
Opening of a new minor head Infrastructure Cess under Major Head 0038-Union Excise Duties to record the levy introduced by the Finance Act, 2016, leviable from 1 March 2016 on goods in the Eleventh Schedule subject to notified exemptions. Four sub-heads-cess collection, other receipts, deduct refunds, and penalties-are established under minor head 0038-03-506 with specified Head of Accounts and SCCD codes as allocated by the Controller General of Accounts.

Call Book case disposal: cases decided on merit or clarified by the board should be removed and adjudicated promptly.
Cases in the Call Book shall be taken out and adjudicated where the issue has been finally decided by a higher court or where the Board has issued a new instruction clarifying the issue; field formations need not await a separate direction from the Board. This clarification applies to Central Excise duty, Customs duty and Service Tax matters and implementing difficulties should be reported to the Board.

Imposition of central excise duty on jewellery requires invoice-based valuation and temporary procedural relaxations for jewellers.
All central excise payments on jewellery are to be based on first sale invoice value; authorities will accept the invoice valuation if caratage/purity, weight and carat details of precious stones are recorded. Exporters may export on self-declaration with submission of a Letter of Undertaking to customs without central excise ratification. Liability is effective from 1 March 2016, but payment for March-May may be deferred and paid with June 2016; registration time is extended to 1 July 2016. Enforcement moratoriums on visits, searches, seizures, arrests and criminal prosecution apply pending Sub Committee recommendations.

Non-excisable goods treatment affirmed: bagasse and metal dross treated as exempted goods for CENVAT credit reversal.
Following judicial determinations that bagasse and metal dross/skimmings are non excisable, the Board has rescinded its earlier circulars and instructions on excisability. Under amended Rule 6 of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004, non excisable goods cleared for consideration are to be treated as exempted goods and valued by invoice or by valuation principles where invoice value is unavailable; such by products (bagasse, dross, skimmings) must be treated like exempted goods for reversal of input and input service credit.

Excise duty on jewellery: registration deadline extended; retrospective liability applies and earlier months' payments may be consolidated.
Registration for central excise by jewellers is extended to 01.07.2016 while liability to pay excise duty applies from 1st March 2016; jewellers may pay duty for March, April and May together with the June payment. The circular directs wide publicity and reporting of implementation difficulties to the Board, with a Hindi version to follow.

Central Excise duty on jewellery: interim compliance rules, valuation safeguards and registration timeline pending sub committee report.
A Sub Committee has been constituted to advise on implementation of Central Excise duty on jewellery; it will examine compliance procedures, recordkeeping, forms including Form 12AA, and operating procedures and report within sixty days. Pending its recommendations, duty is to be paid on first sale invoice value; authorities will not challenge invoice valuation if cartage, purity, weight and gemstone carats are stated; visits, arrests, searches or seizures will be suspended; exporters may export on self declaration and LUT to customs; registration can be taken within sixty days from 1 March 2016 while liability is effective from that date with a concession to pay March liability with April.

Imposition of central excise duty on jewellery prompts sub committee to define compliance procedures and stakeholder consultations.
A Sub Committee is constituted to examine the imposition of Central Excise duty on jewellery, naming a chair and four members with trade representatives to be decided in consultation with the Chair. Its terms of reference include defining compliance procedures, records to be maintained, operating procedures and other relevant implementation issues. Associations may submit written representations and all India associations may appear in person; communications are to be sent to the High Level Committee office or the specified e mail.

Deeming of manufacture for lubricating oils can trigger Central Excise duty when marketability processes are performed.
Processing of waste oil into products fit for use as lubricating oil does not automatically constitute manufacture, but chapter note creating a deeming fiction provides that labelling, re-labelling, re-packing from bulk to retail, or any other treatment to render lubricating oils marketable shall be treated as manufacture for lubricating oils and lubricating preparations; where such processes are carried out, Central Excise duty is leviable, demands should be raised within normal limitation and SSI benefits extended where admissible.

Audit objections: issue SCNs when department admits; contestation, coordination meetings, and strict reply timetables govern adjudication.
The circular prescribes a consolidated procedure for handling CERA/CRA audit objections, including defined lifecycle stages and timeliness for replies (Half Margin, LAR, SoF, DAP, Audit Paragraphs), mandates quarterly coordination meetings to reconcile objections, requires immediate issuance of SCNs where the department admits objections and prohibits transfer of such SCNs to the call-book, and directs that adjudication occur only after departmental or Ministry replies are on record with independent consideration of legal provisions, case law and Board circulars; past objections must be matched against pending ATNs before adjudication.

E-payment of refunds: direct bank credit to assessee accounts to expedite refund realisation and reduce cheque-related delays.
The Board has directed that all refunds and rebates of Central Excise and Service Tax be paid by direct electronic transfer into the assessee's bank account, replacing cheque issuance and physical collection; this measure aims to eliminate delays, returned cheques due to address or clerical errors, and the paperwork and manpower burdens on claimants.

Classification of micronutrients and plant growth regulators clarifies tariff headings and fertilizer criteria under excise law.
Classification depends on the product's essential character: chemically defined micronutrients are classifiable under their compound headings (Chapters 28/29/38); PGRs are distinct from nutrients and classifiable under heading 3808; fertilizers fall under Chapter 31 only when N, P or K is an essential constituent; mixtures are classified by the constituent imparting essential character, and predominately trace-element blends without N/P/K fall outside Chapter 31 and may be classed under heading 3824.

Zonal unit for taxpayer services established, instituting weekly taxpayer consultations to receive suggestions and improve service delivery.
Creation of a Zonal Unit of the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services is announced for Chennai with jurisdiction over Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry and Telengana, to function from the Central Excise House address provided. Every Wednesday between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM is designated Tax Payers' Day for in-person suggestions to the Additional Director General; suggestions may also be sent by post and will be considered for improving taxpayer services.

Taxpayer service via Twitter enables trade to register local suggestions and grievances excluding policy matters.
Office of the Chief Commissioner of Central Excise, Delhi Zone has created a Twitter account to enable Trade and Industry, particularly Central Excise assesses and service providers, to register suggestions, queries and grievances related to local operational issues, expressly excluding matters directly related to policy, as a supplementary communication channel for taxpayer service.

Imposition of Central Excise duty on jewellery prompts sub-committee review and interim compliance safeguards for jewellers.
A Sub-Committee will be constituted to advise on implementation and compliance procedures for the Central Excise duty on jewellery, including records, forms (including Form 12AA) and operating procedures, with written representations and in-person hearings for all-India associations and a report due within sixty days. Interim safeguards: duty effective from 1 March 2016, registration allowed within sixty days, March duty may be paid with April returns; payments based on first-sale invoice value; invoiced valuation not to be challenged if caratage/purity, weight and gemstone carats are stated; no visits, arrests, prosecutions, searches or seizures by Central Excise; exporters may use self-declaration and LUT without Central Excise ratification.

Grievance monitoring requires time bound disposal, complainant follow up, and reporting to ensure satisfactory administrative redressal.
Officers must closely monitor grievances on the CPGRAMS portal, ensure expeditious disposal within sixty days, follow up with complainants to confirm satisfaction, and submit zonal reports in the prescribed format to enable centralized tracking and review.