VCES payment deadline extension: banks and NSDL must accept ST2-backed payments despite missing registration, regularization mandated.
The Department of Financial Services directed designated banks and NSDL to extend the VCES e-payment deadline until midnight on the stated date and to accept payments against a copy of the ST2 registration certificate even if the registration number is not present in the banks'/NSDL's database, provided such transactions are regularized on the next working day; the facilitation measures are to be widely publicised to ensure implementation.

Mandatory electronic tax payment now requires internet-banking deposits for taxpayers exceeding the reduced annual payment threshold.
Assessees whose total tax or duty paid in the preceding financial year meets or exceeds the revised threshold, including amounts paid using CENVAT credit, are required to deposit service tax and central excise duty electronically via internet banking; amendments to Rule 6(2) of the Service Tax Rules and Rule 8(1) of the Central Excise Rules implement this change effective 1 January 2014.

Reversal of CENVAT credit: proposed deeming of non excisable goods as exempted to enable credit reversal mechanisms.
The rules currently treat non excisable goods as outside the definition of exempted goods and therefore raw materials, consumables and services used for manufacture of non excisable goods do not qualify as inputs or input services, are not eligible as CENVAT credit, and are not subject to reversal under rule 6; an amendment deeming non excisable goods to be exempted is proposed to bring such inputs and services within rule 6 reversal mechanics.

Prospective implementation of quasi judicial orders requires prospective effect despite appeals where no stay on the order's operation.
Quasi judicial orders on Classification, Valuation and Cenvat Credit with recurring implications must be implemented prospectively if issued after due process and absent a stay on the order's operation; distinctions must be drawn between stays on recovery and stays on operation, and Commissioners may decide important recurring issues irrespective of monetary limits. Payment of duty under protest requires written notice to the Superintendent/Inspector, marking of documents, continuation while appeals subsist, and retention of amounts in receivables accounts to preserve refund claims.

Monetary limits for filing appeals: non filing for low amounts does not create precedent, Department must plead non acquiescence.
The Board reiterates that prescribed monetary thresholds justify non filing of appeals and that non filing for low amount does not amount to acquiescence; such decisions lack precedential effect. Departmental Counsels and Representatives must plead the statutory non acquiescence principle and frame grounds of appeal or defence accordingly. Field formations should note the Board's power to regulate appeals and, where applicable, transfer matters to the Call Book pending higher forum decisions to preserve the Department's right to contest the issue on merits.

Letter of Undertaking permits status holder manufacturer exporters to replace bank guarantees for export warehousing subject to time-limited conditions.
Warehousing is allowed initially up to six months, extendable by the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner in six month increments, with a maximum tenure of three years; goods remaining beyond allowed warehousing are deemed cleared for home consumption and attract duty and interest at the prescribed rate. Status Holder manufacturer exporters with a clean track record may submit a Letter of Undertaking instead of a Bank Guarantee for an initial warehousing period up to six months, extendable once, but further extensions require furnishing the bond security previously prescribed.

Refund claim adjudication: require officers and first appellate authorities to decide all objections to prevent remands and prolonged litigation.
The Bombay High Court directed that the Board should issue administrative guidance to ensure that assessing officers and first appellate authorities decide all objections to refund claims, warning that partial adjudication leads to repeated remands, prolonged litigation, and undermines certainty.

Valuation of consumed excisable goods set above cost; related party and inter connected sales attract prescribed transaction value rules.
Rule 8 now prescribes that excisable goods consumed by the assessee in production or manufacture are valued at a fixed mark up over cost of production or manufacture. Rules 9 and 10 are rephrased so that where whole or part of excisable goods are sold to or through specified related persons or inter connected undertakings, such goods are valued as the normal transaction value or determined by the methods set out in the Rules.

Advance ruling jurisdiction excludes questions of law already decided by Tribunal or Court; authority must confirm identical coverage.
Advance ruling authorities lack jurisdiction to hear questions of law already decided by the Appellate Tribunal or any Court for the same party under the cited provisos; the Authority must ensure the prior Tribunal or Court decision fully and squarely covers the identical issue of law before declining an application.

Transaction value regime: each removal must be valued independently under section 4(1) or applicable valuation rules.
Amendment clarifies that each removal of excisable goods must be assessed independently under section 4(1)(a) or the specific valuation rule applicable to that removal; rules 8, 9 and 10 now expressly apply whether the whole or part of clearances fall within their circumstances. The rules are not to be applied sequentially; each clearance is valued according to its factual contingency. The circular gives examples (independent buyers, captive consumption, related-party transfers) and notes deletions of prior clarifications, effective 1 December 2013.

Cenvat credit admissibility clarified: boiler parts qualify, foundation or support structure components do not, assessed case by case.
Clarification addresses classification of boiler structural components and the permissibility of Cenvat Credit. Components that are functionally parts of the boiler are classifiable as boiler parts and eligible for Cenvat Credit, while components used for laying foundations or making supporting structures for capital goods are excluded. Whether an item is a boiler part or a support component is a question of fact to be decided case by case by reference to its nature and use under existing legal provisions and judicial pronouncements.

Waiver of demand notice where voluntary payment with declaration prevents issuance of a demand notice after verification.
The Standing Order sets out that voluntary payment of duty/service tax with interest and prescribed penalty, accompanied by a written declaration, may preclude issuance of a demand notice under the specified Central Excise and Finance Act provisions, subject to departmental scrutiny. A constituted Committee and tiered officer-level delegation review declarations according to monetary thresholds and Audit Monitoring referrals. Acceptance requires verification of full payment, absence of willful suppression, and consideration of factors such as novelty of levy, prior penalties, industry practice and legal disputability; a mandatory checklist and register support processing and decisions.

Rebate claim settlement timeframe urged to be shortened, with prompt processing and monitoring to reduce delay and interest exposure.
Field formations are directed to ensure rebate claims that are complete in all respects are disposed of within thirty days of receipt, except those requiring preaudit, which should be processed expeditiously; Chief Commissioners must put in place a monitoring mechanism to ensure compliance and to minimize delays that could lead to interest becoming payable under the statutory outer limit.

Non-bailable offences: substantial duty involvement in excise triggers cognizable non-bailable treatment and strict arrest safeguards.
Offences of duty evasion and wrongful utilisation of duty credit are cognizable and non-bailable where duty on excisable goods exceeds fifty lakh rupees; all other section 9 offences are non-cognizable and bailable. Arrest may be made only after determining the correct clause of section 9(1) and duty quantum, with arrested persons informed of grounds and produced before a magistrate within 24 hours. Arrest decisions require careful assessment of mens rea, evidence, risk of tampering, and may require Commissioner or Chief Commissioner approval as specified.

Debit in duty credit scrip treated as payment under Rule 6(3) Cenvat Credit Rules, so reversal payment not required.
Debit of duties in the specified duty credit scrips issued under the July 2012 notifications is to be treated as payment of duty for determining applicability of Rule 6(3) of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004; therefore, where goods are cleared under those notifications and duties are debited in the scrip with Cenvat credit availed, payment under Rule 6(3) is not required, and field formations should be informed.

Excise duty classification: sedan cars meeting SUV technical criteria but known in trade as sedans attract large segment car duty.
The document clarifies that where a motor vehicle meets the notification's technical criteria for an SUV but is not popularly or commercially known as an SUV in trade parlance, it should be assessed under the excise duty rate applicable to large segment cars; specified sedan models satisfying the measurements are therefore to be treated as sedans for duty classification, and implementation issues should be reported to the Board.

Recovery of penalties: no uniform waiver for deceased individuals; field formations to pursue arrears per law and case law.
Recovery of penalties imposed on deceased individuals is subject to conflicting High Court rulings; applicability depends on the facts of each case. No new central instruction will be issued; field formations should realise arrears in accordance with statutory provisions and relevant judicial pronouncements.

Redemption fine and penalty threshold: aggregate both amounts to determine whether departmental appeals may proceed under customs rules.
Clarifies that although redemption fine (a charge on goods) is distinct from penalty (personal), both arise from Customs Act violations and must be treated identically for the Department's monetary threshold for appeals. If redemption fine alone exceeds the prescribed limit, appeals may be filed; if redemption fine and penalty are both disputed, their amounts must be aggregated and, if the combined total exceeds the threshold, the Department may litigate further. This Instruction modifies the prior guidance accordingly.

Write-off of tax arrears: amended delegation sets committee composition and reporting requirements for writing off irrecoverable duties.
Amendment revises constitution of Committees and delegates write-off powers: Chief Commissioner and Commissioner level committees, including TAR nominees, may abandon fines and penalties and write off irrecoverable Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax within prescribed monetary limits subject to reporting to the next higher authority or the Board; interest on any duty/tax written off is automatically written off; all exercises of write-off powers must be reported to the Accountant General in accordance with rule 19 of the General Financial Rules.

Warehousing procedure for duty free excisable goods enables removal under bond with customs oversight and reconciliation requirements.
Procedure permits removal of excisable indigenous goods to duty free warehouses and retail outlets at international airports subject to registration deemed under Central Excise Rules, appointment of customs officers for control, execution of a running bond with security, issuance of triplicate certificates by Superintendent of Customs, serially numbered removal applications and invoices, examination and verification on receipt, and strict accounting by the consignee. Warehousing periods, duty and interest on home consumption, reconciliation requirements, and sanctions including withdrawal of facility and forfeiture of security are prescribed for failures or breaches.