Includibility of packing costs: only packing necessary to make goods marketable is included in assessable value.
The circular directs that includibility of packing costs in assessable value turns on whether packing is required to make goods marketable; packing done primarily for protection is excluded, while the cost of packing necessary to render articles marketable is includible, and the extent necessary is a question of fact to be determined by the correct approach.

Apportionment of freight: tax should be levied only on the freight actually earned by each vessel under section 172.
Under section 172 the deemed income of non resident shipowners is assessed at a prescribed rate on freight received in India and contains no provision for deducting payments to feeder ships; therefore such payments cannot be allowed as deductions absent legislative change. Alternatively, treating the issue as one of apportionment yields that each vessel should be taxed only on the portion of freight it actually earns for its segment, and the Board may direct Assessing Officers to levy tax accordingly to avoid double taxation.

Filing deadline extension when office closed - return filed next working day treated as timely under governing clause.
Where the last day for furnishing a return under direct tax laws falls on a day the office is closed, a return filed on the next day the office is open is to be treated as filed within the statutory time limit under the operation of section 10 of the General Clauses Act.

Settlement of disputes between government undertakings and customs: prior secretariat instructions do not apply to state undertakings.
The Secretariat O.M. dated 31-12-1991 does not apply to disputes involving State Government Undertakings with the Customs & Central Excise Department; consequently, departments may take such further action as appropriate to settle these disputes, with concurrence from the Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs.

Recovery of excise dues not automatically stayed pending appeal; coercive measures proceed absent approved stay application.
Recovery of adjudged central excise dues should not be automatically stayed pending appeal; officers must allow a period of three months from the date of decision for payment before resorting to coercive measures, but must initiate recovery immediately if a stay application is rejected earlier. The Board rejected a blanket stay approach and directed that stay applications be disposed of promptly, specifying that stay applications should be decided within two months if the main appeal cannot be disposed of within the same period.

Scope of Rule 51A: restricts clearance of non duty paid goods by targeting factory manufactured and similar trading goods.
Clarification explains that Rule 51A extends in law to all duty paid goods but is operationally aimed at preventing non duty paid goods being cleared as duty paid; it therefore applies primarily to goods a factory is registered to manufacture, similar goods, parts, and goods involved in trading activity, while excluding raw materials, capital goods and stationery from Rule 51A permission requirements.

Permission for destruction of excisable goods must be processed promptly; officers instructed to dispose within two days when no tests.
Applications for permission to destroy excisable goods that do not require tests must be disposed of within two days of receipt; officers are directed to communicate and strictly comply with this timeline.

Appropriation of refunds only after the appeal time limit expires to prevent premature adjustment of dues.
Refund amounts due to an assessee should be appropriated by proper officers against confirmed demands only when the time limit for filing appeal against such confirmed demands has expired; field formations and trade interests are to be informed of this procedural constraint.

Finalisation of RT 12s must occur within one month and declarant code numbers issued within one week.
Authorities are directed to finalise RT 12s within one month of filing wherever possible, and to assign declarant code numbers within one week of filing declarations in accordance with Notification No. 13/92, establishing specific processing timelines to address backlog and trade concerns.

End-use certificate requirement relaxed for bulk drugs listed in DPCO Second Schedule to avail excise exemption.
The requirement of an end-use certificate to avail exemption under Notification No. 31/88 is relaxed for bulk drugs specified in the Second Schedule to the Drug (Price Control) Order, 1987, because those drugs are generally used only in manufacture of medicines; field formations and trade are to be informed.

Discontinuation of monitoring of seized documents: monthly reporting on disposal to cease immediately; prior segregation and return directions remain.
The Board has decided to discontinue the monitoring of disposal cases concerning seized documents/records and has directed that the monthly reports previously being sent in this respect be discontinued forthwith, while noting that earlier directions required segregation and early return of seized records to alleged parties.

Tax rate for royalties and technical fees reduced under India Canada treaty, applying lower OECD-derived rate to qualifying payments.
The Protocol to the India-Canada DTAA allows automatic application of a lower withholding tax rate on royalties and fees for technical services when India adopts such a rate with OECD countries. A notification was issued applying the lower OECD-aligned rate to royalties and technical service fees paid by Indian residents to Canadian residents where the right is first granted or the contract signed after the triggering date; Canada issued a remission order to apply the revised rate reciprocally to payments to Indian residents.

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.

Monetary thresholds for departmental tax appeals revised, raising limits for ITAT, High Court and Supreme Court appeals.
The Board revised the monetary limits that determine departmental appellate and reference filing eligibility, increasing thresholds for appeals to the Income tax Appellate Tribunal, references to High Courts, and appeals to the Supreme Court. The new limits apply prospectively to matters filed on or after the effective date, while other existing guidelines for computing tax effect and procedural treatment remain applicable except as separately modified for specific categories of litigation.

Stockinvest issuance to NRIs/OCBs permits repatriable primary market applications under prescribed lien and documentation conditions.
Stockinvest may be used by NRIs and OCBs to apply in primary market public issues for repatriable allotments, provided authorised dealers issue light green Stockinvest superscribed to show it is against lien on the investor's NRE/FCNR account and payable only from repatriable funds in that account; authorised dealers must follow all applicable regulatory guidelines and ensure prior permission and compliance with foreign exchange regulation penalties for contravention.

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.

Cross-border tax evasion: refer suspicious foreign transactions to the Economic Intelligence Bureau for investigative support.
The instruction identifies cross-border tax evasion methods-hawala transfers, under and over invoicing, and benami firms abroad-and notes that Assessing Officers sometimes accept explanations or make summary additions without deep investigation. It directs officers to refer suspicious transactions with foreign persons or concerns, together with detailed factual notes, to the Economic Intelligence Bureau for assistance in investigation and evidence collection to support assessments.

Pre-shipment inspection waiver allowed where buyer expressly waives inspection or recognised export houses manage shipments.
Compulsory pre-shipment inspection for agricultural and food exports subject to Export Quality Control or customs notifications is dispensed with where the exporter files a firm overseas buyer waiver or where the export is effected by a Central Government-recognised star trading house, trading house, or export house; under these conditions Export Inspection Certification need not be insisted upon and legal amendments will be pursued to align statutory provisions with these instructions.

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.