Time limit for SLP proposals extended, requiring earlier submission and certified copies promptly, with accountability for unexplained delays.
The Board revises the internal time limit for receipt of duly completed proposals for filing Special Leave Petitions to sixty days before limitation, citing the short SLP window and judicial criticism of unexplained delay. Chief Commissioners and Directors-General must ensure compliance; standing counsel must seek certified copies from the High Court promptly, within three days of pronouncement, and forward certified copies with opinions to the regional office. Belated proposals must include comprehensive reasons covering the period from the High Court judgment to submission, and responsibility for delays may be fixed.

Computerised accounts acceptance: Collectors may accept computerized private records subject to specified conditions under existing guidance.
Collectors are authorised to accept private records, including computerised records, in lieu of prescribed statutory forms for matters relating to production, manufacture, storage, delivery or disposal of goods and accounting of raw materials, subject to conditions the Collector may specify; the Board reiterates an earlier circular permitting such acceptance and considers no amendment of the Central Excise Rules necessary.

Money credit declaration validity continues despite notification changes; fresh declaration required if inputs or final products change.
Money credit declarations filed under Rule 57(O) remain effective after a notification change provided the declared inputs and final products are unchanged; a fresh declaration is required only if there is a variation in inputs or in the final products, whether consequent to an amended notification or other change.

Classification of cotton fabrics ordered reclassified under tariff heading to ensure uniform assessment and administrative consistency, not retrospective.
The Central Board, invoking Section 37B, directs that grey cotton canvas, cotton ducks, cotton tyre cord fabrics and cotton belting fabrics shall henceforth be classified under Heading No. 52.05 of the Central Excise Tariff to ensure uniformity; the order does not alter past closed assessments and Collectors must issue trade notices and inform officers to effect consistent assessment practice.

Restriction on new bonding facilities: prohibit duplicate warehousing where oil companies already have facilities, with revenue impact tests.
Extension of warehousing facilities is restricted: not to extend new bonding facilities in any State where similar facilities have been granted to any one oil company to avoid unnecessary blocking of revenue. Officials forwarding proposals must assess distance to existing warehouses, mode of dispatch (pipeline or road), quantum and period of revenue blockage, and likely annual revenue loss from transit or storage before recommending grants.

Valuation tolerance for ice cream packaging set to allow fill variations due to manual packing and air loss.
The Central Excise circular prescribes tolerance limits for valuation based on the value declared on each ice cream pack to account for manual filling variability and air loss: 5% for 100 ml cups, 3% for packs between 100 ml and 500 ml, and 2% for packs above 500 ml, reflecting the principle that permissible error decreases with larger pack sizes.

Modvat credit procedural requirements relaxed: permission no longer required for removal of intermediate goods for jobwork, easing compliance.
Amendments prevent denial of Modvat credit on procedural grounds and withdraw the permission requirement for removal of intermediate goods for jobwork. The prior administrative procedure is confined to a separate notification, and a revised Annexure I intimation format is prescribed for notifying the Collectorate with details of assessee, inputs, jobworker, resultant goods, transit loss and scrap return.

Modvat credit verification required: strict original duty document checks and time-bound declarations to prevent misuse.
Strict verification of original duty-paying documents and endorsed gate passes is required before allowing Modvat credit, adhering to Circular No. 18/86 time limits; DICCE will monitor. Declarations under Rules 57G/57F/57H must be verified within three months with cent-per-cent checks by Superintendents and 20% checks by Assistant Collectors, and Form RG-23A supporting documents must be de-faced upon verification. Special audits and enhanced Anti-Evasion scrutiny are to target large Modvat claimants.

Bond security composition clarified: follow the standing circular on bank guarantee and cash deposit, earlier telex withdrawn.
Clarifies that B 13 bond security composition shall follow the earlier circular F.No. 214/16/84 CX.6 (Circular No. 40/84 CX.6), treating the later telex instruction as withdrawn, and permits the Collector to accept a lower bank guarantee or cash deposit depending on case merit.

Revenue deduction for non interest telephone deposits allowed, with subsequent refunds treated as taxable income under statutory provision.
Payments under the Tatkal Telephone Deposit Scheme that constitute a non interest, not fully refundable deposit may be allowed as revenue expenditure and deducted in the year of payment; any portion later refunded on surrender or otherwise must be treated as the assessee's income in the year of refund and brought to tax.

Regulatory cooperation between tax authorities and securities regulator: income-tax authorities must report unusual broker transactions to enable market regulation.
Income-tax authorities encountering unusual or irregular transactions in the securities market are required to notify the Securities and Exchange Board of India to assist SEBI in its regulatory role and in preventing fraudulent or unfair trade practices. SEBI's mandate to regulate stock exchanges and protect investors includes oversight of trading practices and prevention of excessive speculation; disclosures by income-tax authorities enable SEBI to investigate and address market irregularities.

Belated refund claims admissible where excess tax deductions or advance payments satisfy specified eligibility and supervisory conditions.
Authorises the Assessing Officer to admit and dispose of otherwise time barred refund claims arising from excess tax deducted/collected at source or advance tax payments, subject to conditions: the returned income must not be a loss claimed for carry forward, the claim must not be supplementary to an original assessment, and the income must not be assessable in the hands of another person; supervisory approvals are required where specified and non hardship cases may be referred to the Board.

Section 43B compliance: Assessing officers may permit rectification to allow deductions when timely payment is later evidenced.
Where payments covered by the first proviso to section 43B were in fact made on or before the due dates but evidence was not furnished with the return, Assessing Officers may entertain applications under the rectification procedure to revise intimation under section 143(1)(a) or orders under section 143(3) and decide the allowance of the deduction on merits; an earlier Board clarification to the contrary is modified.

Marking requirements relaxed for export-oriented cigarette manufacturing; outer containers may show factory code and pincode.
Relaxation of marking requirements for cigarettes manufactured by 100% EOUs applies where export goods are moved under prescribed Central Excise procedures; individual packet and wrapper printing obligations are relaxed if all outer corrugated fibreboard containers bear the legend "NBEL - followed by Pin Code Number of the factory." The concession does not apply to goods cleared for the domestic tariff area and requires engagement with the Collector of Central Excise for compliance.

Deemed service rule: limitation to file appeal begins after expiry of the three-month rectification period under the proviso.
For limitation purposes, an intimation under the assessment intimation provision is deemed served on the day following the expiry of the rectification period in the rectification proviso where the Assessing Officer has not rectified the mistake; the thirty-day limitation to file an appeal under the appeals limitation provision runs from that deemed-service date.

Taxation of fish farming: business income estimation accepted to encourage compliance, prawn farming excluded.
Income from fish farming is business income, not agricultural income. For assessee without accounts, taxable income may be accepted at 4,000 per acre of water spread per year, with water spread estimated at 70% of total land; disclosures on this basis for assessment year 1993-94 should not attract survey or search. Regularly accounted farms are assessed on their accounts. The estimation applies to inland freshwater ponds (including saline inland tanks) but excludes prawn farming; it is a method of estimation under the head "Profits and Gains of Business or Profession" and does not affect set off rules or justify surveys for unrelated activities.

Cost of land included in residential house cost for capital gains deduction when plot purchase and construction are timely completed.
When an assessee constructs a residential house within the statutory period, the cost of the land is an integral part of the cost of the house; amounts appropriated towards purchase of a plot and construction thereon may be aggregated to determine the deduction under the capital gains exemption, provided acquisition of the plot and construction are completed within the prescribed time limits.

Adjudication powers clarified: Export rebate and bond cases to be adjudicated by Additional and Deputy Collectors without monetary limits.
Clarifies that where collusion, wilful mis-statement or suppression of facts occurs, Show Cause Notices must be issued and cases decided by Collectors. Cases under the first proviso, Section 35B(1) relating to export rebate and bond matters shall be adjudicated by Additional Collectors and Deputy Collectors without monetary limits; other monetary limits in the earlier circular continue to apply.

Relaxation of excise marking: outer export cartons of cigarettes to bear GPI and factory pin code under conditions.
Relaxation of marking rules allows export-only cigarette brands not sold domestically to omit Rule 93(b)(i) markings on inner packings if exports move under prescribed Central Excise and Customs procedures and all outer corrugated fibreboard containers bear the marking "GPI-Followed by Pin Code Number of the Factory"; applicants should approach the Collector of Central Excise.

Trust for odd-lot share disposal encourages companies to appoint independent trustees to consolidate and sell shareholders' odd lots.
Companies are advised to establish a voluntary trust mechanism whereby an independent trustee, unconnected with management, receives only the company's odd lot shares from investors, consolidates them into marketable parcels, engages recognised brokers to sell without manipulating market rates, and remits sale proceeds less brokerage and service charges to the original holders; the trustee may be advanced initial funds to be reimbursed, must keep daily books open to Registrar scrutiny, and companies must monitor trustees and direct investor complaints to the Investor Protection Cell or local Registrar.