Provisional attachment of property requires prior notice and Commissioner initiation, non-compliance invites legal challenge.
Attachment under Section 73C and the 2008 Rules requires issuance of a notice affording the assessee time to reply before attachment; non-compliance with Rule 3 and paragraph 2(iii) of the July 2008 Circular invalidates attachment actions. Attachment linked to ongoing show cause proceedings should be initiated by the Commissioner, and Chief Commissioners must issue standing orders to ensure careful exercise of attachment powers and compliance with procedural safeguards.

Central Excise registration extension lets jewellers regularize retrospective duty by consolidated payment within an extended deadline.
The notice extends the period for obtaining Central Excise registration for jewellers and allows affected jewellers to regularise retrospectively accruing excise by making consolidated payment for earlier months together with the current month by the extended deadline.

Coastal carriage rules simplified: exemptions, coastal manifest obligations, container marking and seal requirements for coastal shipments.
The notice exempts vessels carrying exclusively coastal goods from specified Customs Act provisions and prescribes operational requirements for EXIM-berth movements: filing arrival and departure coastal manifests in duplicate with originals to the proper officer, marking all containers and non-containerised cargo "For Coastal Carriage Only", sealing containers with tamper-proof one-time bottle seals, and permitting preventive officers to conduct random checks with senior approval; foreign vessels eligible under cabotage relaxations are covered subject to the Ministry of Shipping's conditions.

New warehousing bond licences required under revised customs provisions; existing licencees must submit prescribed documents to transition.
Existing licencees must apply for new warehousing bond licences under Sections 57/58/58A by submitting the documents specified in Annexures A, B and C and following the procedures in the Public, Private and Special Warehouse Licensing Regulations and related custody, handling and removal regulations; submission is mandatory to enable transition to the new licence regime and a contact officer is provided for difficulties.

Shore tank receipt quantity as the basis for customs duty assessment on bulk liquid cargo, with ullage-report exception.
Bulk liquid cargo imports must be assessed for Customs duty based on the shore tank receipt quantity (dip measurement in shore tanks into which cargo is pumped), regardless of specific or ad valorem duty or tariff value fixation under section 14(2). If cargo is cleared directly without pumping into a shore tank, assessment may be made based on the ship's ullage survey report at the port of discharge. The Board has rescinded earlier Circulars 96/2002 and 06/2006 and requests notification of implementation difficulties.

Port-to-port transshipment permitted for Kandla exports routed via Mundra, subject to CFS examination, sealing, and electronic record reconciliation.
Temporary authorisation permits routing export consignments from Kandla CFSs through Mundra Sea Port by filing Shipping Bill checklists at Kandla with Mundra as port code, presenting goods at designated Kandla attached CFSs for Customs examination and stuffing (using Mundra ICES login while registering under the Kandla CFS warehouse code), sealing and affixing "Mundra Port" and CFS labels, and moving containers to Mundra where Preventive Officers verify integrity and record entries electronically as the Landing Certificate before normal Mundra export procedures and EGM filing.

Taxability of jewellery stock clarified: pre budget stock exempt; job worker stock taxable on first sale via self assessment.
All finished jewellery manufactured and removed on or before February 29, 2016, and lying at the principal manufacturer's premises or sent on approval to customers shall not be liable to excise duty and require no stock declaration. Jewellery and work in progress lying with job workers or other manufacturing premises as on that date must be subject to self assessment of excise duty by the manufacturer or principal manufacturer when received on or after March 1, 2016 and at the point of first sale pursuant to the Articles of Jewellery (Collection of Duty) Rules, 2016.

Search and seizure guidelines limit action to serious evasion with Commissioner approval, protect artisans and ensure provisional release.
Guidelines confine excise enforcement against manufacturers or principal manufacturers of articles of jewellery to cases where a clear belief in evasion exists and actions are approved at Commissioner level. Routine procedural, documental or pure legal interpretation matters are excluded. Visits, searches, seizures and arrests require specific intelligence and senior approval; seizures must be returned under bond with provisional release within three working days on request and security limited to duty payable; lower-value evasion is to be handled by summons and arrests/prosecutions are restricted below specified thresholds.

Excise duty on jewellery: invoicing and trading rules clarify duty payment, recordkeeping and job work treatment.
Procedural clarifications: manufacturers may trade from excise registered premises; first sale invoices showing excise must result in duty payment, while invoices not showing duty will lead to VAT value treated as cum excise for duty calculation; traded articles on which appropriate excise was already paid are not leviable to further excise; State VAT and private records as maintained under the Articles of Jewellery (Collection of Duty) Rules, 2016, suffice for central excise purposes; job work manufacture must follow the Articles of Jewellery Rules; repairs that do not change identity are not manufacturing.

Excise duty compliance relief for jewellery exporters: registration waived subject to bank guarantee and export conditions.
Manufacturers, principal manufacturers, or jewellers exporting 100% of jewellery under heading 7113 are exempt from central excise registration if they provide a bank guarantee for excise liability (additional to guarantees for customs duty on gold and VAT), accept registration upon default of export obligation, pay excise on first domestic sale or obtain release of equivalent guarantee, and file nil returns where no domestic sales occur; exporters may continue to export on self-declaration and Letter of Undertaking without LUT ratification until procedures are finalised.

Excise audit thresholds govern jewellery manufacturers; audit frequency set by duty bands, desk audits only, Commissioner adjudication.
Guidelines create a threshold-based excise audit regime for manufacturers of articles of jewellery under heading 7113: an initial two-year audit exemption for lower-duty units, followed by audit frequencies tied to duty bands with selection in the lowest band subject to Commissioner approval. All audits shall be desk audits conducted at the jurisdictional central excise audit commissionerate with no physical stock verification permitted. Any show cause notice arising from these audits must be issued and adjudicated by an officer of the rank of Commissioner.

SSI exemption computation clarified: individual assessment, exports and traded goods excluded, aggregated clearances can affect eligibility.
Computation of SSI exemption for manufacturers or principal manufacturers of articles of jewellery is to be done individually irrespective of job workers or premises. Exported articles (except to Bhutan) and traded articles on which duty has been paid are excluded. For customer-supplied materials, only value addition (additional materials and labour/making charges) counts. Multiple manufacturers at the same premises may obtain separate registrations but their clearances are to be clubbed to determine SSI eligibility; clubbed aggregates exceeding prescribed limits negate SSI exemption and trigger duty liability.

Clearance of remaining aviation turbine fuel requires Bill of Entry filing, endorsed quantity, duty payment and IGM closure.
Prescribes clearance steps when a foreign-run aircraft is converted to a domestic flight with remaining ATF: airlines must have a permanent Import and Export Code; obtain the IGM number and file a Bill of Entry; Field & Flight Officer determines and endorses remaining ATF from log records/pilot declaration; Bill of Entry is assessed and audited; duty is paid after a Fuel Duty Receipt is generated; an Out of Charge order is required before domestic departure; the IGM must be closed within fifteen days or recovery action for duty, interest and penalty will follow.

Re-fixation of Export Obligation permitted where sectoral exports declined, authorities to adjust EPCG obligations accordingly.
Para 5.19 of the HBP (FTP 2015-20) allows re-fixation of Annual Average Export Obligation where a sector/product group's exports declined by more than five per cent in 2015-16 versus 2014-15; Regional Authorities must re fix EPCG annual average export obligations for 2015-16, endorse any reduction in licence files and amendment sheets, and, when discharging EO, consider prior policy circulars before issuing demand notices, with such consideration reflected in the EODC check-sheet.

Indirect tax dispute resolution: declaration route suspends appeal proceedings while specified deposits and discharge procedures are completed.
The Indirect Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2016 allows an appellant before the Commissioner (Appeals) on the cut off date to file a declaration with the nominated designated authority. A four form procedure is prescribed: Form I for declaration; Form II acknowledgement which suspends appeal proceedings for sixty days; Form III for deposit details with specified timeframes for payment and reporting; and Form IV for issuance of a discharge order, after which the appeal is removed from pendency but creates no binding precedent.

Lab Module integration enables online sample referral and test reporting to expedite customs clearance decisions.
An online Lab Module integrates sample drawing, Test Memo generation and referral to mapped laboratories in the customs clearance workflow; laboratories access Test Memos and record findings online so Customs can act without physical reports. The module excludes testing fees and supporting-document submission, which continue by existing practice, and liaison procedures and reporting channels are established to expedite receipt of test reports.

Linking non-PAN AIR transactions to PAN: non-response may lead to initiation of proceedings under Income Tax Act.
The corrigendum mandates use of a revised template for communicating with parties in AIR cases reported without a valid PAN, instructing taxpayers to confirm and link reported transactions to a valid PAN via the e filing portal using the Non-PAN Transaction link and the Transaction Sequence Number (TSN); electronic submission will be treated as the response, can be revised online, and failure to respond within fifteen days may lead to initiation of proceedings under the Income Tax Act.

Computation of book profit: phase retained earnings transition adjustments over three years to reduce one time MAT impact.
Computation of book profit for MAT on Ind AS adoption: retained earnings adjustments on transition for PPE and intangibles should be ignored for book profit and excluded from depreciation and disposal gain/loss calculations; lease equalization and fair value P&L transition adjustments should be included in book profit phased over three years from the year of adoption to mitigate one time impact; other unrealised gains/losses adjusted to retained earnings on transition should be similarly phased.

Linking of non-PAN AIR transactions requires online TSN confirmation to link transactions to PAN; nonresponse may trigger tax proceedings.
The SOP requires identification of non PAN AIR high risk transaction clusters with unique Transaction Sequence Numbers and priority ratings P1-P3, dissemination of mapped data to Pr.CIT offices, and issuance of standardised letters. Transacting parties must use the e filing portal, locate transactions by TSN, confirm ownership to link the transaction to their PAN and submit an electronic response; P1 letters are sent centrally, P2/P3 by Pr.CITs. Failure to respond within 15 days may lead to proceedings under the Income Tax Act, and helpline support and dedicated campaign emails are provided.

Permission to pay service tax non-electronically: discretion must be exercised to allow cheque payments when electronic payment is impossible.
The Service Tax Rules, 1994 mandate electronic payment but allow the jurisdictional Deputy/Assistant Commissioner to permit other payment modes for reasons recorded in writing. Where electronic payment is infeasible, including for government departments unable to open current accounts, officers should judiciously and rationally exercise that discretion to allow cheque or other non-electronic payments, and supervisors should periodically review such decisions to prevent unwarranted refusals.