Recovery of dues may proceed during pendency of stay applications when no specific order restrains recovery.
The Department may pursue recovery of government dues during the pendency of stay petitions if no specific restraining order exists; mere pendency is not a legal bar. The Law Ministry advised that a reasonable waiting period for decision on the stay depends on case-specific facts, and the Board accepted this advice, deciding that prior instructions need not be revised and field formations should continue recovery unless expressly prevented.

Classification of pens: markers and highlighters treated as pens and eligible for excise exemption under notification.
Markers, hi liters and upliners fall within the same tariff category as felt tipped and other porous tipped pens because they share constituent materials (fibre/felt tips, internal ink filters) and differ only in tip size and ink type; accordingly these products are eligible for exemption as pens under Notification No. 74/86 as amended.

Assessable value inclusion: cost of card pockets and associated folders must be added to cabinet value for excise duty.
The Board concludes that card pockets, folders, visa files and instadex folders procured separately but supplied with filing cabinets are to be treated as integral parts of those cabinets under the Rules of Interpretation to CETA, 1985 and Explanatory Notes to Chapter 94, and their cost must be included in the assessable value of the cabinets for charging central excise duty, whether or not fitted at clearance.

Classification of tubular woven fabrics: treated as woven fabrics under excise tariff, not as made up or special woven articles.
Tubular HDPE/PP fabrics from circular looms are woven by warp and weft without special weave and do not possess the essential character of sacks at the loom stage; they do not meet the definition of "made up textile articles" and therefore are classifiable as woven fabrics under the Tariff rather than as special woven fabrics or made up articles.

Wiring harness classification: assembled harnesses are distinct products classifiable as wires and cables and subject to excise duty.
Wiring harnesses produced from duty-paid wires and cables constitute a new, distinct product due to substantial value addition and assembly to customer specifications; they are classifiable under the tariff description for wires and cables and chargeable to the appropriate excise duty rate, with the parts-and-accessories exclusion not applying to this product.

Priority adjudication of high-duty cases required; authorities must expedite and include them within annual adjudication targets.
Authorities must prioritise adjudication of cases involving duty of Rs. 1 crore and above, taking them up immediately and deciding them within the existing expectation that each adjudication authority complete a minimum of 75 adjudications per annum; progress on these cases will be monitored through monthly anti-evasion performance reports.

Inter-departmental coordination: Ensure regular Audit-Revenue meetings to expedite settlement of major receipt audit objections through mandated quarterly reports.
Inter Departmental Machinery must operate via monthly DC (Audit) meetings with DAG/Sr. DAG and quarterly CIT-AG meetings, supported by quarterly reports to monitor settlement of major receipt audit objections. Analysis of 1987-88 reports showed widespread failure to hold scheduled meetings and submit reports. CsITs are directed to ensure regular meetings and liaison with AGs, to notify DIT(Audit) of difficulties for escalation, and to achieve demonstrable compliance in the next quarterly report.

Classification of vulcanised rubber profiles with metal inserts: treated as profiles when metal inserted during extrusion, not 'further worked'.
Vulcanised non-cellular rubber profiles with metal inserted during extrusion are part of the manufacture and not "further worked." Chapter Note 9 does not apply to these profile shapes, and the H.S.N. Explanatory Notes and the Deputy Chief Chemist concur that such goods are classifiable under sub-heading 4008.29 of the Customs Excise Tariff.

Product classification: copper coated steel wires fall within iron and steel wire headings, not flux coated base metal wire.
Flux coated provisions apply only to wires, rods or electrodes coated or cored with flux material; products merely coated with another base metal do not qualify for that heading and should be classified within the iron and steel chapters. Accordingly, copper coated steel wires are more appropriately covered by the iron and steel wire sub heading rather than the flux coated base metal wire provision.

Exemption of living allowance for foreign trainees permitted temporarily; future treatment to follow amended section 10 provisions.
Living allowances paid to foreign nationals training in India under Colombo Plan, SCAAP and ITEC may be treated as exempt under section 10(14)/section 10(16) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for and up to the assessment year 1988-89. After that period, the exemption and tax treatment will be governed by the substituted provisions of section 10(14) introduced by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987 effective 1 April 1989.

Mis-handled baggage: airlines may forward baggage to other customs airports for clearance upon production of proof of bona fides.
Airlines are authorised to forward mis-handled baggage to customs airports other than Delhi, Madras, Calcutta and Bombay for clearance, provided they arrange forwarding and produce proof to customs of the bona fides of the baggage.

Classification scope: polymer solutions and varnishes are classifiable under the plastics chapter, not the polymer chapter.
Note 6 to Chapter 39 applies only to goods within that chapter; solutions of polymers, including varnishes under Heading 32.08, are distinguishable and therefore classifiable under Chapter 32 rather than Chapter 39, so classification under Chapter 39 does not arise and there is no conflict between Note 6 to Chapter 39 and Note 3 to Chapter 32.

Prompt issuance of original orders after personal hearings to prevent undue delay and repetitive proceedings.
Adjudicating officers must pass orders in original immediately after completion of personal hearings, and in any event within one week, to prevent injustice and unnecessary repeat hearings; delays beyond that period will be viewed seriously by the Board and field formations must ensure compliance.

Condonation of delay for D-3 filing permits short administrative extensions to accept late declarations.
Collectors are empowered to condone delays in filing D-3 declaration where filing is required by statute or executive instruction, applying a uniform short maximum period; amendments to specified rules extend this condonation power and prior relaxations are to be conformed to the same limited discretionary framework, with earlier instructions superseded and field formations to be informed.

Tariff classification: grease guns and oil cans treated as other tools, not mechanical spraying appliances from 1-3-1988.
Grease guns, oil cans and bench oilers do not conform to HSN criteria for machines that project, disperse or spray and are therefore excluded from heading 84.24; they are classifiable as other tools and implements in Chapter 82, under the pre 1 March 1988 tariff subheading in force before that date and under the Chapter 82 provision aligned with HSN from 1 March 1988, a view endorsed by the Board.

Permission under Rule 57F(2) permits blanket removals to the same job worker without consignment wise approvals.
General permission under Rule 57F(2) may be issued to a manufacturer to remove inputs to the same job worker without prior consignment wise permission, but a separate general permission is required for each different job worker; field formations must be informed and a trade notice issued.

Tariff classification: work holding fixtures for presses are to be treated as work holders under the specified tariff heading.
Work Holding Fixtures for presses are to be treated as Work Holders and classified under the specific tariff heading 84.66.20 HSN, and assessing officers are to issue suitable instructions to ensure uniform assessment across Custom Houses.

Modvat credit on exported goods' inputs allowed for exempt small scale units, subject to separate accounts and adjustment or refund.
SSI units opting for full exemption on home-consumption clearances may claim Modvat credit on inputs used exclusively in export production, provided they maintain separate accounts from raw material to final product segregating export and home-consumption production; such credit may be applied to duty on similar home-consumption clearances after exemption limits are exceeded or refunded where adjustment is not possible in accordance with the prescribed procedure.

Modvat credit inputs exclusion: value of inputs cleared on payment of duty excluded from aggregate clearances.
The value of inputs on which Modvat credit has been taken and which are cleared as such on payment of duty are not to be regarded as goods manufactured by the assessee and therefore should not be included in the aggregate value of clearances for the purposes of the Small Scale Exemption Notification; this clarification is to be circulated to field formations and trade interests with acknowledgement.

Classification of prepared cereal snacks as prepared food when packed in unit containers and intended for sale.
Corn Flips are manufactured by cooking, drying, tempering, flaking and toasting corn with added ingredients to produce thin flat chips with moisture below 3% that are packed in 40 g unit containers. The product is classifiable under sub-heading No. 1904.10 when it is put up in a unit container and ordinarily intended for sale.