Service Tax challan colour change: Yellow TR-6 required to ensure correct account classification and proper bank scrolling of receipts.
Effective 1-12-1996, all agencies and departments authorised to collect Service Tax must use Yellow-coloured TR-6 challans for depositing Service Tax under the Major Head Service Tax. The change is intended to prevent confusion with white TR-6 forms used for Union Excise Duties and to ensure proper segregation of challans and scrolling of receipts by banks.

Selective Audit introduced for excise units to target evasion prone activities and prescribe audit scope, frequency and oversight.
Selective Audit regime requires targeted internal audits of duty paying units with frequency set by Commissioners based on compliance risk factors (prior audit findings, evasion prone commodities, revenue trends, pricing anomalies, discount types, end use exemptions, provisional assessments, Modvat trends, and mixed production). SSI and medium units are generally excluded from routine full audits but subject to selective visits; large units may have dual audit parties. Audits must scrutinise statutory and internal records, examine invoices selectively, endorse reviewed documents, may engage Cost Accountants, and are monitored six monthly by the Director General of Inspection.

Provisional assessment review: quarterly ABC analysis and consolidated reporting to ensure prioritisation and finalisation of cases.
Delay in finalisation of provisional assessment cases is to be addressed by quarterly review and consolidated reporting: Commissioners must perform ABC analysis and report pendencies, issues and differential duty to Chief Commissioners by the 10th of the succeeding quarter; Chief Commissioners consolidate and forward to the DGI by the 25th; the DGI compiles an All India position and reports to Member (CX) within fifteen days, while identifying common issues for resolution and directing liquidation of similar pendencies within three months.

Movement of inputs for job work: modified challans and debit recredit controls govern returns and recredit by manufacturers.
Manufacturers sending inputs or partially processed goods to job workers must use modified challans aligned to the Notification, debit accounts at removal and take recredit only after full receipt; where goods move through multiple processors the manufacturer may claim recredit only upon receipt of final goods with duplicate challans from both processors and record matching. Separate challan books and revised Annexure IV stock registers must be maintained, monthly abstracts submitted, and direct supplier dispatches to job workers follow existing procedures without credit reversal.

Modvat credit: duty on credited inputs excluded from product assessable value, departmental appeal admitted for review.
The Tribunal held that duty paid on inputs for which Modvat Credit has been taken should not be added to the cost of raw material in determining the assessable value of the final product. The Department filed an appeal against this ruling, and the Department's appeal was admitted for hearing at the higher appellate level.

Central Government approval for overseas medical reimbursement required; ceiling fixed and essentiality certificate mandatory for managerial personnel
Approval from the Central Government under section 310 is required for reimbursement of specialised medical treatment abroad beyond the limits of a managerial remuneration package; applications must be filed in the prescribed form, be accompanied by an essentiality certificate from the Director General of Health Services, relate only to the managerial person (not dependents), observe a maximum ceiling of Rs. 9 lakhs inclusive of travel and lodging, and be submitted within the tenure of the managerial personnel.

Admission of proof of export must be prioritized and processed promptly, with discrepancies notified for rectification.
Admission and verification of proof of export under bond must be prioritized and processed expeditiously. Fresh requests for acceptance of proof of export are to be disposed of within 15 days of receipt. If discrepancies are found, exporters must be notified for rectification; where rectification is not possible, the case must be dealt with promptly under the Central Excise Rules, 1944 as part of an export facilitation drive.

Rebate of duty paid through RG 23C Part II can be paid by cheque or cash, confirming entitlement and disposal.
Clarifies that rebate of central excise duty paid through RG 23C Part II is admissible and may be paid in cash or by cheque; exports after payment of duty are required but payment need not be only by cash or PLA. The Board's prior clarification on RG 23A Part II applies analogously to RG 23C Part II, and pending claims should be disposed of expeditiously. It distinguishes the non refundability of RG 23G Part II credits from rebate claims under RG 23C Part II.

Date for determination of rate of duty: removals under an exemption notification use date of removal for valuation.
Where saloon cars were removed at concessional duty under an exemption notification but later failed to satisfy a post clearance registration condition, those removals are not treated as clandestine; instead sub rule one(ii) of Rule Nine A governs and the relevant date for determining the rate of duty and tariff valuation is the date of removal from the factory or warehouse, with the rate and valuation in force on that date.

Exemption from foreign trade rules: Customs notifications added to the exemption order, altering application of trade regulation rules.
The Central Government amended the Foreign Trade (Exemption from Application of Rules in certain Cases) Order, 1993 to include specified Customs notifications, thereby making imports covered by those Customs notifications exempt from the application of the Foreign Trade (Regulation) Rules, 1993; the amendment was circulated to Customs for implementation and aligns Customs directives with the Foreign Trade exemption framework.

Service Tax administration reorganised: a dedicated branch and designated technical officers now handle all service tax matters.
A dedicated Service Tax Branch has been established within the Central Excise Commissionerate, Meerut, to which all service tax matters are assigned; the Branch is headed by a Superintendent (Service Tax) and service tax references must be made to the Additional Commissioner (Technical) or Assistant Commissioner (Technical) responsible for the Branch.

Registration requirement: members/dealers of over-the-counter exchange must register premises with appropriate Central Excise jurisdiction for their place of operation.
Members and dealers of the Over The Counter Exchange of India must register their premises with the Central Excise Commissionerate having jurisdiction over their place of operation. The requirement applies similarly to members trading via computers from other centres, who must register at the commissionerate for the place of actual operation. Prior registration as a stockbroker of a conventional exchange does not replace the need for separate registration as a member/dealer of OTCEI, the National Stock Exchange, or similar exchanges for transactions in securities listed on those exchanges.

Service tax on advertising and courier services requires providers to register and remit tax on gross amounts charged.
Service tax applies to advertising agencies, courier agencies and paging services on the gross amount charged to clients or subscribers. For advertising, taxable value includes commissions, travel and market research related to advertisements but excludes amounts paid for media space/time. Film producers are not taxable where the agency recharges clients unless the producer bills the client. Courier agencies are taxable for door-to-door time-sensitive delivery on gross charges; co-loaders are not separately taxable. Collectors must register and remit collected tax to the Government within prescribed timelines.

Classification of Zinc Chromate: treat as an inorganic chromate under chapter 28 unless formulated as Zinc Yellow or Zinc Green.
Zinc Chromate, being a chemically defined inorganic compound, is classifiable under Chapter 28 as a chromate (28.41 grouping) rather than under Chapter 32. Chapter 32 applies only to colouring preparations or pigments; therefore only formulated pigments such as Zinc Yellow (complex zinc-potassium chromate) or Zinc Green (mixture with Prussian blue) should be classified under Chapter 32. Pending disputes and assessments should be settled consistent with this guidance.

Service tax assessment scope narrowed by excluding advertising, courier and radio paging services from appointed excise officers' jurisdiction.
The amendment substitutes the words "Any other assessee" against specified serial numbers in the table with "Any other assessee (other than those relating to advertising Services, courier services and radio paging services)", thereby excluding assessees providing advertising, courier and radio paging services from the generic category for appointment of Central Excise officers for assessment and collection of service tax.

Service tax on advertising, courier and paging services applies to gross charges with specific valuation and registration rules.
Service tax from 1-11-1996 applies to advertising agencies, courier agencies and paging services. Advertising agencies are taxed on the gross amount charged to clients for advertisement-related services, including commissions and related expenses, but excluding amounts paid for media space or time that are not agency charges. Courier agencies are taxed on the gross amount charged for door-to-door transportation of time-sensitive items; co-loader charges recovered from customers are includible. Paging services are taxable on gross subscriber charges. Collected tax must be deposited monthly and persons responsible must register, with provisions for centralized billing registration.

Product classification as toilet requisite leads to denial of medicinal exemption and directs uniform tax treatment.
The Supreme Court upheld Tribunal findings that 'Dant Manjan Lal' is a toilet requisite, not an Ayurvedic drug or medicine, and consequently not entitled to exemptions applicable to medicines. The Central Board of Excise & Customs accepted the judgment and directed field formations to apply this classification and deny exemption treatment to similar products.

Assessable value for captive consumption: apply prior year profit before tax percentage to current cost of production to determine value.
Assessable value for captively consumed goods is to be calculated by determining current-year cost of production-including material, labour, overheads, administrative expenses, advertising, depreciation and interest-and loading onto that cost the profit margin derived from the previous year's audited profit before tax, expressed as a percentage of the prior year's cost of production; the prior methodology referencing net sales may continue, and supporting accounts and CA certificates must be scrutinised.

Transshipment procedures require invoice endorsement and Range office verification when consignments are split or vehicles change.
Transshipment en route follows two regimes: full consignment transfers require endorsement on the transport copy of the invoice indicating date, time and new vehicle registration. Splits due to breakdown may follow the same procedure if the transport copy is countersigned by the Range Superintendent and vehicles travel as a convoy. Splits for other reasons require Range office endorsement after verification and are permitted only where the manufacturer issues separate invoices for each lot; recovered misplaced packages must be verified against the original transporter's invoice prior to endorsement.

Classification of henna powder affirmed as vegetable matter under Chapter 14; unit packings labelled hair dye treated under cosmetic heading.
The Board accepts the tribunal precedent that bulk henna powder produced by grinding natural leaves is classifiable as processed vegetable matter, while unit packings labelled for use as a hair dye are classifiable under the cosmetic heading for hair preparations; the higher court dismissed the appeal and field formations are directed to follow this classification, especially after the rescission of a prior exemption notification.