DTA sale entitlement regulated for EOUs/EPZs: restricted, duty liable disposals conditioned on approved manufacture and value addition.
Guidelines permit limited DTA sales by EOUs and EPZ units subject to payment of applicable duties, manufacture/export approval in the Letter of Permission/Intent, certified ex factory and input value statements endorsed by Customs/Central Excise, and Development Commissioner authorisation. Entitlement accrues post export except for permitted trial production; advance trial sales require adjustment and a bond. Maximum entitlement depends on achieving the Letter stipulated value addition or the Policy minimum, with reduced entitlements where value addition falls short. Other DTA supplies follow licence endorsement or Release Order procedures and count as export FOB value for export obligations.

Tax Deduction at Source on interest: sets withholding rates, exemptions, filing and penalty obligations for payers.
Deduction of tax at source from interest on securities must be made at credit or payment, with credits to suspense accounts treated as payee credit. Prescribed withholding rates and surcharges apply to residents, non-resident Indians, other non-residents, and companies, subject to specified exemptions and certificates that permit nil or lower deduction. Persons responsible for deduction must deposit withheld tax within prescribed timeframes, obtain and quote tax deduction account numbers, furnish TDS certificates and annual returns in prescribed forms, apply rounding rules to tax amounts, and face interest, penalties and possible prosecution for failures.

Appeal weightage reform standardises lower-tier treatment and increases top-tier weightage for tax appeals, effective for appeals decided thereafter.
Revision reassigns unit weightage for income tax appeals by disputed demand bands: a single unit for appeals up to the lower monetary band, three units for appeals above that band up to the mid band, and four units for appeals above the upper band. The existing monthly disposal quota remains unchanged. The revised weightage applies to appeals decided after the stated effective date and operates within the prior scope limiting weightage to assessment and concealment penalty appeals; other norms in the earlier Instruction continue to apply.

Tax deduction at source from salaries: updated slab structure and employer obligations for withholding and reporting.
Employers must deduct income-tax at source under Section 192 on estimated salary income for FY 1992-93 at average rates based on the revised slab structure and exemption limit introduced by the Finance Act, 1992. Taxable salary includes wages, perquisites, pensions and similar receipts; aggregate salary from multiple employers is to be considered. Compute taxable salary after allowed exemptions and standard deductions, apply rebates under Section 88 and Section 88B, add surcharge where applicable, then deduct tax monthly and comply with prescribed payment, certification (Form No.16) and return (Form No.24) requirements.

Product classification as disinfectant means ITEOL-3 should be treated under the disinfectant tariff heading and assessments finalised accordingly
After expert consultation the Board determined that ITEOL-3, a formulation of dichloroxylenol and essential oils marketed as an antiseptic/disinfectant, is appropriately classifiable as a disinfectant under the Central Excise Tariff and assessments should be finalised accordingly. A product will fall under the medicament grouping only if its packaging and presentation confer the essential character of a medicament (indications, dosage, method of use); presence of alcohol may exclude it from medicament treatment. Absent such presentation, classification as a disinfectant is appropriate.

Workload rationalisation: concentrate search cases with specialist ACIT(Inv) and reassign staff to strengthen assessment capacity.
The Board directs redistribution of assessment and search workloads: the Special Range DCSR will not be assisted by ITOs or ACITs to free ITOs for category A assessments, and headquarters deployments should be reviewed to release ITOs. Assistant Commissioner jurisdictions may be re-arranged in metropolitan areas to increase individual assessment loads so released ACITs can serve as ACIT(Inv) for search cases. Search cases are to be concentrated with ACIT(Inv) for expeditious disposal, with major searches assignable to DCIT(Special Range) and only exceptional assignments to non-ACIT(Inv) ACITs.

Dutiability of coloured granules: colouring plastic granules by melting does not constitute manufacture for excise purposes.
Colouring plain plastic granules by melting and reconstituting into coloured granules does not amount to manufacture for Central Excise, because the molten state is an intermediate non-marketable stage, the end product remains granular with no new name, character or use, and Chapter 39 notes do not classify colouring as a manufacturing process.

Modvat credit eligibility clarified: petroleum coke and coke dust held ineligible where chapter is not specified; recover credits.
Modvat credit is allowable only on goods specified by the Central Government notification; goods falling under Chapter 27, including petroleum coke and coke dust, are not covered by Notification No. 177/86 and therefore ineligible for Modvat. Where credit has already been allowed on such items, those allowances are to be treated as a mistake of law and immediately recovered, with compliance reported to the Board.

Classification of polyurethane foam mattresses: guidance on HS heading allocation and administrative referral under Harmonized System.
Classification of mattresses made from duty-paid flexible polyurethane foam slabs or sheets is questioned as either plates/sheets of cellular plastics or as mattresses of cellular plastics for tariff purposes; the Board encloses correspondence with industry and the Nomenclature Committee's consideration at its 27th Session and directs administrations to use that guidance and pursue further enquiries locally.

Exemption for spent calcium bisulphite solution affirmed; full excise exemption applies to sulphite process spent liquor for rayon pulp.
The Board confirms that the full exemption under the notification applies to spent calcium bisulphite solution produced in the sulphite process for rayon grade wood pulp, noting that spent liquor from all pulp processes is generally regarded as black liquor and that the notification was intended to extend exemption to rayon grade spent liquor; pending assessments should be finalised and field formations and trade advised accordingly.

Importing commercial goods as baggage is allowed if goods are permitted; duty assessed at baggage rate.
Commercial goods carried in passenger baggage are not automatically unauthorised if they are permitted under the import policy; restrictions and prohibitions apply irrespective of mode of import. Items allowed without licensing (e.g., fax machines under the Export-Import Policy 1992-97) should not be adjudicated merely because they arrived as baggage. Such commercial baggage imports are assessed to duty at the baggage rate set out in Chapter Note 5 to Chapter 98.

Private placement prohibition: unofficial premia and public invitations are not private placements and attract penal action.
Private offers of equity marketed via brokers, advertisements, mass mailings or by floating rights of renunciation with unofficial premia cannot be treated as private placement when they effectively make shares available beyond the immediate offerees; such transactions fall under prospectus and public offer rules. Companies, promoters and intermediaries conducting these transactions or collecting unofficial premia without proper accounting commit serious contraventions of company law and may face penal consequences; marketing rights of renunciation by a private company is an impermissible public invitation.

Measurement of irregular marble slabs: prior measurement practice applies for the interim period, preserving manufacturers' duty option.
A previously prescribed measurement formula treating one cubic metre of marble block as equivalent to thirty square metres of marble slabs, applicable where slabs are manufactured with conventional or converted gang saws and allowing manufacturers the option to discharge duty on that basis, was deleted by Notification No. 7/92-C.E. but later restored by Notification No. 56/92-C.E.; the Board directs that the practice prevailing prior to 1-3-1992 applies for the period 1-3-1992 to 30-3-1992 for Central Excise duty calculation on irregular shaped marble slabs.

Duty-free import procedure for software export units requires local customs procedures to secure exemptions and ensure compliance.
Units in Software Technology Park complexes qualifying under the 100% EOU framework may import specified goods duty-free under the relevant customs notifications, conditional on compliance with notification requirements. Collectors of Customs must prescribe the local procedure-covering verification, documentation, and compliance steps-to operationalise the exemption, and must forward a copy of the prescribed procedure to the Ministry of Finance for information.

Selective filing of appeals: require careful scrutiny, accept factual findings unless perverse, and mandate periodic review and reporting.
Commissioners must authorise appeals to the ITAT selectively and only after detailed scrutiny; findings of the CIT(Appeals) on facts should be accepted unless perverse and monetary limits must be followed. CCsIT/DGsIT must review monthly all fact-based appeals and a sample of other appeals, withdraw unjustified appeals, report withdrawals to the Board, and submit a quarterly statistical report of reviews by the end of the subsequent month.

Depreciation allowance: capital goods of fully export-oriented units eligible on de-bonding with BOA permission, scale unchanged.
Depreciation is to be allowed on assessment of capital goods cleared by fully export-oriented units/EPZ units at de-bonding, provided the unit obtains BOA permission; the previously applicable denial for de-bonding before completion of export obligation is modified. The existing scale of depreciation remains unchanged.

Waiver of CL/PL filing allows gate-pass clearance of inputs subject to duty payment and credit reversal.
Sub rule (1A) to Rule 57F permits removal of inputs for home consumption with prior permission of the Collector on payment of excise duty equivalent to restricted Modvat credit availed under Rule 57A; filing of classification list or price list is waived and clearance may be allowed on a gate pass cross referencing the RG 23A, Part II entry so that the exact amount of credit taken is identified and reversed.

Modvat credit restricted where indigenous inputs supply intermediate goods to advance licence holders; separate streams for direct exports and deemed exports must be maintained.
An intermediate advance licence holder may use indigenous raw materials to manufacture intermediate products supplied under Rule 191BB without exceeding advance licence quantities, but is not entitled to claim Modvat credit on those indigenous inputs. Imported replenishment and materials imported against an Advance Licence for direct export obligations form distinct streams from deemed exports and cannot be mixed; Collectors must issue guidance and enforce inspections to ensure compliance.

Equal opportunity of allotment for STOCKINVEST applications to prevent discriminatory treatment in public issue allotments.
The circular directs stock exchanges to ensure STOCKINVEST applications receive the same opportunity of allotment as applications made by cheque, demand draft or cash, prohibiting discriminatory sorting or tabulation that would disadvantage STOCKINVEST applicants, and noting that allotments are made by companies in consultation with exchanges.

Manufacturer classification: distinct firms get separate exemption limits, while a single manufacturer's multiple factories are aggregated.
The operative rule treats the identity of the manufacturer as decisive for aggregating clearances under the exemption notification: different firms are normally separate manufacturers entitled to separate exemption limits, limited companies are distinct entities, and where the same manufacturer controls multiple factories their clearances must be combined; whether partnerships with common partners constitute the same manufacturer is a question of fact determined by factors such as partnership composition, existence of factory, licence and nature of goods.