Exemption for polyester-cotton blended fibres now allowed for Khadi-sector bodies subject to hand-spinning certification and restricted use.
The amendment adds a tariff exemption for polyester staple fibres blended with cotton manufactured by Khadi-sector factories or approved organizations, revises the yarn description accordingly, and inserts condition 23A requiring a clearance-time certificate that the fibres will be hand spun into yarns for use only in the manufacture of Poly Vastra. Condition 24 is substituted to require purchase by a Khadi-sector factory with payment by cheque from the Khadi-sector account and a certificate that the yarn will be used exclusively for Poly Vastra.

Cenvat credit restriction clarified: exemption applies where no credit on inputs or exclusive capital goods has been availed.
The exemption at S.No. 122 is clarified to be satisfied where no CENVAT credit has been availed for (i) inputs and (ii) capital goods used exclusively in manufacture of those goods, with the non availment linked to the CENVAT Credit Rules; the Explanation is inserted into the notification and given retrospective effect.

Excise exemption for goods used within factory for manufacture of goods under chapter 71, removing duty on intra-factory inputs.
Amendment inserts a new tariff entry creating an excise duty exemption for all goods used within the factory of production when employed in the manufacture of goods covered by chapter 71, adding a nil duty serial entry to the Table of the principal notification No. 6/2002-Central Excise under the powers of section 5A of the Central Excise Act.

Excise exemption for handloom apparel requires Textiles Committee certification, invoice declaration, labelling and annual audit.
Exemption for apparel made of handloom fabrics requires at clearance a Textiles Committee certificate identifying the distinctive profile, an invoice declaration that the goods are made from handloom fabrics and covered by the certificate, and an affixed label declaring handloom origin. The Commissioner shall authorize an audit team including a Central Excise officer and a Textiles Committee officer to audit records, sample test and verify compliance annually. Woven fabrics receiving calendaring or decatising on job-work basis qualify for exemption only where the job-worker lacks other processing facilities and no CENVAT credit has been taken, with value defined as the job-work charges.

Excise duty exemption for SEZ developer imports subject to authorisation, licensed warehousing, reporting and bond obligations.
Exemption from excise and additional excise duties is granted for excisable goods brought into a Special Economic Zone by a developer for SEZ development, operation and maintenance, provided the developer has Development Commissioner permission, the goods are authorised by a Committee headed by the Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, stored in licensed public or private warehouses under the Customs Act, and the developer maintains accounts, files quarterly statements, obtains permission for removal with payment where applicable, and executes a bond to utilise the goods within six months or extended period, failing which duty with interest is payable.

SEZ procedural amendment expands coverage to include establishment of units as well as manufacture of goods.
Amendment expands the scope of the Central Excise notification governing Special Economic Zones by substituting the opening paragraph to include activities "for the purposes of setting up of units or for the purposes of manufacture of goods", thereby extending procedural coverage to establishment of units as well as manufacture.

Textile yarns include textile fibres, and exemption conditions satisfied where appropriate excise or customs duty has been paid.
Amendments to Notifications Nos.14/2002 and 15/2002 clarify that the term textile yarns includes textile fibres, and that for processed textile fabrics (and certain goods) manufactured by composite or vertically integrated mills the condition in column (5) of the Table is satisfied if the fabrics or goods are manufactured from textile fibres or yarns on which the appropriate excise duty or additional customs duty has been paid; the explanations are retrospective.

Sale of surplus power: authorised EOUs may sell to DTA on duty for consumables or transfer to EOUs duty free under conditions.
Where an export oriented unit authorised by the State Electricity Board and permitted by the Development Commissioner sells surplus power into the Domestic Tariff Area the Assistant or Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise may allow the sale on payment equal to the duty leviable on consumables and raw materials used in generation of each unit of power calculated on norms approved by the Board of Approvals; alternatively the officer may permit transfer of surplus power to other export oriented units without payment of duty, subject to maintenance of accounts of consumables for Net Foreign Exchange calculation.

Export-import policy amendments update concessional excise procedures and permit inter-zone transfers with revised procedural safeguards.
Notification 35/2002 amends multiple central excise notifications to adopt the Export and Import Policy 1 April 2002-31 March 2007, reduce prescribed earning thresholds to fifteen per cent., require manufacturers to follow rules 11 and 20 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002, and replace prior application procedures with a certificate in Form CT 3. It permits transfers of goods and capital goods among units in zones, SEZs, EHTPs, STPs and 100% EOUs for manufacture, export or in unit use, and adds contract farming conditions, new annexure items, and uniformised handbook and terminology references.

Exemption from excise duty for refinery goods removed in bond to warehouses, with reduced duty payable on subsequent removal.
Exemption from excise duty on goods supplied to specified refineries is clarified to include goods removed under bond from those refineries to a warehouse; such goods may be subsequently removed from the warehouse on payment of a reduced portion of the duties, and the explanation operates as if always part of the original notification.

Exemption for open-air stentering extended to certain cotton fabrics, subject to an aggregate job-charge cap on clearances.
The amendment inserts entry 4A granting nil duty exemption for woven cotton fabrics subjected to open-air stentering by a processor in factories without bleaching, dyeing or printing facilities; the exemption is effective to the stated terminal date and applies only to clearances where the aggregate job-charges for such stentering do not exceed the prescribed monetary cap, with aggregation across multiple open-air stenters or factories belonging to the processor.

Central Excise amendment adds Combined Cycle Gas Turbine power plants to the notification list, expanding listed facilities coverage.
The Central Government, exercising powers under the Central Excise Act, issues Notification No. 32/2002 to amend Notification No. 6/2002-Central Excise by inserting five specified Combined Cycle Gas Turbine power plants into Annexure List 1, immediately after item 7; the notification cites the principal Gazette publication and prior amendments.

Excise duty amendment adds specific tariff entries for petrol and diesel, altering the duty schedule and effective soon.
Amendment inserts two tariff entries into the existing excise notification: entry 32B for motor spirit (petrol) and entry 32C for high speed diesel oil, specifying the applicable excise duty columns in the notification's Table and taking effect from the stated commencement date.

Concessional duty amendment on medical equipment updates eligible items, substituting and omitting specified implants under central excise rules.
Amendment revises the list of medical equipment eligible for concessional central excise duty by substituting item (19) with "Keratoprosthesis/orbital implants" and omitting items (139) and (142), thereby changing which medical devices qualify for the notification's concessional duty treatment under existing central excise authority.

Effective excise rate reduced for goods cleared by specified North East refineries, limiting duty liability to a capped portion.
Exempts First Schedule goods cleared from four specified North East refineries from so much of each excise duty as exceeds the amount calculated at fifty per cent. of that duty, thereby capping the payable excise at fifty per cent.; applies to duty of excise, special duty, additional duties under the Finance Acts and special additional excise duty. The exemption also covers removals under bond to a warehouse and later removals on payment of fifty per cent. of the duties.

Special additional excise duty exemption for ethanol blended petrol and bio-diesel blends under specified standards
Special additional excise duty is exempted, subject to the blend composition and Bureau of Indian Standards specifications prescribed in the notification, for specified motor spirit, ethanol blended petrol and high speed diesel blended with bio-diesel. The table prescribes Nil rate for ethanol blended petrol at multiple ethanol percentages and for high speed diesel oil blended with bio-diesel up to 20% by volume, while motor spirit intended for use in ethanol blended petrol is covered at a concessional rate where applicable. The notification also defines the relevant duties and tax references for the exemptions and supersedes the earlier notification on the subject.

Rescission of Excise Notification: previous tariff reduction withdrawn under Central Excise Act altering effective duty rates.
The Central Government, exercising powers under the Central Excise Act, has rescinded Notification No. 18/2002 Central Excise (published in the Gazette on the first of March), thereby terminating the legal force and administrative effect of that prior excise tariff notification concerning duty rates and miscellaneous exemptions.

Central Excise exemptions expanded for woven fabrics and diverse goods, altering duty incidence and notification conditions after Budget changes
The Central Government amends multiple Central Excise notifications to expand exemptions and modify tariff and condition entries introduced in Budget 2002. Revisions focus on woven fabrics-distinguishing cotton and man-made fibre processing, adding specific processed and unprocessed pile and terry fabrics to exemption lists, and creating separate tariff entries for fabrics subjected to named finishing operations. The amendments also add exemptions for numerous parts, components, and manufacturing waste, adjust conditions on factory facilities and CENVAT credit treatment, and provide provisos on inclusion of early-April clearances in aggregate computations and non admissibility of refunds.

Excise exemption for goods used in construction of warships where a Rear Admiral level certificate is produced before clearance.
All goods supplied for use in construction of warships of the Indian Navy are exempt from central excise duty where, before clearance, a certificate from an Indian Navy officer not below Rear Admiral or equivalent to Joint Secretary is produced to the proper officer confirming the goods are intended for that use.

Corrigendum to Central Excise Notification expands loom description to include shuttleless looms in exemption wording.
Corrigendum to Notification No. 6/2002-Central Excise (published 1 March 2002) replaces, at page 174 line 21, the phrase "Automatic shuttle looms" with "Automatic shuttle or shuttleless looms" as the official corrected wording in the Gazette publication.