CENVAT credit amendments clarify invoice based eligibility and importer invoice inclusion, amending specified rule provisions.
The amendment revises rule 2 clause (ij) of the CENVAT Credit Rules to remove a standalone dealer reference, substitute sub clause (i) to cover a dealer purchasing directly from the manufacturer under an invoice, and replace sub clause (ii) to include an importer selling imported goods under an invoice (including invoices from his depot or consignment agent). It also omits sub clauses (ii) and (iii) of clause (a) of rule 9(1). The notification provides the short title and commencement date for these changes.

CENVAT Credit entitlement expanded to importers issuing invoices; amendment also omits and revises provisos in Rule 11.
The amendment inserts that an importer who issues an invoice on which CENVAT Credit can be taken is included in rule 9(1), and modifies rule 11(7) by omitting the first proviso and substituting wording in the second proviso.

Tariff value fixation: retail-packaged heading 3304 goods valued as retail sale price less specified abatement.
Fixes tariff value for excisable goods under heading 3304 in retail packages, where the alternative valuation provision does not apply, by setting tariff value equal to the declared retail sale price of the packaged goods less the abatement specified in the earlier valuation notification; defines retail sale price as the maximum price to the ultimate consumer inclusive of taxes, freight, commissions and related charges, and defines retail package as packaging intended for retail sale to ultimate consumers, excluding industrial or institutional buyers.

Central Excise notification amendment adds Kameng Hydro Electric Power Project to exemption list, extending regulatory benefit to the project.
Amendment inserts item number 106 in the ANNEXURE, List 11 of notification No. 12/2012-Central Excise, adding "Kameng Hydro Electric Power Project, Arunachal Pradesh-600 MW [North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd.]", thereby including the project within the schedule of miscellaneous exemptions under the principal notification.

Export exemption categories expanded to include meat, cotton, cotton yarn and items under minimum export price or export duty.
Amends Notification No. 30/2012-Central Excise by adding Export of Meat and Meat Products, Export of Cotton, Export of Cotton Yarn, and Exports subject to Minimum Export Price or Export Duty to the first proviso in paragraph 2, condition (a), and by inserting parallel entries in the second proviso linking Cotton, Cotton Yarn and such exports to paragraph 3.14.5 of the Foreign Trade Policy.

Excise duty exemption for specified tuberculosis drugs and diagnostic equipment upon authorised Ministry certification for programme use.
Exemption from excise duty applies to specified anti tuberculosis drugs and diagnostic equipment procured or imported for the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme funded by the Global Fund, conditional on production at clearance of a certificate from an officer not below Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare confirming requirement for the Programme; the notification lists detailed drug formulations and diagnostics and contains an express temporal limitation and subsequent amendment and rescission references.

Exemption time limit extended under central excise notification to allow a longer availing period for eligible parties.
Amendment substitutes "ninety days" for "thirty days" in sub paragraph (iii) of Notification No.22/2013-Central Excise, thereby extending the allowable period to avail the exemption under that notification to a longer specified term as set out in Notification No.29/2013-Central Excise published in the Gazette of India.

Mandatory e-payment threshold for Central Excise duty reduced, expanding the class required to remit duty electronically.
The Central Excise Rules, 2002 are amended to reduce the threshold in the proviso to the rule on payment methods, thereby requiring a larger class of assessees to remit Central Excise duty by electronic payment; the amendment is enacted under the Central Excise Act, 1944 and takes effect from the notified commencement date.

Valuation of consumed excisable goods: revised rule prescribes markup over cost of production as taxable value.
The amendment fixes the value of excisable goods consumed in manufacture at one hundred and ten per cent of the cost of production or manufacture and substitutes rule text to apply valuation provisions where whole or part of goods are sold to or through persons related in the specified manner or through inter-connected undertakings, prescribing normal transaction value for related-party sales and retaining the prescribed valuation method for inter-connected undertaking sales.

Creation of additional CESTAT benches expands appellate forum capacity and designates locations, effective from notification publication.
The Central Government notifies the creation of six additional benches of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) under the Central Excise Act, 1944, the Customs Act, 1962 and chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994, adding three benches at New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai and establishing three new benches at Chandigarh, Allahabad and Hyderabad, effective from the date of publication of the notification in the Gazette of India (Extraordinary).

Central Excise notification amended to add Income-tax Chief Commissioners, Commissioners and Director in Kolkata for administrative coordination.
The amendment inserts into paragraph 2 after item (iii) the following offices: Chief Commissioners of Income-tax, Kolkata - I, II, III and IV; the Commissioners of Income-tax (Central) - I, II and III, Kolkata; and Director of Income-tax (International Taxation), Kolkata, thereby adding these Income-tax authorities to the administrative list in Notification No. 20/2006-Central Excise (N.T.).

Exemption for government research goods allows duty-free clearance for scientific instruments and prototypes subject to institutional certification and value limits.
Amendment adds an exemption for Central and State Government departments and laboratories (other than hospitals) covering scientific and technical instruments (including computers), accessories, consumables, software and recorded media, and prototypes, provided the manufacturer produces at clearance a certificate from the head of the institution certifying research-use only and the aggregate value of prototypes received by an institution in a financial year does not exceed a stipulated ceiling.

Cenvat credit reversal on removal of capital goods: prescribes quarterly straight line percentages and transaction value fallback.
Substitution of sub rule (5A) requires payment where capital goods on which CENVAT credit was taken are removed after use, calculated by straight line quarterly percentage reductions from the date credit was taken: computers and peripherals at 10% per quarter (first year), 8% (second), 5% (third) and 1% (each quarter of fourth and fifth years); other capital goods at 2.5% per quarter. If the computed amount is less than duty on transaction value, duty on transaction value is payable. Clearance as waste or scrap mandates payment equal to duty on transaction value.

Exemption scope expanded: manufacture of rotor blades and their intermediates and parts now covered under central excise notification.
Amendment expands the exemption entry for Sl. No. 327 to include manufacture of rotor blades and intermediates, parts and sub-parts of rotor blades for wind operated electricity generators, and substitutes the corresponding wording in ANNEXURE condition No. 36 to reflect the expanded scope, effected under section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 as a modification to Notification No. 12/2012-Central Excise.

Exemption for LR SAM programme supplies requires Programme Director certificate and direct supply to the programme, subject to expiry.
The amendment adds an exemption for specified machinery, equipment, components, spares, tools, software, raw materials and consumables required for the LR SAM programme, conditioned on supply to the Programme under the Ministry of Defence and production, prior to clearance, of a certificate from the Programme Director stating the goods are intended for the LR SAM programme; the exemption ceases to have effect on or after the 1st day of January, 2016. It also substitutes the date in serial number 34's Explanation from 1st September, 2013 to 1st January, 2017.

Corrigendum to notification citation formatting: corrected bracket and comma placement to standardize Gazette reference in official notification.
The English version of Notification No. 09/2013 Central Excise (N.T.), dated 23rd May, 2013, is corrected: in line 3 of Paragraph 1 replace "[(GSR 465 E dated 26th June, 2001)]" with "[GSR 465 (E), dated 26th June, 2001]" to standardize the Gazette citation punctuation.

Citation correction updates central excise notification reference to include formal Gazette designation for accuracy.
A corrigendum amends Notification No. 08/2013-Central Excise (N.T.), dated 23rd May, 2013, replacing the bracketed citation "[G.S.R. 467 dated 26th June, 2001]" with the punctuated reference "[G.S.R. 467 (E), dated 26th June, 2001]" to ensure the Gazette designation is accurately recorded.

Central excise tariff amendment revises listed exemption entries, substituting updated excise rate figures in the statutory schedule.
Amendment notification substitutes the entry in column (4) of the tariff Table in the principal Central Excise notification for specified serial numbers and items, replacing prior entries with newly specified percentage rates against each affected item, and notes issuance under statutory authority with reference to the principal notification and its last amendment published in the Gazette of India.

Central Excise amendment updates ANNEXURE entries, swapping thermal project capacities and adding a new thermal power station entry.
The Central Excise notification amendment substitutes specific ANNEXURE, List 11 capacity entries-exchanging listed capacities between identified item numbers, replacing one item entry with a different project designation and capacity-and inserts a new entry to add a specified thermal power station operated by a lignite corporation, thereby updating the schedule of the principal notification.

Exemption from registration for premises affixing lower-price labels on pharmaceuticals to comply with NPPA pricing notifications.
Exempts from registration under rule 9(1) unregistered premises used solely for affixing stickers, re printing, re labeling, or re packing pharmaceutical products of Chapter 30 to apply a lower ceiling price to comply with National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority notifications under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013, subject to the conditions in notification No. 22/2013 which exempts those products from Central Excise duty.