Excise duty exemption for branded packing: manufacturers not required to pay duty where reasonable belief in notification entitlement existed.
Notification directs that where a manufacturer affixed another person's brand or trade name to specified packing goods and, in reasonable belief of entitlement under a prior notification, did not pay excise duty, the duty for the historical periods specified need not be paid; the direction covers identified categories of packing material and relies on the prior notification's definition of 'brand name' or 'trade name'.

Exemption amendment: updates tariff entries and grants nil duty on specified tariff headings for listed goods.
The Government amends Notification No. 1/2011 Central Excise by omitting serial number 82 from its Table, and amends Notification No. 12/2012 Central Excise by substituting serial number 187A with an entry covering tariff headings 6901 00 10 and 6904 10 00 described as "All goods" with a Nil duty rate, issued under section 5A(1) of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

Excise duty exemption for DPCO scheduled formulations undergoing re-labeling when MRP reduced, subject to prior intimation and post-operation reporting.
Exempts from central excise duty scheduled formulations under DPCO, 2013 (Chapter 30) when re-printing, re-labeling, re-packing or stickering is carried out at premises not registered under the Central Excise Act, subject to conditions: removal on payment of appropriate duty, downward revision of MRP, a time-limited exemption from NPPA ceiling-price notification (with limited extension), prior intimation to the jurisdictional Assistant/Deputy Commissioner with specified product and location details, and submission of post-operation details within one month.

Export entitlement calculation tied to specific Foreign Trade Policy provisions and limited to per IEC incremental growth in convertible currency.
The amendment links entitlement to paragraph 3.14.2 or to exports to markets in paragraphs 3.14.4(e)/3.14.5(e) of the Foreign Trade Policy, and requires incremental growth for entitlement computation to be measured per IEC without combining group company exports or transfers, denominated in freely convertible currency. It also specifies categories of exports excluded from export performance and entitlement calculations, including trans-shipped imports, exports from SEZ/EOU/EHTP/STPI/BTP/FTWZ, deemed and service exports, third party exports, specified precious metals and stones and jewellery, ores, cereals, sugar, crude petroleum products, milk products, exports on behalf of others, supplies to SEZ units, items needing export authorization (except SCOMET), meat products, exports to certain markets, and SEZ products exported via DTA units.

Central Excise tariff amendment alters exemption table entries, changing column four rates for specified items.
The Central Government, exercising powers under the Central Excise Act, amends Notification No. 12/2012-Central Excise by substituting the entry in column (4) for item (i) at S. No. 189 and for item (i) at S. No. 191 in the Table, thereby changing the tariff-rate entry applicable to those listed exemption items.

Duty-free sale of indigenous goods at arrival airport shops allowed, subject to baggage allowance and customs compliance.
Exempts excise duty on indigenous goods moved from Indian factories to arrival-hall duty free shops for sale to arriving passengers or crew, conditional on compliance with CBEC movement procedures and subject to the maximum permissible baggage allowance under the Baggage Rules, 1998; excess value or quantities attract duty and other consequences under the Baggage Rules, the Customs Act and related rules.

Rescission of duty-free sale permission withdraws prior authorization for airport duty free shops to sell domestically manufactured goods to international passengers.
The Central Government, under powers of the Central Excise Act, rescinds Notification No.145/1989-Central Excise which had authorized duty-free sale of goods manufactured in India to international passengers and crew at duty free shops in airport arrival/departure halls; the rescission is prospective and preserves acts or omissions done before the rescission.

Duty free shop registration aligned with excise rules, allowing Customs licensed DFS outlets to serve international passengers and crew.
Deems that a godown or retail outlet of a Duty Free Shop appointed or licensed under the Customs Act shall be deemed to be registered as a warehouse under rule 9 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002, thereby providing the legal basis for duty free sale of goods manufactured in India to international passengers and crew at Duty Free Shops located in arrival and departure halls.

Duty free sale of domestically manufactured goods to international passengers enabled at airport DFSs, with Customs jurisdiction clarified.
Permits duty free sale of goods manufactured in India to international passengers and crew at DFS outlets in arrival and departure halls of international airports and inserts a list of Customs officers (from Commissioner to Inspector/Examiner/Preventive Officer) under whose jurisdiction the godowns and retail outlets of such DFSs are located, thereby clarifying administrative and enforcement responsibility under the amended notification.

Duty free sale of domestically manufactured excisable goods extended to international airport duty free shops, subject to CBEC conditions.
Authorises removal of excisable goods from the factory to a godown or retail outlet of a Duty Free Shop appointed or licensed as a warehouse under the Customs Act, for sale against foreign exchange to passengers departing India or to passengers and crew arriving from abroad, subject to limitations, conditions and safeguards specified by the Central Board of Excise and Customs under rule 20 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002.

Amendment to Central Excise rules adjusts transferability, actual user conditions and cross-references affecting exemption scrip compliance.
Amendments modify Central Excise notifications by substituting cross-references and provisos to permit transfer of certificates and goods within group service providers or managed hotels subject to an actual user condition, incorporate the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-14 into the Explanation, expand condition language to include debits under specified Service Tax notifications, and replace a proviso to require that issuance of duty-credit scrips not violate enumerated Customs notification conditions.

Exemptions amendment expands central excise exemptions to include jaggery powder, specified bamboo products, roofing tiles and certain steel inputs.
Amendments insert jaggery powder under heading 1701 and add flattened bamboo boards and bamboo flooring tiles under chapter 44 to the exemption Tables of notifications 1/2011 and 2/2011, and in notification 12/2012 introduce nil-duty entries for specified headings including roofing tiles, exempt certain steel supplied for use in manufacture of listed headings subject to Customs Act conditions, and include particle/fibre board from agricultural residues.

Exemption transferability and conditional import relief expanded, allowing endorsed scrip transfers and actual-user undertakings for capital goods.
Amendments clarify exemptible capital goods and consumables for hotels, service providers and service providers with manufacturing activity, require Regional Authority endorsement of manufacturing on scrips to preserve scrip validity, impose an actual user undertaking and liability with interest for manufacturing-related capital goods and spares, restrict vehicle clearances while permitting professional-use vehicles subject to endorsement and registration, and expand transferable scrip rules to allow endorsed transfers to supporting manufacturers and intra-group manufacturer transferees with specified sector endorsements.

Exemption under Post Export EPCG duty credit scrip permits duty-free clearance subject to Customs registration, debiting, and validation.
Exemption covers Fourth Schedule goods cleared against a Post Export EPCG duty credit scrip, exempting them from whole excise and specified additional duties, subject to conditions: Customs registration of the scrip, presentation with supplier details and jurisdictional Central Excise Officer, Customs debit of duties on the reverse of the scrip with written advice to the Officer, eighteen month validity, holder's undertaking to pay short debits with interest, Officer's endorsement and validation, manufacturer retention of attested debited/endorsed scrip, exclusions under Appendix 37B and non permissible imports, and entitlement to drawback or CENVAT credit against the debited scrip.

Form of Appeal: mandatory EA forms require quadruplicate filing with certified copy and standardised appeal particulars.
The amendment substitutes rule 7 to require appeals under section 35B(2) and applications under section 35E(4) to be made in Form No. E.A.-5, filed in quadruplicate with equal copies of the impugned order (one certified copy). It replaces Forms E.A.-3, E.A.-4 and E.A.-5 with revised templates that standardise required particulars (assessee/PAN/UID, location codes, order details, dispute particulars, amounts claimed or deposited, priority subject-matter, signatures and verification) and restates filing, fee and bank draft payment formalities.

Exemption for Project ASTRA equipment subject to pre- and post-clearance certification and specified time limitation.
Amendment creates a conditional excise exemption for equipment and stores for Project ASTRA: claimant must produce a pre-clearance certificate from the Project Director, ASTRA, DRDL, Hyderabad certifying intended use; where goods are used outside the factory of production, the manufacturer must, within five months of clearance or any extended period allowed by the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise, produce a certificate from the Project Director evidencing receipt and actual use; the exemption is time-limited and ceases on a specified future date.

Jurisdictional amendment to Central Excise appellate authority reassigns district coverage for specified appellate jurisdiction under Central Excise rules.
An amendment substitutes serial number 42 in Table III of the principal Central Excise notification to designate the Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals), Mysore and to allocate to that appellate commissioner the territories of Belgaum, Mysore and Mangalore, effected under the delegated powers conferred by the Central Excise Rules and published via notification 05/2013.

Tariff amendments expand exemptions and revise excise classifications for agricultural goods, carpets, silver, handsets, and motor vehicles.
The notification extends the proviso applicability to 31st March, 2015 and amends the tariff Table to insert, substitute and omit serial entries, creating new nil-rate or specified-rate treatments and refined product descriptions. Key changes include nil or altered treatment for tapioca starch, tapioca sago, peanut butter, certain marine goods and carpets of coir or jute; clarified fertilizer scope; a specific excise entry for silver produced during zinc or lead smelting; differentiated excise rates for mobile handsets by retail price band; and revised excise treatment and percentage retention for motor vehicles, including a defined SUV category.

Zero excise duty route extended to branded ready made garments and made ups via amendment to excise notification.
Amendment substitutes the Table entry against serial number 16 of Notification No.30/2004-Central Excise with the entry "All goods", creating a zero excise duty route for branded ready-made garments and made-ups; the change is made under powers of section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 read with section 3(3) of the Additional Duties of Excise Act, 1957, as effected by Notification No.11/2013-Central Excise.

Exemption notification amendment removes tariff entry for handmade and jute/coir carpets, altering central excise exemptions.
Deletes the tariff entry for handmade carpets and other carpets and floor coverings of jute and coir by omitting serial number 37 and its entries from the Table in Notification No. 2/2011-Central Excise, thereby modifying the scope of miscellaneous central excise exemptions under the statutory powers conferred by the Central Excise Act.