Appointment of Central Excise Officer invests Commissioner of Customs with powers to adjudicate DRI show cause notices in specified divisions.
CBEC appoints the Commissioner of Customs (Import and General), New Customs House, New Delhi as the Central Excise Officer under rule 3(1) of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 and vests him with the powers of specified Commissioners, Additional Commissioners, Joint Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners for the purpose of adjudicating matters arising from the Show Cause Notice issued to M/s A Square Automation Pvt. Ltd. and others by the Additional Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, New Delhi dated 9.07.2007.

Notice periods reduced for pan masala packing machines; duty calculation and cessation rules tightened with deemed-operation provisions.
Amendments shorten notice and processing periods for capacity and duty procedures, provide a pro rata duty calculation and specified refund and payment timelines where a manufacturer permanently ceases work (excluding cessation of one or two shifts), and treat packing machines found in unregistered units as deemed operational from an earlier date unless contrary evidence is provided, for determining duty liability.

Jurisdictional extension for CNG manufacturers: commissioner's jurisdiction extends to entire Chief Commissioner's area for single-registered multi-premises manufacturers.
Amendment provides that where a person manufactures Compressed Natural Gas under tariff item 2711 and has a single registration for more than one premises, the jurisdiction of the Commissioner shall extend to the entire jurisdiction of the concerned Chief Commissioner of Central Excise as specified in Table I for that manufacturer.

Single registration for multiple Compressed Natural Gas premises allowed, subject to prior intimation before starting additional premises.
The amendment permits single registration for a person manufacturing Compressed Natural Gas when multiple premises fall within one Chief Commissioner's jurisdiction; the person may obtain one registration from any Commissioner under that Chief Commissioner by submitting details of all premises with the application, provided prior intimation is given before commencing any additional premises, and existing registered assessees may apply for fresh registration or amend registration accordingly.

Exemption for goods from specified northeastern states expanded by amending input output entries, altering eligible final products and inputs.
Amendment revises the table in paragraph 2A of the Central Excise notification exempting goods cleared from units in specified northeastern States by substituting and inserting serial entries that map eligible final goods to their qualifying inputs. Substitutions create separate rows for cement and cement clinker linked to limestone and gypsum inputs; modify the entry for modified starch or glucose to specify maize/maize starch or tapioca starch inputs; and insert entries for fatty acids or glycerine tied to specified crude oils and for ferro alloys tied to chrome ore or manganese ore, thereby redefining exemption eligibility under the notification.

Exemption for goods produced in specific areas updated to reclassify tariff entries and insert additional exempted items.
Amends the original notification's paragraph 2 TABLE by substituting certain serial entries and inserting new ones to reclassify goods and their linked inputs for exemption, including revised entries for cement and its raw materials, cement clinker and limestone, modified starch or glucose and starch sources, and newly inserted entries for fatty acids or glycerine tied to specified crude oils, and for ferro alloys tied to specified ores.

Excise notification amendment revises area-based table entries and inserts entries for clinker, starch and fatty acids.
The notification amends paragraph 2 of Notification No.56/2003 by substituting S.No.12 to list Cement with Limestone and adding S.No.12A for Cement clinker with Limestone; substituting S.No.13 to list Modified starch or Glucose from maize, maize starch or tapioca starch; and inserting S.No.15A for Fatty acids or Glycerine from crude palm kernel, coconut, mustard or rapeseed oil and S.No.15B for Ferro alloys from chrome ore or manganese ore.

Excise duty exemption expanded to add and redefine specific manufactured goods and their linked raw-material inputs.
Substitutes and inserts table entries in paragraph 2 of the Jammu & Kashmir units exemption notification to redefine goods and their allowable inputs: it restructures cement and cement clinker entries linked to limestone/gypsum inputs, revises modified starch or glucose entries tied to maize or tapioca inputs, and inserts fatty acids or glycerine linked to crude vegetable oils and ferro alloys linked to chrome or manganese ore as newly exempted items.

Excise notification amendment updates exempted goods list, altering cement, starch, fatty acids and ferro alloys entries.
Revises the notification's schedule by substituting the cement entry to distinguish cement and cement clinker with their inputs, substituting the modified starch or glucose entry to specify eligible raw materials, and inserting new entries for fatty acids or glycerine and for ferro alloys together with their respective input materials, thereby updating the list of finished goods and inputs eligible under the exemption framework.

Excise exemption: notification revises eligible goods and inputs for relief in specified production areas under central excise law.
Amendment revises paragraph 2 of the principal notification by substituting specified table entries and inserting new serial entries to redefine goods and their allowed inputs that qualify for excise relief in the designated area. It replaces prior entries for cement and related inputs, updates the entry for modified starch or glucose with prescribed raw materials, and inserts new entries for fatty acids or glycerine and for ferro alloys together with their specified ores, effectuating the change under the cited excise and additional duties provisions.

Excise exemption amendments update eligible outputs and linked inputs for factories in the North East, altering entitlement scope.
The notification amends the excise-exemption table for factories in specified North East states by substituting S.No.12 (now listing cement and its inputs) and S.No.13 (modified starch or glucose with specified starch inputs), adding S.No.12A for cement clinker and limestone, and inserting S.No.15A (fatty acids or glycerine with specified oils) and S.No.15B (ferro alloys with chrome or manganese ore), thereby updating eligible outputs, their inputs and chapter classifications under Notification No. 33/99-Central Excise.

Exemption for goods produced in specified industrial areas extended by substituting tariff entries and inserting new goods categories.
Amendment substitutes and inserts entries in paragraph 2A of Notification No. 32/99-Central Excise to specify exempt manufactured goods and corresponding inputs: cement and cement clinker with limestone and gypsum; modified starch or glucose with maize, maize starch or tapioca starch; fatty acids or glycerine with crude palm kernel, coconut, mustard or rapeseed oil; and ferro alloys with chrome ore or manganese ore.

Amendment to Central Excise notification removes the phrase 'from account current' from clause (i), altering operative text.
The Central Government amends Notification No. 17/2006 Central Excise (N.T.) by omitting the words "from account current" in clause (i), exercising powers under the Central Excise Act and the Central Excise Rules, thereby altering the literal operative text of that clause.

CENVAT credit amendment removes the phrase "through account current", narrowing the notification's payment mode wording.
The Central Government amends Notification No. 39/2004 Central Excise (N.T.) by omitting the words "through account current" in clause (i) of that notification, effected under powers conferred by the Central Excise Act and the CENVAT Credit Rules and recorded in the Gazette.

Exemption filing requirement updated; revised declarations and declarant code now required before opting for excise procedure.
The amendment mandates that manufacturers claiming the exemption must file a revised declaration for the preceding financial year by the specified deadline; independent weavers opting for the procedure under rule 8A of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2002 must apply in Annexure IA and obtain a twelve digit declarant code from the Superintendent before issuance of any challan, and the option once exercised during a financial year is irrevocable. The Schedule is replaced to require detailed factory, proprietary interest, business status, PAN and VAT registration, electricity connection particulars, and a table of excisable goods with tariff classification and notification references.

Annual Installed Capacity Declaration requires filing prescribed Form E.R.-7 and timely amendment upon substantial capacity expansion.
Specification of Form E.R.-7 mandates manufacturers to furnish factory identification, indicate annual declaration or amendment, state installed capacity as on a date, provide details of each class of goods with unit of measure and annual production capacity, list main plant and machinery with technical specifications and year of installation, and disclose electricity connection particulars including supplier, meter numbers, sanctioned load and captive power plant capacity; the form requires a signed declaration and acknowledgment and instructions on measurement codes and amendment filing for substantial capacity expansion.

Annual Installed Capacity Statement requirement: assessees must declare factory production capacity annually to tax authorities.
Assessees must submit an Annual Installed Capacity Statement to the Superintendent of Central Excise declaring the factory's annual production capacity in the Board specified form by the 30th of April following the financial year; the Central Government may exempt specified assessees or classes from this requirement by notification and subject such exemptions to conditions or limitations.

Committee jurisdiction redefined for central excise, specifying Delhi zone, Chandigarh zone and Large Taxpayer Unit Delhi.
Substitutes the Table in the principal central excise notification to designate the committees and their areas of jurisdiction: Chief Commissioner of Central Excise, Delhi Zone; Chief Commissioner of Central Excise, Chandigarh Zone; and Commissioner (Central Excise and Service Tax), Large Taxpayer Unit, Delhi, thereby allocating institutional jurisdictional responsibility under the parent notification.

Central Excise committee composition amended to substitute the Table specifying designated Chief Commissioners and Large Taxpayer Unit commissioner.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs, exercising statutory authority under the Central Excise Act, substitutes the Table in Notification No. 5/2007-Central Excise (NT) to designate as committees the Chief Commissioner of Central Excise, Delhi Zone; the Chief Commissioner of Central Excise, Chandigarh Zone; and the Commissioner (Central Excise and Service Tax), Large Taxpayer Unit, Delhi, under Notification No. 36/2008-Central Excise (N.T.).

CENVAT credit entitlement extended to duty paid on capital goods at unit debonding under specified notification.
Amendment inserts a proviso in rule 3(1) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 allowing CENVAT credit of amount equal to central excise duty paid on capital goods at the time of debonding of the unit, in terms of the para of the cited notification; the amendment is titled CENVAT Credit (Amendment) Rules, 2008 and comes into force on publication in the Official Gazette.