CENVAT Credit amendment expands eligible intermediaries to include Authorized Couriers registered with customs authorities for credit treatment.
Amendment to rule 9(1)(d) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 inserts that, after "Foreign Post Office", the words "or, as the case may be, an Authorized Courier, registered with the Principal Commissioner of Customs or the Commissioner of Customs in-charge of the customs airport," shall be inserted, thereby conditioning treatment for CENVAT purposes on such registration.

Territorial scope expanded under central excise rules to include an additional union territory, altering rule applicability.
Amendment substitutes the territorial reference in Rule 8(1A) of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 to extend the rule's applicability from the State of Tamil Nadu to the State of Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry, except Yanam and Mahe, thereby modifying the territorial scope of that provision.

Basic Excise Duty increase on petrol and diesel via notification substituting higher per litre rates, effective from stated date.
The Central Government, under section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, amends Notification No.12/2012-Central Excise by substituting higher per litre Basic Excise Duty entries for specified items covering branded and unbranded petrol and diesel in the notification's table. The amendment is issued as Notification No.46/2015-Central Excise and takes effect from 17th December, 2015.

Duty payment extension for specified clearances permits administrative deferral and Board-ordered deadline extensions in special circumstances.
The amendment defers the due date for payment of the duty on clearances for November 2015 by assessees in Tamil Nadu to a later date in December and adds provisions empowering the Central Board of Excise and Customs to extend prescribed periods by order where circumstances of a special nature are specified, enabling administrative extensions of deadlines.

Jurisdictional allocations revised for central excise audit and appeal formations, reorganising benches and district coverage nationwide.
Amendment substitutes entries in Tables I(B), II(B), IV and Table III(A) of the principal Central Excise notification to reassign and rename Audit and Appeal formations and to specify district jurisdictions, including the territorial scope of the Large Taxpayer Unit; it also omits specified serial entries from Table III(B), effecting a reorganisation of jurisdictional coverage for Central Excise audit and appeal administration.

Duty exemption eligibility narrowed: no input exemptions where finished goods are non-excisable or subject to nil customs duty.
The amendment to Paragraph 6 of Notification No. 22/2003 substitutes the second proviso to provide that where articles (including rejects, waste, scrap and remnants) are non-excisable or, if imported, leviable to nil rate of customs duty and nil additional duty, no exemption for inputs used in processing, manufacture, production or packaging of such articles shall be available under the notification.

Excise duty exemption for shipbuilding inputs conditioned on actual use and bond undertakings; prior provision terminated
Grants excise duty exemption on raw materials and parts for manufacture of specified ships and vessels subject to actual user condition and bond undertakings, removes the requirement to manufacture in a customs bonded warehouse for availing the benefit, and provides a transitional bond and duty-recovery mechanism for steel procured under the earlier provision.

Central Excise Amendment updates exemption tariff entries for specified items, changing per litre rates and taking effect immediately.
Amendment to notification No.12/2012 substitutes entries in the Table for serial numbers 70 and 71: serial 70 item (i) and (ii) column (4) replaced with new per litre rates of Rs.7.06 and Rs.8.24 respectively; serial 71 item (i) and (ii) column (4) replaced with new per litre rates of Rs.4.66 and Rs.7.02 respectively. The amendment is issued under section 5A(1) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and comes into force on the 7th November, 2015.

Exemption from sealing allowed for unsealable goods subject to safeguards, verification requirements and limited case-by-case permissions renewable annually.
Amendment permits exemption from sealing of packages or containers for goods that cannot practicably be sealed, subject to permission by the competent customs/central excise authority and specified safeguards: verification methods including testing at removal and at export/SEZ receipt, no remission of duty for transit loss, case-by-case time-limited permissions withdrawable for misuse, and any additional safeguards the authority may impose.

Cenvat credit utilization broadened to allow education cesses on inputs, input services and capital goods for service tax payment.
Amendment allows utilization of CENVAT credit of Education Cess and Secondary and Higher Education Cess paid on inputs, input services and capital goods for payment of service tax where inputs or capital goods are received in the provider's premises or where input service documents are received on or after the specified commencement date, and permits use of the balance fifty percent of such cesses paid on capital goods received in the preceding financial year for service tax on any output service.

Exemption limitation for inputs used in biodiesel manufacture imposed, affecting specified feedstock and chemical inputs under tariff entries.
Adds a proviso excluding the notification's application to goods at new serial 113A after 31st March, 2016 and inserts serial 113A identifying tariff headings 2905 or 3823 11 12 for three goods-RBD Palm Stearin, Methanol and Sodium Methoxide-for use in manufacture of alkyl esters (bio-diesels), with a Nil duty entry and the stated tabular condition code.

CENVAT credit eligibility expanded to cover ethanol from molasses supplied for petrol blending to public oil marketing companies.
The Central Government inserts a new clause in rule 6(6) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 to include ethanol produced from molasses generated from cane crushed in the sugar season 2015-16 when supplied to specified public sector oil marketing companies for blending with petrol under the referenced central excise notification; the amendment is titled the CENVAT Credit (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2015 and comes into force upon publication in the Official Gazette.

EOU supply for export: duty free clearance requires bond, security, export verification and timely documentation.
The notification permits EOUs to clear specified goods to DTA units without payment of duty for incorporation into exported consignments subject to furnishing a bond with bank guarantee or cash security, ensuring bond-account integrity, and meeting export documentation and verification requirements. DTA exporters must record the EOU as supporting manufacturer on the shipping bill and exclude the value of specified goods when claiming export incentives. EOUs must submit customs attested export documents for verification and face recovery of duty with interest and penalty if goods are not received or exported or are lost in transit.

Delegation of Chief Commissioner powers allows Principal Commissioners with additional charge to exercise Chief Commissioner authority in the specified jurisdiction.
Principal Commissioners given additional charge of a Chief Commissioner are authorised to exercise the Chief Commissioner powers in the jurisdiction specified in Notification No. 27/2014-Central Excise, pursuant to clause (b) of the Central Excise Act and rule 3 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002, by the Board's investing notification and the Board's office order designating additional charge.

Exemption conditions for containerised shipping updated to require filing of import or export manifests for each voyage leg.
Amendment revises Condition No. 52 of the ANNEXURE: clause (iii) is replaced to specify that the exemption applies where ships or vessels carry containerised cargo-export import cargo, empty containers or domestic cargo-between such ports; clause (iv) is replaced to require filing of an import manifest (IGM) or an export manifest (EGM), as applicable, in each leg of the voyage.

Regional Bench jurisdiction established to hear appeals from assigned territories, with registry commencement and office location provided.
The President of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal orders constitution of a Regional Bench vested with appellate jurisdiction to hear appeals arising within its allocated territory and to receive matters transferred by order of the President; the Registry is directed to commence functioning from the specified date at the stated office premises to facilitate filings and administrative processes.

Central Excise exemption updates: effective date deferred and exempt list revised to include anti tuberculosis drugs and diagnostics.
Substitutes the earlier effective date with a later effective date and replaces the TABLE of exempted goods, listing two categories: Anti Tuberculosis Drugs-specific formulations, dosages, pediatric forms, injectables and related compounds-and Diagnostics and Equipments-laboratory devices, molecular testing platforms, reagents, cartridges and calibration services, thereby updating the schedule of items exempted under the principal Central Excise notification.

Appropriate duty includes nil and concessional duties, clarifying that exemptions and concessional service tax fall within tariff conditions.
The notification inserts Explanations in ANNEXURE Conditions 16 and 20 stating that appropriate duty or appropriate additional duty includes nil duty or concessional duty, whether or not read with any relevant exemption notification in force. In Conditions 25 and 52A the referenced statutory provision is substituted and Explanations are added to provide that appropriate duty, appropriate additional duty or appropriate service tax includes nil duty or nil service tax or concessional duty or concessional service tax, whether or not read with any relevant exemption notification in force.

Definition of appropriate duty broadened to include nil and concessional rates under amended excise notification.
The notification substitutes the reference to section 66 with section 66B in the opening proviso of the principal Central Excise notification and inserts an Explanation that appropriate duty, appropriate additional duty or appropriate service tax includes nil duty or nil service tax and concessional duty or concessional service tax, whether or not read with any relevant exemption notification for the time being in force.

Appropriate duty clarified to include nil or concessional duty, ensuring these terms apply despite separate exemption notifications.
The notification amends No.30/2004 Central Excise by inserting an Explanation that "appropriate duty" and "appropriate additional duty" include nil duty or concessional duty, whether or not read with any relevant exemption notification for the time being in force.