Metro Rail or Monorail projects now eligible for project imports exemption when sponsored by state governments.
Substitutes serial number 3F in the Project Imports Regulations, 1986 to designate Metro Rail or Monorail projects for urban public transport as eligible under the project imports regime when sponsored by the Concerned State Government, effective 11 July 2014.

Customs duty refund entitlement follows registration: importers paying duties may claim refunds after obtaining research institution registration.
Importers not registered with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research must pay applicable customs and additional duties at clearance; after obtaining DSIR registration and complying with the notification's specified conditions, they may claim a refund of duties paid that are exempt under the notification. Refunds are to be filed with the Assistant or Deputy Commissioner of Customs at the port of import within one year of payment, with a possible single extension by the Commissioner of Customs not exceeding one additional year.

Customs exemption for specified ARV drugs and HIV diagnostics allowed when certified as required for national AIDS programme.
The notification exempts a specified list of anti retroviral drugs and designated HIV diagnostics and equipment, imported for the National AIDS Control Programme funded by GFATM, from the entirety of basic customs duty and additional duty under the Customs Tariff Act, provided the importer produces, prior to clearance, a certificate from an officer not below Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare confirming the goods are required for the GFATM funded programme.

Customs exemption amendment allows transfer to approved projects, re-export without incentives, or duty on depreciated value.
The amendment permits importers of goods brought in prior to 1 March 2008 under the international-organization project exemption to either transfer goods to a new approved project upon producing a government officer's certificate and an international organization declaration, re-export the goods with identity established and no export incentive claimed, or pay customs duty on the depreciated value of the goods upon production of a government officer's certificate, with depreciation computed by a straight-line quarterly schedule subject to a maximum cap.

Duty apportionment ratios for pan masala specify allocation among central excise and various cesses after amendment.
Amendment substitutes item (iv) in FORM 2 of the Pan Masala Packing Machines Rules, 2008 to prescribe a break up of duty payment for apportionment among five components-Central Excise duty, additional excise duty, National Calamity Contingent Duty, Education Cess, and Secondary and Higher Education Cess-with specified duty ratios applied separately for pan masala and for pan masala containing tobacco; the amendment takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette.

CENVAT credit timing: limits on taking credit after specified period; payment-linked credit allowance and reversal clarified.
A new definition of place of removal is inserted to include factories, warehouses permitted for duty suspended storage, and depots or consignment agent premises from which goods are sold. Manufacturers and output service providers cannot take CENVAT credit after six months from issue of documents specified in rule 9. Credit for input services is allowed only after payment of applicable service tax; failure to pay within three months (except wholly recipient paid services) requires repayment equal to the credit availed, with entitlement to re credit upon payment. Delayed inward remittance receipts within one year of the RBI period permit re claim of equivalent credit on documentary proof.

Customs exemptions expanded for renewable energy and ICT imports, adding duty-free PC components, smart card PVC, and wind parts.
Amendments to Notification No. 21/2012-Customs add "solar energy production" to existing solar power generation language and insert new duty-free entries for: inputs/components for personal computers including tablets under heading 8471; PVC sheet and ribbon for manufacture of smart cards under sub-heading 8523 52; and parts and raw materials for manufacture of wind-operated electricity generators, each exemption being subject to specified conditions annexed to Notification No. 12/2012-Customs.

Customs exemption for strategic imports requires senior officer certification and specified duty exemption documentation before clearance.
The amendment inserts conditional customs exemptions permitting duty free importation when (a) a designated government technical agency's senior officer certifies goods are required for strategic systems, or (b) an Indian Offset Partner furnishes, before clearance, a duty exemption certificate from such a senior officer detailing the agency's purchase order, the contractor's order on the offset partner with product descriptions and quantities, and certifying intended use in radars; both exemptions are subject to an express sunset provision.

Transaction value rule deems sale price as transaction value when price is below manufacturing cost and no extra consideration flows.
The amendment provides that where goods are sold at a price less than manufacturing cost and profit and no additional consideration flows from the buyer to the assessee, the value of such goods shall be deemed to be the transaction value; this proviso is inserted in the valuation rule to treat certain below cost sales as transaction value for central excise.

Rescission of Clean Energy Cess notification withdraws prior cess rate prospectively while preserving past acts under a saving clause.
The Central Government, exercising its statutory power under fiscal and excise enactments and citing public interest, rescinds Notification No.3/2010 concerning the effective rate of Clean Energy Cess on goods, but expressly preserves the effect of actions done or omissions made before the rescission by a saving clause limiting the rescission to prospective operation.

Exemption of First Schedule goods expanded: capital goods and specified inputs exempt when captively consumed within factory.
The notification amends Notification No.67/95-Central Excise by substituting, in the TABLE at column (2), an entry referring to all goods falling under the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, thereby extending exemption coverage to those goods, including capital goods and specified inputs when captively consumed within the factory of production.

Exemption from education cess limited by proviso excluding specified electronic, telecommunications and recording media goods from relief.
Amendment inserts a proviso to exclude specified goods from the exemption from the Secondary and Higher Education Cess under Notification No. 14/2012-Customs, referencing the Table in Notification No. 69/2004-Customs; exclusions include specified tariff headings for telecommunications equipment, certain recorded and unrecorded media, electronic components and integrated circuits, and specified serial-numbered entries from the referenced Table.

Electronic duty payment mandated via internet banking; officers may allow alternatives with reasons, penalty accrues for late payment.
Rule 8 is amended to require assessees to pay duty electronically through internet banking unless the Assistant Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner permits another mode for reasons recorded in writing; the penalty clause is substituted to impose a continuing monthly penalty on duty not paid after one month from the due date, calculated from the due date for each month or part thereof, with "month" defined by consecutive due dates for payment.

Exemption carve out: Education cess exemption amended to exclude specified imported electronics, telecommunication and media goods.
An amendment to Notification No. 13/2012-Customs inserts a proviso excluding specified goods listed in the Table to Notification No. 69/2004-Customs from the exemption from the whole of the Education Cess. The excluded items are identified by headings, sub headings, tariff items and serial numbers and include certain chemical and machinery tariff items, line telephone sets and videophones, specified telecommunication equipment, prepared unrecorded and recorded media (with stated exclusions), electronic integrated circuits, parts and micro assemblies, measuring and optical instruments, and other serially enumerated Table items.

Resident private limited company specified for advance ruling eligibility, clarifying company and resident definitions under central excise law.
Specifies resident private limited company as a class of person for purposes of sub-clause (iii) of clause (c) of section 23A related to Advance Ruling under the Central Excise framework. Defines "private limited company" by reference to the Companies Act private company definition and "resident" by reference to the Income-tax Act resident definition read with its residency provision.

Excise exemption for education cess extended to goods cleared to the domestic tariff area, including secondary and higher education cess.
The notification amends Notification No.23/2003 by inserting entries that exempt, for all chapters and goods covered, the duty of excise equivalent to the education cess and the duty equivalent to the Secondary and Higher Education cess as leviable under the respective Finance Acts, read with the proviso to sub-section (1) of section (3) of the Central Excise Act.

Capacity based rate of duty for chewing and unmanufactured tobacco updated, with new per machine rates and duty component ratios.
The notification substitutes Table 1 to fix monthly duty rates per packing machine for chewing tobacco and unmanufactured tobacco according to retail sale price bands and product configuration, including formulae for rates above specified price thresholds and worked illustrations; and substitutes Table 2 to prescribe duty ratios allocating the aggregate duty among Central Excise, additional excise duty, National Calamity Contingent Duty, Education Cess, and Secondary and Higher Education Cess for unmanufactured and chewing tobacco.

MRP based excise duty: amendment substitutes tariff classifications for affected goods, altering abatement applicability and administration.
The Government, invoking its statutory authority under the Central Excise Act, amends Notification No.49/2008 Central Excise (N.T.) by substituting in the TABLE at serial number 140, column (2) the entries "8421 21 20, 8421 99 00", thereby updating the tariff classifications that determine the scope of MRP based excise duty and associated abatement treatment.

Concessional rate of duty amended: notification omits a specific table entry removing a concessional import duty provision.
Amendment deletes serial number 169 and its entries from the TABLE in Notification No. 10/2008-Customs, removing the specified concessional rate of duty for certain imports from Singapore. The Central Government exercises its power under section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 to effect the change via Notification No. 17/2014-Customs as published in the Gazette.

Rate of duty per packing machine adjusted by retail pouch price, with distinct rates for pan masala and pan masala containing tobacco.
The amendment replaces existing tables to fix the rate of duty per packing machine per month for pan masala and pan masala containing tobacco according to retail pouch price bands, and provides a linear formula for prices above the highest band. It also substitutes a duty composition table allocating the overall duty into ratios for central excise, additional excise, National Calamity Contingent Duty, Education Cess, and Secondary and Higher Education Cess for each product category.