Branded precious metal wares exemption: branded jewellery and goldsmith wares exempt, excluding certain high purity coins.
The Government amends Notification No. 02/2011 Central Excise by substituting serial number 48 with an entry for articles of jewellery under heading 7113, and substituting serial number 49 with an entry for articles of goldsmiths' or silversmiths' wares of precious metal or metal clad with precious metal under heading 7114. The amended 7114 entry limits the exemption to wares bearing a brand name, excludes certain high purity gold and silver coins, and explains that 'brand name' includes trade names and marks but excludes a jeweller's or job worker's 'house mark'.

Capacity determination revised for pan masala packing machines, updating monthly output norms and providing a pro rata annual capacity rule.
Revises rule 5 to substitute the table prescribing monthly pouch output norms per operating packing machine by retail sale price bands as the capacity benchmarks for duty determination, and inserts in rule 6(3) a proviso requiring that annual capacity for 17-31 March 2012 be calculated on a pro rata basis by reference to total days in March and the days from 17 March inclusive.

Rescission of customs exemption notifications withdraws specified tariff exemptions while preserving prior actions completed under them.
Central Government, exercising its power to rescind, withdraws specified customs miscellaneous exemption notifications affecting tariff treatment; the rescission is prospective and preserves things done or omitted to be done before rescission, thereby terminating future availability of those exemption notifications while maintaining legal certainty for past transactions.

Concessional import rules: extended reporting periods and re-export permission with valuation safeguard, and revised recordkeeping and quarterly return requirements.
Rules are amended to extend reporting references from "for a quarter" to "for a period not exceeding one year", to require bill of entry wise accounts showing quantities and values imported, consumed, re exported and in stock, and to mandate submission of a prescribed quarterly return by the tenth day following the quarter. A new rule permits re export of unutilised or defective imports within six months with jurisdictional permission, provided the re export value is not less than the import value; the Annexure is replaced with a detailed quarterly return format.

Baggage allowance increase raises exempt limits for specified items under amended Baggage Rules, altering customs baggage entitlements.
The Central Government, under section 79 of the Customs Act, 1962, amends the Baggage Rules, 1998 by substituting higher monetary limits in Appendix A for items (a) and (b); the Baggage (Amendment) Rules, 2012 take effect upon publication in the Official Gazette.

Exemption from additional customs duty: imported goods charged only up to prescribed standard rates, subject to specified conditions.
Exempts imported goods from that portion of additional customs duty under section 3(5) of the Customs Tariff Act exceeding specified standard rates set in the Table: where goods correspond to the First Schedule entries and Table descriptions, additional duty is limited to the standard rate in column (4). Many entries are Nil, others carry concessional ad valorem rates; several exemptions are subject to procedural requirements, cross-referenced conditions in other notifications, VAT/state declaration for certain items, temporal carve outs, and compliance with concessional import rules where prescribed.

Customs exemption for dredgers: full basic duty relief and limited additional duty during licensed stay in India.
Dredgers under heading 8905 10 00 granted a licence for stay in India are exempt from basic customs duty and from additional customs duty except for a pro rata monthly portion of the applicable additional duty for the duration of the licensed stay; applicable duty means the additional duty leviable under the Customs Tariff Act read with prevailing notifications.

Prohibition of import extended to filter rods used in manufacture of cigarettes or bidis, amending prior customs notification.
The amendment substitutes the Table entries in the cited customs notification to prohibit import of "Filter rod of a kind used in the manufacture of cigarettes or bidis" and to replace the corresponding column entry with "Filter cigarettes or bidis", effected under executive customs powers in the public interest as a further amendment to the principal notification.

Customs exemption for leased dredgers: import duty and excess additional duty waived where goods are leased for use.
Dredgers falling under heading 8905 10 00 are exempt on import from the whole of the basic customs duty and from that portion of additional duty exceeding the duty calculated on the total lease value, provided the goods are taken on lease by the importer for use after import.

Central Excise rate increase amends tariff notification, removes specified tariff entries and reclassifies spectacle lenses.
Amendment substitutes a higher ad valorem duty rate in the opening paragraph of Notification No. 2/2011 and revises the notification's Table by omitting specified serial entries and replacing the description for one remaining entry with "Spectacle lenses," thereby reclassifying that item within the tariff schedule.

Project imports amendment adds mechanized handling and greenhouse projects, expanding eligible plant categories under customs regulations.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs amends the Project Imports Regulations to substitute the entry for handling and storage projects with a description specifying mechanized handling systems and pallet racking systems in mandis and warehouses for food grains, sugar and horticulture produce, and to insert a new entry for greenhouse set up for protected cultivation of horticulture and floriculture produce, with the Ministry of Agriculture as sponsoring authority.

Peak excise duty cap limits excess central excise liability for listed tariff items to specified reduced rates.
Exempts goods specified by chapter, heading, sub heading or tariff item in the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 from excise duty insofar as such duty exceeds the amount calculated at the rates set out in the Table, which prescribes peak ad valorem rates (predominantly 12%, with specified entries at lower or higher peak rates and limited entries combining an ad valorem rate with a specific per litre component); effective from publication in the Official Gazette.

Cenvat credit amendments revise eligibility, refund calculation and transfer mechanisms for manufacturers and service providers.
Amendments refine eligible capital goods and inputs, permit providers of output services to take credit upon delivery with documentary proof, prescribe recovery where capital goods on which credit was taken are removed by applying specified straight-line quarterly percentage reductions (with a floor equal to duty on transaction value), restate a formula-based refund for export without payment of duty linking export turnover to net CENVAT credit, and enable intra-entity transfer of unutilised additional-duty CENVAT credit between registered premises via transfer challan with separate monthly returns.

Customs exemption for agricultural infrastructure: mechanized handling and protected cultivation projects added under tariff heading coverage.
Amendment expands projects assessable under Customs Tariff heading 9801 by substituting serial 40 to include installation of mechanized handling systems and pallet racking systems in mandis and warehouses for food grains, sugar and horticulture produce, and by inserting a new serial entry for greenhouse setups for protected cultivation of horticulture and floriculture produce, as further amendments to Notification No. 42/96-Customs made under the relevant sub-item of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975.

Tariff value adjustment for non knitted apparel reduces applicable rate and updates statutory reference to Legal Metrology Act.
Amends Notification No. 20/2001-Central Excise (N.T.) concerning tariff valuation of articles of apparel, not knitted or crocheted, by substituting the previously specified tariff percentage with a lower percentage and by replacing the reference to the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 with the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, thereby updating both the applicable tariff basis and the statutory reference in the principal notification.

Rescission of Central Excise exemptions withdraws specified exemption notifications, effective except for actions taken before rescission.
Rescinds three prior Central Excise exemption notifications by exercise of powers under section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, the Government withdraws Notification Nos. 2/2008, 59/2008 and 18/2009 (including recorded amendments), subject to a saving for things done or omitted before the rescission, thereby withdrawing the specified exemption instruments prospectively.

Customs exemption amendment removes specified entries from concessional import duty list, altering import duty treatment for inputs.
The Central Government, under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, amends Notification No. 25/99-Customs by omitting serial numbers 79, 91, 97, 147, 160 and 161 and their entries from List A of the TABLE, thereby removing those goods from the nil or reduced duty concession for imports intended for use in the manufacture of finished goods.

Excise duty rate change alters the applicable duty and revises exemption entries for spectacle lenses and mobile handset accessories.
Amendment increases the ad valorem duty rate in the opening paragraph of the referenced Central Excise exemption notification and modifies the Table by omitting specified serial entries, substituting the entry description for spectacle lenses, and inserting a new entry covering parts, components and accessories of mobile handsets including battery chargers, PC connectivity cables, memory cards and hands free headphones with an explanation that mobile handsets include cellular phones.

Export duty exemption amendment revises cross reference from section 11AB to section 11AA, altering applicable procedural reference.
Substitutes the reference in Annexure II, clause (d) of notification No. 42/2001 CE(NT): replaces the reference to section 11AB with a reference to section 11AA, thereby changing the statutory provision invoked for the export without payment of duty procedure.

Customs exemption definition: digital still image video cameras limited to non video cameras; concessional imports permitted under procedural manufacturing rules.
Notification No. 15/2012-Customs amends Notification No. 25/2005-Customs to (i) redefine "digital still image video cameras" as digital cameras not capable of recording video at a minimum resolution of 800 x 600 pixels and 23 frames per second for at least 30 minutes in a single sequence using maximum storage capacity, and (ii) declare that all goods except poly-laminated aluminium and steel tapes for manufacture of items listed at serial numbers 1-32 are exempted provided importers follow the Customs concessional import procedure for manufacture of excisable goods.