Excise rate amendment revises petroleum product exemption to a minimum percentage or specified per thousand amount and omits an entry.
Amendment to Notification No.6/2005-Central Excise substitutes the table entries for S.No.4 and S.No.5 to provide either a minimum percentage rate or a specified per thousand charge, whichever is higher, and omits S.No.6 and its entries.

Amendment to Central Excise exemptions removes entry for umbrella cloth panels under notification, altering the exemption table framework.
The Government, exercising the power under sub section (1) of section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, hereby amends Notification No. 3/2005 Central Excise by omitting S. No. 79 and the entries relating thereto from the Table, resulting in the removal of the scheduled entry for umbrella cloth panels from the exemption list.

Rescission of exemption for transport of goods in containers by rail takes effect from a revised notified commencement date.
Rescinds the prior service tax notification exempting transport of goods in containers by rail under section 93(1) of the Finance Act, 1994, preserving things done or omitted before rescission and specifying a substituted commencement date, with subsequent notifications altering that effective date.

CENVAT credit refund: amended Form A and mandatory exporter table with certification and chartered accountant verification.
Amendment to the refund procedure for CENVAT credit under rule 5 revises Form 'A' by substituting wording, omitting two portions, and inserting enclosure (DD) requiring exporters to submit a detailed Table of exported goods/services with document references, supplier and classification details, tax payment evidence, totals of export and domestic clearances, and the amount of CENVAT claimed. Certification: authorised company officer/proprietor/partner for claims below Rs.5 lakh quarterly; additionally the auditor Chartered Accountant for claims exceeding that threshold.

Export of Services classification: reassigns certain professional and event services to residuary category and clarifies territorial scope.
The amendment to Export of Services Rules, 2005 modifies rule 3 by reassigning certain services into the residuary classification through changes to sub rule (1) and omitting specified sub clauses, and by revising sub rule (2) to remove one clause and replace the Explanation to state that "India" includes installations, structures and vessels on the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone for purposes related to prospecting, extraction, production and supply of mineral oil and natural gas.

Excise duty increase prompts amendment of multiple central excise notifications, revising tariff rates and motor car duty descriptions.
Amendments modify specified central excise notifications by substituting existing percentage entries with higher percentage rates and revising motor car-related duties, including replacements of composite percentage-plus-fixed chassis or per-unit additions and omission of a specified serial entry; the changes are effected by direct substitutions in the Tables of three principal notifications under the Government's powers under section 5A(1) of the Central Excise Act.

CENVAT credit reversal on removed capital goods with a prescribed quarterly depreciation schedule and enhanced penalty framework.
Amendments prescribe a straight-line quarterly reversal schedule for repayment of CENVAT credit upon removal of capital goods (distinct rates for computers/peripherals and other capital goods), allow full capital-goods credit in the financial year for assessees eligible for turnover-based exemption, permit credit for jigs/fixtures/moulds/dies sent to other manufacturers or job workers, clarify exemption coverage for certain imported goods linked to competitive bidding and power projects, and substitute consolidated confiscation and penalty provisions including additional penalties for fraudulent or wilful evasion, subject to natural justice.

Duty payment deadlines for excise exemption units updated; electronic payments receive extended deadline and quarterly returns mandated.
Amendments require assessees eligible for value-based exemption to pay quarterly duty by specified early-month deadlines-extended if paid electronically-and to file quarterly returns of production and removal within ten days after each quarter; eligibility is based on aggregate clearances in the preceding financial year computed as per the notification and these payment and filing concessions apply for the whole financial year.

Service tax rescission withdraws government exemption for group personal accident insurance services provided to employees.
The Central Government has rescinded the earlier service tax notification that exempted services provided by the Government of Rajasthan under the Group Personal Accident Scheme to its employees in relation to general insurance business, withdrawing that exemption prospectively. The rescission is subject to a savings provision preserving actions taken or omissions occurring before the rescission and is effected under the government's fiscal authority on grounds of public interest.

Effective Excise Rate Increase raises duty on goods cleared from EOUs EHTP STP to DTA, altering tariff entries.
Substitution of specified tariff Table entries increases the effective excise duty on goods cleared from EOUs, EHTP and STP units to the Domestic Tariff Area from the prior percentage to the new percentage, and raises designated monetary thresholds in other specified entries by replacing the previous rupee amounts with higher rupee amounts.

Exemption for branded packing materials extended to plastic containers and bottles, limited to branded use.
Extends the central excise SSI exemption for packing materials by adding plastic containers and plastic bottles to the list of exempted items, and provides that the exemption for those plastic containers and bottles applies only where they are meant for use as packing materials and bear the brand name of the person whose brand they carry.

Exemption for essential food items expanded to include food grains and pulses under the road goods transport service.
Substitutes the words "eggs or milk" in the opening paragraph of Notification No.33/2004-Service Tax with "eggs, milk, food grains or pulses", thereby extending the exemption within the Transport of Goods by Road (GTA) service to include food grains and pulses. The amendment is effected under the Finance Act, 1994 and comes into force upon publication in the Gazette of India.

Vocational training institute definition clarified to cover ITIs and ITCs affiliated to NCVT offering designated apprenticeship trades.
The Explanation in Notification No.24/2004-Service Tax is amended to define "vocational training institute" as an Industrial Training Institute or an Industrial Training Centre affiliated to the National Council for Vocational Training, offering courses in designated trades as notified under the Apprentices Act, 1961; the amendment is effected under section 93(1) of the Finance Act, 1994 and is effective from the date of publication in the Gazette of India.

Exemption for circulation coins and related items limited to manufacture by specified government mints under central excise rules.
Amendment substitutes S.No.7 to specify that exemption from central excise applies to circulation coins, blanks, weights and measures standards, and scrap generated in production of blanks, when manufactured by the India Government Mints listed, thereby restricting exemption eligibility to those specified mint manufacturers.

Service tax exemption for packaged software: exempt where excise duties are paid and license is bundled with the product.
Service Tax exemption applies to packaged or canned software intended for single use when (i) any right-to-use document is packed with the software, (ii) the manufacturer, duplicator or copyright holder has paid appropriate excise duties on the entire amount received from the buyer, and (iii) that person does not avail a concurrent central excise benefit.

Duty Credit Scrips may be used to pay customs duties where export obligation defaults under authorizations chapters four and five.
Duty Credit Scrips may be used or debited towards payment of Customs Duties in case of export obligation defaults under authorizations issued under Chapters 4 and 5 of the Policy, replacing the first sentence of Para 3.17.11 of FTP 2009-14.

Exchange rate determination set for specified foreign currencies, fixing conversion rates for import and export valuation.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs, exercising powers under section 14 of the Customs Act, prescribes the rate of exchange for specified foreign currencies to be used in converting between foreign currency and Indian rupees for imported and export goods, superseding the prior notification; operative schedules set separate import and export rates, effective from 1st March, 2010, for customs valuation purposes.

Section 35(1)(iii) approval permits tax recognition for research institutions subject to research-use and audited reporting conditions.
Notification approves Mahila Mandal Barmer Agor as an other Institution partly engaged in research for tax recognition from assessment year 2009-2010, subject to conditions: sums must be used for social science research; research conducted via faculty or enrolled students; separate books of account for research receipts and application; audit by a qualified accountant with the audit report filed by the income tax return due date; and a separate auditor certified statement of donations and amounts applied for research.

Research approval under section 35: conditions require research use, audited separate accounts, and certified donation statements.
Approval under section 35(1)(ii) has been granted to Asian Health Care Foundation, Hyderabad, from assessment year 2008-09 as an institution partly engaged in research, subject to conditions: use of sums for scientific research; research carried out by faculty or enrolled students; maintenance of separate books of account for research receipts and expenditures; audit of those books by a defined accountant and furnishing the audit report to tax authorities by the return due date; and maintenance of an auditor-certified statement of donations and amounts applied to research to accompany the audit report. The Central Government may withdraw approval for specified failures to comply.

Special Economic Zone notification: sector-specific Multi-Services SEZ designated and ICD/Port status conferred, governance committee constituted.
Central Government notification designates identified survey plots in Pargana Ralhupur, District Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh as a sector specific Special Economic Zone for Multi Services with a Free Trade Warehousing Zone. It records prior grant of approval to the developer (including a name change), constitutes an Approval Committee with specified ex officio members and a developer invitee to oversee approvals and administration, and appoints the notification date as the date from which the SEZ is deemed to be an Inland Container Depot/Port under the Customs Act, 1962.