Cenvat credit for inputs sent to job workers allowed with return time limits and recovery provisions.
The notification amends CENVAT Credit Rules to allow credit where inputs or capital goods are sent directly to or kept at a job worker's premises on the direction of the manufacturer or provider of output service, prescribes return periods for inputs and capital goods to retain credit, permits chain processing through multiple job workers subject to proof of return, and requires payment of an amount equivalent to the credit if goods are not returned, with re availment permitted upon return.

Service tax exemptions revised to clarify exempt services, add categories, update definitions and set commencement date.
Amendment revises the service tax exemption notification by substituting, omitting and inserting specified entries to clarify exempted services. It expressly exempts health care services by clinical establishments, authorised medical practitioners and para-medics, limits ambulance transport exemptions, adds exemptions for common effluent treatment, certain pre conditioning of fruits and vegetables, admissions to museums and protected wildlife areas, and exhibitions, and revises artist performance and food item exemptions. Definitions for national park, tiger reserve, wildlife sanctuary, zoo, recognised sporting event and trade union are incorporated. The amendments generally take effect on the first of April, 2015.

Exemption from additional customs duty caps excess levy on imported petrol, limiting duty to a prescribed per litre rate.
Exempts imported motor spirit (petrol) under Customs Tariff heading 2710 from that portion of the additional duty of customs leviable under section 103 of the Finance (No.2) Act, 1998 which exceeds the amount computed at the prescribed per litre rate, limiting additional duty incidence on such imports and basing the exemption on public interest authority.

Aggregator liability: web based platforms must ensure in territory tax representation and compliance including digital authentication of records.
Amendments define an aggregator and a brand name or trade name, impose liability on aggregators or their representatives for service tax in the taxable territory, require appointing an in territory person where no presence exists, expand recipient liability for services by mutual fund and lottery agents, make registration subject to Board specified conditions, authorize digitally signed invoices and electronically preserved records authenticated by digital signature, and substitute or omit specified fee and table entries with certain changes contingent on legislative assent.

Capacity determination for pan masala packing machines updated, linking machine speed to deemed production and duty liability.
Amendments link deemed monthly production and duty to the number of packing machines and each machine's maximum packing speed across three speed bands for specified retail sale price ranges; declarations, approvals and forms must include machine counts and maximum packing speeds; officers must re-determine annual capacity within three working days; duty for undeclared machines is assessed by undeclared count, highest retail sale price of pouches from those machines and the rate for the higher maximum packing speed.

Packing machine duty rates revised for tobacco products; new speed based and retail price linked duty schedules introduced.
Amendment prescribes revised packing machine duty rates by substituting Table 1 and Table 2 with schedules that set monthly duty per packing machine according to retail sale price bands, presence or absence of lime tube/pouches, and machine maximum packing speed; rates include fixed entries and formulas based on pouch retail price 'P' with illustrative calculations. It requires declaration of number of packing machines and their maximum packing speeds, and substitutes a duty composition table (Table 3) specifying duty ratios among central excise, additional excise, national calamity contingent duty and education cesses for unmanufactured tobacco and chewing/jarda/filter khaini categories.

Capacity-based duty determination revised for tobacco packing machines, linking duty to machine count and maximum packing speed.
Amendment Rules substitute rule 4 to designate number of packing machines and maximum packing speed as factors relevant to production, and amend rule 5 to prescribe deemed monthly output per packing machine by retail sale price bands and speed categories via substituted Table-1 and Table-2. Declarations must include maximum packing speed per machine; the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner must re-determine annual capacity for the period from 1 March 2015 within three working days; undeclared machines are assessed using total undeclared machines, highest retail sale price and highest applicable speed-based duty rate.

Exemption scope expanded to include land customs station, extending export-related service relief and effective from April first.
Amendment substitutes the words "port or airport" with "port, airport or land customs station" in the Table against Sl. No. 1 of Notification No. 31/2012-Service Tax, thereby extending the exemption for specified services received by exporters of goods to land customs stations; made under sub section (1) of section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994, effective from 1 April 2015.

MRP based excise duty: notification amends tariff entries, abatement rates and deletes certain table serials under excise law.
Amendment to the MRP-based excise duty schedule updates Notification No. 49/2008 by inserting new tariff entries and abatement rates for condensed milk, tea extracts and certain beverages, substituting specified table entries and descriptions, and deleting four serial numbers; enacted under section 4A(1) and (2) of the Central Excise Act to adjust abatement rates and tariff classifications for MRP-based excise assessment.

Rescission of notification withdraws a prior service tax notification while preserving actions taken before rescission.
The Central Government rescinds Notification No. 42/2012 - Service Tax, withdrawing its operative effect under powers conferred by the Finance Act, on grounds of public interest. The rescission is promulgated by Gazette notification and includes a savings provision preserving actions done or omitted to be done before the rescission.

Excise duty rate increase applies to medicinal and toilet preparations, amending the tariff table by notification.
Notification No. 1/2015-M&TP substitutes the entry "Twelve and half per cent. ad valorem" for "Twelve per cent. ad valorem" in column (4) of the Table in Notification No. 2/2003-M&TP, thereby increasing the ad valorem excise duty rate applicable to the medicinal and toilet preparations covered by that notification, effected under rule 8 of the Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Rules, 1956.

Fixation of tariff values updated for specified commodities, revising customs valuation benchmarks and substituting tariff value tables.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs amends Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) under section 14(2) by substituting new TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 that prescribe tariff values in US dollars per metric tonne or per unit for specified commodities, thereby establishing the tariff benchmarks to be applied for customs valuation of those listed goods.

Special hardship leave for female employees establishes eligibility, permitted purposes, duration limits, approving authority and key conditions.
Special hardship leave for female employees sets eligibility for confirmed employees with five completed years (with exceptions), permits leave for family or health care, limits total leave to two years with a minimum three-month spell per year, designates approving authorities by grade, makes approved leave irrevocable, provides that leave is without pay save house allowance while allowing retention of accommodation, counts leave for seniority but not for other leave accrual, and empowers the Board to cancel or recall leave and impose related conditions including compensation on resignation during leave.

Public shareholding requirement: companies must restore minimum public float after depository receipt or employee benefit schemes within a mandated compliance period.
Amendment redefines public shareholding to include equity underlying depository receipts listed internationally with voting-instruction rights and excludes shares held by employee benefit trusts; it mandates that listed companies whose public shareholding falls below the prescribed threshold due to the Depository Receipts Scheme, 2014 or the SEBI Share Based Employee Benefits Regulations, 2014 must restore public shareholding to at least that threshold in the manner specified by SEBI within a three-year compliance period from the relevant notification.

Public shareholding obligations require restoration after dilution from depository receipts or employee benefit schemes within prescribed timeframe.
The amendments redefine public shareholding to include equity shares underlying depository receipts where the receipt holder can issue voting instructions and such receipts are listed under the Depository Receipts Scheme, 2014, while excluding shares held by trusts for employee benefit schemes; they add a minimum public offer/allotment phrase and require companies whose public shareholding falls below the prescribed threshold due to the Depository Receipts Scheme or Share Based Employee Benefits Regulations to restore public shareholding to the prescribed threshold within three years as specified by the regulator.

Amendment to dividend declaration rules inserts a footnote on principal rules' publication and prescribes commencement under Companies Act.
Amendment to the Companies (Declaration and Payment of Dividend) Rules, 2014 inserts a footnote after the Joint Secretary's signature identifying the Gazette publication details of the principal rules and notes the prior amendment; the Amendment Rules, 2015 are named and made to come into force upon publication in the Official Gazette under the rule making power conferred by the Companies Act.

Electronic addendum procedure requires GNL 4 to furnish further information with digital verification and attachments for corporate filings.
The amendment inserts Rule 10(7) requiring that any further information or documents called for for an application or e form filed electronically with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs be furnished as an addendum in Form No. GNL 4. Form GNL 4 links the addendum to the original SRN, collects company identifiers and details of defects and rectifications, allows attachment of supporting documents including differential stamp duty particulars, and requires verification and digital signatures by prescribed officers and optional professional certification.

Customs area designation at the airport enables supervised import unloading and export loading under specified conditions.
An approximately 540-acre area comprising the airport is designated as a Customs Area for import unloading and export loading, with specified boundary coordinates and landmarks. The Airports Authority of India retains control and custody of goods while obligated to provide security, lighting, firefighting, office amenities, and handling facilities; sealing and stuffing are to be under Customs supervision. Processing, examination, storage and clearance must occur within approved precincts, and no alterations to the area or buildings may be made without the Commissioner's prior permission.

Removal of Minimum Export Price restores free export policy for fresh or chilled potatoes, eliminating prior export pricing restriction.
The notification removes the Minimum Export Price on fresh or chilled potatoes by substituting the tariff-item table in the prior notification to record potatoes as subject to a free export policy, eliminating the MEP and associated export restriction with immediate effect.

Port notification: Calicut airport and an Arakkonam ICD added to lists of notified export-import locations under Customs rules.
Amendments add Airport Calicut and Melapakkam Village (Arakkonam Taluk, Vellore District) to the lists of ports and inland container locations notified for export and import under various Customs miscellaneous exemption notifications by substituting the existing place listings in the specified conditions and Table 2 of those notifications.