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oPlease find enclosed the letter F.No. DGTS/14/2016 dtd 15.02.~-received from the Member(ST I GSTITS), Directorate General of TaxpayerServices, wherein it has been stated that the department has been pro-actively -taking measures to make administration taxpayers friendly, however, there isinadequate appreciation of the same by the members of the Trade andIndustry.

reg,

In this regard, it has been instri. cted that the subordinate offices shouldeffectively propogate the measures taken by the department for providing thetaxpayer friendly administration to the Trade and Industry through themeetings of various fora including RACs, PTFCs, Open House and Public'Grievance Committee.

The same is forwarded for information and necessary action at your end.

CCO022-26880902

Encl: /\s above.

"..- .-==

New Delhi, dated 15.02.2016OFFIC::: ::\'~ORAr\lDU.M

Subject: Note on measures t2f:E- ::r improving ease of doing business "reg.

DGTShas compiled the measures ta"e-: the Ministrv for enabling Make in India Initiative andimproving ease of doing business in Centra = else, Service Tax and Customs for publication of 2

brochure for distribution during the" Make ir -_a Week" being celebrated in lvlurnbai from 13 - 18thFebr cl!::!}'; 2015.

2. The Board has observed that there is = gap between the measures taken by the Ministry inimproving ease of doing business and tax ~ ~r -facilitatlon and appreciation of the same bv the

embers of Trade and industry. in other vr s while the department has been "Ei.Q-a~.tiv~.lY~=ieasures to make administration taxpayers fr-=-:!!y; there is inadequate appreciation of the same by::-e members of the Trade and Industl'vJ

_. in this regard, the zonal offices (along' -:: Comrnissionerates and Division Offices) have a verysianificant role to play in the matter. You c :'lgwith your subordinate offices should effectively;:ropogate the measures taken by the departme- for providingthe-taxpayer friendly administration tome Trade and industry through the meetings - !arious fo.@.lncMl~g RACs~TFCs, Ot!,en I-louse an~'-'ublic Grievance Committee.

In this regard,a compilation of .mec::_res taken during the. recent past in the field ofsimplification of tax. administration in lndirect -- es is enclosed for necessary action. Further updates'!ill be provided from time to time: Please E sure that the same is communicated using variousinstruments available t6lhe Trade and IndustryE:~ectively.·

Entl : As above.

'i,'Member (ST/GST/TS)

. !" .~.

The Chief Corrirnissionerof Central Excise, C. '. ". I .

The Chief Commissioner of.Central Excise {The ChiefCom~issionerbftustoms (All),'The Chief Commissioner Cif Service Tax (All).1-- -, " -":.. ~- .' -. .:-,.' :~., I

;,.-

}, The underlving theme of the Budget 2-:::--:5 and 2015-16 indirect Tax propose is was job

creation through revival of growth and investrr a-r and promotion of domestic manutacturing and

(i\.~c:ke in lndia': fv'tinirnurn government and 11= -ium governance to improve the t?cse of doir.g

Bharat initiatives; and standalone proposals to maximise benefits to the ecor«. -- .

2. in order to achieve the objective of job cr=-=:!on through revival of growth and Investment andpromotion of domestic manufacturing and 'lvieke ir ....dia', the following measures were taken:

Customs duty on certain inputs v/cs educe d to address the problem of duty inversion.

Customs duty was also reducea in c::r:ain cases so as to reduce the cost of raw materials

required for further manufacture c:;.~ thereby induce domestic value addition.

The Special Additional Dutv of 4%, \' 'eh is levied on imported goods to counter-balance

"the local taxes 1evied by States (O:-=f than Excis€ DutyL was reduced / exempted oncertain imported raw materials / in::_:s so as to address the problem of input tax credit

accumulation. For example, all goocs except populated PCBs, failing under any Chapter

of the CustOtTISTariff, for use in rna-ufacture of ITA bound goods was fullv exempted

from 4% 5/1.0.

'- • Basic Customs Duty was increased on metallurgical coke from 2.5% to 5% and on

commercial vehicles from 10% to 20~-.

e Excise Duty was exempted 'on inpu s required for manufacture of pacemakers, cast

components of wind operated e ectricitv generators and Solar PV ribbon for

manufacture of Solar PV cells. Also E else Duty was reduced on certain inputs required

for manufacture of integrated circuit (lC) rnodules for smart cards and LED drivers and

fvlCPCBfor LED lights, fixtures and LEDlamps.

Basic,Customs Duty on specified steel goods was increased to 10% / 12.5%.

~ Anti-dumping duty and safeguard duty was imposed on specified goods.

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Basic Customs Duty and Excise Duty as exempted on specified bunker fuels for use in

Indian Flag vessels for carrYing·export-imp~rt (EXIM) conta·(~~~s,e~pty cor~tainer·s and. ," I - L

domestic containerized cargo. : /',.~i._.1··

Excise Duty Was exempted ·on RBD Palm Stearin, Methanol ahd SO,diun1 Methoxide for

use in the manufacture of specified biodiese] fora periqd uptq31.0}.2016., -;.,"\.', -.. ~- l' . 'r'

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... _._,.._" 6 Basic-Customs Duty was increased on sugar from 15% to 25% which wastatertncreased="

to 40%.

Excise Duty was exempted er =:hanol produced from molasses generated from cane

crushed in the sugar season L- _5-16 i.e. Lst October/ 20:!..5onwards, for supplv to the

public sector oil marketing cc or")aniesJ narnelv, lr.dian Oil Corporation l.td., Hindustan

Petroleum Corporation Ltd. er 3'1arat Petro!e~jrn Corporation i.td.. for the purposes of1-.' I' • I I,..,' I"" "-..-. ,. .~ rJ;{· '.'- 11 " 't -. ;..[-.,,-"'-\1"' rc 0.[ ·C'!'ci-.l...denO!ng witn petrol. "":dSv, ~ '[o.X CleUll \'vdS c.lOVvea 0 mQnuiOl...ll,,;e!.;.) 1 .),,' 11

exempted ethanol,

Basic Customs Duty W2~~increz:::::d on crude edible oils (of vegetable orig:n) from 75?,t to

12.5% and refined edible oils \~.:; -egetable origin) from 15% to 2.0%.

Basic Customs Duty was increased on ghee, butter and butter oil from 30% to 40% for a

period upto and inclusive of the 31st day of March, 2016.

Basic Customs Duty of 10% '.\'2._ .rnposed on w-heat which was later increased to 25% for

a period up to 31.03.2016.

4. The objective of improving the quality of life and public health through Swachh Bharat

initiatives was achieved by the fol'owin]; measures:

" Ciean Energy Cess levied on coal, lignite and peat was increased from RS.I00 per tonne,

to'Rs.200 per tonne.

~ Concessional Customs and Excise Duty rates on specified parts of Electricallv Operated

Vehicles and Hybrid Vehicles, a ailable upto 31.03.2015, was extended upto 31.03.2016.

Excise D~ty on sacks ancJ,bagsof polymers of ethylene other than for industrial use was

increased from 12% to 15%.

An enabling provision was made to empower the Central Government to impose a

Swachh Bharat Cess on ~dlor certain taxable services at a rate of 2% of the value of such

taxable services. A cess of 0.5% was levied w.e.f. 15.11.2015. The proceeds from this

Cess would be utilized for Swachh Bhardt initiatives ..

5.

. ,;Service provided by a Common Effluent Treatment Plant operator for treatment or

. ," ". ., .,_.-:. 't:- -".

effluentwas exempted. . ; ".. . -,'. - :'. ;.,.

In order to allocate additional resources to infrastructur'e, the effective rates"of Additiohall'Duty'

of Customs / Excise.levied o~ Petrol and High Speed Diesel'Oil [commonly known as Road Cess). have been increased from RS.2 per litre to Rs.6 per litre. .. . ;~ " " .-- . .

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.IV.

improve the ease of doing business, the folic ••ing measures have been taken:

1. (a) CUSTDrviS

I. 24x7 Customs Clearance: Facilitv of er-line filing of documents for Customs clearance is available

through EDi System in 130 Indian Customs sites which includes 25 Seaports, 83 ICDs, 18 Airports

and 4 Land Customs Stations. Of these 130 sites, 24x7 Customs clearance for specified imports,

namely, goods covered under 'facilitated' Bills of Entry is made available at :19 Seaports and for

specified exports of factory stuffed containers and goods exported under free Shipping Bills is

made available at 17 Airports. This -;11 help in faster clearance of such imported and export

goods, reduce dwell time and iOVVEr L e transaction cost.

11. Single Window Project-On!ine messaae exchange: Single Window provides a common platform

to EXlrv1 trade to meet requirements of all regulatory agencies (such as Animal Quarantine, Plant

Quarantine, Drug Controller, Textile C .mmlttee etc) through message exchange. It is basically a

network of cooperating facilities bound by trust and set of agreed interface specifications in

which trade has seamless access to regulatory services delivered through electronic means.Benefits of Single window Scheme include ease of doing business, 'reduced costs, enhanced

transparency, elimination of redundancy in do~cmentatioC1 and reduced cost of compliance and

optimal utilization of resources. In this direction, with effect from April, 2015, an electronic

on line message exchange facility has been established between Customs and the Food Safety, , -and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Department of Plant Protection, Quarantine

.and Storage (PQIS) providing for real ime seamless on line exchange of lnforrnation, including no, .objections, with/from these agencies. From Febru~ry 2016 Animal Qua-rantine, Textile

Committee, Drug Controller of India and the VVildlife authorities at 5 major locationsnamely,

JflJPT(Nhava Sheva), AirCargo, Murnbai, ICD, Tughlakabad, ICD, Patparganj and Air Cargo, Delhiare also on board SingleWindow Project. --

Ill. Special Notified Zone for trading of rough diamonds: Consequent to Hon'ble Ptlme Minister's

announcement to make India into a hub for trading of rough diamonds, a 'Special Notified Zone'

was o·perationalised at Bharat Diamond Bo~rse at Mumbai. The procedure envisages major

diamond mlning companles bringing in rough diamonds fOI~ispl9Y and;orrucJionsto be

conducted within the Customs area and re-exporting theunsold consignments.· _., ..:. .. <. .'. ',.'

• • • - - • J

Adoption of Digital Signature: Use of Digital Signature for: ACp'eJients>had· beeo· :made

mandatory w.e.f.1St May, 2015 vide Circular No.1·0/2015 dated 31-3'-2015 whi~h was.. - ,_., ., .. ': .': .. - -2.. ' >~._. • • .:-.' ..•.• c,;. _•. _.. ,. .:~. - ..: .,. I· .~ -~.( ; ",,-, ,

implemented successfully. Again, vide Circul~r Nd.26/2015 dated 23rd .2015, DigitalSignaturefo~'-ai( Imp·ort~r~, Exporters, Custom~brOkersl ship~in~':jin~';/ ... i'equirei

. to.file any documents atCustorns Eul ~Y~terns'has.·:b~en- .- - .. -,

.. 2.b16, except·fo·r individual_user~. T~i~ h~~'alsobeeh':implemented',filed

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Customs would not insist on phvslcal sig- ~g of documents wherever documents are filed with

digital signatures. The reliance on djgi~G-~~signed Customs process documents shall result in theI'ed LlCti onc-of 5'u5n;Ts·sT()'~"o f 'Fa'r·d'~cpy~·s::;= :;'11s'oren't ry:'sll ip'pin'g 6If1s',"nnporfg"e 1:;'e~ra'l~a-r~ile'sts:'''''~''-'>~-''"export general manifests and ccnsol mar-~ests.

V, Reduction in mandatory documents-for :.ports and exports: To facilitate trade and to simplify

procedures) number of mandatory docu+ents have been reduced and only three mandatory, irnnort d " , , for Imnort and t of 'I 'export ano import ocuments prescr.cec. however, 01' imporr ano export 0' speria nature

under preferential agreements etc., the rec.risite documents will be required to be submitted,

VI. Setting Up of Customs Ceai'once Fac"'tation Committee (CCFe): To ensure expeditious

clearance and identifying and resolving ottlenecks in clearance of EXIM goods, a high level

ac rnirustretive committee i.e. 'Customs ~ earance Facilitation Committee' ((CFe) has been put

in place at Every major Customs sec: ort and airport under the chairmanship of Chief

Cornrnissior.er of Cusrcms/Corurnissioner of Customs. This committee would inciude the senior-

most functionary of the other governrr-ent departments/agencies, such as the Food Safety

Standards Authority of lndia/the Port' ealth Officer (PHO); the Plant Quarantine, Animal

Ouarantine Authorities; the Drug Contro.ier of India ((DSO); the Textile Committee: the Port

Trust I tne Airport Authoritv of h.-lia I Custodians: tile Wildlife authorities: the

Eailv/ays/CONCOR; the Pollution Controi Board. Members from trade can be eo-opted to this

Committee on need basis.

ViI. fViobiie App for International Passengers: - A mobile app "Indian Customs - Guide to Travellers"

has been developed by Customs. It contains a ready reckoner of the Customs baggage rules and

entitlement of passengers. It contains 24x7 contact details of Customs officers of major Airports,

The app is presently available (or free do vnlcad on Google Plav Store and will soon be available

on other online stores.

(b) CENTRAL EXCISE AND ;SERVICE TAX

I. Reduction in number of levies: Education Cess and, Secondary & Higher Education Cess on

excisable goods / taxable services have been subsumed in Basic Excise Duty / Service Tax,

11. Registration in two days: Registration in Central Excise / Service Tax is to be granted within two

working days, Verificatlon is tobe carried out after the grant oftheregistrat'ion, _ " ."

Digital signature and preserving records in electronic form: The t~ntral Excise and Ser~ice Tax

assessees have b,ee~ [acilltated with the option t~mai~tajn records in ,el~ctr~nicfo~~~ndc;authenticat~ the~~arlieby digital sig~at~r~~' s~bjec~t~ c~'ndi~ion~~safegua/cJs ~~d~;6c~d~;es' ,

prescribed by theBoard.vide.Notiflcation No.18/2615"C.~;(N.T.)' pated6tb}yly, 2015. Further,

the assess~~smay 'e~~rcise the. option to issue [nvoicesauthentlcated by. digital signatures';q- .':

terms~f Rule l1of~entralExcise RUles,2002,'and R~le 4(C) ';fthe"Sef\/iceTax Rules, .. - r. .. \:' '.' ";""', ",-',-. ~.' .,', .-. ,.:. ':"_"';"_:T'-:,,~'-"'-'~ ,'. ,". _~... -'. ~~c-. -"'::; '_. '~-;':-' "

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to beneficiarv's account t:V fnGS;:~EFT tr--~ 5:1 authorised banks has been implemented, .' .. '.'~_ • ., ~_ •••• :::.•••._ ••• .....--- • .,.. ,", ,~ ...;..._,,..~.,,.._.;..~ ••. __ ••• _;_~._:"""":' ,_ ~_. .~~. _, • .;...- ..•• --:'__ _ _ ..o.-.'_":-"" ••.•._ •••••• :~.~.~_ .•••j.~••. _ ._-..,.__::..r- ""...:<-<~,... ...•...•.•._ .'<.~ ..•...•.. " .•.."'-" ...•.. _-_.-," -'. ." .. ·~·-,,·~···_........,.....,,_···-.7'......t····~·•••..,.•.··~- ~.---- .• -

v Time limit for taking CErN/\T: Time limit:": :::=king CENVAT Credit of duty/tax paid on inputs and

input Sei'"ViCEShas been iner,eased from s> cnths to one year.

vi. E'ectrcr ic payment of duty: The faciiitv ':: = ectronic payment of duty has been extended to all

ray;!, !:~of arrears in instalments: lnstrur; ~:;s have been issued to allow Chief Commissioners/•

;)jrect dispatch of goods: F2.ci!ity of direct :;'spatch of goods by registered dealer from seller to

c. stc-ner's premises was allowed. Similar facilit nas also beeil allowed in respect or job-workers.- £;::-e.ed importer can also send goods directly - ..•customer from the port of importation.

~ERViCE TAX

\. Simplification in procedure for 2\<,: -nent of Cenvat Credit in certain cases: For availrnent

of CEl~VAT credit 01 Service Tax pa'd under reverse charge mechanism, the condition of

having made the payment of consideration to the serv!ce provider was done away with.

11. if the export proceeds are not received within the prescribed time period, the exporter

has to rever-se the Cenvat credit, Re-credit of such reversed Cenvat credit was allowed, if

such export proceeds are received vithin one year from the specified period.

Ill. To bring certainty in the' determination of point of taxation in case. of reverse charge

mechanism.vit was provided tha point of taxation will be the payment date or three

months from the d,:te of invoice, "'I)~chever is earlier.

IV. P. scheme of fast track refunds ofCErWAT credit to service exporters, for claims pending

as on 31.03.2015 has been introduced with effect from 10.11.2015. Exporters will get a

provisional payment of 80% of the refund amount within 5 days, subject to prescribed. conditions.

2~ Upgraded CBEC Website launched: The upgraded CBEC website is a one-stop shop for all the·

informational needs of the taxpayers and other stake-holders. It provides easy access to the acts, rules,

regulations, notifications, clrculars &. instructions relating to Indirect Taxe~.lt also provides for a host~f

other facilities like feedback channel, social media connectivity, grievance handling facility, etc. It also

provides \i,uty calculator and compulsory compliance requirements pertaining to various allied Acts·.···

ad~inisteredby Customs in relation to cross-border movement of goods:

I,t :

3. InitiG~:".."f"": in :ne area of dispute resct.: on: /}" number of initiatives have beer. taken to enabletf-~2::t:\'e ar.c ~;:;e~::; dispute resolution and re ':':ci!it2te the trade and 'industrv. Sonic of the importantinitiatives are: - ---- -----

e -~e threshold limits below v,h·c.h appeals 2r"e not to be filed by the department in

C~STAT (Tribunal) and High Courts have been raised to Rs 10 lakh and Rs 15 lakh

vvithdrawal of cases in High Court and CEST""Twhere there is precedent Supreme Court

decision, against which no re\'~c~'Jis contemplated.

Zono! Chief Commissioners/ Principal Commissioners have been directed to hold

monthly I bi-monthly meetinas with ail the adjudicating / appellate authorities in his

zone and advice/counsel then: on how to pass good adjudication /appellate orders.

Training institute to impart intense training to train officers on the qualities of a good

adjudication order; advocacy, interpretation of statue, etc.

4. Rat ions lisation of penal provis io n: Per.c!ty provisio ns in Custo ms, Centra i Excise ano Service Tax

have been rcricnalised to encourage compliance and eariv dispute resolution.

S. Scope 01 Advance Ruling Scheme expanded: The ambit of the Advance Ruling Scheme has been

enlarged by including 'resident firm' as an eligible class of persons.

6. Improved system of audit: The reqt.irernent of mandatory audit of units with prescribedperiodicity based on duty payment has been done away 'with. Now the selection of units is being done

based on scientific risk parameters which also takes into account past track record of the unit. Further,concept of integrated audit has been implemented covering aH the three taxes - as against three

separate audits being conducted earlier. Under the new system, only 30000 selected units are scheduled

to be audited this year as against about 40000 units audited last vear. .

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