Write-off of tax arrears: amended delegation sets committee composition and reporting requirements for writing off irrecoverable duties.
Amendment revises constitution of Committees and delegates write-off powers: Chief Commissioner and Commissioner level committees, including TAR nominees, may abandon fines and penalties and write off irrecoverable Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax within prescribed monetary limits subject to reporting to the next higher authority or the Board; interest on any duty/tax written off is automatically written off; all exercises of write-off powers must be reported to the Accountant General in accordance with rule 19 of the General Financial Rules.

Registrar authority to require compliance declarations: ROCs may obtain affidavits to prevent deposit acceptance without statutory compliance.
Registrar of Companies may obtain declarations or affidavits from subscribers/first directors at incorporation and from directors on change of objects that the company and its directors shall not accept deposits unless applicable provisions of the Companies Act, the RBI Act and the SEBI Act and related rules, directions and regulations are complied with and filed with the concerned authorities.

Deemed export benefits require international competitive bidding, with a mega power project exception for tariff based awards.
Deemed export benefits under Para 8.2(f) of the FTP are unavailable for Non Mega Power Projects and are available only if supplies are made under International Competitive Bidding, except that Mega Power Projects awarded via tariff based competitive bidding (or with requisite power tied up similarly) qualify without ICB. Supplies under ICB are exempt from Terminal Excise Duty; supplies not under ICB are eligible for refund.

Online registration for export certificates becomes mandatory, shifting RC applications to digital submission with transitional hard-copy issuance.
Registration Certificates for exports of cotton, cotton yarn, non-basmati rice, wheat and sugar must be applied for online; until the Message Exchange System with CBEC is in place applicants must bring a printed copy of the online application plus Letter of Credit or Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate as applicable and the Export Contract when collecting the hard-copy RC. Grant of RCs will continue in hard form initially, with electronic copies available on request and full electronic transmission to follow once MES is operational.

Reconciliation return deadline extended: submission of original declaration forms and linked online filings permitted under specified VAT rules.
Extension granted for furnishing reconciliation returns in Form DVAT-51 and for submission of the 'original' portions of Declaration Forms C, E-I, E-II, F, I, J and H for the 2011-12 tax year, with the last date for online submission in Form CD-1 aligned to the extended DVAT-51 deadline; departmental publicity and website upload directed.

Voluntary Compliance Scheme allows regularisation of unpaid service tax with structured payments and immunity from penalties upon full payment.
The VCES 2013 allows persons with unpaid service tax for 1 October 2007-31 December 2012 to declare dues to a Designated Authority in prescribed form, pay at least fifty percent by the declaration deadline and the balance by prescribed dates with interest for delay; CENVAT credit cannot be used for scheme payments. On full payment and issuance of an acknowledgement of discharge, the declarant obtains immunity from penalty, interest or other proceedings under the Chapter, and the declaration becomes conclusive; payments are non refundable.

Direct movement to CFS permitted under interim procedure, subject to bond, endorsed SMTP and customs verification.
Direct movement of containers between a Gateway Port and a CFS of another Customs station is permitted under an interim manual procedure until ICES is modified: Gateway Port transmits consolidated SMTP lists; movement occurs under a Customs-accepted bond with duplicate SMTPs handed to the CFS custodian; custodian prepares daily arrival lists and a Landing Certificate endorsed by Customs; SMTPs are verified and endorsed on arrival and forwarded to the ICD; Bill of Entry filed at the ICD and goods examined and cleared at the CFS.

Warehousing procedure for duty free excisable goods enables removal under bond with customs oversight and reconciliation requirements.
Procedure permits removal of excisable indigenous goods to duty free warehouses and retail outlets at international airports subject to registration deemed under Central Excise Rules, appointment of customs officers for control, execution of a running bond with security, issuance of triplicate certificates by Superintendent of Customs, serially numbered removal applications and invoices, examination and verification on receipt, and strict accounting by the consignee. Warehousing periods, duty and interest on home consumption, reconciliation requirements, and sanctions including withdrawal of facility and forfeiture of security are prescribed for failures or breaches.

Delayed import duty payment window shortened to two days; interest accrues after that, excluding holidays.
Section 47 of the Customs Act has been amended to substitute "two days" for "five days" as the period allowed for payment of import duty after return of the Bill of Entry; failure to pay within two days, excluding holidays, attracts interest at the rate fixed by the Central Government, and the ICES application has been updated to calculate interest after two days.

Clearance of undelivered parcels: cases may be decided on available records if no reply within prescribed period.
PAD will send reminders to consignees/recipients in pending undelivered inbound international parcel cases; if no reply is received to the reminder within a short prescribed period the case will be decided on the basis of available records without further reference. Going forward, PAD will wait only one month from the date of issue of the Call Memo for any reply, and in the absence of a response the case shall be decided on the basis of available records.

Streamlined bunkering procedures permit manual wharf filing of shipping bills with mandatory next day regularization and verification.
Manual filing of Shipping Bills for bunkering, ship stores, provisions and fresh water is authorised at Ernakulam Wharf Gate subject to written request and an undertaking to regularize all customs formalities at Custom House on the next working day; Preventive Officers must record particulars in a monthly register with "EW" suffixes, endorse after verifying Master/Chief Mate acknowledgements and survey/bunker delivery reports, and forward documents for examination and endorsements, while failures to regularize attract penal action under the Customs Act.

Designated Authority nomination for voluntary compliance scheme: Assistant Commissioner (Technical) to accept Form VCES 1 filings at facilitation centre.
The Assistant Commissioner (Technical) is appointed as the Designated Authority for VCES 2013 for the Chennai Commissionerate; service providers must file a declaration in duplicate on the prescribed Form VCES 1 with enclosures at the Integrated Facilitation Centre located on the ground floor of the Designated Authority's office within the prescribed time.

Liberalised Remittance Scheme reporting must be uploaded monthly via ORFS by the fifth following month; hard copies discontinued.
AD Category I banks must submit monthly Liberalised Remittance Scheme data exclusively via the Reserve Bank's Online Returns Filing System, uploading each month's data by the fifth day of the following month; where no transactions occur, banks must upload nil figures. Hard copy monthly statements are no longer required. Banks should access ORFS via the prescribed secure URL and may direct procedural queries to the provided contact channels. These directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act and are without prejudice to other statutory permissions.

Trade data transmission requirements: commissionerates must certify timely, complete DTR submission to the trade data agency and ensure compliance.
Commissionerates must transmit complete trade data as DTR on a monthly basis and certify to the trade data agency that all trade data for the period has been sent, applying this requirement to non EDI locations and to manual clearances at EDI enabled stations; Chief Commissioners must issue instructions for strict compliance.

Algorithmic trading audits required semiannualy, with doubled per-order penalties and enhanced surveillance to curb manipulation and repeat offenders.
Algorithmic trading systems must undergo a system audit every six months by specified certified auditors; identified deficiencies must be reported to exchanges and remediated immediately, failing which exchanges shall block software use and may impose penalties. Exchanges must enhance surveillance of algorithm-generated orders and double per-order penalty charges, and impose additional suspension of proprietary trading for repeat high order-to-trade ratio offenders. Exchanges must amend rules, implement systems, and notify members.

Scheme of Arrangement clarifications: valuation reports exempted where no change in shareholding; public shareholder voting required in promoter-related schemes.
Clarification requires listed companies undertaking Schemes of Arrangement to submit valuation reports unless there is no change in shareholding pattern, defines change in the shareholding pattern to include alteration in proportion of existing shareholders, allotment to new shareholders, or exit of existing shareholders, and prescribes that companies listed on nationwide exchanges must designate such exchanges for coordination while regional-only companies seeking exemption must obtain in-principle nationwide listing approval; specified promoter-related schemes require public shareholder voting by postal ballot and e-voting and non-applicability must be supported by a board approved, auditor certified undertaking published on websites.

Export proceeds repatriation timeframe shortened under foreign exchange regulations; exporters must repatriate authorised foreign exchange within the revised regulatory period.
The circular reduces the period for realisation and repatriation of the full export value of goods and software from the previously extended term to a shorter, specified term from the date of export, effective immediately for a limited period; timelines for SEZ exports and exports to overseas warehouses remain unchanged, Authorised Dealer Category I banks must inform constituents, and the directions are issued under the foreign exchange regulatory framework without prejudice to other legal permissions.

Transaction cost reduction initiative to identify export procedural impediments and recommend digital, paperless processing reforms.
Constitution of a Second Task Force on Transaction Cost to identify causes of high export transaction costs, locate administrative impediments and procedural complexities, compare India's export procedures with major competitors, and recommend guidelines drawn from global best practices. The Task Force must also suggest measures to increase transparency and move toward paperless processing through digital platforms, and solicit suggestions from central and state ministries, trade bodies and industry via the designated contact point.

Gate Module implementation at ICTT: new procedures enforce Gate In/Out and LEO processes, affecting shipping bill amendments.
Implementation of a Gate Module at ICTT Vallarpadom establishes ICES Gate In/Out procedures for export and import containers, requiring CHAs/Exporters to present Shipping Bills at the CFS gate for entry of container, seal and truck details; on arrival at ICTT seals are verified and Gate In entries recorded before permitting loading. Once the gate officer records entry in ICES v1.5, cancellation or amendment of the Let Export Order or Shipping Bill via ICES v1.5 is not possible, so Shipping Bill particulars must be correct before gate submission.

Transfer of imported firearms permitted with certification by shooting authorities after specified waiting periods, subject to Arms Act compliance.
Amendment permits a Renowned Shooter to transfer an imported firearm for sporting pursuit to an upcoming shooter certified by a recognized shooting authority after a prescribed waiting period from import; the transferee may later transfer or resell to a buyer similarly certified for sporting use after a further waiting period from first sale. Transfers remain subject to the Arms Act and state/local police rules, and certifying authorities must maintain records.