National Sports Federation status revoked - BCCI loses entitlement to customs duty exemptions for imported and certified cricket goods.
BCCI has ceased to be recognised as the National Sports Federation/Apex Body for cricket for failure to submit mandatory annual recognition documents. Consequently, BCCI is not eligible for customs duty exemptions under notification no.21/2002-Cus. or any other customs notification; goods imported by or certified by BCCI are not entitled to exemption benefits available to recognised NSFs/Apex bodies.

Non requirement of Proforma Invoice: ANF 2B no longer requires supplier proforma invoice with import authorization applications.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade amends ANF 2B to delete Serial No. 4(b) of the Guidelines for Applicants, removing the requirement to attach a self certified copy of the foreign supplier's proforma invoice with applications for import authorization under the Foreign Trade Policy.

Tariff Rate Quota allocation for natural rubber: applications invited; allocation tied to certified prior-year consumption.
Allocation of Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) for Natural Rubber 2010-2011 is invited by DGFT; EFC will allocate TRQ to actual users based on 2009-10 consumption certified by the Rubber Board. Applicants must apply by e-mail in the prescribed format, then file ANF2B with fee to the Regional Authority for issue of TRQ authorisation, and complete imports within the financial year.

EPCG Scheme compliance: Clarified conditions for conversion/disposal, EODC issuance, export obligation and spares import rules.
Clarifications under the EPCG Scheme specify that vehicles imported before 31.03.2007 may be converted or disposed of after EODC issuance, completion of five years from import and absence of DRI/CBI proceedings, while vehicles imported on or after 01.04.2007 require fulfillment of the Actual User Condition before conversion/disposal. Spares may be imported without the 10% limit subject to 100% export obligation. Processed foods are excluded from agricultural-product exemptions. EODC issuance amid investigations is discretionary by Head of Office; pending nexus cases may use Chartered Engineer Certificates.

Customs Area designation for a container freight station enables supervised cargo examination, clearance, stuffing, and loading operations.
A Container Freight Station is notified as a Customs Area for examination and clearance of import cargo in FCL containers and for customs-supervised stuffing and loading of export cargo. The notification specifies the premises, boundaries and effective date of the customs-area designation.

Non-submission of returns: enforcement mechanism urged to identify defaulters and invoke penal provisions to secure compliance.
Assessees must self assess and file prescribed Central Excise returns periodically so the department can verify duty payment and CENVAT credit; Central Excise Ranges must scrutinise returns to identify those who fail to submit or submit late, and follow up to secure compliance. Commissioners must establish mechanisms to identify defaulters and invoke penal provisions where appropriate, while Chief Commissioners will monitor the mechanism quarterly.

Prohibition on opting to pay duty for unconditionally exempt goods prevents CENVAT credit and mandates deposit and recovery.
Section 5A(1A) prohibits a manufacturer from opting to pay duty on unconditionally fully exempted goods and bars entitlement to CENVAT credit on inputs for such goods. Amounts paid or collected as purported excise duty on exempted goods are not 'duty of excise' for CENVAT purposes; such sums must be deposited with the Government and any downstream CENVAT credit availed on them must be recovered under the CENVAT Credit Rules.

Re-credit certificate: simplifies re-export relief allowing near-full utilisation within prescribed validity without fresh DGFT scrip.
Customs-issued Re-credit Certificates for re-exported defective/unfit goods or for re-assessment of debited duty shall record scrip particulars, import date and debited/re-assessment amount. The Re-credit Amount may be utilised to the extent of 98% and is valid for use within six months of issuance. There is no requirement for DGFT regional offices to issue a fresh scrip in such cases.

Registration Certificate decentralization for cotton exports enables four zonal offices to receive documents and issue RCs by email.
Issuance of Registration Certificate for cotton export allocations is decentralized to four Zonal Joint DGFT offices (Chennai, Delhi (CLA), Kolkata, Mumbai), which will receive, scrutinize and issue RCs per existing procedures. Allottees with an allotted slot may attend their original DGFT office or any zonal office by e-mail; those without confirmation must choose a zonal office and present required documents without seeking prior slot confirmation. Applicants must e-mail the chosen zonal office and copy [email protected], indicating a session number from the published slots.

Special Economic Zone approvals and modifications conditioned on tax refund certification and adherence to development guidelines.
Board decisions authorised and adjusted SEZ approvals and operations subject to precise compliance conditions: formal approvals were granted where land possession and state recommendation existed; co-developer approvals were conditioned on tax-assessment rights of the Assessing Officer; authorized operations were approved or rejected based on SEZ size, town-planning norms and phased linkage to processing activity; de-notifications and withdrawal of approvals were approved only subject to DC certification of refund or non-availment of SEZ Act/Rules tax and duty benefits; extensions of approvals and LoPs were granted or denied based on performance and compliance.

Cleaning services: fumigation of export cargo does not meet the statutory cleaning-services definition and is not taxable as such.
Fumigation of export cargo, including agricultural or horticultural produce whether loaded into containers or otherwise, does not fall within the statutory definition of cleaning services under the Finance Act, 1994, since that definition is limited to cleaning of objects or premises associated with commercial or industrial buildings, factories, plants, machinery, tanks or reservoirs; notifications exempting specialised container cleaning do not alter the statutory scope.

Dispute Resolution Panel under section 144C establishes three-member panels at specified centres for transfer pricing review.
The Board constitutes a Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) under the statutory provision for transfer pricing review, establishing three-member panels at specified centres composed of Commissioners/Directors with International Taxation and Transfer Pricing functions. Members will perform DRP duties in addition to regular duties. The order supersedes prior DRP orders and operates with the approval of the Board chairman, effective from 12-1-2011 until further orders.

Eligibility criteria for foreign index derivatives permit exchanges to list INR settled contracts subject to broad based index rules.
Permits exchanges to introduce futures and options on foreign stock indices subject to Annexure 1 guidelines: indices must be listed on Annexure A exchanges and either rank among the top 15 index derivatives by trading volume or have market capitalization of at least USD 100 billion, and be broad based (minimum ten constituents; no single constituent over 25% free float). If eligibility fails for three consecutive months, no fresh contracts may be introduced though existing contracts run to expiry. Contracts are denominated, traded and settled in Indian Rupees; exchanges must submit a risk management framework; domestic position limits and disclosure rules apply; trading restricted to residents.

Denied Entities List compliance required: exporters must clear DEL status before registration and ensure IEC details match official records.
Registration certificates for export of cotton will not be issued if an applicant's IEC is on the Denied Entities List; the applicant must remove their name from the DEL before applying. Applications will be scrutinised against DGFT records, and any mismatch between the submitted name and IEC and the Directorate's database will render the application ineligible. Applicants are advised of entry and security restrictions near Udyog Bhawan around Republic Day rehearsals and to seek earlier submission dates.

Message exchange between Customs and DGFT: error codes and prescribed corrective actions for exporters registering authorizations.
The notice lists Error Codes in electronic message exchange between Customs and DGFT, identifies causes such as missing shipping bills, DEPB/authorization value mismatches, item description or classification and quantity/UOM discrepancies, duplicate shipping bill use, invalid notification numbers, and IEC branch-code mismatches, and prescribes exporter actions: rectify data, amend authorizations where necessary, or register complaints with ICEGATE/DGFT help desks or the concerned RLA.

Exporters seeking supervised container stuffing must obtain Central Excise NOC and pay merchant overtime in advance.
Exporters requesting Central Excise supervision for stuffing and sealing must obtain a NOC and an original verification report from the jurisdictional Assistant/Deputy Commissioner within three working days, then apply to the Technical Section at least 48 hours before stuffing for officer allocation; applications are processed FIFO. Supervision requires advance payment of Merchant Overtime Fee at prescribed rates after officer confirmation, and the nominated officer must submit signed export documents, samples, and completed examination reports to the jurisdictional range office.

Safety and security obligations for customs cargo service providers are mandatory and exemptive relief is prohibited.
Regulation 5 requires CCSPs acting as custodians to ensure safety and security of premises-including access control, adequate facilities for handling and examination, provision of office and EDI amenities and residential and transport facilities for customs staff-and these safety and security requirements are not subject to exemption; Commissioners must ensure compliance, require publication of service charge schedules, and enforce indemnity bond obligations. Annexure A details safety, storage, firefighting, contingency and handling standards for hazardous cargo.

Trace-and-track requirement for pharmaceutical exports mandates GS1 barcode labeling to enable unique product identification and tracing.
Exporters must submit a Certificate of Analysis at shipment-issued by the manufacturer, an importing-country approved laboratory, or a laboratory approved under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act-and port Drug Control officials may retain samples for tracking. Exporters are also required to implement GS1 barcode-based trace-and-track across primary, secondary and tertiary packaging, encoding GTIN, batch number, expiry date and serial number to facilitate identification and enforcement of exported pharmaceutical consignments.

Export allocation scheduling requires prebooked session selection and verified documentation for registration, with allotted slots governing RC issuance.
Allocation of cotton export quantities requires applicants listed in the allocation notice to submit prescribed documents for scrutiny and grant of Registration Certificates within designated forenoon or afternoon sessions; applicants must email three preferred session choices in the prescribed format, await DGFT confirmation of a specific slot, and attend at the designated DGFT location with an authorized representative and complete documentation or face summary rejection.

Cotton exports: allocation of 1,900,000 bales to 928 applicants; document scrutiny set for 11-25 January and rounding on RC issuance.
Trade Notice of 10 January 2011 allocates 1,900,000 bales of cotton among 928 applicants (annexed with IEC codes and quantities). Fractional allocations in the annexure will be rounded off when Registration Certificates are issued. A separate trade notice will set out the document scrutiny scheme; scrutiny is scheduled from 1000 hours on 11 January 2011 to 1100 hours on 25 January 2011, after which Registration Certificates reflecting rounded quantities will be issued.