Focus Product Scheme eligibility affirmed for Indian Kabuli Chickpeas, classified as edible vegetables and exempt from the pulse export ban.
The Policy Interpretation Committee concluded that Indian Kabuli Chickpeas are the same as Kabuli Chana, fall under HS subheading 07132000 as direct leguminous vegetables (not roots or tubers), are exempt from the general pulse export ban, and therefore qualify as Edible vegetables eligible for benefits under the Focus Product Scheme of FTP 2009-14; Regional Authorities are to allow FPS benefits and dispose of pending applications.

Outsourcing restrictions for depositories require a Board approved policy, non outsourcing of core functions, and stringent risk controls.
Depositories must adopt a Board approved outsourcing policy consistent with SEBI principles, refrain from outsourcing specified core activities and core IT infrastructure to the extent possible, perform due diligence when engaging third parties, permit downstream subcontracting only with prior depository consent and contractual safeguards, undertake risk impact analysis with mitigation (including backup/restoration), implement monitoring and automation for real time oversight, and make the outsourcing policy the basis for system audits while amending bylaws and publicly disseminating the provisions.

Annual custody fee revision expands revenue sharing and funds DP incentives to promote BSDA uptake and inclusion.
Revision of the annual custody fee increases per-folio charges with tiered minimums while retaining the existing folio calculation methodology and excluding temporary ISINs; depositories must set aside 20% of incremental issuer revenue to fund annual DP incentives, comprising a per-new-BSDA opening payment for accounts opened outside the top 15 cities that record at least one credit during the year and a per-folio per-ISIN holding payment for BSDA positions, with any surplus usable for broader financial inclusion and investor education measures, effective from financial year 2015-16.

Regulatory filing requirement: commodity derivative exchanges must submit monthly development reports within the first week of the following month.
Commodity Derivative Exchanges must submit a Monthly Development Report in the prescribed format (Annexure A) from April 2015 and ensure the report reaches the regulator by the seventh day of the succeeding month. The filing is a standing regulatory obligation and is issued under the authority of Section 11(1) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 to further investor protection and the development and regulation of the securities market.

Port access for export promotion: AKBTPL authorised for imports/exports under Export Promotion Schemes with compliance conditions.
Permission is granted for import and export of permissible goods through Adani Kandla Bulk Terminal Pvt. Ltd. under Export Promotion Schemes, subject to conditions: use of ICES for assessments (no manual Bills except by express permission); assessments by officers of Assistant/Deputy Commissioner rank; selective test weight checks on export consignments; advance submission of Shipping Bills/Bills of Entry prior to shipment/unloading; and production of Customs Release Advice for import licences where applicable, with all statutory Customs Act procedures to be followed.

Merchant exporter verification: first time exporters must file three prescribed documents before export clearance.
Customs will verify first time merchant exporters at ACC (Export), Sahar by requiring submission of at least three documents from a specified list-VAT/Sales Tax registration, bank certificate confirming satisfactory account maintenance, other bank account details if the remittance account is under three months old, past export details, previous year balance sheet, or last Income Tax/VAT/Sales Tax return-before allowing export clearance; CHAs must assist and exports proceed normally once any three documents are filed.

Minimum Export Price compliance: exporters must furnish bank realisation certificates and importers submit remittance certificates or face bond enforcement.
Exporters of commodities subject to Minimum Export Price (MEP) must realise export proceeds through banking channels and submit a Bank Realisation Certificate (BRC) to Customs for each shipping bill; provisional clearance is available on execution of a bond under Section 143, discharged upon receipt of the BRC within the prescribed realisation period, failing which action under Customs and foreign exchange laws will follow. Importers of commodities subject to Minimum Import Price (MIP) must submit an Authorized Bank Remittance Certificate corresponding to the Bill of Entry, with provisional import allowed on bond pending submission.

Authorization to defend indirect tax respondents designates Commissioners to represent Union and Board in appellate matters.
The Legal Cell will issue formal Authorizations empowering the concerned Commissioner to defend the Union, Ministry/Board and listed officeholders in indirect tax petitions; the Commissionerate must obtain Policy Wing comments and forward them to the Legal Cell. If no jurisdictional officer is joined, the nodal Commissioner for the bench's jurisdiction receives authorization and will coordinate with Law Officers/CGSC. Authorizations do not cover individuals sued in personal capacity or service and administrative matters, which require Administration Wing approval.

Classification of pump parts: submersible pump components classifiable under relevant tariff and eligible for drawback at notified rate.
Identifiable ready-to-use machined parts or components of submersible pumps predominantly of iron, steel or aluminium made by casting or forging, and not specified at six-digit level in Chapters 84, 85 or 87 of the Drawback Schedule, shall be classified according to material and making process under the relevant heading and, where not specifically covered, treated as classifiable under tariff item 848701 and eligible for drawback at the rate applicable to that item irrespective of a four-digit classification under the Central Tariff Act.

Declaration of intent under MEIS: procedure allows correcting inadvertent 'N' to claim rewards after documentation verification.
Prescribes a remedial procedure for exports under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme where exporters inadvertently marked 'N' in the reward item box on EDI-generated shipping bills between 1 June 2015 and 30 September 2015 but had declared affirmative intent. DGFT will receive transmitted item-level shipping bill data to enable electronic reward applications. Regional Authorities will verify the declaration of intent on physical Export Promotion (EP) copies before issuing rewards, and CBEC is to transmit affected shipping bills to DGFT, all subject to FTP/HBP provisions.

Interest Equalisation Scheme on Rupee Export Credit lets eligible exporters approach banks to claim retrospective benefits under RBI notification.
The Government's Interest Equalisation Scheme for pre- and post-shipment rupee export credit was notified by regulatory circular and is effective from 1 April 2015; eligible exporters who availed such credit on or after that date should contact their banks to expedite decisions and claim benefits under the scheme, with operational details available in the issuing circular and on the central bank's website.

Impersonation risk: verify caller credentials, obtain a callable number and senior approval before sharing sensitive information with external agencies.
Recipients of unsolicited requests must not disclose information without first verifying caller credentials by obtaining a callable number, independently verifying that number, and sharing information only after approval from an appropriate senior official; heads of Ministries, Departments, PSUs and sensitive organisations must sensitize staff and institute verification-and-approval controls to protect sensitive installations from impersonation and forged-document attempts.

Export proceeds realization monitoring requires drawback exporters to submit certificates or negative statements for covered EDI shipping bills.
Monitoring of export-proceeds realization for drawback EDI shipping bills requires exporters to provide realization particulars for entry in the BRC Module in ICES. The process initially covers shipping bills having Let Export Order dates from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014. Exporters must submit certificates or negative statements for all covered shipping bills by the specified deadline, with the Superintendent, BRC Cell, designated to receive the documents.

Electronic Delivery Orders enable paperless cargo release while preserving existing customs verification and contingency manual issuance.
The notice directs adoption of secure electronic Delivery Orders to replace paper Delivery Orders, requiring custodians to be capable of receiving electronic messages and Shipping Lines/Consolidators to generate Delivery Orders in the required format. Existing customs verification and gate-pass procedures remain unchanged. Electronic invoicing and e-payment for D.O. charges are encouraged to obviate in-person payment. Manual paper Delivery Orders are permitted for certain import categories and as a temporary measure during technical failures; secure transmission is expected to improve security and transparency.

Central Excise Tariff Conference clarifies valuation, classification, exemptions and CENVAT credit procedures for uniform assessment practice.
The Board issued Minutes of the Central Excise Tariff Conference setting out 53 technically operative clarifications across assessment and valuation, classification, scope of exemptions, CENVAT credit, central excise rules and implementation; key outcomes include: depots treated as places of removal for industrial clearances (Section 4 valuation), VAT retained under incentive adjustment schemes includable in transaction value unless actually paid to exchequer, Section 4A assessment only where notified, adherence to formulas in exemption notifications unless amended, specified classification guidance invoking HSN notes and case law, and targeted recommendations for rule amendments and procedural simplifications including recognition of service provider invoices for certain credits and export rebate process review.

Bank Realisation Certificate compliance required; exporters must submit BRCs/negative statements or face drawback recovery with interest.
Exporters must submit Bank Realisation Certificates (BRCs) or negative statements for specified EDI shipping bills in the prescribed six monthly format so the BRC module in ICES can be updated. The Customs Bangalore website publishes the list of shipping bills with missing BRCs. A Nodal Officer and an Assistant Commissioner are designated to receive the documents and assist exporters. Failure to submit by the stipulated deadline will lead to recovery of sanctioned drawback amounts with interest under the Customs Act, 1962.

Extension of TDS/TCS deposit deadline: due date for November withholdings and collections extended for specified state deductors.
The due date for deposit of tax deducted at source and tax collected at source in respect of deductions or collections made during November 2015 by deductors located in the State of Tamil Nadu is extended from the original statutory due date to a later specified date; the extension is issued under the Central authority's statutory power and applies only to the stated month and territorial scope.

Interest equalisation on pre/post-shipment rupee export credit requires banks to pass benefits and file audited reimbursement claims.
Interest equalisation of 3% per annum applies to pre- and post-shipment rupee export credit for eligible exporters (excluding merchant exporters), covering specified 416 HS lines and MSME exports, subject to minimum processing rules of origin. Banks must fully pass on the benefit-crediting accounts for April-November 2015 claims and reducing charged interest from December 2015-and submit sector-wise consolidated reimbursement claims to RBI in the prescribed format with an External Auditor's Certificate; reimbursements will be made by RBI from government provided revolving funds.

Clearance of flood-affected goods requires fresh statutory clearances and customs permission before release from customs area.
Goods affected by the November 2015 floods require immediate incident reports by custodians listing affected consignments and relevant BE/IGM/container details in prescribed annexures; affected consignments shall not be cleared without fresh statutory clearances and specific permission of the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, and any segregation or survey within customs area needs prior customs approval and presence of Customs officer and broker.

Export proceed monitoring requires six monthly BRC or negative certificate to verify realization and enable drawback recovery.
Monitoring of realization of export proceeds governs drawback recovery where proceeds are unrealized within permitted time; exporters must declare Authorized Dealers and furnish, portwise and ADwise, either Bank Realisation Certificates or prescribed negative certificates from the AD or a chartered accountant on a six monthly basis. The ICES BRC module generates due dates on drawback shipping bills, tracks pendency, accepts specific BRC entries or negative statements to clear shipping bills, and permits entry of recovery particulars to remove bills from the pending list.