Bank guarantee and legal undertaking requirement for advance authorisations: customs execution mandated before clearance and RA endorsement required.
Holders of Advance Authorisation, DFIA and EPCG Authorisation must execute a Bank Guarantee or Legal Undertaking (BG/LUT) with Customs Authorities before customs clearance, and the Regional Authority must endorse the licence/authorisation accordingly; for indigenous sourcing, BG/LUT is to be furnished to the RA as per Customs Circular No. 58/2004. The Handbook compilations remain in force until 31st March, 2009, except the DEPB scheme which continues until 31st March, 2008, and paragraph 4.68 is amended to apply paragraph 4.25.

Mandatory electronic filing for specified firms and companies; e-returns allowed with digital signature or ITR V verification.
Notification establishes new ITR-1 through ITR-8 forms for assessment year 2007-08 and substitutes Rule 12 to specify filing modes: paper, electronic with digital signature, electronic transmission followed by Form ITR-V verification, or bar-coded paper. Firms subject to audit and companies (except specified exempt entities) must file electronically; ITR-7 filers must use paper. Returns in these forms (except ITR-7) must not be accompanied by attachments; supporting documents are to be retained and produced on demand. Electronic submission dates and ITR-V timelines determine the date of furnishing; e-returns will be processed as priority.

Interest on unutilised imports: applicable date is clearance of last unutilised import unless correlation exists.
Interest on unutilised imports under Advance Authorisation becomes due only when excess import occurs, and where multiple import dates exist with partial failure to meet export obligation, the surplus is treated as the later consignments. The applicable date for interest calculation is the date of clearance of the last imports that remain unutilised, unless a specific correlation between imports and exports is established.

Import licensing floor price and quota regime governs rough marble imports, imposing eligibility, application and actual user conditions.
Import of rough marble blocks, slabs and crude or roughly trimmed marble is restricted and subject to licensing by the EXIM Facilitation Committee. Licences are limited to applicants with domestic manufacturing/processing units and prior import history, must carry endorsed floor prices, and are allocated from a government quota with individual entitlements based on prior turnover subject to a cap. Applications on the Aayaat Niryaat Form must be filed with the Regional Authority and a copy to headquarters by the deadline. Licences are subject to actual user condition, monthly import returns, and processed output from concessional imports for hotels or places of worship must not be sold.

Dematerialisation requirement: dematerialised non promoter holdings and certification enable shift to rolling settlement, subject to no other continuation grounds.
Companies with connectivity to both depositories may be shifted from the Trade for Trade Segment to Rolling Settlement if at least 50% of non promoter holdings are dematerialised certified by the RTA or, absent an RTA, by a practicing Company Secretary/Chartered Accountant, and if there are no other grounds for continuation of Trade for Trade trading; stock exchanges must report actions in the Monthly/Quarterly Development Report.

All-industry duty drawback rates updated, altering entitlement and application for exporters claiming drawback benefits.
Revised All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback for 2007-2008 adjust drawback rates and caps across sectors to reflect duty incidence on inputs, input prices, inclusion of HSD/furnace oil and service tax on input services; most increases apply retrospectively while certain reductions apply prospectively. The Schedule adds new items, aligns four-digit HS nomenclature, and directs field formations to form cells to settle supplementary claims and to ensure exporters do not double-claim service tax refunds when availing all-industry drawback.

Search and seizure: allow immediate issuance of Section 153A notices after appraisal, and concurrent prior-period enquiries.
The guideline permits immediate issuance of Section 153A notices after receipt of the appraisal report and seized materials and ascertaining applicable cases; enquiries, including questionnaires for the prior period, may be conducted without awaiting filing of the return for the assessment year of the search; and the Search Register must be prepared and maintained by Assessing Officers of the Central Charges instead of Range heads.

Jurisdictional filing requirement shifts processing to regional authorities, allows split certificates and automatic limited validity extension.
Applications must be filed with the jurisdictional Regional Authority shown on the Status Certificate; Zonal Committees are abolished and Zonal Offices must transfer applications to the concerned Regional Authority. Split certificates may be issued after initial issuance, including with different ports of registration. Certificates valid on the notice date are granted an automatic further period of validity without requirement of endorsement by the Regional Authority.

Jurisdictional filing requirement: applications must be filed with the regional authority per Status Certificate; zonal committee abolished.
Applications for certificates must be filed with the jurisdictional Regional Authority per the Status Certificate; Zonal Committee abolished and Zonal Offices must transfer applications to the concerned Regional Authority. Split certificates may be issued after initial issuance and may specify a different port of registration. Certificates valid on the notice date receive an automatic twelve month extension without endorsement by the Regional Authority.

Duty Free Import Authorization eligibility clarified: regional offices must accept converted DFRC shipping bills and endorse verification.
Regional Authorities must accept shipping bills converted by Customs from DFRC to DFIA for grant of DFIA benefits. If the DFIA shipping bill lacks an endorsed file number, the Regional Authority shall record a specific endorsement in the EODC or the transferability letter so Customs at the port of registration can verify shipping bill details before allowing imports against such DFIAs.

Transferability of export authorisations requires deposit of additional customs or excise duty with interest; restricted items need separate permission.
Upon fulfilment of export obligation, Registered Authorising Authority shall allow transferability only subject to scheme conditions and an endorsement of liability for additional customs or excise duty on inputs imported under Actual User DFIA; the DFIA holder must deposit such additional duty with applicable interest into the designated Customs revenue head via prescribed T.R. Challan and furnish documentary evidence to the RA with the application. Restricted items on the authorisation are transferable only against a separate authorisation or permission under the Foreign Trade Policy.

RCMC application requirement change: bank certificate of financial soundness removed, altering required supporting documents.
The amendment deletes the requirement that applicants for Registration cum Membership (RCMC) with Export Promotion Councils must enclose a bank certificate supporting the applicant's financial soundness, thereby changing the prescribed supporting-document list in Appendix 19-A for RCMC applications.

Corporate guarantee permitted as substitute for bank guarantees or LUT, including intra-group support where status holder exists.
Amendment permits a Corporate Guarantee to be submitted instead of a bank guarantee or Letter of Undertaking, with a Status holder or a Public Sector Undertaking authorised to furnish such guarantee in accordance with the relevant Customs Circular; within a group, a company that is a Status holder may provide a Corporate Guarantee for another group company that is not a Status holder. Additionally, sub paragraph 3 of paragraph 2.33 of the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. I is deleted.

DTA sales option expanded to permit varied reporting frequencies; Premier Trading House may elect monthly reporting as well.
Amendment to Appendix 14-I-H permits SEZ units to opt for DTA sales on a quarterly, half yearly or annual basis by intimation to the concerned Development Commissioner of the SEZ; Premier Trading House status additionally permits opting for monthly DTA sales.

Interest on warehoused goods is chargeable where customs duty is discharged by debit under DEPB scrips.
Debits under the DEPB Scheme constitute payment of the basic and additional customs duties for goods cleared from warehouse rather than an unconditional exemption; because the duty element must be debited from DEPB scrips, the statutory interest chargeable on warehoused goods applies where duty is discharged by DEPB debit. Amendments permitting Cenvat credit or duty drawback for duties debited under DEPB and requirements to debit education cess and special CVD support treating the debited duty as payable for interest purposes.

Deduction of tax at source on remittances to non residents requires remitters to furnish prescribed undertaking and CA certificate.
Remittances to non residents, including trade and business payments, attract deduction of tax at source under Section 195 read with Rule 29B; remitters must submit the CBDT prescribed undertaking and Chartered Accountant's certificate to the authorised dealer at the time of making the foreign exchange remittance, and authorised banks must obtain these documents and inform customers while remaining subject to any other statutory permissions.

Maintenance of collateral by clearing corporations allows demat holding, transfer and liquidation of foreign sovereign securities for derivatives trading.
Permits SEBI-approved clearing corporations and their clearing members to open and maintain dematerialised accounts with foreign depositories to acquire, hold, pledge, transfer and liquidate foreign sovereign securities offered by FIIs as non-cash collateral for derivatives transactions, and to remit proceeds from corporate actions. Requires monthly reporting by clearing corporations of balances of such foreign sovereign securities held as non-cash collateral to the Reserve Bank by the tenth of the following month, and notes that regulatory amendments will be issued separately.

All Industry Rate of Duty Drawback revised, with most rates increased and procedural measures for credits and grievances.
Notification No.68/2007 revises All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback: most drawback rates increased (effective retrospectively from 1 April), some rates reduced (effective prospectively from notification), new tariff entries added, and caps adjusted or removed for items meeting specified thresholds. Rates are set by input duty incidence, input prices, SION norms, import share and applied duties; fuel and service tax incidence are included and duplicate refunds are prohibited. Administrative measures require immediate crediting after Let Export, a 72 hour grievance response target, a help desk and a cell to process supplementary claims.

Installation certificate requirement: importers must obtain authorised installation proof or engineer certification within prescribed periods.
Amendment requires authorization holders to produce to the concerned Regional Authority an installation certificate from the Jurisdictional Central Excise authority or an independent Chartered Engineer confirming installation of capital goods at the factory premises of the authorization holder or its supporting manufacturers/vendors within the prescribed post import period; for imported spares the installation certificate must be submitted within a longer specified post import period.

Port of registration expanded to include Indore; BRC descriptions must reference commercial invoice and packing list.
Adds Indore to airports listed under Port of Registration (paragraph 4.19). Revises Column 5 heading of Appendix 22A BRC to require the description of goods to match the Customs Authenticated Shipping Bill and the Commercial Invoice/Packing List.