Additional duty of customs (CVD) on raw asafoetida is not chargeable; raw imports treated as natural gums exempt from CVD.
Imports of asafoetida (heeng) in raw or natural form are not subject to additional duty of customs (CVD) because such goods are classified as natural gums and do not amount to a finished manufactured product; compounded asafoetida (powder or paste with extraneous matter) is covered by a central excise exemption, and after tariff alignment raw asafoetida remains not chargeable to central excise or CVD. Pending assessments should be finalised accordingly.

Risk Management System enables self assessed customs clearance with targeted selection and post clearance audit enforcement.
The Risk Management System (RMS) will process electronically filed Bills of Entry and IGMs in ICES to permit Out of Charge after duty payment for self assessed low risk consignments or to select entries for appraisal/examination based on risk parameters, intelligence or random sampling; concurrent audit is replaced by Post Clearance Audit. Accredited Clients receive facilitation but remain subject to CCRs and random selection. Importers/CHAs must ensure accurate annexure details, bond registration, requisite certificates and data quality to obtain facilitation.

Zero duty wheat imports authorized for designated state trading entities, subject to policy conditions and a mandatory deadline.
Importation of wheat is authorized at zero duty pursuant to an Ad-hoc Exemption Order and under powers of the Foreign Trade Policy. Specified quantities of wheat under Chapter 10 ITC (HS) may be imported at zero duty by designated state trading entities, subject to the Exemption Order conditions, para 2.11 of the Foreign Trade Policy, and unchanged particulars of prior DGFT public notices; imports must be completed by the stated deadline.

Money changing not treated as foreign exchange broking; service tax not leviable on direct forex sale and purchase.
Money changing is the direct sale and purchase of foreign currency where the money changer holds title, and thus does not constitute foreign exchange broking; foreign exchange broking is an intermediary commission-based activity without taking title. Accordingly, service tax classified under banking and other financial services is not leviable on money changing per se, and the circular supersedes the prior departmental instruction.

Interconnection usage charges: taxable once telecommunication service definition amended; not taxable for prior period by law.
IUC charged by one telegraph authority to another is not taxable under pre-amendment telephone service rules because it is not provided to a subscriber; Law Ministry and Attorney General concurred. The Finance Bill amends the definition of telecommunication service to include IUC and make such services taxable when the amendment is notified. Until that commencement date, service tax does not apply to IUC and contrary circulars are withdrawn.

Amendments to Standard Input Output Norms revise and restore SION entries, adjusting import input specifications and product descriptions.
Amendments modify the implementation and specific entries of the Standard Input Output Norms (SION) in the Handbook of Procedures, Vol.2 (2004-2009), effecting targeted corrections, restorations, deletions and textual clarifications across product groups. Changes include deletion of a value restriction note; corrections to export and import item descriptions; addition of import inputs; restructuring of aluminium alloy SIONs with per kg import allowances and conditional allowances for anodised and powder coated products; and the addition of a detailed toner SION specifying constituent inputs and quantities.

Exemption for goods transport by road service: payer liable for tax can claim exemption if conditions and declaration are met.
Exemption from service tax for goods transport by road service provided by a goods transport agency is available subject to conditions that no credit of duty on inputs or capital goods has been taken and that benefit under an alternative notification has not been availed; where the payer of freight is made liable to pay service tax, that person may avail the exemption if the conditions are met and the service provider gives a declaration on the consignment note in accordance with the prescribed procedure.

DFIA transferability online filing requires secure authentication and electronic submission, followed by mandatory hard-copy submission and compliance.
DGFT permits electronic filing of DFIA transferability requests via secure IEC password or digital signature through the "DFIA Transferability" menu; applicants must enter authorised data, transmit electronically to receive a file and key number, then submit a complete hard copy at the DGFT counter quoting those numbers, provide all EXIM policy documents, and comply with any deficiency notices. Manual transferability requests will not be accepted.

Online transmission of DEPBs: DEPB number must be quoted on the bill of entry for duty payment under EDI.
An online processing regime for DEPBs under Customs EDI enables electronic receipt from DGFT, online validation and availability for importers, while importers must temporarily produce hard copies to the designated DEPB officer before use; DEPBs received online must have the DEPB number quoted on the bill of entry for duty payment, with the new procedure applying to DEPBs issued on or after 12th March, 2007 and earlier DEPBs following existing procedures.

Education cess segregation: mandate to classify tax and cess separately in challans to ensure accurate accounting and reporting.
Underreported Education Cess has arisen from challans lacking separate duty and cess breakdowns, notably in customs. Tax assistants must compute and classify tax and cess separately-especially where PLA is operated-before forwarding consolidated challans to PAOs. The department must ensure correct classification of excise, service tax and customs cess amounts for reporting to the central accounting authority and for transfer to the primary education fund.

Small Service Provider Exemption increased; qualifying providers may surrender registration after filing returns and paying dues.
Increase in the threshold for the Small Service Provider Exemption and exemption from registration takes effect from 1-4-2007, subject to notification conditions. Qualifying providers who opt for exemption may surrender their Service Tax Registration Certificate after filing all half-yearly ST-3 returns up to 31-3-2007 and after paying all service tax dues. The circular provides an application format and requires the Registration Certificate number, service category, reason for surrender, and enclosures of ST-3 filing acknowledgements.

Online transmission of DEPBs now requires verification and DEPB numbers on Bills of Entry, with temporary hard copy production.
Introduction of an online transmission and verification mechanism for DEPB credits at Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House; DEPBs received online will undergo prescribed validation checks by the DEPB Verification Section and details published on the designated website. Temporarily, importers must produce hard copies of online-issued DEPBs before use. For DEPBs received online, the DEPB number must be quoted on the Bill of Entry when used for duty payment; the prior manual verification procedure continues for earlier-issued DEPBs. Difficulties may be reported to the department.

Exemption scope for medical devices clarified: IV cannulas used in peripheral vessels are not covered by the exemption.
The Board clarifies that IV cannulas, primarily used in peripheral veins and arteries and differing anatomically and functionally from cannulae for the aorta, venae cavae and intra corporal spaces, are not covered by the notification description and therefore are not eligible for the exemption under the excise notification.

Issuance of statutory forms limited to Monday, Wednesday and Friday to streamline operational unit workload.
Applications for issuance of statutory forms shall be entertained by all operational units only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and only up to 1.00 P.M.; this measure is intended to free time for disposal of refunds, scrutiny of returns, registrations, amendment/cancellation of registrations and default assessments. All other instructions and guidelines of the prior circular shall remain unchanged, and the change is issued with the Commissioner's prior approval.

Exporter registration requirement: software and specified service exporters must register with designated export promotion councils.
Amendments require software exporters to register with the Electronic and Software Export Promotion Council; exporters of thirteen specified services listed in Appendix 2 must register with the Services Export Promotion Council; other service exporters must register with the Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation. The sixth sub paragraph of Paragraph 3.12 is deleted and the Services Export Promotion Council is added to Appendix 2 with contact details and an enumerated list of covered services.

E com filing accepted as timely if physical documents follow within prescribed working days; late submissions face a mandated late cut.
An application filed through the electronic system by the last date is deemed timely if the applicant delivers the physical application and supporting documents to the concerned Regional Authority within seven working days; applications received after the last date but within six months will be processed with the late cut prescribed by the Handbook of Procedure.

Advance remittance liberalisation for rough diamond imports permits unlimited prepayments to specified miners subject to KYC and reporting.
AD Category - I banks may permit advance remittances without monetary limit and without bank guarantee or standby letter of credit for import of rough diamonds from a specified list of overseas mining companies, provided the importer is a GJEPC recognised processor with good export track record; banks satisfy themselves of the transaction's bonafides, make payments strictly to the ultimate beneficiary account, exercise caution against conflict diamonds, perform KYC and due diligence on both parties, obtain import evidence, and report large advance payments to the Reserve Bank as required.

Quarantine referral requirement: Customs must obtain a quarantine no objection before clearing livestock and livestock products.
All consignments of livestock and livestock products must be referred to Quarantine authorities before Customs clearance and detained until a no objection is received from the animal quarantine officer regardless of any Sanitary Import Permits; destruction or re-export directed by quarantine officers must be carried out and custodians may auction uncleared consignments only after a custodial NOC based on quarantine no objection.

Corporate bond reporting platform: NSE authorised to operate one; unified mandatory reporting and public dissemination required.
SEBI authorised NSE to set up a corporate bond reporting platform alongside the existing exchange platform; trades by members are to be reported to the platform of the executing exchange while OTC trades may be reported to either exchange. BSE and NSE must aggregate, check for redundancy and disseminate reported information homogeneously on their websites. Exchanges must publish specified essential bond data and make additional instrument details available by hyperlink, cooperate with FIMMDA for interim value-added dissemination, require reporting by all persons for listed debt securities, allow reporting to only one platform per transaction, amend rules and notify stakeholders, and report implementation status to SEBI.

Education cess on excisable goods increased; Cenvat credit allowed for the new cess and payment rules clarified.
A Secondary and Higher Education Cess is imposed on excisable goods in addition to the existing education cess, collectible immediately and calculated on aggregate excise duties excluding both cesses. Cenvat Credit Rules are amended to allow credit of the new cess, usable only for payment of the Education Cess or the Secondary and Higher Education Cess. The SSI full exemption threshold is increased effective 1 April 2007, and multiple tariff and notification amendments adjust excise rates, exemptions and MRP abatement across various product chapters.