Informer reward scheme extended to tax arrears recovery, subject to Chief Commissioner satisfaction and instrumental information leading to recovery.
Extension of the informer reward scheme to recoveries from tax defaulters permits discretionary payment of a monetary reward where information on a defaulter's whereabouts or assets results in arrears recovery; the Chief Commissioner must be satisfied that departmental tracing efforts were exhausted and that the informer's information was instrumental. The reward quantum is determined by the information's nature, accuracy and efficacy and is capped as a proportion of the amount recovered. Rewards are payable only to informers, and public solicitation of leads may be authorised to assist recovery.

Declaration of Customs Area imposes custodial and operational obligations on designated port custodian for containerized import and export cargo handling.
Declaration designates the Railway Container Depot at Cotton Green as a Customs Area for containerised import and export cargo under the Customs Act, subject to conditions requiring the port authority to retain custody, provide lighting, firefighting, modern handling equipment, security, and Customs facilities; to refrain from charging rent/demurrage on goods detained by Customs; and to avoid alterations without the Commissioner's concurrence. The port authority is approved as the Custodian, bearing the statutory duties and responsibilities for containers stored pending transmission to or from ICDs.

Foreign trade policy amendment adds inspection agencies to the approved Appendix five agency roster, updating contact listings.
Amendment adds two approved inspection agencies to Appendix 5 of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I), inserting Sandeep Garg & Company (The Gambia) and Sandeep Garg & Company Scrap Metal Inspection Agency LLC (Houston) after Serial No.95, with full contact and website details, by public notice issued by the Director General of Foreign Trade to update the roster of recognised inspection agencies.

Fringe Benefit Tax reporting requires system patch and operational changes to reflect collections across all centres.
Introduction of Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) and Banking Cash Transaction Tax (BCTT) requires use of challan ITNS-283 and enhancements to RCC reports (Major Head wise Account Report; CTU Collection; AO Collection; Addl.CIT, CIT and CCIT Collection Reports). Computer centres must take two full backups, download and execute the OLTS1R15 patch (OLTS1R15_8i.fmx for Oracle 8i or OLTS1R15_7.fmx for Oracle 7.3.4) with no users logged in, copy files to the file server renaming/backing up duplicates, ensure prior instruction compliance, and report implementation.

Foreign investment in print media: FDI and portfolio investment allowed subject to composite ceiling and compliance with applicable guidelines.
Foreign investment in the print media sector is permitted as FDI and portfolio investment within a composite ownership ceiling of 26 per cent of paid up capital, lifting prior prohibitions on FIIs, NRIs and FVCIs; Indian companies accepting such investment must comply with the applicable July 2005 guidelines and the regulatory amendment under FEMA (Fifth Amendment, 2005).

Unique Client Code disclosure allowed to unitholders to enable claiming STT linked tax benefits while other rules remain unchanged.
Permits mutual funds to disclose the Unique Client Code (UCC) of their schemes/plans to unitholders for the limited purpose of claiming tax benefits linked to payment of Securities Transaction Tax (STT), while all other provisions of the prior circular remain unchanged and the guidance is issued under regulatory powers to protect investor interests and regulate the securities market.

Power of adjudication moved to Central Excise Officer with tiered monetary limits and required signed approval for show cause notices.
Amendment transfers the power of adjudication and penalty assessment in service tax cases to the Central Excise Officer and establishes uniform, tiered monetary limits for adjudication by specified officer grades. The thresholds apply irrespective of allegations of fraud or invocation of extended periods. Notices to show cause must be approved in writing and signed by the officer competent to adjudicate; where similar issues recur, the officer competent for the highest-amount case may adjudicate all such cases. Remanded de novo matters follow the appellate direction or the remanding authority; pending notices are to be disposed under these instructions.

Penalty waiver for delayed service tax payments in affected regions where full tax is paid by the extended deadline.
Taxpayers in flood-affected Maharashtra and Gujarat who discharge their full service tax liability for July 2005 by the extended deadline are to receive relief from imposition of penalty for delayed payment under the penalty provision where delay is due to the rains and floods; interest on delayed payment continues to apply under the interest provision. The concession is confined to assessees who pay their entire liability by the extended date.

DEPB rate amendments update product descriptions, set compressor rebate and adjust value caps and validity for paper exports.
Amendments to the Schedule of DEPB rates revise export product descriptions and adjust DEPB entries and value caps: engineering products (including commercial vehicle classifications, graphite electrode products, cryogenic tanks) are amended; hermetically sealed compressors are allocated a DEPB rate with a per-piece value cap; chemicals corrections include a paper description and retroactive validity for an adhoc DEPB rate for paper cones; plastics product value cap at the cited serial number is amended.

Security by related concerns invalidated: spouse or sister guarantees sharing common ownership cannot be accepted as independent security.
Securities prescribed under Rule 23(7) include personal security furnished by another registered dealer, but bonds executed by spouse/sister concerns that share a common proprietor or partner with the applicant constitute self-security and defeat the statutory purpose; such related-party securities must not be accepted by VATOs/AVATOs and strict compliance with this prohibition is required.

Disposal of seized gold: bank agent sale using market based pricing with taxes paid from proceeds and customs assurance.
Sale of seized/confiscated gold shall be routed through the State Bank of India as consignee agents at major centres; Customs will deliver gold in marketable form or convert it to the prescribed purity and provide Assaying Certificates, remaining responsible for fineness. Pricing will be based on the previous day's closing market price from three national economic dailies using the Annexure I methodology, with the Bank accepting no commission but deducting permitted out of pocket expenses, paying applicable sales tax/octroi from proceeds, and depositing net sale proceeds to the designated Customs account.

Sale of seized gold routed through a bank consignee, priced to market and taxes paid from proceeds.
State Bank of India will act as consignee agent for sale of seized/confiscated gold delivered by Customs in marketable form or converted to .999/.995 purity at major centres. Sale price is based on the previous day's closing market price reported in three national economic dailies and calculated per Annexure I; Customs accepts the Bank's computation. The Bank will deduct specified out of pocket expenses, pay taxes from proceeds, remit sale proceeds to the Commissioner's designated account, and handle physical receipt against acknowledgment while Customs provides assaying certificates and remains responsible for declared fineness.

Centralised registration for service providers streamlines ST registration with prescribed information, verification and seven day processing timelines.
Centralised registration requires submission of a complete ST-1 form with Annexure A information to the jurisdictional Deputy/Assistant Commissioner, who must verify, record unverifiable items, and forward the application with recommendations through the Commissioner to the Director General (Service Tax). Local verification and forwarding must be completed within seven days. The Director General will examine the report, may grant registration subject to verification, may raise preliminary objections, and may order further verification by field formations within seven days.

Served From India eligibility: Customs House Agents can claim benefits for services they exclusively render; passthrough receipts excluded.
Service providers such as Customs House Agents are eligible for benefits under the Served From India Scheme only for services they exclusively render and for which foreign exchange earnings are received and retained by them; foreign exchange amounts routed through them to pay other service providers cannot be treated as their service charges and are excluded from benefits.

Abolition of export declarations reduces customs paperwork, retaining only essential documents and limited non EDI exceptions.
The customs authority reduces export paperwork by retaining only five essential documents (commercial invoice, packing list, ARE 1, self declaration and scheme declarations) and abolishing numerous ancillary declarations for Drawback, DEPB and DEEC/DFRC schemes that no longer serve a useful purpose. Abolished declarations include those on rebate claims, manufacture status under Advance Licences, DEPB drawback interactions, market value and price certifications, preservative and aquaculture origins, and benefit conversion of shipping bills. Some declarations remain at non EDI stations until EDI is implemented; the unchanged manufacturing formula declaration is required only for brand rate drawback fixation, not for All Industry Rate claims.

Preservation of original records: stock exchanges must retain originals seized by enforcement agencies until trial completion.
Mandate requiring recognised stock exchanges and their members to preserve originals of documents, in both electronic and physical form, where copies have been taken by enforcement agencies, until trial concludes, notwithstanding shorter retention periods under existing securities rules and broker regulations; exchanges must amend bye-laws and Listing Agreements, notify members, publish the requirement, and report implementation to the regulator.

Preservation of original records required when enforcement agencies obtain copies, with originals retained until trial completion.
Depositories and their participants must retain original documents in both electronic and physical form, where enforcement agencies have taken copies during investigations, until the related trial is completed; depositories must amend bye laws, notify DPs and publish the requirement, and report implementation status to the regulator.

SCOMET declaration required in Aayaat Niryaat Form, and new Agri Export Zones plus origin agency added.
Adds three Agri Export Zones to Appendix 8 for Darjeeling Tea, Coriander and Cumin in specified districts; inserts Para 5 A in Part 4 of the Aayaat Niryaat Form requiring exporters to declare they have checked the SCOMET list and that items do not fall within it and to abide by SCOMET export policy (with an exception where a licence is sought); and adds M/s Vidarbha Industries Association, Nagpur, to Appendix 4C as an agency authorised to issue Certificate of Origin (Non Preferential).

Provisional release of seized export goods permitted on bond, with export benefits withheld pending final decision.
Except for prohibited or contraband goods, seized consignments entered for exportation may be provisionally released and exported on execution of a bond equivalent to the value of the seized goods and probable fine or penalty; export benefits shall not be allowed until final adjudication, and the bond must contain a clause to that effect.

Tax classification of copra clarified: treated as an oil seed under declared goods, attracting the applicable VAT treatment.
Gola/copra is not covered by the First Schedule entry for raw coconut; it is classified as a declared good under the Third Schedule as an oil seed and is therefore taxable under the declared-goods classification, per the Departmental clarification approved by the Commissioner of Value Added Tax.