Housing loan repayment by close relatives now permitted, allowing direct payments from Indian bank accounts to the loan account.
Authorises housing loans in rupees to NRIs/PIOs for residential acquisition in India and requires repayments-instalments, interest and charges-by inward remittance, debit to permitted non resident accounts or rental income. The circular liberalises repayment mechanisms by allowing close relatives in India to repay directly from their bank accounts to the borrower's loan account with the authorised dealer or approved housing finance institution.

Leniency for bonafide procedural mistakes: accept simplified movement documents and non-standard units if goods are properly accounted.
The circular permits acceptance of simplified movement documents and the use of non-standard units for job-work consignments if essential particulars are present and quantities are satisfactorily accounted; Commissioners are directed to examine local trade practices and exercise discretion, viewing bonafide technical and procedural mistakes by typically small job-workers leniently.

Cost recovery posts require prior IFU sanction for extension and shared charges when officers serve multiple export units.
Clarifies that cost recovery posts for officers in EOUs and EHTP/STP units are sanctioned annually and require prior IFU sanction for continuation beyond one year; modifies the earlier circular accordingly. Where a cost recovery officer serves more than one EOU, the post cost shall be equally shared among those EOUs and this sharing must be recorded in the posting order; past noncompliance need not be reopened. Cost recovery charges for fully export-oriented units are to be based on the average cost of the post.

Tariff rate quota adjustment: TRQ allocations and tariff classifications for dairy and maize imports revised under import policy.
Director General of Foreign Trade amends para 2.60 of the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. I by revising Tariff Rate Quota allocations and tariff classifications: the TRQ for the specified dairy tariff codes is reduced to a lower MT allocation; a listed tariff code is omitted; and the tariff heading for maize (corn) is corrected to the designated code, to be applied in import processing under the Export and Import Policy.

Exemption from PHA release order: raw cashewnuts for re processing may be released on Customs Bond for export.
Imported raw cashewnuts intended for re processing and export are exempted from the PHA release order requirement; Customs authorities shall release such consignments on Customs Bond for re processing in place of the PHA formalities.

SLP submission timelines tightened; certified High Court orders and complete Proforma B must accompany timely feasibility opinions and comments.
The Board mandates that SLP proposals be forwarded within 30 days of the High Court judgment, with a fully completed Proforma B, certified checklist and all annexures; Standing Counsels must file the certified High Court copy with an opinion on SLP feasibility within seven days of judgment without awaiting CCIT/CIT direction. The Board prescribes uniform circulation of xeroxed SLPs and parawise comments among Board, CCIT, AGA and CAS and requires parawise and rejoinder comments to be furnished promptly to enable counter and rejoinder affidavits; dasti service must include a supporting affidavit.

Disposal of unclaimed cargo under section 48 extended; custodians allowed additional time to complete disposals and notify trade.
The Board extends the time for completion of disposal processes for unclaimed and uncleared cargo landed up to 31.3.2003 under section 48 of the Customs Act, 1962, permitting custodians-public or private-to complete disposals by 31.12.2004 and directing issuance of public notices to inform trade and custodians of the revised deadline.

Export warehousing expansion extends registration eligibility to include Indore district, enabling local bonded warehouses for export.
The Board amended the list of places eligible for registration of export warehouses under the Central Excise regulatory framework to add the District of Indore, permitting exporters and warehouse operators there to apply for registration to operate bonded storage for excisable goods intended for export, subject to existing procedural conditions and compliance requirements.

Line of Credit export financing permits limited agency commission for after sales service with prior RBI approval and specific disbursement deadlines.
A Line of Credit from Exim Bank to Republic Bank, Trinidad and Tobago finances exports of eligible Indian goods and services, subject to specified deadlines for letters of credit and disbursement and mandatory GR/SDF shipment declarations. No agency commission is ordinarily payable, but the Reserve Bank may permit up to 5 per cent commission for exports requiring after sales service; such commission must be paid in the buyer's jurisdiction by deduction from invoice, reimbursement will be 90 per cent of invoice value minus commission, and prior approval is required.

DEPB rate amendments update product descriptions, value caps and insert new entries across multiple product groups.
Amendment to the Schedule of DEPB rates revises product descriptions, adjusts value caps and inserts new DEPB entries across multiple product groups under the Export and Import Policy and Handbook of Procedures, specifying corrected wording for particular items and establishing new entries with stated DEPB rates and value caps for designated products.

Time period clarification for DFRC and DEPB applications: pre amendment and post amendment documents governed; reconsideration permitted.
Clarification distinguishes applicability of the amended filing time-period: shipping bills or Bank Realisation Certificates dated before 28 January 2004 are governed by the Handbook provisions prior to the amendment, while those dated on or after 28 January 2004 are governed by the Handbook as amended by Public Notice No.41; disposed applications falling in the pre-amendment category may be reconsidered and a supplementary DFRC/DEPB issued by the licensing authority on application.

Drawback prohibition when exported goods incorporate inputs procured without payment of duty affects drawback entitlement.
Goods procured under the notification permitting procurement without payment of duty for export manufacture do not attract sub-rules (1)-(3) of rule 6 of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2002; those sub-rules apply only where a manufacturer makes both dutiable and exempted goods. For drawback, exports produced using excisable inputs obtained without payment of duty under the notification are ineligible for drawback except as explicitly permitted under the Customs and Central Excise Duties Drawback Rules, and the exporter must declare non-use of the sub-rule (2) facility when claiming drawback.

Line of Credit facilitates exports to BOAD member states under FEMA directions, with limited commission rules and deadline controls.
Exim Bank's Line of Credit to BOAD finances export of equipment, goods and services from India to BOAD member states, effective April 1, 2004, subject to specified last dates for opening letters of credit and for disbursement. Shipments must be declared on GR/SDF forms. Agency commission is not normally payable, but Reserve Bank may permit up to five percent for exports requiring after sales service, payable in BOAD member states by invoice deduction; Exim Bank's reimbursable payment to the negotiating bank will be ninety percent of the f.o.b./c&f/c.i.f. value minus commission. Approval for commission must be obtained before shipment.

Erection and commissioning services: treated separately for service tax and not subsumed under consulting engineer services.
Charges for erection, installation and commissioning are not covered under Consulting Engineer Services; commissioning and installation are separately taxable under the relevant service entry, and prior circular guidance on treating these activities as consulting engineer services is modified. The Board directed issuance of a trade notice to communicate this clarification.

Tax Deduction at Source on Deep Discount Bonds: deduction occurs at redemption; certificate or declaration can prevent or reduce deduction.
Tax deduction at source on income from Deep Discount Bonds is required only at the time of redemption, regardless of whether the bond holder reported income annually on an accrual basis or only at redemption. A holder who declared accrual income may apply for a certificate for no or lower deduction by filing the prescribed form with year wise income details (and transferor particulars if not an original subscriber); the Assessing Officer may issue a reduced rate certificate after satisfaction. Resident individual original subscribers who declare accrual income and have no tax liability may furnish the prescribed declaration to avoid deduction, subject to limits on accumulated interest for certain individuals.

Filing of import manifest before arrival amended to add ports; advance IGM procedure continues to apply.
The Circular reiterates that advance filing of Import General Manifests prior to vessel or aircraft arrival is required under the prescribed procedure and amends Annexure-I of Circular No.30/2004-Cus by inserting after Sr. No.10 the entry "11 Colombo Bangalore," directing field formations to ensure strict compliance.

Export documentation requirements updated: pharmaceutical RCMC recognised, stricter deemed export invoice certification, and Agri Export Zone/SEZ additions.
The Handbook of Procedures is amended to allow RCMC issuance by the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council for a broad range of drugs and pharma-related exports and services. Deemed export rules now require a copy of the invoice or a statement of invoices signed by the receiving unit and their jurisdictional excise authorities certifying item, quantity, value and date. Appendix changes add specified West Bengal districts to the Agri Export Zone for potatoes and list the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council among export promotion councils.

Tariff Rate Quota allocations govern concessional import duty; eligible agencies must apply to DGFT for annual quota allocation.
The notice establishes a Tariff Rate Quota granting concessional customs duty on specified dairy and oilseed commodities up to annual quantities, lists eligible public and cooperative agencies for allocation, requires applications to the Exim Facilitation Committee in DGFT with prescribed fees and documentation by the annual deadline, mandates completion of imports within the financial year, and provides that maize under the State Trading Regime may be imported through designated agencies or FCI with import licences for allotted amounts.

Operationalisation of SEZ customs provisions expands transfer rights and procedural relaxations while preserving safeguards on export incentives.
Operationalisation of Chapter XA implements amended Special Economic Zone Rules and Regulations effective 11 5 2004, liberalising procedures: depreciation for capital goods and computers is by straight line method (full quarter convention, up to 100%); SEZ units may transfer all goods (including raw materials) to EOU/EHTP/STP/SEZ with safeguards against indirect benefit of drawback or DEPB; repayment of export benefits on destruction is not required where payment was received in foreign exchange; procedural changes include endorsed returns to Development Commissioner, bonds with Deputy/Assistant Commissioners, jurisdictional monitoring through Unit Approval Committee, and developer approvals based on Chartered Engineer assessments.

Input-output norms modification updates SIONs, adding sectoral entries and defining permitted import entitlements for exports.
Director General of Foreign Trade amends the Handbook of Procedures Vol.2 under Paragraph 2.4 by substituting, correcting and adding Standard Input Output Norms (SION). Annexure A contains amendments and corrections to existing SION entries across chemical, engineering, plastics, textile and other sectors; Annexures B-F add new sectoral SIONs specifying export items and their allowed import inputs and quantities, including alternate input baskets and pro rata adjustment rules. A new general note for leather products prescribing input quantities for Dual Density PU/TPU soles is also added.