Prepayment of foreign currency convertible bonds allowed under conditions; issuer-initiated with holder consent and funds restrictions.
Prepayment of foreign currency convertible bonds by Indian issuers is permitted until 30 September 2003; issuers may initiate prepayment but actual buy back requires holder consent. Prepayment must not exceed face value including expenses, bonds repurchased must be cancelled and not reissued, and funds for prepayment must not come from fresh external debt. The scheme operates under the automatic route with limits on prepayment from local resources and no limit for EEFC funds or inward equity remittances if conditions are met. Companies must report details of repurchases and sources of funds to the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank within 30 days of completion.

Introduction of new customs stamps by foreign authority conveyed for information and necessary administrative action by Indian customs.
Circular No.20/2003-Cus dated 27 March 2003 transmits a letter from the Embassy of India, Ashgabat (No.Ash/Misc/1/2003, dated 17 February 2003) regarding introduction of new customs stamps by the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan and directs Indian customs officials to take the information and necessary administrative action.

Exemption from Declarations for goods sent abroad for testing or repair, subject to re-import and repatriation requirements.
The amendment exempts goods sent outside India for testing or for repair and re-import from the GR-form declaration requirement, adds these categories to permitted exports, revises SOFTEX filing to triplicate submission at designated export points, and requires SEZ units to realize and repatriate the full export value within a specified period while empowering the Reserve Bank to extend the period or alter the unit's governance after opportunity to be heard.

Excise liability allocation to goods owners shifts duty and credit responsibilities, granting procedural relief to textile job workers.
Rules assign excise liability and procedural responsibility to the person who gets yarn, fabric or garments manufactured on job work, freeing job workers from duty and procedural obligations unless they opt to register; permit serially numbered printed challans/proforma invoices for inter job worker transfers and approval sales; preserve CENVAT credit by endorsement through exempt/non excisable stages; allow one time deemed or document based credit for stocks as of 31.03.2003; provide simplified quarterly returns for specified preparatory works while duty is paid monthly; and exclude EOUs/SEZs from the special procedure.

Simplified Exit Scheme enables administrative striking off of defunct companies after affidavit, audited accounts and indemnity.
Introduction of a Simplified Exit Scheme (SES) under Section 560 to permit administrative striking off of defunct companies upon prescribed application, fee, audited accounts showing no assets or liabilities, an affidavit by at least two directors affirming non operation, and a notarized indemnity bond by at least two directors to meet any future liabilities; the Registrar must publish applicants in local and national dailies, circulate lists to the Department and banking association, and strike off names where no objections are received within the specified notice periods, with related reporting and limited withdrawal of certain prosecutions.

Ad-hoc customs duty exemption: importers may apply to the port Commissioner who can recommend provisional clearance.
Importers seeking an ad-hoc exemption under Section 25(2) of the Customs Act may apply to the Commissioner of Customs at the port, who will forward the request to the Board with the documents listed in Annexure II and with comments on the applicant's charitable nature, activities and reputation; the Commissioner may also recommend provisional clearance and the guidelines must be publicised by public notice.

Temporary removal of duty free laptops and projectors requires inventory accounting, named authorization, notification to jurisdictional officers, and record retention.
Temporary removal of duty free laptops and video projection systems from EOU, EHTP, STP and SEZ units is permitted provided units account for the equipment in inventory, issue a named written authorization with full specifications and serial identifiers, endorse a copy to the jurisdictional Assistant/Deputy Commissioner of Customs/Central Excise with acknowledgement, and maintain records of such authorisations for inspection.

Carry-on-Business licence form revised; applications must use the simplified, revised format for submission and processing.
All future applications for grant of Carry-on-Business (COB) licence must be submitted in the simplified revised application format attached to the press note, replacing the earlier requirement to use Form 'EE'; the designated secretariat handling industrial licence applications will accept applications in the new format.

Temporary foreign currency accounts allowed for international events with prior administrative approval and restricted permitted transactions.
Authorised dealers may open temporary foreign currency accounts for organisers of international seminars, conferences and conventions where the organiser has obtained prior approval from the concerned Administrative Ministry; permitted credits are inward remittances for registration fees, grants, sponsorships and donations, and permitted debits are payments to foreign invitees (travel, hotel, honoraria), refunds, bank charges and conversion into rupees. All other transactions require Reserve Bank approval and the account must be closed immediately after the event.

Submission requirements for Committee on Disputes: attach legible certified documents and referenced government orders, and circulate to processing officers.
Parties submitting cases to the Committee on Disputes must provide legible documents and annexures, supplying retyped and certified copies where necessary, and attach copies of all Government orders, notifications or official instruments cited; these submission standards must be circulated to all officers who process cases for the Committee.

Bank Guarantee reduction for eligible manufacturer and domestic exporters granted retrospective effect to earlier advance licences.
DGFT permits manufacturer exporters registered with state sales tax authorities to furnish a Bank Guarantee at 25% of duties saved for Advance Licences upon CA-certified past exports, tax/ excise registration proof and a declaration of no penalisation, and directs that this facility, together with endorsed bond/BG terms for qualifying established domestic companies, applies retrospectively to licences issued before the Public Notices.

Mandatory EDIFAR filing requirement expanded to additional companies; online financial statement uploads required under specified prior circular.
SEBI extends mandatory EDIFAR online filing to a further 500 listed companies selected by market capitalization and turnover; these companies must upload all statements and information as specified in the prior EDIFAR circular with effect from the quarter ending March 30, 2003. Newly listed companies must also upload financial statements/documents on the EDIFAR web site. Stock exchanges are to notify the listed companies and advise them about EDIFAR filing procedures.

Customs valuation procedure: follow Rule 10A process before rejecting a declared invoice value, ensuring written grounds and hearing rights.
Customs officers must not enhance invoice value arbitrarily; rejection of a declared value requires satisfaction based on contemporaneous prices, written intimation to the importer specifying grounds for doubt, a reasonable opportunity to be heard, and issuance of a speaking, appealable order. Reliance on Directorate of Valuation data and Valuation Bulletins is emphasised.

Removal of final products from job-worker premises requires Commissioner permission, prescribed challans, invoicing and duty compliance.
Removal of final products from a job-worker's premises requires annual Commissioner permission communicated to relevant officers and the job-worker. The principal must file a detailed application and maintain serial triplicate challans and registers; the job-worker must batch, identify and return duplicate challans and maintain manufacture records. The principal issues invoices referencing the Commissioner's permission and the job-worker premises, sends duplicate invoices with dispatched goods, and ensures duty payment and prescribed export documentation where applicable. Waste must be returned or cleared under the same procedures.

Deemed credit refund admissible for grey fabrics used in exported processed textiles despite dispute; earlier-period claims considered.
Refund of unutilized deemed credit on grey fabrics used in processed fabrics exported under bond is administratively recognised as admissible because grey fabrics are made from duty-paid yarn/fibres which are declared inputs and deemed credit applied where inputs are contained in final products; refunds for earlier periods must be considered on their merits since substantive entitlement to refund existed and cannot be denied merely because procedural notification was issued later.

Eligibility criteria for derivatives updated; exchanges must revise monthly reporting to include price scanning, volatility and sigma-based compliance.
SEBI mandates a revised monthly report for the derivative segment: Trading statistics for all futures and options must be reported; the prior scanning table is replaced by a Price Scanning Range and Volatility table with average, maximum and minimum scanning ranges and volatilities plus impact cost. Eligibility compliance is restructured into two tables-one for underlyings traded in derivatives requiring quarter sigma order size, current eligibility status, duration of ineligibility and actions taken; another for other Top-500 stocks requiring median quarter sigma order size and eligibility months. Submission begins from March 2003.

Cenvat credit refund for additional excise duty permitted under rule five even if duty not leviable on finished goods.
Unutilized CENVAT credit of Additional Excise Duty (Goods of Special Importance) paid on inputs is admissible under rule 3, and, with the restriction in sub rule (6) removed by notification, such admissible unutilized credit is refundable under rule 5 of the CENVAT Credit Rules even if that duty is not leviable on the finished product; pending cases should be decided accordingly.

Import licensing for plastic waste: entitlement and environmental compliance required before authorization to import.
Import of plastic waste/scrap requires an import licence based on submission of industrial approval, valid pollution control clearances, certified details of recycling process and production equipment, and past consumption records. Entitlement is determined by capacity rules: generally 50% of installed machinery capacity (on a 20 hrs/day, 330 days/year basis) for non-acrylic wastes, while acrylic entitlement is based on best historical consumption; units set up after the policy cut-off are ineligible. Environment Ministry comments and all public notice conditions remain mandatory.

Risk-based margining for T+2 rolling settlement uses scrip impact cost and amplified VaR to determine margins and collection timing.
Stock exchanges must classify scrips into three groups using trading frequency and a rolling six month impact cost calculated from four intra-day order book snapshots; publish a common methodology; and apply differentiated margins: scrip VaR for low-impact scrips, scaled amplified VaR for higher-impact and illiquid scrips with an index VaR floor, together with continuing mark-to-market collection, discretionary adhoc margins, phased reduction of additional margins, and T+1 margin collection, with daily VaR dissemination and mandatory real-time market data.

Cancellation of registration: SEBI may issue No Due Certificate after required confirmations, documents and settlement of outstanding fees.
Exchanges must request SEBI cancellation and issue of a No Due Certificate upon surrender of membership, confirming the broker owes no amount to SEBI, is disabled from trading, is not connected to defaulting members, has given an undertaking to remain liable for violations, and that no complaints, proceedings or investigations are pending; the request must include the original registration certificate (or indemnity), turnover details, and confirmations. SEBI may cancel registration and issue the certificate subject to remittance of accrued fees, provision of an undertaking to pay further fees or interest, and withholding of the member's security deposit until dues are cleared.