TDS certificate verification now discretionary; assessments permitted when tax quantum, deductor/deductee credibility or circumstances warrant.
The instruction withdraws any fixed percentage requirement for cross verification of TDS certificates. Assessing Officers may verify certificates at their discretion where the quantum of tax, the credibility of the deductor or deductee, or the circumstances of the case warrant such verification, and Chief Commissioners need not prescribe a uniform sampling rate.

Deemed export benefits recovery: requirement to return cash equivalents for suppliers to Talcher power project.
The DGFT, invoking Paragraph 2.4 of the Export and Import Policy, 2002-2007 and Paragraph 1.1 of the Handbook of Procedures, amends transitional arrangements to require M/s NTPC to return the cash equivalent of deemed export benefits availed by suppliers for Talcher Super Thermal Power Project Stage II because World Bank funding was not available. The return obligation covers benefits under Advance Intermediate Licence/Special Imprest Licence and deemed export drawback up to 31 March 2000, and refunds of terminal excise duty from 1 April 2000 onwards.

Line of credit enables bilateral import financing under approved contracts with disbursement via specified letters of credit.
A government-to-government line of credit finances 100% of the f.o.b. value of approved contracts for eligible goods from India, disbursed only through letters of credit issued by banks in the borrowing country and advised to the State Bank of India for reimbursement. Letters of credit must be supported by the contract, include the prescribed reimbursement clause identifying the State Bank of India, and become negotiable after operative advice. Contracts and letters of credit require governmental approval and export shipments must be declared on export forms with the specified superscription and certified by authorised dealers on receipt of payment.

Sales tax abatement: deduct only the sales tax legally chargeable and billed, not set-off amounts affecting remittance.
The allowable sales-tax abatement for computing assessable value under section 4 is the amount legally chargeable and billed to the buyer under local sales-tax law; sales-tax set-off that reduces tax remitted by the assessee does not reduce the sales-tax amount eligible for deduction from transaction value, except where State law requires consignment-wise adjustment so that only a net billed tax is legitimately chargeable.

DEPB benefit entitlement for composite exports limited to lowest constituent rate; declaration and weight-based rules govern claims.
DEPB benefit on composite or assembled products is admissible where constituent items have fixed DEPB rates but the entitlement is limited to the lowest applicable constituent rate after disregarding constituent items weighing less than five percent of the product's total net weight; no benefit applies if any constituent item over that weight lacks a fixed DEPB rate. Exporters must declare the composite product description and total net weight, descriptions and weights of all constituents, DEPB entry numbers and credit rates for each constituent, and identify constituents under the weight threshold. The notice also adds specific DEPB rate entries and value caps for listed engineering, chemical, and plastics products.

Tax withholding on non-resident remittances: remitters must file an undertaking and accountant's certificate to permit transfers without NOC.
Remitters may make payments to non-residents without an income-tax No Objection Certificate if they submit an undertaking to the Assessing Officer and a certificate from an independent accountant certifying the nature, amount and correct rate of tax deduction; authorised dealers or the RBI will forward copies to the Assessing Officer and retain copies for audit. The remitter remains liable to pay any shortfall of tax with interest and is subject to penalties or prosecution for defaults. Revised proformas require detailed particulars and legal basis for the rate of deduction, including treaty considerations and permanent establishment issues.

Delegation of financial authority for routine IT expenditure enables departmental procurement, AMCs, training, and local software development.
Heads of Departments under the Central Board of Excise and Customs are authorised to incur limited annual expenditure for site preparation and maintenance of computer sites, training in prescribed computer courses, procurement of personal computers and related items, and local software development, subject to sanctioned budget, compliance with the Delegation of Financial Powers Rules and General Financial Rules, notification to the Directorate of Systems, and referral to the Ministry through Commissioner (Systems) for proposals exceeding delegated ceilings.

Delegation of status grant to Development Commissioners streamlines EOU/EPZ/SEZ approvals and clarifies procurement and jewellery supply rules.
Authority to grant or renew EOU/EPZ/SEZ status is delegated to the Development Commissioner except where export FOB clubbing of a parent company is involved; AROs may be granted to procure indigenous inputs or obtain goods from EOU/EPZ/EHTP/STP/SEZ units with customs/central excise entries reducing import licence validity; gem and jewellery units may re-export imports, export domestically procured goods, and supply unsuitable/broken stones to DTA against GEM/REP on payment of duty; Development Commissioners may fix six-month ad hoc wastage norms pending BOA regularisation.

Exemption from RCMC for woollen products and facilitation of AROs and back-to-back L/Cs for intermediate supplies.
RCMC obligation is removed for exports of shoddy and woollen products and wool-dominant blends across classifications. An ARO may be issued with or after an Advance Licence for Physical Exports, Intermediate Supplies, Deemed Exports or DFRC and will be co-terminus with the Advance Licence. Advance Licence holders, except DFRC holders, may obtain inland back-to-back LCs in favour of indigenous suppliers. Negotiation of documents certified under confirmed irrevocable LCs will be accepted as proof of export without insistence on export proceeds realization.

Procurement certificate issuance simplified: Superintendents and Range Officers may issue certificates to textile and chemical export units subject to safeguards.
Procurement certificates for import clearance in textile and chemical export units will be issued by Superintendents and CT-3 certificates by Range Officers, subject to a clean track record. Assistant Commissioners/Deputy Commissioners may delegate issuance powers, refer doubtful cases to Commissioners, and require post-facto approval for Range Officer-issued certificates. Existing safeguards and prior monitoring instructions remain applicable and the earlier circular is modified accordingly.

Permission for job work by export units requires application, sample retention, identity verification, and bank guarantees to protect duty interests.
EOUs and EPZ/STP/EHTP/SEZ units require application to the jurisdictional Assistant/Deputy Commissioner with details of the job-worker, processing activities, and justification; permission for job-work may be granted normally for one year and shall not be refused solely because the job-worker lacks Central Excise registration. Safeguards include sample retention and identity verification on return, bank guarantees to cover duty forgone for raw removals and partial guarantees for semi-processed removals with exemptions for status holders of good record, mandatory return within thirty days subject to limited extensions, and expeditious verification of job-worker premises by authorities.

Duty-free import entitlement for footwear embellishments clarified to cover shoe uppers and parts when notification conditions satisfied.
Duty free import of embellishment items listed in Sr. No. 167A of Customs Notification No. 21/2002, as amended, extends to shoe uppers and other parts of leather footwear exported by the leather footwear sub sector when such items are imported for use in the export product and all other notification conditions are satisfied; a Public Notice and Standing Order are to be issued for guidance.

Tariff rate quota allocation procedure: eligible agencies must apply for specified imports by deadline, with allocation by EFC.
Procedure for TRQ imports prescribes eligible agencies by tariff item, requires submission of the prescribed application and supporting documents to the Exim Facilitation Committee at DGFT, adherence to fee procedures in the Handbook of Procedures, and completion of imports before the specified cut-off date. Maize remains under State Trading Regime with option for designated agencies to receive import licences if not importing through the Food Corporation. The EFC, chaired by the Director General, will allocate quotas; failure to import within the stipulated period leads to two year ineligibility for the same item's quota.

Straight Through Processing adoption requires market participants to implement ISO 15022 messaging and electronic contract notes for automated settlement.
Mandate requires market participants to implement Straight Through Processing by adopting the ISO 15022 messaging standard, electronising contract notes, and establishing connectivity among custodians, exchanges, depositories and intermediaries to enable end-to-end electronic trade processing, reduce manual intervention and operational risk, and support shorter settlement cycles.

Two-way fungibility of ADRs/GDRs requires custodians to submit monthly non-breach certificates and standardized reports.
Custodians must submit a monthly certificate under clause e) confirming non-breach of sectoral caps and a clause q) monthly report in prescribed format, in both hard and soft copy, by the 10th of each month; the report must record company-level ADR/GDR data including issuance, redemptions, reissues, outstanding instruments, inward remittances and unsold shares from conversions.

Standard Input Output Norms updated: amendments add and substitute SION entries, specifying import-item allocations for exports.
Amendments revise the Standard Input Output Norms in the Handbook of Procedures, Vol.2 by substituting, deleting and adding SION entries. The Director General prescribes updated input-output ratios, alternative import options, component lists and packing/consumable allowances for specified export items across Chemicals, Engineering and Miscellaneous product groups as set out in Annexures A-D, and mandates net-to-net importation with accountability where indicated.

Foreign Currency Accounts: SEZ units allowed to open and maintain accounts with authorised dealers in India.
SEZ units are permitted to open, hold and maintain a Foreign Currency Account with an authorised dealer in India under conditions in the amended FEMA regulations; authorised dealers must notify constituents. The circular also deletes the prior special provision for EEFC accounts of SEZ units and issues directions under the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

Scrutiny selection policy for non-corporate business assesses mandates expanded case selection and monitored completion within prescribed timelines.
Jurisdictional ranges must select additional top non-corporate business assesses for scrutiny, with assessing officers choosing cases in consultation with range leadership; selections supplement prior selections and are subject to monitoring by Commissioners and cadre-controlling offices, with a requirement to complete a substantial portion of assessments within the current financial year to facilitate revenue collection.

Interest on delayed refunds: statutory interest must be paid automatically when refunds or rebates are sanctioned late.
Statutory interest is payable automatically when a refund or rebate claim is sanctioned beyond the prescribed three month period; officers must grant interest at the notified rate without awaiting superior or appellate directions, and Commissioners must fix responsibility and implement monitoring to ensure timely disposal and compliance with the interest payment provision.

Textual amendment clarifies wording in a prior circular by substituting a specified phrase to correct paragraph two.
Corrigendum issues a textual amendment to Circular No.657/48/2002-CX, directing that the words "though there is" in the last sentence of paragraph two be substituted with "the," as promulgated in Circular No.669/60/2002-CX dated 1 October 2002, solely to correct the wording of the prior instruction.