Amendment to Companies Secretary qualification rules updates appointment and notification procedures for compliance and circulation.
Amendments and corrigendum were circulated affecting the Companies (Appointment and Qualifications of Secretary) Rules, 1988 and prior notification GSR 555(E); the Department of Company Affairs forwarded three Gazette notifications-a corrigendum, an amendment to the earlier notification, and an amendment to the 1988 Rules-to regional directors and registrars of companies for information, necessary action and acknowledgement.

Drawback rate corrections and steel-origin declarations require exporters to certify duty-paid imported steel on shipping bills.
Corrections amend specified drawback rates, tariff headings and goods descriptions across multiple chapters, revising numeric rates and maxima and fixing typographical errors. Inserted notes require exporters of listed serial/sub-serial products to declare on the shipping bill that goods are manufactured from duty paid imported steel, supported by a Chartered Engineer's certificate. The corrigendum confines changes to the specified entries and clarifies the serial/sub-serial ranges subject to the certification requirement.

Reduced export performance criterion permits Export House qualification for exports to specified LAC, CIS and African countries.
Specifies that exporters to listed Latin American, CIS and Sub Saharan African countries are eligible for a reduced three year average FOB/FOR export performance threshold to qualify for Export House status under the Exim Policy 2002-07. The circular enumerates eligible countries and records totals of 49 African, 12 CIS and 44 Latin American countries for application in computing average export performance for export house recognition.

Classification of activated bleaching earth shifted to activated clays heading, requiring reclassification and recovery of short levies.
Activated bleaching earth / activated clay, produced by acid or alkali activation of bentonite and possessing distinct adsorptive and catalytic properties, is excluded from natural clay headings by HS Explanatory Notes and is classifiable as CTH 3802.90 (activated bleaching earth). Customs authorities are directed to reclassify imports accordingly and to issue demand notices where misdeclaration has caused short levy.

Examination norms for export goods: self-certification and self-sealing allowed but port inspections follow reduced sampling rates.
Exporters may continue to remove goods from factories under self-certification and self-sealing, but such consignments will be examined at the port of export according to the reduced sampling and examination percentages established by the subsequent circular; the earlier one-in-five self-sealed container rule has been rescinded as redundant, and exceptions apply for sensitive destinations. Public Notices or Standing Orders should be issued and implementation difficulties reported to the Board.

Normal rolling settlement: specified scrips moved from trade-for-trade into rolling settlement with staged effectiveness dates.
The circular directs immediate migration of specified scrips to Normal Rolling Settlement where depository connectivity exists, and prescribes phased transfers of further scrip cohorts from the trade-for-trade segment into normal rolling settlement on specified future effective dates, requiring exchanges to implement these settlement-mode changes contingent on depository connectivity.

Rescission of a prior circular confirms detailed instructions on import of currency through post remain operative.
The Board has rescinded a later circular on release of imported currency through post because a more detailed earlier circular comprehensively governs import of currency by post; officers must notify stakeholders via Public Notices or Standing Orders and report implementation difficulties to the Board.

Import of secondhand capital goods: allowed to actual users subject to age based import and EPCG debonding conditions.
Import of second hand capital goods is freely allowed to an actual user only if the goods are not more than ten years old at import; EPCG debonding is restricted, permitting debonding for second hand goods under the ten year threshold after a holding period on payment of duties, while goods older than ten years may be debonded only against an import licence and duty payment. Additional amendments reclassify service provider export house nomenclature, permit SEZ DTA sales subject to duties and tariff change rules, require jewellery exports to reflect wastage norms and to compute CIF from FOB per Handbook value addition, and adjust depreciation and various appendix entries.

DTA sale entitlement updated: revised eligibility, certification and monitoring rules for export oriented units.
Amendments revise operational, entitlement and monitoring rules for EOU/EPZ/SEZ units: clarify accounting for duty free imports and intra unit transfers, restrict DTA clearances to goods similar to exports with BOA referral for disputes, and correct appendix cross references. DTA sale entitlement procedures, certification, advance sale conditions and sectoral exceptions are defined. Monitoring obligations require Development Commissioners to conduct periodic joint reviews, apply NFEP/NFE calculation and amortisation rules, initiate show cause and penal action for persistent shortfalls, and submit prescribed proformas to the Ministry.

Special currency basket valuation changed; rupee value fixed and authorised dealers instructed to notify constituents under FEMA authority.
A change in the valuation of the special currency basket was effected on 6 May 2002, and the rupee value of that basket was fixed with effect from 9 May 2002. Authorised dealers are directed to notify their constituents of this revised rupee valuation. The directions are issued under the issuer's statutory exchange-control powers to fix valuation and prescribe compliance instructions for foreign exchange dealings.

Input-output norms updated to amend standard SION entries, adding and correcting import allowances for specified export items.
The public notice amends the Handbook of Procedures, Vol.2 by fixing and modifying Standard Input Output Norms, adding, substituting and deleting sectoral SION entries. It prescribes precise import items and allowable quantities tied to listed export items across Chemicals, Engineering, Food, Plastic, Textile and Miscellaneous categories, introduces conditional component substitutions and CIF-value caps for minor inputs, and adds a testing/certification compliance note for certain textile exports.

Prohibition on remittances for lottery participation: residents and intermediaries face liability; authorised dealers must publicise restrictions.
Payments toward lotteries, money circulation schemes or prize/award payments are prohibited under foreign exchange rules whether made by residents by any mode or by non residents on residents' behalf; residents effecting or causing such remittances, directly or indirectly, may be proceeded against, and authorised dealers must widely publicise and enforce the prohibition.

Letter of Credit refinancing enables exporters to secure full contract-value financing in US dollar contracts with specified bank procedures.
Exim Bank's US dollar Letter of Credit Refinancing Facility with Bank Markazi allows refinancing of letters of credit for eligible exports to Iran, requires contracts in US dollars and a minimum LC size, prescribes designated issuing and advising/negotiating banks and a documentary flow where advising banks forward non-negotiable conforming documents to Exim Bank for reimbursement, mandates a specified LC clause and refinancing tenor, requires GR/SDF/SOFTEX declarations with a prescribed superscription, limits agency commission except in specified after-sales-service cases subject to prior approval, and is issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

Review procedure for Orders in Revision: Chief Commissioners must examine and forward review proposals and draft orders within prescribed timeframe.
The Board, under the amended provision of subsection (2) of Section 86 of the Finance Act, 1994, may direct Commissioners to appeal Orders-in-Revision in Service Tax matters; the review procedure used under section 35E Central Excise and section 129D Customs shall govern Service Tax reviews. Jurisdictional Chief Commissioners must examine Orders-in-Revision for legality and propriety and, where appropriate, send a review proposal with a Draft Review Order and case records to the Board within forty-five days of the Order-in-Revision, and Commissioners must endorse a copy of their Order-in-Revision to the Chief Commissioner.

Exemption from Special Additional Duty for DEPB exports allows pre-policy-change shipments to be treated under prior handbook rules.
Exemption from Special Additional Duty is allowed for DEPB shipments where the date of order of "Let Export" is prior to the policy change; DEPB entitlement must use the rate and exchange rate applicable on the date of the "Let Export" order and DEPBs must be endorsed to show issuance under Customs notification 34/97 read with paragraph 7.43 of the Handbook of Procedure (Vol.1), 1997-2002. Procedures are prescribed for filing separate DEPB applications, surrendering and reissuing DEPBs for mixed-date shipments without additional application or TR, endorsement of partly utilised DEPBs, and use of counter assistance and licensing authority processing.

Amendments to companies fee rules circulated; Schedule VI alterations notified affecting company filing and fee procedures.
Amendments to the Companies (Fees on Applications) Rules, 1999 (GSR 365(E) dated 14.5.2002) and alterations to Schedule VI of the Companies Act, 1956 (GSR 376(E) dated 22.5.2002) were circulated by the Department of Company Affairs to all Regional Directors and Registrars of Companies with a direction to acknowledge receipt and to implement the changes in respect of company filings and fee assessments.

Automation of IGM submissions: prescribed floppy-based ICES format enforces structured Vessel, Cargo and Container messaging and acknowledgements.
The notice mandates submission of IGM messages to ICES via prescribed floppy file format with a three-part structure-Vessel, Cargo and Container-using defined field delimiters and a naming convention; files are validated by the Message Exchange Server, populated into the database only on acceptable format, and Customs issues .ack or .nak acknowledgements. It prescribes message types (prior, post-arrival, final, supplementary, amendment, deletion), mandatory fields, restrictions on amendment of key vessel parameters, procedural rules for line numbering, empty-container handling, and container-number amendment by delete-and-refile.

Indian Customs EDI requires electronic three part IGM filing, system approval, and Dy. Commissioner authorised amendments.
The ICES pilot at Mumbai mandates electronic filing of the Import General Manifest (IGM) in three parts (vessel, cargo, container) as prior or final IGM; system generates IGM numbers after checklist confirmation. Arrival entry inwards are recorded by Preventive Officers, after which supplementary additions, amendments or deletions require written requests to and approval by the Dy. Commissioner (Imports) and are processed in the service centre and ICES. Immutable fields, deletion/addition procedures, amendment numbering, cancellation rules and restrictions once a Bill of Entry is filed are specified.

DEPB endorsement amendment permitted for exports prior to notification application, enabling re endorsement under prior EXIM provisions.
Authorization to amend DEPB endorsements where Customs Notification No.45 was applied to pre cut off exports; DGFT to issue instructions and update software. Exporters may submit affected DEPBs for amendment and re endorsement under the prior EXIM Policy and Customs Notification No.34 of 1997, with expedited processing at the original collection counters.

Duty Drawback Rates updated: new Drawback Table introduces entries and ties eligibility to CENVAT facility for certain products.
All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback for 2002-2003 are reissued as a Drawback Table effective 1-6-2002, introducing chapter-specific Explanatory Notes, new and regrouped tariff entries (including dye intermediates, leather articles, footwear, writing instruments, and specified metal products), recast definitions (e.g., gaskets), and separate entries for exporters based on availment of CENVAT facility. Drawback entitlement for items newly brought under Central Excise is made contingent on availment of the CENVAT facility. The Directorate asks field staff to review the Table and directs wide publicity and issuance of Standing Orders and Public Notices.