Shipment certificate replacement for E.P. copies authorized, permitting exporters to obtain certified shipping documentation upon request.
Deputy/Assistant Commissioner (Docks-Export) are authorized to issue Shipment Certificates in lieu of E.P. copies of Shipping Bills that cannot be generated; such certificates must bear the issuing officer's signature and seal and display his name and designation in block letters, be issued following departmental procedure, and be provided to exporters or their representatives/CHAs within a reasonable timeframe of the request.

Provisional shipment endorsement required on shipping bills to record sample drawal and consignment examination until system update.
Until software is updated, proper officers must manually endorse all copies of shipping bills to record provisional shipment, drawal of samples, and examination of the consignment, and must sign, date, seal and print their name and designation in block letters beneath the signature so these facts appear on the shipping documents for later verification.

Advance license restrictions: only declared manufacturing inputs allowed; finished goods and mere packaging operations excluded.
Advance license issuance for deemed exports is limited to inputs required for manufacture as specified in the Legal Undertaking/Letter of Permission/Letter of Intent; applicants must submit that instrument and licenses shall not cover fully finished goods or supplies to units engaged only in packaging, labeling, segregation, or refrigeration.

Multiple declared MRPs: the highest listed price governs even if a higher MRP is crossed out.
Where more than one retail sale price is declared on a package, the highest declared price prevails for excise purposes even if a higher MRP has been visibly crossed out; administrative steps require informing field formations, issuing a trade notice for trade benefit, and obtaining acknowledgment of receipt.

SPS quota allocation for raw cane sugar to the EU prescribes certification endorsements and designates a sole authorised exporter.
An SPS quota for export of raw cane sugar to the EU for 2002-2003 is allocated with a required certification endorsement referencing the applicable European Commission regulation and the common code for sugar. The Indian Sugar Exim Corporation Ltd. is appointed as the sole agency authorised to export under this quota, pursuant to the Handbook of Procedures and with DGFT approval; Customs and port offices are directed to implement the measure.

Effective date of cheque payment: bank clearance determines when government dues are treated as paid under CGA rules.
Cheques for collection of tax revenues are governed by the Central Government Accounts (Receipt & Payment) Rules, 1983, and under rule 20 government dues paid by cheque are deemed paid on the date the cheque is cleared/realized by the bank and entered into the receipts scroll, rather than on the date the cheque is tendered; CTRs now apply only to limited categories after departmentalisation.

State of Origin requirement: exporters must show state code in shipping bills to protect export benefit eligibility.
Exporters must indicate the State of Origin using the prescribed state code in Shipping Bills per ITC (HS) classifications; failure to do so may lead to rejection of applications for export benefits. An annexed list of state names and corresponding codes is provided, and exporters and CHAs are advised to verify the correct state code before presentation to Customs.

Margin requirement for foreign institutional investors on sale positions withdrawn, custodians instructed to notify clients under SEBI guidance.
SEBI notified that the temporary margin requirement on foreign institutional investors' sale positions has been withdrawn and custodians are directed to inform their FII clients; the implementing circular is enclosed and available on SEBI's Foreign Institutional Investors web page.

Service tax liability depends on service performance and realisation; providers must account for and remit tax irrespective of separate billing.
Service tax liability arises on rendition of taxable services and realisation of consideration; advances before performance are not taxable. Providers remain liable even if tax was not separately charged or collected; receipts will be treated as inclusive of tax and must be accounted for and remitted. A formal invoice is not a prerequisite where performance, determination of consideration and receipt are complete; provisional assessment and Form ST-3A are options where determination is unfinished. Registration is required within one month of levy or commencement; returns are half-yearly in Form ST-3 and records kept under other laws are acceptable.

Duty-free fuel supply applies when research vessels operate beyond territorial waters; denied for vessels conducting oil exploration within EEZ.
Supply of fuel to research vessels is duty-free when the vessels operate beyond India's territorial waters because that constitutes an export; fuel supplied to vessels conducting mineral oil exploration or extraction within the Exclusive Economic Zone or Continental Shelf is not an export and duty-free supply is not permitted, as examined under the definitions in the Customs Act, 1962 and Central Excise Rules, 2002.

Valuation Checking Cell to monitor declared import values and require monthly reporting to valuation authorities for review.
A Valuation Checking Cell must be created in each Customs House, staffed by Appraiser-rank officers with read-only terminal access to Bills of Entry and NIDB/valuation data, to monitor declared import values, identify suspect consignments, prompt value loading before final assessment or initiate reviews and show-cause notices, and compile and forward prescribed monthly reports via the Chief Commissioner to enable central valuation analysis by the 7th of the succeeding month.

Duty free import prohibition on natural rubber: imports and DFRC replenishment disallowed until further notice.
A public notice amends the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. II to add a General Note prohibiting duty free import of natural rubber despite its inclusion in the Standard Input Output Norms, and expressly bars duty free import against Duty Free Replenishment Certificate entitlements until further notice.

Margin requirements revised: sale-side margins withdrawn, price band removed and upfront margin collection threshold clarified.
The circular withdraws the temporary sale-side margin requirement on financial institutions, FIIs, banks and mutual funds that was based on a minimum VaR differential, and withdraws the temporary 10% price band on selected derivative-underlying stocks. The 10% upfront margin requirement for clients (excluding FIs, FIIs, MFs) is narrowed so brokers collect it only where the resulting margin reaches the specified collection threshold; certification of collection will be carried out by the compliance officer under the broker regulations.

Foreign exchange waiver allows SEZ units to remit premiums abroad for general insurance when paid from their foreign exchange balances.
Units located in Special Economic Zones are exempted from the prohibition on taking general insurance from insurers outside India for the limited purpose of permitting authorised dealers to allow remittances of premiums to non resident insurers, provided such premiums are paid by the units out of their foreign exchange balances; authorised dealers must bring this facilitation to the notice of constituents and ensure compliance with applicable FEMA powers.

Duty free import exclusion: exporters using duty free imported inputs cannot claim DEPB and must declare this on shipping bills.
DEPB benefit is available only when inputs used in the exported product have borne customs duty; inputs imported duty free under the duty free import notification against Bond/BG therefore disqualify the exporter from claiming DEPB. Customs must verify at export processing that duty free imports are not relied upon for DEPB credit, and exporters must declare on the shipping bill that specified materials were imported duty free, with trade notices and standing orders issued for guidance.

Reporting of securities write-off: FIIs must report write-offs as nil-value sales and follow prescribed disinvestment procedures.
SEBI mandates that securities may be written off only with prior FII approval and must be reported as sales at nil value or as compensation; recovered securities must be reported as purchases after obtaining prior regulatory permission. Where custodians cannot deliver or identify claimants, they must sell such securities on the exchange, credit net proceeds to the regional Investors Protection Fund within seven days, report the sale as a normal sale, and provide monthly confirmations. Custodians act as trustees and must include write-off and disinvestment provisions in client agreements. Reporting transaction codes: write-off 17, write-back 18, disinvestment 4.

Special currency basket value revised; authorised dealers must apply the updated rupee valuation and limits.
Revision of the rupee valuation for the special currency basket under the Deferred Payments Protocols with specified lower and upper limits; authorised dealers are instructed to implement the updated valuation and notify their constituents. The directions are issued under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Special Economic Zone provisions inserted in Customs and excise laws; retrospective excise validations and customs duty increased.
Reference substitution updates the Customs Act cross reference from the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act to the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and inserts Chapter XA and related Central Excise amendments for Special Economic Zones pending notification. Retrospective Central Excise Rule changes effective 1 3 2002 prescribe payment and return procedures for specified goods and validate deferments and extended deadlines for affected assessees. Other amendments correct the taxable service definition for cable operators, validate a retrospective cess notification for crude oil under production sharing contracts, and raise basic customs duty on certain milk derived fats to the WTO bound 40% rate.

Filing fees for foreign companies revised; standardized delay cost schedule allows belated statutory filings upon payment.
Revision of filing fees for foreign companies under Section 601 increases the prescribed per-document fee and is effective from the notified date. A standardized, tiered additional fee schedule is prescribed to condone delays in filing statutory documents by foreign companies, permitting Registrars to accept the additional fee alongside the normal filing fee to allow belated filings, and directing the Registrar of Companies, Delhi to implement collection of the revised fees and charges.

Repatriation of current income permitted for NRIs on Chartered Accountant certification ensuring eligibility and tax compliance.
Authorised dealers may permit repatriation of current income of NRIs (such as rent, dividend, pension, interest) even if the NRI lacks an NRO account, on the basis of a Chartered Accountant's certification that the remitted amount is eligible and that applicable taxes have been paid or provided for; dealers must notify constituents and implement the measure under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.