Excise duty deferral for granite manufacturers allowed; payment and consolidated return deadlines extended accordingly under central excise rules.
Granite manufacturing units, having been excluded from SSI exemption, are liable to excise duty on clearances for March-May 2002 but may defer payment until 15th June 2002 instead of fortnightly payments under Rule 8; they may file a single consolidated RT 12 return for March-May 2002 by 10th June 2002.

FCCB automatic route: issuance allowed without government or central bank approval, subject to reporting and compliance.
An amendment allows Indian companies or corporates created by Parliament to issue FCCBs under the automatic route without prior Government or Reserve Bank approval, subject to reporting to the Reserve Bank through authorised dealers and obtaining a loan registration number; authorised dealers must ensure strict compliance with the notification and forward offer documents to the regional office for registration, pursuant to the enabling provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Agri Export Zones notification adds specified district-level zones for targeted agricultural products under export policy framework.
Notification adds designated Agri Export Zones to Handbook (Vol I) by inserting entries in Appendix 59 under authority of Paragraph 4.11 of the Export and Import Policy 1997-2002. The Director General of Foreign Trade specifies product-based zones and enumerates the constituent states and district/block/mandal areas for each zone (including zones for mangoes, pineapple, apples, potatoes, onion, garlic and various vegetables), and states the addition is issued in the public interest.

Excise duty deferral granted for specified budget imposed goods, allowing delayed payment, consolidated returns, and temporary registration relief.
Excise duty was imposed at differing rates contingent on an assessee's choice to opt into the CENVAT credit scheme. For clearances in March-May 2002, the Board permitted deferred payment of duty until 15 June 2002, waived fortnightly payment obligations by inserting Rule 8A in the Central Excise Rules, 2002, allowed a single consolidated RT 12 return for those months to be filed by 10 June 2002, and deferred insistence on formal registration of affected manufacturing units until 1 June 2002.

Export warehousing expanded to include additional hinterland districts, easing exporter access under Central Excise rules.
The Board amended the list of permissible locations for export warehouse registration to include Raigad District and East Midnapore District as hinterland areas serving major ports, enabling exporters and warehousing operators in those districts to register and operate export warehouses under the existing export warehousing scheme; field formations are to inform stakeholders, acknowledge receipt, and implement the amendment under the applicable Central Excise framework.

Compounding of offences permitted against directors of liquidated companies when statutory conditions are satisfied; companies cannot be compounded.
Compounding of offences under Section 621A is permissible for offences committed by directors of a company in liquidation if statutory conditions and guidelines are satisfied; Section 446 does not bar criminal proceedings or compounding against directors. However, where penal provisions apply to the company as well, compounding is not permissible against the company while Section 446 restrictions apply.

Import of currency by post permitted without prior central bank clearance subject to supervisory conditions and recordkeeping.
Customs may clear Indian and foreign currency received by residents through post without requiring an RBI No Objection Certificate where the value does not exceed Rs. 5000/-, subject to approval by the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Customs and conditions that senior-level approval be exercised, detailed exemption records be maintained, remitter and addressee particulars be recorded, and spikes in volume be reported to the relevant regional office.

Port restrictions on natural rubber clarified: SEZ imports exempted while other duty exemption schemes are excluded.
Imports of natural rubber by units in Special Economic Zones are exempt from the port restrictions in the referenced notification, while imports under other duty exemption schemes, including EOU/EPZ, are not permitted; only SEZ imports may avail the exemption.

Proof of realisation format mandated for DEPBs; file-wise submissions required and closure letters issued after BRCs recorded.
Exporters must submit proof of realisation for DEPBs in the amended Bank Certificate of Exports proforma; submissions in any other format after 15th March 2002 will not be accepted. Proof must be filed file-wise without clubbing BRCs from multiple files, and exporters must take call dates for submissions. The office will issue a letter of closure for each file after taking BRCs on record; files remain pending until that closure letter is issued.

DEEC book logging: exporters must submit proof and correspondence to seek abeyance; claims alone are insufficient.
Exporters must provide detailed proof of DEEC submission and any correspondence with Customs to the Export Facilitation Cell in duplicate when seeking abeyance of a Refusal Memo; abeyance is not available on mere assertion of pending DEEC logging and is granted case-by-case by the Zonal Joint Director General of Foreign Trade.

Full convertibility of non-resident deposit schemes: NRNR and NRSR schemes discontinued and proceeds redirected to NRE/NRO accounts.
Authorised dealers and authorised banks are prohibited from accepting fresh deposits or opening new NRNR and NRSR accounts; existing NRNR and NRSR term deposits may continue only until maturity. NRNR maturity proceeds shall be credited to the accountholder's NRE account after notice or to the NRO account on request, and NRSR term deposit maturity proceeds shall be credited to the accountholder's NRO account. Premature withdrawal options remain, but reinvestment after premature closure is limited to the NRO account.

Overseas direct investment limits under automatic route increased; authorised dealer funding cap raised to a higher share of net worth.
Regulatory amendments raise the per financial year ceiling for Indian outbound direct investment under the Automatic Route and increase the permissible drawal from authorised dealers to a larger percentage of the Indian party's net worth as shown in the last audited balance sheet, effectuating liberalisation of overseas direct investment under the Transfer or Issue of any Foreign Security regulations.

Input-output norms modification updates SIONs and adds sectoral input schedules, conditional allowances and accountability rules.
The DGFT Public Notice amends the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. II by revising, adding and deleting Standard Input Output Norms. It substitutes detailed componentised norms, inserts new SION entries across Chemicals, Engineering, Food and Textile groups, corrects descriptions and trade names, and prescribes conditional allowances (paint as percentage of FOB, fuel under authorised use) and accountability requirements for net-to-net import of components.

Electronic Clearing Service for dividend payments promotes direct electronic transfer to shareholder bank accounts, reducing remittance delays.
Promotion of electronic transfer for dividend disbursement urges listed companies to use Electronic Clearing Service (Credit Clearing) and to encourage shareholders to provide authorisation to remit dividend directly to designated bank accounts by electronic transfer to reduce remittance delays.

Prepayment from EEFC accounts allowed with central bank approval to facilitate early repayment of external commercial borrowings.
Reserve Bank permits corporate borrowers to prepay External Commercial Borrowings from EEFC account balances with Reserve Bank approval and will consider, on a case by case basis, allowing crediting of higher percentages of export proceeds to EEFC accounts to facilitate such prepayment; applications must be made to the Chief General Manager, Exchange Control Department using the annexed proforma.

Use of foreign exchange for corporate donations to fund overseas academic chairs requires Reserve Bank approval and specified documentation.
Indian corporates with established track records may contribute funds from their foreign exchange earnings to set up chairs in educational institutions outside India, subject to Reserve Bank of India approval on a case-by-case basis. Authorised dealers must forward applications to the Chief General Manager, Exchange Control Department, including details of foreign exchange earnings for the last three years, a brief company background, particulars of the proposed chair, and likely benefits to the corporate.

Operating lease remittances for aircraft permitted after verification of civil aviation approvals, while purchase-option leases need prior central bank approval.
Authorised dealers may remit lease rentals and open letters of credit as security deposits for import of aircraft, engines or helicopters on operating lease after verifying requisite approvals from civil aviation authorities; financial leases with purchase options continue to require prior Reserve Bank approval under the Foreign Exchange Management framework.

Excise and Customs Rate Rationalisation expands standard CENVAT coverage and broadens service tax liability across new services.
Finance Bill, 2002 revises excise, customs and service tax frameworks by rationalising ad-valorem excise rates toward a standard CENVAT rate, reallocating items between duty categories, tightening exemptions (notably in textiles and hand-processing), adjusting petrol and HSD duty composition, and reissuing Central Excise and CENVAT Rules. Customs duty peaks and specific tariffs are restructured with targeted increases and reductions, new criteria introduced for certain imports, and administrative powers expanded to clarify exemptions and set tariff values. Service tax is extended to multiple new services and corporate banking providers, with guidance and reporting obligations for administration.

Service Tax expansion: new service categories and corporate banking providers now liable under widened tax net.
Budget 2002-2003 proposals rationalise indirect tax structure: excise rates moved toward 16% CENVAT with specific items reclassified, textile levies restructured (12% on processed fabrics and garments, withdrawal of certain exemptions, abolition of optional compounded levy), narrowed permitted power use for hand-processed fabrics, petroleum duty composition revised and regional concessions for North East refineries; customs peak rate set at 30% with targeted duty adjustments, Transfer of Residence limits increased and exemption-clarifying powers expanded; service tax coverage widened to multiple new services and corporate banking providers, with obligations on commissioners to identify assessees and submit price data under prescribed formats.

Excise and customs rate rationalization expands indirect tax base and extends service tax to numerous new services.
The Finance Bill, 2002 proposes comprehensive indirect tax reforms: consolidation and adjustment of excise duty rates with revised exemptions and textile-specific measures; restructured petroleum excise components and regional refinery concessions; customs tariff reductions and selective rate increases with revised concession limits; expanded scope of service tax to specified new services and corporate providers of financial services; enhanced administrative powers to clarify exemptions and revised appellate and review timelines; and mandatory price-data reporting to assess price and revenue impact.