Export obligation regularisation: pay customs duty and interest, obtain RA closure letter to regularize adjudicated or appealed cases; reporting required
Applicants must pay outstanding customs duty and interest to Customs and submit evidence to the Regional Authority, which may close the export obligation default and issue a closure letter. The closure letter is to be presented to the Adjudicating Authority or Appellate Authority as applicable for final action. Regional Authorities must submit a monthly proforma report to DGFT recording authorization details, duty and interest paid, and dates of request and closure.

Stakeholder participation in customs functioning promoted; monthly PTFC meetings and apex trade body engagement required for local issue resolution.
The Board directs Chief Commissioners to institutionalise monthly Permanent Trade Facilitation Committee meetings on pre decided dates, to review and expand PTFC membership to include all stakeholders, to allow apex trade bodies to attend along with local constituents, and to send minutes raising all India implications to the Board through the Directorate General of Export Promotion; Commissioners should also be receptive to meetings with trade bodies outside PTFC forums and report implementation difficulties to the Ministry.

Due date extension for tax audit reports: electronic filings by the extended deadline deemed timely under income tax law.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes directs that where the prescribed due date for furnishing tax audit reports and corresponding income tax returns fell on the original deadline and those reports and returns are furnished electronically on or before the extended deadline, such filings shall be deemed furnished within the due date prescribed under section 139.

Listing on Institutional Trading Platform allows SME securities to list without a public offer, limited to informed investors and private funding.
Listing on an Institutional Trading Platform permits SMEs and start-ups to list specified securities on an SME Exchange without making an initial public offering, accessible only to informed investors. Eligible companies must meet fitness criteria, financial vintage and size limits, and demonstrate minimum investments from specified investor categories. Listed companies cannot undertake public offers while on ITP, may raise capital only by private placement or restricted rights issues, must maintain minimum promoter shareholding locked-in for a period, and are subject to prescribed exit, delisting and disclosure liabilities.

Correction of import description updates SION A-3504 chemical nomenclature under the Handbook of Procedures for trade compliance.
Amendment corrects the description of an import item in the Handbook of Procedures Vol II by revising the chemical nomenclature in the Standard Input-Output Norms entry at SION A-3504, replacing the previously listed name with the corrected chemical name for import item no. 1; the change is an administrative textual correction to the published SION entry.

General Information Document for public issues: mandated generic disclosures, GID availability, lead manager distribution and posting requirements.
The circular mandates a standardized General Information Document (GID) for public issues under the SEBI ICDR Regulations, 2009, to present issuer agnostic guidance on IPO/FPO processes. Lead managers must ensure the GID displays the date of last update, is printed in prescribed minimum quantities, supplied to investors on request, and posted on stock exchange and lead manager websites. The annexed GID details eligibility, Book Building and Fixed Price procedures, investor categories, ASBA/non ASBA payment mechanisms, technical grounds for rejection, allocation and allotment methodology, refund and listing timelines, and confirms that RHP/Prospectus disclosures prevail in case of conflict.

Standard Input Output Norms revision alters leather input specifications and technical descriptions under SION entries G 7 and G 46.
Revisions amend Standard Input Output Norms (SION) entries G 7 and G 46 for leather products by deleting some inputs, changing descriptions and specifying technical details. Annex I and Annex II prescribe revised input lists and allowable quantities per 1,000 sq. ft. of finished leather, covering tanning agents, chemicals, dyes, finishing materials, transfer foil and miscellaneous items. The Notice states export product descriptions and permissible input quantities remain unchanged except where inputs are deleted, and imposes Actual User restrictions and prohibitions on specified substances.

Re-fixation of Annual Average Export Obligation allowed where sectoral export decline exceeds threshold; regional offices must amend EPCG licences.
Para 5.11.2 permits re-fixation of Annual Average Export Obligation where a sector/product group shows specified export decline; Regional Offices must re-fix the obligation for EPCG Authorisations for 2012-13, endorse reductions in licence files, issue Amendment Sheets to holders, and consider prior policy circulars under Para 5.11.2 before issuing demand notices, incorporating this requirement into the EODC check-sheet. A list of affected product groups is enclosed.

Deemed defective returns: unpaid self-assessment tax on e-return filing triggers notices and follow-up by assessing officers.
E-returns in which self-assessment tax remained unpaid on the date of filing are deemed defective returns; the CPC has issued notices to such assessees, PAN-wise data has been placed on the internal portal, and Assessing Officers are directed to issue notices and follow up to secure deposit of the outstanding self-assessment tax.

Refund adjustment procedures under income-tax law: CPC to process refunds after AO verification and demand communication.
Allows CPC, Bengaluru to issue refunds without adjustment where either the outstanding demand or the refund claim falls below the small-value threshold; CCIT-wise lists of cases with refunds or demands exceeding that threshold and with notices issued are available on i-Taxnet. Assessing Officers must perform statutory verification and correction under the demand-confirmation procedure, determine adjustable demand, and communicate those findings to CPC, Bengaluru, which will then process refunds and adjust demands.

Centralized corporate bond database increases transparency by mandating depositories and issuers to publish validated bond data.
A centralized database for corporate bonds/debentures requires both depositories jointly to create, host, maintain and disseminate a unified repository for dematerialised instruments, with systems to ensure data integrity and synchronization. Issuers, stock exchanges, credit rating agencies and debenture trustees are designated information providers: issuers must supply required fields at ISIN activation and update changes; exchanges, rating agencies and trustees access secure logins to verify and update ratings, listing status and default history. Depositories must host, share and publish validated data within prescribed short timelines and implement phased collection of historical data.

Special Currency Basket revision notified to authorised dealers, requiring implementation of the revised exchange valuation for deferred settlements.
Revision of the Rupee value of the Special Currency Basket for settlement under the Deferred Payment Protocols is notified to Authorised Dealer Category I banks, effective October 17, 2013. AD Category I banks must inform their constituents and implement the revised valuation for bilateral deferred payment settlements. The Directions are issued under FEMA (sections 10(4) and 11(1)) and are without prejudice to other statutory permissions or approvals.

Mismatch in VAT data: dealers must revise online reports by deadline to avoid tax, interest and penalties.
Assessments for registered dealers for the third and fourth quarters of 2012-13 will be based on mismatches in online data as on 31/10/2013; dealers must review the Mismatch Report and revise Annexure 2A and 2B of their returns by 6:00 pm on 31/10/2013 to avoid additional tax, interest and penalty under the DVAT Act.

Tax administration reform establishes an advisory commission to review tax governance and recommend administrative reforms.
The Tax Administration Reform Commission is an expert advisory body constituted to review and recommend reforms to tax policy application, organisational structure, workforce deployment, business processes including ICT, dispute resolution, taxpayer services, database and inter agency information sharing, forecasting and revenue monitoring, capacity building for customs, research inputs, and predictive analysis to detect economic offences; it will be supported by a Secretariat with access to tax and customs data for statistical analysis.

Sub-contracting permission for SEZ manufacturing units extended to longer terms subject to export, compliance and approval conditions.
Permission for sub-contracting by SEZ manufacturing units to DTA units may be granted for up to three years where the SEZ unit meets export performance and net foreign exchange earning criteria, maintains an unblemished compliance record, ensures its Bond cum LUT covers goods leaving the SEZ, and the DTA subcontractor is registered with Central Excise; approval of the Development Commissioner is required and subcontracting is barred for restricted, prohibited, or typically anti dumping liable goods.

Committee constitution to revise the Tax Recovery Officer manual; chairperson designated to lead the review.
Constitution of a Committee established to revisit and update the extant manual for Tax Recovery Officers published in 2007, with the corrigendum designating a senior official as Chairperson of the Committee responsible for steering the review and revision process.

SEBI modifies disclosure formats for share acquisitions, disposals and encumbrances under SAST Regulations, effective immediately.
SEBI prescribes revised disclosure templates under the SAST Regulations for acquisition, disposal and encumbrance events: Annexure 1 for Regulation 29(1) acquisition details, Annexure 2 for Regulation 29(2) acquisition/disposal details, and Annexure 3 for Regulation 31(1)/(2) promoter encumbrance events. Templates require identification of target, acquirer/PACs, promoter status, listing exchanges, pre and post transaction shareholding and voting rights (including encumbrances and convertible instruments), mode and date of transaction, and equity and diluted share capital; Part B confidential fields to exchanges only. Circular effective immediately.

Countervailing duty on steam coal may be claimed at the concessional applied rate alongside FTA customs duty relief.
Clarifies that the FTA grants a preferential Basic Customs Duty exemption for steam coal but that such preference is limited to BCD; Countervailing Duty is set by reference to domestic excise yet may be prescribed at a lower applied rate by notification. A concessional applied CVD rate for steam coal was prescribed and may be availed simultaneously with the FTA BCD exemption; customs authorities are to implement this position and report difficulties.

Airlines submission requirements: EGMs with complete airway bill and shipping bill details can replace presenting EP copies with the EGM.
Carriers need not submit EP copies of Shipping Bills with the EGM if the EGM records the airway bill number, number of packages, flight identification, EGM identifier and all requisite Shipping Bill particulars; in such cases EP copies may be returned directly to the CHA or exporters. If the EGM omits any of these details, the existing practice of presenting EP copies with the EGM for Superintendent verification shall continue.

Internal audit reform strengthens supervisory reviews and reporting to accelerate settlement of audit objections and reduce recurring errors.
The instruction strengthens supervisory roles and reporting to improve settlement and quality of internal audits by mandating monthly and quarterly reviews, reconciliation of pendency, and standardized reporting via Annexure I. CCIT (CCA), jurisdictional CCITs/DGITs and CsIT (Audit) have prescribed duties including monitoring conformity to the Central Action Plan, vetting significant objections before raising them, compiling lists where internal audit failed to detect errors, and taking action against erring auditors. The classification of Major audit objection for income and corporation tax is revised to align with external audit monetary limits and applied to pending objections.