Right to objection to penalty remains; objection authority may remit penalty and stay recovery pending final decision.
Deletion of the proviso to the penalty provision does not remove the right to object to a penalty assessment; the penalty liability and amount remain subject to objection. The objection procedure permits the objection authority to accept objections and to effect relief including remission of penalty. Further, where conditions for entertaining an objection are complied with, the remaining disputed balance shall not be recovered until the objection is finally disposed of, and any deposited amount must be refunded if the objection succeeds.

Import quota allocation for rough marble and travertine blocks set with conditional authorisations and mandatory monthly reporting.
Allocation of import quantities of rough marble and travertine blocks is announced with a detailed Annexure of 539 applicants; RAs may issue import authorisations within a limited window, subject to verification. Applicants who submit false or erroneous information will forfeit the allocation, be debarred from future allocations and face penal action. Licence holders must file monthly import returns by the 15th of the succeeding month. Firms marked deficient must cure deficiencies within one week to DGFT (Hqrs) before licences will be issued by RAs.

External Commercial Borrowings definition expanded to include broader infrastructure sub-sectors, enabling ECB access across specified sectors.
ECB policy expands the definition of infrastructure sector for ECB eligibility to include specified sub-sectors: Energy (electricity generation, transmission, distribution; oil/gas pipelines; oil/gas/LNG storage), Communication (mobile telephony, fixed network telecommunication, telecommunication towers), Transport (railways and supporting terminals, roads and bridges, ports, inland waterways, airports, urban public transport excluding rolling stock), Water and Sanitation (water supply pipelines, solid waste management, water treatment, sewage systems, irrigation, storm water drainage), Mining/Exploration/Refining, and Social and Commercial Infrastructure including hospitals, large hotels/convention centres, common industrial infrastructure, fertilizer investment, post-harvest storage and cold chain.

Commencement of Companies Act provisions displaces corresponding prior Act provisions upon their coming into force.
The commencement notification bringing specified provisions of the Companies Act into force displaces corresponding provisions of the earlier Act; the relevant corresponding provisions of the prior Act ceased to have effect from the date those provisions were brought into force.

Import controls on plastic waste require authorised types, document certification, lab testing and environmental clearances before clearance.
Policy restricts import of plastic waste/scrap to the capacity and specific types authorised in a unit's Letter of Approval, permitting only virgin/new fractions meeting a technical definition and PET bottle waste; each consignment must have a factory certificate and importer declaration, be sampled and laboratory-tested prior to clearance, and units must obtain pollution control consents and hazardous waste permissions as applicable.

Physical export obligation compliance required for used clothing recycling units in SEZs, with graduated export and reporting controls.
Policy requires used clothing recycling units in SEZs to obtain exporter/agency certificates of disinfection and fumigation for each consignment, comply with NFE and export obligation criteria without broad-banding, meet graduated physical export obligations culminating in full export of turnover, limit DTA sales of un-mutilated clothing to a capped portion of export turnover, submit consignments to 100% unit-premises scrutiny by SEZ authorities, and observe environmental and statutory standards; LoA validity and enforcement, including penalties under foreign trade law, are governed by this policy.

Service tax exemption for hotel and restaurant services in disaster-affected area provides relief for hospitality sector during relief period.
The Central Government, under sub-section (2) of section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994, exempts from the whole of service tax leviable under section 66B services consisting of renting of rooms in hotels, inns, guest houses, clubs, campsites or other commercial lodging places, and services relating to serving food or beverages by restaurants, eating joints or messes when provided to any person in the State of Uttarakhand; the exemption is limited to the ad-hoc relief period specified in the order.

Buy Back disclosure requirements: standardized filing formats set for companies and merchant bankers, affecting daily and post offer reports.
SEBI issues standardized formats to implement disclosure obligations under the Buy Back Regulations: Annexure 1 prescribes a daily report under regulation 15(i) capturing amount earmarked, cumulative amount utilised, statutory maximum shares, previous and current period buyback quantities and cumulative totals; Annexure 2 prescribes a post offer report under regulation 20(j) requiring company/manager details, pre/post capital, offer dates, escrow composition, amount utilised, escrow forfeiture and deposit in the Investor Protection and Education Fund, advertisement and extinguishment status, and compliance with buyback and takeover threshold obligations.

Non-bailable offences: substantial duty involvement in excise triggers cognizable non-bailable treatment and strict arrest safeguards.
Offences of duty evasion and wrongful utilisation of duty credit are cognizable and non-bailable where duty on excisable goods exceeds fifty lakh rupees; all other section 9 offences are non-cognizable and bailable. Arrest may be made only after determining the correct clause of section 9(1) and duty quantum, with arrested persons informed of grounds and produced before a magistrate within 24 hours. Arrest decisions require careful assessment of mens rea, evidence, risk of tampering, and may require Commissioner or Chief Commissioner approval as specified.

Special Currency Basket value revised, affecting settlement under Deferred Payment Protocols and advising AD Category I banks to adjust operations.
The circular notifies Authorised Dealer Category I banks of a revision in the Rupee value used to value the Special Currency Basket under the Deferred Payment Protocols and directs banks to note and implement the revised valuation for settlements governed by those Protocols, issued under FEMA without prejudice to other statutory permissions.

Overseas forex trading restrictions: unauthorized remittances via online portals trigger FEMA breaches and banks must block accounts.
Residents remitting funds from India to overseas electronic/internet trading portals for forex trading, including via credit cards or other electronic channels, may contravene the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and KYC/AML norms. AD Category I banks must warn customers, close cards/accounts on detecting prohibited transactions and report such defaults to the Reserve Bank of India in the prescribed format; failure to implement these measures may attract action under section 11(3) of FEMA, 1999.

Non-bailable offences under Customs Act limit arrests to specified categories and require cautious, recorded exercise of arrest powers.
Offences under the Customs Act, 1962 are classified into non-bailable offences (specified categories under section 135) and bailable offences. Arrest under section 104 should be exercised sparingly and only where necessary to ensure investigation, prevent absconding, disrupt organised smuggling, or target key operators; value based exceptional arrest thresholds apply but do not constrain cases involving specified contraband. Arrests must follow D.K. Basu safeguards, include detailed arrest memos, appropriate medical examination, immediate intimation to senior authorities, and distinct procedures for bail and production before a Magistrate; reporting and monthly returns are mandated.

Arrest powers for service tax evasion: conditions, procedural safeguards and bail processes when evasion exceeds prescribed threshold.
The Finance Act amendments classify certain service tax offences as cognizable and others as non cognizable and bailable, and permit arrest where offences under section 89(1)(i) or (ii) involve evasion exceeding the statutory threshold. Arrests require authorization by the Commissioner based on credible material, observance of CrPC procedures, preparation of a D.K. Basu compliant arrest memo, gender sensitive and medical safeguards, and distinct bail and production rules depending on the clause under which the offence falls.

Refund claims for dealers: automatic ECS refunds up to Rs 1 lakh per period, with 10% selected later for audit.
The circular provides for central ECS disbursement of VAT refunds up to Rs. 1 lakh per tax period for claims through 31 March 2013 based on dealer online self declaration; 10% of such cases will be audited later. The system will deduct pending dues before refund. Dealers must file an online declaration between 25.09.2013 and 10.10.2013, submit acknowledgement to the zonal office, may reconcile demands online, provide bank details, and may surrender amounts against pending central forms for refund purposes without forfeiting appellate rights.

Decentralisation of investigation cases: administrative instruction replaces permissive wording and directs immediate case transfer and lists.
Decentralisation of pending investigation cases from Central Charges is mandated by administrative instruction: the word "May" in paragraph 4.1 of the earlier Board guidelines is to be read as "August", effecting a textual substitution in the guideline. Chief Commissioners and Directors General must prepare lists of eligible pending cases for immediate decentralisation and communicate the directive to all regional Income Tax authorities for compliance.

Phytosanitary compliance for wood packaging: exports failing ISPM 15 must not be cleared and will face strict enforcement.
No export consignments packed with raw or solid wood packaging material shall be cleared if they are deficient in meeting ISPM 15 phytosanitary requirements; Customs must verify compliance or possession of a phytosanitary certificate issued by accredited treatment agencies, and Chief Commissioners and Commissioners must ensure strict adherence with non compliance by officers viewed seriously.

Currency possession limit for non-residents permits limited INR beyond immigration to duty free area, requiring disposal before boarding.
Non-residents may carry Indian currency beyond the Immigration/Customs desk into the Duty Free Area/Security Hold Area for miscellaneous expenditures but must dispose of such currency before boarding and may not possess Indian Rupees beyond the SHA. Foreign Exchange Counters may be established in the Duty Free Area/SHA to buy Indian Rupees from non-residents and sell foreign currency to them, subject to usual terms; Airport Authorities must display notices advising this last point for possession.

Importer-Exporter Code misuse warns of suspension or penalty under the foreign trade regulatory framework for unauthorized use.
Use of Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) by any person other than the IEC holder is prohibited; Section 7 of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act and Rule 12 of the Foreign Trade (Regulation) Rules together with Para 2.9.2 of the Handbook of Procedures confirm IEC validity for the holder (and its branches/divisions) only, with limited exemptions for entities using permanent common IECs. Unauthorized use attracts suspension, cancellation or penalty under the Act and Rules.

Duty Drawback All Industry Rates revised, altering residuary and ad valorem rates and introducing caps and new tariff entries.
Revised All Industry Rates (AIR) of duty drawback effective 21.09.2013 recalibrate drawback entitlements using average input prices, input output norms, import content, applicable excise/customs duty incidence and service taxed input services. The notification converts certain specific rates to ad valorem, extends residuary AIRs to some previously nil items, reduces higher residuary bands, supplements many higher ad valorem rates with drawback caps, creates or amends tariff entries for classification clarity, and makes AIR on wheat nil. Pharmacopeia standards IP, BP, USP, EP and JP are interchangeable; commissioners must ensure compliance, prevent double recovery and monitor high value exports.

Minimum land requirements in SEZ rules eased, altering eligibility, de notification and asset transfer conditions for units.
Amendments reduce minimum land and built up area thresholds for SEZs, create a new agro based food processing sector, and remove the land criterion for IT/ITES in favor of graduated built up area requirements tied to city classification. They permit sectoral broad banding and a graded scale allowing additional sectors per contiguous land parcels, clarify vacancy and inclusion rules on pre existing structures' benefit entitlements, set state NOC and land use conditions for de notification, and enable unit exit by asset and liability transfer under Rule 74A subject to tenure, approval and transfer of duty and export obligations.