Duty free shop operations at Visakhapatnam Port: bonded warehousing, escorted transfers, restricted foreign currency sales and audit controls.
Operation of the Duty Free Shop requires a Private Bonded Warehouse licence and a registered General Bond; all imported non-duty-paid goods must be received, transferred and warehoused only under Customs supervision with prescribed Into-Bond Bills of Entry or transfer bonds, endorsed duplicate/triplicate documentation, space certification, escort of goods, and detailed bond-register and stock-card entries. Removals to the DFS require quadruplicate transfer applications and Bond Officer escort; sales are limited to eligible international passengers and crew for payment in freely convertible foreign currency, supported by triplicate sale vouchers counter signed by the Bond Officer. Monthly statements, internal audit reconciliation, recovery of differential duty for unaccounted goods, and audit clearance for bond closure are mandated.

Duty free shop licensing and bonded procedures require supervised receipt, stock control, restricted sales and audit compliance.
Licensees must hold a Private Bonded Warehouse (PBWH) licence covering the Duty Free Shop and Main Bonded Warehouse, register a General Bond, pay cost recovery charges, and operate all receipts, transfers and sales of imported non-duty paid goods under Customs supervision. Receipts require into-bond Bills of Entry or prescribed transfer applications, escorted movement, inventorying and entries by Bond Officers. Transfers from MBWH to DFS use multi-copy applications and escorted removal; sales only to eligible international passengers/crew in approved foreign currency require serial triplicate sale vouchers and Bond Officer certification. Monthly statements, audits, register maintenance, double-locking and recovery of differential duty are mandatory; final closure follows audit clearance.

Appellate Authority designation centralises appeals from regional adjudication orders under the foreign trade regulatory framework.
The Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Chennai, is appointed as the Appellate Authority for adjudication orders issued by Regional Authorities of the South Zone, consolidating appellate jurisdiction for those orders under the administrative instruction referenced in the Office file and the O&M instruction dated 13.6.2013.

Special currency basket value revised under FEMA; authorised dealer banks must apply the new rupee conversion rate for settlements.
Revision of the rupee value of the special currency basket for settlement under the Deferred Payment Protocols is fixed and must be applied by Category I Authorised Dealer banks from the stated operative date; banks are to notify constituents and implement the revised rate. The directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act and without prejudice to other statutory permissions or approvals.

Cadre restructuring implementation overseen by a core committee coordinating sub committees, DPCs, and HR policy recommendations.
A Core Committee is constituted to oversee implementation of the cadre restructuring, process and approve Sub-committees, coordinate their work, secure necessary clearances, and ensure timely progress. The Committee will facilitate DPCs for Apex grade grants, prepare analyses and policy recommendations on promotions/up-gradations and inductions, and assist Sub-committees addressing recruitment modalities, allocation of posts, directorate restructuring, amendments to recruitment rules and infrastructure needs. The Directorate of HRD will serve as Secretariat, providing coordination, data and specialist inputs, with weekly reviews and periodic briefings to the Board.

Recovery of penalties: no uniform waiver for deceased individuals; field formations to pursue arrears per law and case law.
Recovery of penalties imposed on deceased individuals is subject to conflicting High Court rulings; applicability depends on the facts of each case. No new central instruction will be issued; field formations should realise arrears in accordance with statutory provisions and relevant judicial pronouncements.

Transfer and posting of income-tax deputies: immediate reassignments ordered; compliance, APAR submission, and RSA token de-linking required.
Transfer and posting of Deputy/Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax ordered with immediate effect, listing officers and postings, approved by the Local Placement Committee and effective until further orders. Compliance must be reported by the deadline. Under Transfer and Posting policy (clause xiii), certain postings are for a particular charge with assignment of specific circle/posting by the concerned CCIT/DGIT. Relieving officers must submit resume/self-assessment, ensure APARs are reviewed and forwarded, and provide a written compliance certificate. Transferred officers must notify FMS Helpdesk/ADIT to de-link RSA tokens from old designations.

Recredit of SAD extended to allow use of re credited duty credit scrips for DEPB scrip utilisation under specified procedures.
Extension permits use of re credited SAD amounts in DEPB/Reward Scheme scrips until 30 September 2013; freely transferable duty credit scrips (including DEPB) are deemed revalidated for this purpose without further RA endorsement, and consolidated certificates issued by Customs within the cutoff are deemed to effect re crediting. Importers are advised to pay SAD in cash for expeditious refund because no re crediting will be allowed where payment is made by scrips.

Round-the-clock customs operation corrections: designated location amended to Kolkata and the commencement date revised accordingly.
Corrigendum to the Board Instruction on 24x7 Customs Operation at major ports and airports: paragraph 2(iii) is amended to read Kolkata instead of Bangalore, and paragraph 3's commencement date is revised; all other contents of the instruction remain unchanged and administrative officers are directed to note and implement these corrections.

Appointment of Chairperson: Sudha Sharma appointed to head CBDT with status of Special Secretary and fixed pay.
Ms. Sudha Sharma, Member of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, is appointed Chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes in the Department of Revenue with the status of Special Secretary, effective from the date she takes charge and continuing until further orders or superannuation; the appointment carries a specified fixed pay scale and is issued as an office order with directions for administrative circulation and website update.

Storage period in public warehouse limited to 30 days, extendable by the Commissioner in 30-day increments.
The amendment replaces the permission to store imported goods in a public warehouse with a limit that such storage shall be "for a period not exceeding thirty days in a public warehouse" and adds a proviso that the Commissioner of Customs may extend the period for further periods not exceeding thirty days at a time; stakeholders are informed for compliance and to report difficulties.

Customs Broker liability expanded: brokers now equally liable for authorised acts or omissions, increasing compliance obligations.
Amendments adopt the nomenclature Customs Brokers and make Customs Brokers equally liable for acts or omissions when expressly or impliedly authorised by an owner, importer or exporter in respect of goods for purposes of the Customs law; brokers must act professionally and negligence, deliberate mis-declaration or collusion will attract stringent action.

Direct movement of imports to CFS permitted under interim SMTP and bond procedure to reduce dwell time.
An interim procedure allows direct movement of goods from a Gateway Port to a CFS of another Customs Station pending ICES modification. Gateway Port Customs will transmit a consolidated CFS wise SMTP list electronically; goods move under a bond with duplicate SMTP hard copies to the CFS. The CFS custodian must prepare a daily arrival list and a Landing Certificate, obtain Customs endorsements, forward documents to the ICD and Gateway Port to enable re crediting the bond, verify consignments with surveyor/Customs, endorse SMTPs and send them to the ICD, where local IGM filing and B/E processing and clearance take place.

Appointment on deputation for Director General post: selection via committee with eligibility, documentation, and fixed deputation tenure.
Appointment to the Director General post at the Export Promotion Council for EOUs & SEZs will proceed by selection on deputation, promotion, or direct recruitment with the Chairman selecting candidates based on Selection Committee recommendations. Applicants must meet prescribed educational and experience criteria, submit applications through proper channel with confidential reports, integrity and vigilance clearances and penalty history, and accept deputation terms ordinarily of three years with salary fixed per parent organisation rules; incomplete or late applications will be rejected.

Taxability of SEZ leases and transfers remains examinable by the assessing officer; approvals conditional on statutory compliance.
Board approvals require that co-developer and lease agreements do not dictate tax treatment; the Assessing Officer may examine taxability under SEZ and Income Tax laws. De notification and area changes are approved subject to Development Commissioner certificates confirming contiguity, refund or non availment of tax/duty benefits and absence or debonding of units, and State Government no objection. Extensions of formal approvals, LoAs and LoPs were granted conditionally, and transfers or ownership changes were approved only if continuity of obligations, eligibility criteria, compliance with revenue laws, and submission of financial details are ensured.

Foreign investment limits in government debt expanded, with targeted allocation to specified institutional investors and temporary special window.
The circular allocates an incremental government debt investment limit exclusively to registered Sovereign Wealth Funds, Multilateral Agencies, Endowment Funds, Insurance Funds, Pension Funds and Foreign Central Banks, making the amount and identified unutilized capacity available for immediate on tap investment; unutilized sums will be auctioned monthly. A temporary special window allows other FIIs that have exhausted reinvestment limits one time capped access until the next auction, subject to an aggregate cap distinct from the earmarked allocation; such investments carry a mandatory short term lock in and are not eligible for reinvestment.

Transit declaration requirement: exporters must amend CTD to confirm non diversion and enable clearance after Treaty compliance.
A one time exception allows transit export consignments of third country goods from Nepal via Kolkata port to be cleared upon amendment of the CTD declaration to state the goods are for export from Nepal to countries other than India and will not be diverted or retained in India; clearance will follow once the CTD is amended and other procedures under the Treaty of Transit are satisfied. Future cases will be governed by bilaterally agreed amendments to the Memorandum to the Protocol of the Treaty of Transit and revised procedures.

Foreign investment limit for government securities expanded for SEBI registered long term investors; SEBI to issue operational guidelines.
The Reserve Bank increased the permissible foreign investment ceiling in government dated securities for SEBI registered long term investors - including sovereign wealth funds, multilateral agencies, pension, insurance and endowment funds, and foreign central banks - for purchases on a repatriation basis, while retaining all other existing investment conditions; SEBI will issue operational guidelines and AD Category I banks must inform their constituents; directions are issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of FEMA.

Foreign Direct Investment reporting: FVCI investments under the FDI scheme use FC GPR/FC TRS; Schedule VI uses custodian reports.
Investments by SEBI registered FVCIs under the FDI Scheme must be reported only in form FC GPR or FC TRS as applicable, while investments under Schedule VI are not to be reported in FC GPR/FC TRS but are to be reported by the custodian bank in the monthly custodian reporting format; receipt of consideration and transfers carry 30 day and 60 day reporting timelines respectively through Authorised Dealer Category I banks.

Dematerialization requirement: companies with dual depository connectivity may shift from trade-for-trade to rolling settlement subject to conditions.
Companies with connectivity to both depositories may be shifted from Trade-for-Trade Settlement to normal Rolling Settlement if at least 50% of non-promoter holdings are dematerialized, evidenced by a certificate from the Registrar and Transfer Agent or, if no RTA exists, from a practicing Company Secretary or Chartered Accountant, and provided there are no other grounds for continuation of TFTS; stock exchanges must report actions in their Monthly/Quarterly Development Reports.