SEZ approvals and conditions: conditional formal approvals, co-developer review, authorized operations, and restricted import safeguards.
The Board of Approval processed SEZ proposals by granting, deferring or rejecting formal approvals and ancillary requests with specific operational conditions: State recommendations and DC certificates were required for consideration; co-developer approvals mandated lease/co-developer documentation review and did not alter tax treatment of lease rentals or premiums; authorized operations were approved subject to development guidelines and DC monitoring; imports of restricted items were permitted only if sourced from outside India, used exclusively for export production, with no DTA procurement or sales and DC safeguards to prevent leakage; contiguity relaxations and land de-notifications were conditioned on physical measures, non-precedential treatment and refund of tax/duty benefits.

Branded goods excise: tariff value reduced, wholesale price deemed where RSP absent and brand owner bears liability.
Notifications of 24 3 2011 reduce tariff value for goods in Chapters 61-63 from 60% to 45% of RSP and deem the manufacturer's wholesale price to be the tariff value where RSP is not affixed on clearance to a brand owner; duty on actual RSP becomes payable when the brand owner affixes RSP. Returned duty paid garments are exempt up to 10% of prior year clearances subject to 48 hour intimation, record keeping and non availment of earlier Cenvat credit. Brand owners are primarily liable to register and pay duty; SSI eligibility is computed on tariff value and Cenvat credit remains claimable under existing rules.

Branded goods levy clarified: tariff valuation, registration duties, and exemptions for returned duty-paid stock established.
Notifications dated 24 March 2011 revise excise and customs treatment: tariff valuation for branded garments/made-ups reduced to 45% of RSP and wholesale price deemed tariff where RSP is undisclosed; returned duty-paid stock exempt up to 10% of prior-year clearances subject to procedure and non-availment of Cenvat; brand owners are primarily liable unless a job-worker is authorised; SSI eligibility computed on tariff value. A one percent excise regime for 130 items includes simplified compliance for exclusive manufacturers; mobile handsets and silicon wafers receive distinct treatments. Customs exemptions, concessional rates for printer parts, CKD kit duty adjustments, and a five percent CVD parity rule where Cenvat is availed are also clarified.

Officer in default: prosecution limited where directors lacked knowledge or consent and acted within Board process.
Penal proceedings under the Companies Act should target those legally designated as officer in default or otherwise liable; nominee, independent, government or institution nominated directors are not to be held liable for company breaches occurring without their knowledge attributable through Board process or without their consent or connivance, or where they acted diligently. Registrars must verify resignations, nominee status in company filings, timing of offences, and any Board allocations of responsibility, consult registry records, avoid wrongful prosecution, and refer doubtful cases to Regional Directors for guidance and review of pending matters.

Committee on Disputes clearance no longer required for government or public enterprise litigation; appeals may proceed.
Following a Supreme Court decision on 17.02.2011, field formations need not obtain Committee on Disputes clearance to pursue appeals or litigation between government departments and public enterprises; proposals pending with the Committee and undecided as of that date are deemed covered and do not require COD permission.

Compliance approval requirement for market-related news: employees must get Compliance Officer sign-off or face regulatory liability.
Employees of SEBI-registered market intermediaries must forward market-related news only after approval by the concerned Compliance Officer; non-compliance by employees and breaches by the Compliance Officer attract liability. Stock Exchanges and Depositories must notify participants, amend bye-laws/rules for uniform implementation, publish the circular on their websites, and report implementation status to SEBI.

Service tax refund claims by exporters with local registered offices may be filed with the designated service tax division.
Service Tax refund claims under Notification No.17/2009-ST, other than those in para 2(b), may be filed by persons, entities or merchant exporters whose registered or head office is situated in the specified districts with the Assistant Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner, Central Excise, Service Tax Division in the designated locality; trade associations and chambers are requested to publicize this filing clarification pursuant to the Notification.

Deemed export documentation: Range officers to attest quintuplicate ARE-3 and invoice copy so suppliers can claim export benefits.
Suppliers clearing goods to EOUs may file Form ARE-3 in quintuplicate with an extra invoice copy to claim export benefits; Range Officers shall verify supply details, attest the quintuplicate ARE-3 and the additional invoice copy, and return the endorsed documents to the supplier to enable availing export incentives, consistent with the Board's practice for the optional fifth copy used in bonded exports.

Timely Action Taken Notes must be furnished irrespective of litigation, with mandated internal tracking and reconciliation mechanisms.
The Board prescribes a time bound procedure for preparing and submitting ATNs/ATRs to C&AG irrespective of litigation, with specified internal transmission deadlines, Commissionerate replies in a prescribed proforma, compilation and Member (Customs) approval prior to submission, and follow-up to accommodate C&AG vetting and subsequent queries.

Unauthenticated news circulation must be prevented by intermediaries through internal controls and compliance officer approval.
Intermediaries must implement internal codes of conduct and controls to prevent employees from circulating rumours or unverified market information; all market-related communications must be forwarded only after review and approval by the intermediary's Compliance Officer, with restricted or supervised access to blogs/chat forums, maintenance of usage logs as records, and training and checks to ensure compliance. Stock Exchanges and Depositories must amend bye-laws, notify participants, disseminate the circular and report implementation to SEBI. The measures are issued under SEBI's regulatory powers to protect investors and regulate markets and are effective immediately.

FTWZ storage and trading rules clarified; transitional contracts given temporary validity, full compliance required thereafter.
Units in FTWZ within sector-specific SEZs may store goods for zone development, unit setup, manufacturing, export or domestic sale of goods and services or finished products of units in that sector; the amended instruction must be followed in letter and spirit and, after the transitional period, all cases and pre-existing contracts are to be regulated by the amended instruction.

Radioactive contamination testing: additional accredited laboratories approved to screen food imports from Japan before customs clearance.
Monitoring of food imports from Japan for radioactive contamination requires use of accredited testing facilities; two additional laboratories have been granted accreditation to test food items imported from Japan and are to be used alongside existing accredited facilities for sampling, testing and customs screening as part of import compliance procedures.

Business Exhibition Service: venue and installation abroad not taxable; stall rental to Indian exhibitors not export without convertible currency.
Organising an overseas business exhibition involves hiring foreign premises and arranging stall installation-services performed entirely outside India and not taxable under the Taxation of Services (Provided from Outside India & Received in India) Rules-while renting stalls to Indian exhibitors is a service provided within India and does not qualify as export because consideration is not received in convertible foreign currency; this clarification is limited until 28 February 2011 due to a later exemption notification.

Majority of non promoter holdings in dematerialized form enables shift from trade for trade to rolling settlement, certificate required.
Securities of companies that have established connectivity with both depositories may be shifted from Trade for Trade Settlement to Rolling Settlement if at least half of other-than-promoter holdings are dematerialized, supported by a certificate from the Registrar and Transfer Agent or, if no RTA exists, from a practising Company Secretary or Chartered Accountant, and provided there are no other grounds for continuing Trade for Trade Settlement; stock exchanges must report actions in Monthly/Quarterly Development Reports to SEBI.

Project import reporting: mandatory quarterly progress reports and amended registration requirements enable monitoring and risk of de registration.
Projects registered for assessment under CTH 98.01 must be registered for a specified period; reconciliation statements and plant site verification reports with supporting documents are to be submitted within three months of that period's expiry for contract finalisation. An amended Annexure A is prescribed for registration. Beneficiaries must file a prescribed Quarterly Progress Report, with self certified Bills of Entry, reporting CIF values, import and installation status and bill of entry details; quarters run from April each financial year and reports are due within seven days of the month following each quarter. Repeated non submission may lead to de registration.

Centralized Bond Management enables a single bond account across ports for IPR interdictions, requiring BRN and IPR Cell notice.
A web enabled Centralized Bond Management module under ARTS creates a single running Centralized Bond Account with a Bond Registration Number (BRN) usable at all Customs locations for IPR interdiction proceedings. Rights holders with valid UPRNs may migrate by submitting the prescribed centralized bond and security; multiple UPRNs in the same name can be linked to one BRN. Credits (bonds/bank guarantees), debits, and partial re credits are recorded and trigger auto emails. Use of the BRN for interdiction requires written instruction to the IPR Cell and maintenance of sufficient balance, with top ups or supplementary bonds available at the BRN location.

Online transmission requirement for export authorizations mandates EDI filing and automated Customs communication for specified ports.
Directive requires online transmission of DES (Advance Authorization), EPCG and DEPB at seven newly designated ICES/Customs locations effective 21 March 2011. It mandates EDI-mode filing of DEPB applications for shipping bills from those ports issued on or after the date, and requires Regional Authorities to communicate on-line all authorizations for DES, EPCG and DEPB issued on or after that date to Customs.

Online transmission of trade licences: DGFT licences auto-populated in Customs EDI, must be quoted on Shipping Bills and Bills of Entry.
Online transmission of DES and EPCG licences from DGFT to Customs via ICES 1.5 is effective at the port from 21.03.2011; DGFT licences issued on or after 1 March 2009 will be automatically available in Customs EDI. Exporters and importers must quote the DGFT file/licence number on Shipping Bills and Bills of Entry respectively. Transitional rules require substitution of manual registration numbers with the DGFT file/licence number for licences issued after 1 March 2009 but before implementation. The prior manual registration procedure remains for licences issued up to the pre-implementation cut-off.

Bond registration requirement: Fresh transit and transhipment bonds required for container movement; bank guarantees may be reused.
Shipping agents, shipping lines and Main Line Operators must register fresh Container Bonds for multiple debits under ICES Version 1.5; existing debited bonds will be reaccredited manually and previously submitted bank guarantees remain usable. For movement to CFSs, acceptable bonds are Transit Bond (TR) or General Bond (GB); for movement to ICDs, Transhipment Bond (TP) is required. Both 1st party and 3rd party bonds are permitted, with a one-time authority required from the 3rd party. Carrier agents/MLOs must open fresh PLA accounts for transhipment fee debits and bond rates remain as previously prescribed.

Line of Credit conditions require majority Indian-origin supplies, specified disbursement periods, documentation and FEMA-based regulatory compliance.
The Exim Bank's Line of Credit to EBID finances exports of eligible Indian goods, services, machinery, equipment and consultancy to specified West African member countries, conditioning finance on Foreign Trade Policy eligibility, at least 85 per cent Indian-origin supply, up to 15 per cent external procurement for non-consultancy items, mandatory declaration on prescribed export forms, prohibition of agency commission under the facility except from exporter resources or EEFC balances subject to remittance rules, and procedural implementation through AD Category-I banks under FEMA while preserving other statutory permissions.