Weighment-based assessment: minor weight variances accepted with duty recovery; larger variances lead to adjudication and penalties.
Mandatory verification and endorsement of gross/net weight is required for weight-based goods. Minor weight deviations may be accepted without adjudication but the value of excess goods must be loaded and duties recovered; larger deviations require adjudication with fines and penalties and re-determination of weight and value on the bill of entry. For marble slabs/blocks, moderate variation in weight or surface area will be loaded and duties recovered without adjudication, while greater variation will be adjudicated; the actual measured quantity is debited against the importer's licence.

Qualification equivalence: PGDM recognised as MBA equivalent, permitting eligibility to sit CHALR licensing examination now.
The Board confirms that a PGDM awarded by an institute or university recognised by the Government or by AICTE under the Ministry of Human Resource Development shall be accepted as an MBA equivalent qualification for degree holders to appear in the Regulation 8 examination under the Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004, modifying Board Circular No.42/2004 to that extent and directing field dissemination and reporting of implementation difficulties.

Refund of Special Additional Duty claims barred where imported goods are altered before sale or when forged invoices are used.
Refund entitlement under Notification No.102/2007 for Special Additional Duty (SAD) applies only where imported goods are sold on payment of VAT without processing; processed imports that yield differently classified products are ineligible. Fraudulent claims also arise from duplicate or forged invoices and inconsistent transport documents; field formations must scrutinise invoices, transit passes and lorry receipts and verify consistency between import and sales documents to prevent wrongful refunds.

Accounting codes for new taxable services issued to allocate service tax collection, other receipts, refunds and cess accounting.
The circular prescribes accounting codes under Major Head 0044-Service Tax for eight new taxable services, assigning separate sub-heads for tax collection, other receipts (interest/penalty) and deduct refunds (reserved for revenue/commissionerates). It specifies codes for primary and secondary education cess, declares any NSDL dummy codes for these services void and directs their replacement, notes that the service descriptions do not limit scope, and instructs issuance of trade/public notices while cautioning assessees not to use the deduct refunds sub-head.

Export under bond restriction: amendment bars bond exports of exempted or nil rated goods while excluding wholly export oriented units.
The board observed exporters were using bonds to export goods exempted from excise duty and then claiming input tax refunds, thereby avoiding the detailed verification procedure mandated for exempted goods; consequently, conditions for export under bond were amended to disallow bond exports for goods exempted or chargeable at nil rate, with an exception for exports from wholly export-oriented units.

Compounding of foreign exchange contraventions allows regulatory settlement via application, hearing, and prescribed payment obligation.
The Reserve Bank may compound eligible contraventions under the Foreign Exchange Management Act through its Compounding Authority, which exercises discretion to admit and process applications submitted in the prescribed form, assess whether contraventions are quantifiable, afford an opportunity of personal hearing, determine the sum for compounding based on factors such as gain, loss, economic benefit and repeat conduct, and issue a compounding order specifying breached provisions and payment terms; ineligible or serious matters may be referred for investigation and failure to pay has specified consequences.

No/lower TDS certificates: software updated to allow bulk issuance and a streamlined file utility removing WinSCP.
TDS software is enhanced to permit bulk issuance of certificates for no deduction/collection or lower deduction/collection rates; a file preparation utility enforces the required field structure for creating multiple certificates and removes the need for WinSCP for file transfer, with detailed instructions and screenshots provided and the modification to be notified to all TDS assessing officers.

Extension of export obligation period: deadline corrected and exporters instructed to notify trade and issue guidance.
Amendment corrects the deadline in paragraph 2(a) of the earlier circular on extension of the export obligation period for Advance License holders who imported raw sugar: the date is to be read as 31.03.2011 instead of 31.12.2011. No other conditions change. The amendment must be notified to trade/exporters by Trade/Public Notices and implemented through standing orders or instructions for assessing officers, with receipt to be acknowledged.

Reconstitution of Trade Facilitation Committee expands multi agency membership to strengthen coordination for import and export clearance.
The PTFC at JNCH is reconstituted as a multi agency forum to improve import and export clearance by adding port, terminal, logistics, banking, quarantine, health and trade association representatives. Meetings will be monthly on a fixed schedule, limited to members and invitees; existing regular associations remain members without fresh verification, while new associations require credential checks in line with the Board circular. The PTFC will address issues of common interest and the reconstituted membership list specifies officer posts and nominated representatives from key operational entities, with associations asked to submit nominee names.

Computerized import clearance enables electronic filing and automated assessment of Bills of Entry, streamlining duty processing and compliance.
Computerized processing at ICD Dashrath under the ICES EDI system mandates electronic filing of Bills of Entry via service centre or ICEGATE, subject to registration of importer, CHA, shipping agents and DGFT licences; the system automates validation, currency/unit/country code usage, valuation, duty calculation, appraisal assignment, queries, assessment, audit, TR 6 challan generation and bank verification, and requires licence/bond registration with ledger debits enforced prior to goods registration and out of charge.

Electronic filing of shipping bills centralizes export processing, requiring validated registrations, bank details and standardized codes for compliance.
A centralized ICES electronic filing system mandates electronic submission and automated processing of export Shipping Bills at the ICD, requiring prior registration of exporters, CHAs, shipping lines and bank accounts, use of prescribed scheme, currency, unit and port codes, and compliance with exchange rate and licence registration rules. Service centres and Remote EDI/ICEGATE enable data entry, checklist confirmation and generation of centrally assigned Shipping Bill numbers. The system integrates appraisal, examination, sampling, scheme specific validations (drawback, DEPB, EPCG/DES, DFIA, EOU), payment routing for drawback to core banking accounts, and monitoring of foreign exchange realization, with prescribed amendment, reprint and escalation procedures.

Revised return filing permitted for April returns; dealers may submit by the due date of the next return.
Dealers are permitted to file a revised return for April 2010 by the due date of the next return to allow time for calculation of input tax credit on closing stock and preparation of Annexure 2A and Annexure 2B; Circular No. 5 of 2010 11 is applicable to that return.

Clean Energy Cess: excise-style levy on coal, lignite and peat extending to imports and requiring registered self-assessed payments.
A Clean Energy Cess is levied as an excise duty on gross quantities of coal, lignite and peat raised and dispatched and on imported coal; CENVAT credit is excluded and payment must be made in cash. Clean Energy Cess Rules require registration (or centralised registration for consolidated accounting), monthly self-assessed payment and returns, documentation of removals, manual return filing where electronic filing is incompatible, adjustment of excess payments, and a specified penalty for contraventions. Exemptions include downstream products if cess paid at the raw stage and coal under customary rights in Meghalaya.

Certification requirement for mutual fund distributors: NISM examination mandated, with transitional CPE option for experienced or senior distributors.
Persons engaged in the sale and distribution of mutual fund products must obtain valid certification by passing the NISM certification examination; distributor registration remains required after certification. Senior or experienced persons may alternatively meet specified Continuing Professional Education (CPE) requirements in lieu of passing the examination. Transitional provisions permit holders of the prior industry certificate whose validity expires within the transition window to comply with NISM CPE requirements by the end of the transition period, while others must comply before their certificate expiry.

Manufacture: pickling and oiling as preparatory processes do not constitute manufacture, lacking emergence of a new commodity.
Pickling and oiling are chemical cleaning and preparatory processes that do not result in the emergence of a new commodity with different name, character and use; therefore such processes do not amount to manufacture for Central Excise purposes, consistent with prior clarifications on de-coiling, cutting and slitting and tribunal decisions treating pickling as preparatory.

Drawback time limit liberalisation permits staged extensions by AC/DC and Commissioner, with prescribed filing offices and application fees.
Amendment liberalises time limits and delegates extension powers for brand rate, supplementary and re export drawback claims, removes the "sufficient cause" prerequisite for extensions, prescribes filing offices and staged extension authority to AC/DC and Commissioner, and introduces capped application fees for extension requests; Rule 16A(4) shortens the period to produce evidence of realization of sale proceeds with Commissioner discretion linked to RBI realization periods.

EDI Help Desk established to assist exporters with EDI issues, providing email, phone and in person support and email responses.
Establishes an EDI Help Desk at the Zonal JT. DGFT (CLA), New Delhi to assist exporters with EDI issues; designates staff and in person visiting hours; provides a dedicated helpdesk email and phone number as primary channels; requires that telephonic complaints also be sent by email; and states that responses and issue resolution will be communicated to exporters by email as soon as possible.

Authority competent definition expanded to include professionals issuing completion certificates for service tax purposes.
The Order provides that, for purposes of specified sub-clauses of section 65 of the Finance Act, the expression authority competent includes, besides any government authority, an architect registered with the Council of Architecture, a chartered engineer registered with the Institution of Engineers (India), or a licensed surveyor of the respective local body or development/planning authority, who is authorised under law to issue a completion certificate for residential, commercial or industrial complexes as a precondition for occupation.

VAT return filing: May returns may be submitted without applying recent amendments; annexures and closing stock ITC deferred.
Amendments to Sections 9(1), 9(2)(g), 10(5) and DVAT 16 are under consideration; May returns are to be filed without applying those amendments. Dealers should not calculate or carry forward ITC on closing stock and may omit Annexure 2A and 2B from current filings; hard copies and revised returns may be submitted later if the amendments are effected. The measure follows consultation with the Finance Department and is issued with the Commissioner (T&T)'s approval.

Valuation of debt and money market instruments: effective implementation deferred, early voluntary adoption permitted by regulator
SEBI postpones the operative date for the prescribed valuation methodology for debt and money market instruments and permits mutual funds and related entities to voluntarily implement the valuation approach prior to the revised effective date; the circular invokes SEBI's regulatory powers to ensure investor protection and market regulation compliance.