Plastic Waste Management and Handling Rules clarified for exports of pan masala and gutkha in plastic sachets by EOUs.
Corrigendum to Board Instruction F.No. 528/69/2011-STO (TU) replaces the date 02.07.2007 with 02.07.2011 in paragraph 3 regarding the application of the Plastic Waste Management and Handling Rules, 2011 to exports of pan masala and gutkha packed in plastic sachets by 100% Export Oriented Units; all other contents of the original instruction remain unchanged.

Handmade definition expanded to include handloom, altering classification and eligibility under Handbook of Procedures trade controls.
The Note in Appendix 37D, Table-2 has been amended so the expression 'Handmade' expressly includes Hand-Made, Hand-knotted, Hand-Tufted, Hand-Woven and Handloom, thereby correcting the prior omission of handloom from that definition in the Handbook of Procedures.

Schedule VI presentation: companies may use pre-revised format for IPO/FPO filings during transition; annual accounts must follow revised format.
For IPO/FPO purposes during the transition to the revised Schedule VI, companies may present financial statements in the pre-revised Schedule VI format; beyond the transition period they must prepare and present accounts only in the revised Schedule VI format, and they must prepare and file Annual Accounts for the affected financial year as per the revised Schedule VI.

Online incorporation: professional certification can enable immediate electronic processing, but full STP approval is deferred.
Where e forms for incorporation, director appointments and constitutive documents are certified by a practicing professional as to correctness and declarations, the Registrar may process the application electronically and issue a digital certificate of incorporation immediately; however, full on line STP mode approval of specified e forms will not be implemented at present, preserving Registrar oversight while procedural simplification proceeds.

Central Excise Duty on pens: procedural clarifications on registration, invoicing, records, returns, branding and export rules.
Registrations are not yet issued as digitally signed certificates though feasibility is under review; excisable goods may be removed once the Central Excise registration number is received. Invoices must comply with Rule 11 requirements including triplicate numbering, registration number, consignee particulars, time and date of removal and duty particulars. Daily records of production, removals and duty must be maintained, while PLA and RG23A registers are not mandatory. Quarterly return facility via ER-8 is available for notified units; ARE-1 waiver for exports is limited to notification-exempt units. CVD on inks: domestic producers may opt for lower duty without CENVAT or higher duty with CENVAT credit; lowering import CVD is not feasible.

Online transmission of Duty Free Import Authorization enables automated licence exchange and shipping bill matching, streamlining export-import processing.
Implementation of online transmission of Duty Free Import Authorization requires exporters to provide DFIA details in the revised License Table or prescribed annexure when filing Shipping Bills; authorizations issued on or after the implementation date will be auto-populated in ICES 1.5 and must be quoted at filing. Customs will send Shipping Bills to the licensing authority so EODCs can be issued, enabling release of bonds/LUTs/BGs after verification. License amendments will follow upon Customs log print of usage and no imports are permitted after log print until amendment message is received. Manual procedures remain for earlier-issued authorizations.

Application of revised monetary limits: do not apply ipso facto to pre instruction appeals; seek High Court review instead.
The revised monetary thresholds in CBDT Instruction No. 3/2011 do not apply automatically to appeals filed before its issuance; earlier appeals remain governed by the monetary limits operative at filing, and where matters have common principles or cascading effect the Department should seek High Court review rather than accept ipso facto application of the Instruction.

Unit of measurement correction for import specification: Epoxide Resin weight standardized to pounds, no other changes.
The import unit of measurement for Epoxide Resin at serial number four is corrected to pounds (Lbs), recorded as 3.5 Lbs; this amendment, issued under the Foreign Trade Policy, changes only the unit of measurement and does not alter item descriptions or quantities.

Self-assessment in customs shifts declaration responsibility to importers/exporters and enables risk-based facilitation with post-clearance audits.
Self-assessment places primary responsibility for correct Customs declarations on importers and exporters, with RMS-driven interdictions allowing review of assessment, physical examination, or both; incorrect declarations may be reassessed. Section 17 enables customs officers to carry out on-site post-clearance verification at importer or exporter premises, supporting a facilitation-first approach paired with post-clearance audits to detect infringements.

Electronic filing requirement: importers and exporters must submit electronic declarations, generating unique identifiers to complete self-assessment.
The drafts mandate that authorised persons file import and export declarations electronically through ICES/ICEGATE or via service-centre data entry using prescribed Annexure formats; a declaration is deemed filed and self-assessed when ICES issues a unique bill/shipping bill number, after which originals and endorsed duplicate/exporter/exchange copies are processed and retained or handed over by the proper officer for clearance and any required examination.

E-payment mandate for customs duty: electronic payments required for high-value transactions and accredited importers for faster clearance.
The Board mandates electronic payment of customs duty through the Customs E-Payment Gateway (CEG) via ICEGATE for importers whose single-transaction duty meets the prescribed threshold and for all Accredited Client Programme participants regardless of amount. Procedures require opening an internet account with a designated bank, selecting unpaid challans on ICEGATE as a registered or unregistered user, redirecting to the bank for payment, obtaining a cyber receipt, returning to ICEGATE to complete verification, and automatic updating of the customs system to advance the bill of entry to examination. A VERIFY option addresses incomplete transactions and helpdesk support is provided.

Prohibition on plastic sachets: exporting gutkha or pan masala in plastic packaging contravenes plastic waste rules, exemption unavailable.
The Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules distinguish carry bags from sachets and prohibit plastic sachets and plastic material for packing gutkha, pan masala and tobacco; the export-oriented carry-bag manufacture exemption applies only to carry bags made exclusively for export and cannot be claimed by units manufacturing pan masala or gutkha, so exporting those products in plastic sachets would contravene the Rules.

Prohibition on plastic packaging for gutkha and pan masala prevents export in plastic sachets; exemption limited to carry bags.
The Rules bar use of plastic sachets and plastic material for packing gutkha and pan masala; the exemption in Rule 2 covers manufacture of carry bags exclusively for export purposes and does not extend to sachets or to units manufacturing pan masala/gutkha, so export of those goods in plastic sachets would contravene the Rules and past cases should be finalised with guidance issued.

Amendment to appendices updates export promotion council and inspection agency contact and address records.
Amendment updates contact and address information in two appendices of the Handbook of Procedure Vol. I. Appendix 2 revises the Export Promotion Council for EOUs & SEZ Units entry (serial no. 11), changing registered/head office address, phone, fax and e mail details and specifying regional office updates for Chennai, Cochin, Kandla, Mumbai, Noida and Visakhapatnam. Appendix 5 revises the inspection/certification agency entry (serial no. 23) for Best Mulyankan Consultants Ltd., updating name formatting, address, contact numbers and e mail. These changes are incorporated into the Handbook by public notice under paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy.

Modification of SIONs expands permissible import inputs for engineering exports, adding billets alongside existing nickel inputs.
Modification of SION C-1579 adds billets of iron/low carbon steel for remelting as an additional approved import input alongside nickel pellets/cathodes for production of Iron Nickel Alloy wire/strip; the export item description and input-norm quantities remain unchanged and the input-norm for billets is specified on the same per unit content basis as the existing nickel input.

Penalty for failure to export cotton yarn allows regularisation on payment, avoiding future default classification.
Where an exporter's shortfall in registered cotton yarn exports exceeds the permitted negative five percent tolerance, the respective Regional Authority may regularise the shortfall on payment of a specified penalty comprising a fixed component plus a percentage of the excess shortfall value; exporters who regularise under this mechanism will not be treated as defaulters for future registrations.

Negative list taxation of services expands the taxable base while protecting input tax credit integrity and reducing distortions.
A negative list approach would make all supplies meeting the proposed definition of "service" taxable except specifically excluded items, aiming to broaden the base, protect input tax credit integrity, and reduce distortions from selective exemptions. The definition excludes goods, money and immovable property while including rights to use immovable property, temporary transfers of intellectual property, obligations to do or refrain from acts, and hire or lease of goods. An indicative sectoral negative list is proposed and operational changes to credit and point-of-taxation rules are identified for implementation.

Rupee Drawing Arrangements extended to Malaysia under Speed Remittance, allowing vostro accounts for non-resident exchange houses.
The circular extends the Rupee Drawing Arrangements (RDAs) under the Speed Remittance procedures to permit exchange houses in Malaysia to open and maintain Rupee and foreign currency vostro accounts for inward remittances for permissible purposes, on the same terms as existing RDAs for other jurisdictions; other instructions remain unchanged and AD Category-I banks must notify constituents, with the directions issued under FEMA subject to any other legal approvals.

Investor complaint processing now requires electronic ATR submission through centralized SCORES, non-submission treated as non-redressal.
Mandates centralized electronic processing of investor complaints via SCORES, requiring intermediaries to view complaints with assigned credentials and submit Action Taken Reports and supporting documents electronically; physical ATRs for SCORES-lodged complaints will not be accepted and failure to update ATRs will be treated as non-redressal with the complaint shown as pending.

Infrastructure Finance Companies eligibility expanded to permit FII investment in corporate debt under long-term infrastructure category.
NBFCs designated as Infrastructure Finance Companies (IFCs) by the Reserve Bank of India are now recognised as eligible issuers for FII investment under the corporate debt long-term infrastructure category, extending prior SEBI guidance on FII investment in infrastructure-sector corporate bonds to include RBI designated IFCs.