Prohibition on beef imports: strict customs enforcement and investigations required for suspected products containing beef.
Import prohibition on beef and beef-containing products is reiterated: all imports of beef in any form are prohibited; bulk consignments must carry an exporter's shipping declaration that they do not contain beef; consumer-pack edible products must bear a label declaration that they do not contain beef. The Board directs strict implementation, investigation of reported imports such as Gummy Pizza, suitable legal action for violations, and reporting of findings to the Board.

Export registration requirement for Assam Comilla cotton: contracts must be registered and shipments completed within the prescribed timeframe.
Export of Assam Comilla Cotton is permitted only on registration of export contracts with DGFT; applicants must file to RA Guwahati the export contract, either an irrevocable LC authenticated by an Indian bank or bank proof of advance payment, a prescribed declaration, and IEC. For countries other than Japan, proof of past exports to the destination is required. Where documents are in order the RA issues a Registration Certificate, shipments must be completed within the prescribed period and proof of export furnished; non-performance triggers debarment and penal action under the Foreign Trade Act.

Service tax audit manual sets updated audit principles requiring all service tax audits to follow the Manual and extant instructions.
The Service Tax Audit Manual 2011 has been approved and will be circulated by the Directorate General of Audit; all Service Tax audits must henceforth be conducted in accordance with the Manual's principles together with extant instructions, the Manual is for departmental officers only, and suggestions or corrections should be brought to the notice of the Directorate General of Audit.

Authorized Courier qualification extension allows courier employees to meet customs electronic filing requirements under courier regulations.
The Board directed that IEC Branch Code in Form 'D'/CBE XIII and Form 'E'/CBE XIV and AD Code in Form 'E'/CBE XIV be treated as non mandatory, while mandatory IEC Code for low value dutiable consignments in Form 'D'/CBE XIII continues. Transition for the examination requirement under Regulation 8 of CHALR, 2004 is extended to 31 December 2011; as a one time measure employees of Authorized Couriers may appear in the Regulation 19 examination to enable them to handle customs work, but they remain barred from working for CHAs. Authorization and record retention rules for consignee/consignor were clarified.

Jurisdictional issuance of show cause notices required; local commissioners must issue or reissue notices where not time-barred.
Only customs officers assigned assessment and reassessment functions in the territorial jurisdiction of import are competent to issue show cause notices; therefore show cause notices arising from DRI and preventive investigations must be issued or, if not time-barred, reissued by the jurisdictional Commissioners, with legal options being explored for notices that would be barred by limitation.

Declaration of Intent requirement: EOUs may claim Chapter 3 benefits for past shipments without the declaration; authorities to finalise claims.
EOU shipments are not treated as free shipping bills by Revenue and the earlier DGFT clarification is withdrawn; EOUs may claim Chapter 3 benefits without a Declaration of Intent for exports made from 1 April 2008 to 31 December 2010. Regional Authorities must finalise rejected claims for that period and EOUs are allowed a one month grace period to file delayed claims. The post 1 January 2011 regime under Para 3.11.8 of HBP v1, as amended, remains in force.

Declaration of intent requirement for EOU shipping bills clarified - EOUs eligible for Chapter 3 benefits without declaration for specified period.
EOU shipping bills are not treated as free shipping bills and the earlier DGFT clarification is withdrawn; EOUs may claim Chapter 3 benefits without a Declaration of Intent for exports from 1 April 2008 to 31 December 2010, RAs must finalise rejected claims for that period and a one-month grace period is provided for filing claims.

Import restriction relaxation: wider trim cutting waste permitted for Chindi rug manufacture enabling licence-free clearance.
Import of trim cutting waste in continuous-length fabric trims used for Chindi rug manufacture is exempt from licence restrictions under the ITC (HS) policy for heading 6310, with the permitted maximum width revised to ten inches; field formations are to permit licence-free clearance of such imports and issue suitable instructions accordingly.

Labeling in bonded warehouses permitted with Warehousing BOE, mandatory full ex-bond examination and compliance verification.
Extension permits labeling in bonded warehouses where space is available: importers may file a Warehousing Bill of Entry, obtain an endorsement that DGFT labeling compliance will be verified prior to de-bonding, label within bonded premises, and have the Bond Officer ensure compliance by a full examination and endorsement on the Ex-bond Bill of Entry (hard copy and EDI as applicable). This facility is limited to goods difficult to label at ports/CFS due to size or sensitivity, and labeling/re-labeling in bond is treated as manufacture subject to the Manufacture and Other Operations in Warehouse Regulations, 1966.

Customs location status: ICD Daulatabad declared inactive; only ICD Maliwada and ICD Waluj remain active, contact officials.
The notice declares ICD Daulatabad (code INDLB6) listed in the ICEGATE UNLOCODE directory as not an active customs location and states that only two inland container depots are operative in the commissionerate. Traders are directed to rely on those active ICDs for customs transactions and to contact the Superintendents of Customs at the operative ICDs via provided phone and email channels for any clarification or assistance.

Appointment of Common Adjudicating Authority assigns a specified show cause notice to the Commissioner of Customs for adjudication.
The Board, invoking powers under the applicable customs notification, assigns the show cause notice issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in the matter concerning M/s Becton Dickinson India Pvt. Ltd. & Others to the Commissioner of Customs (Port Import), Custom House, Chennai for adjudication, and circulates the order to designated customs officials for service and information.

Advance Bill of Entry permitted where electronic IGM is not filed, subject to manual noting, CGM filing and subsequent regularization.
Where electronic IGM/CGM is not available after migration to ICES 1.5, importers/CHAs may file advance/prior Bills of Entry in ICES 1.5, pay duties and seek a manual noting by the Import Noting Section which will verify details against the manually filed IGM and record the manual IGM and line number. For LCL, manual CGM filing is permitted subject to later electronic update. The Docks Officer will manually register and grant Out of Charge after verification, and all such Bills must be regularized in ICES 1.5 once IGM/CGM are successfully filed.

Appointment of cost auditor requires Audit Committee/Board approval, e-filing of Form 23C and deemed government approval.
Companies required to audit cost records must appoint a qualified cost accountant as cost auditor, with the Audit Committee (or Board where no committee exists) ensuring statutory eligibility, independence certification, and compliance with engagement limits. The company must e-file Form 23C with prescribed attachments and fee within the prescribed period; the filing is deemed approved absent contrary direction within thirty days, subject to resubmission if required. Following deemed approval the company issues the appointment letter and the cost auditor must notify the Central Government; companies must disclose auditor details and report filing dates in the Annual Report. Penalties apply for defaults by companies, officers, and auditors.

Arrival card revision extends the new customs form to land and sea entries; 'Flight Number' may read Not Applicable or train/vessel.
The revised customs portion of the Arrival Card notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs must be used at Land Customs Stations and Sea Ports as well as airports; in the 'Flight Number' column customs may record "Not Applicable" or the train or vessel details, and the earlier Board circular is modified accordingly.

Self-assessment of customs duty required: electronic filing mandated, subject to verification, re-assessment and provisional assessment procedures.
Self-assessment of customs duty requires importers and exporters to file Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills electronically, declaring correct classification, value, duty rate and exemptions; electronic filing is default, with manual filing only in exceptional, authorised cases. Declarations are subject to selective verification via the Risk Management System, including examination, testing and document production; incorrect self-assessments may be re-assessed by the proper officer, and provisional assessment with security may be used where immediate re-assessment is not feasible.

Professional certification of electronic company filings triggers responsibility for data integrity and temporary debarment pending inquiry.
Practising professionals who are members of designated professional bodies must digitally certify electronic company filings; such certification allows filings to be accepted without routine officer approval, while professionals remain responsible for document integrity. On complaints, the Regional Director will conduct a prima facie enquiry, the e Governance Cell will refer the matter to the professional institute for enquiry to be completed within a month, and the professional will be debarred from portal submissions for thirty days or until the institute's report is received; the Ministry will then decide after considering the institute's findings.

Education Cess treated as part of service tax; where whole service tax is exempt, cess is also not recoverable.
Education Cess and Secondary and Higher Education Cess are levied and collected as a percentage of service tax and therefore become nil where the whole of service tax is exempt; field formations are directed not to recover education cesses in such cases, and cess refunds made to exporters along with exempted service tax need not be recovered.

Duty drawback procedure for gold and silver jewellery requires BIS-certified assaying, Customs-supervised sampling, and specified documentation.
Duty drawback on exported gold and silver jewellery is conditioned on purity verification and specified documentation. Exporters must file a drawback shipping bill with invoice, purchase order/LC, packing list declaring itemwise net metal and stone weights, GR I, registration certificate and a declaration. Customs will mark shipping bills for BIS certified assaying, issue test memos, supervise sampling via a preventive officer who escorts and certifies packages, and receive assay certificates stating purity and stone weight. ACC examiners endorse net metal weight and purity and the drawback section computes net content by multiplying net weight by purity for claim processing.

Export under bond procedure: exporters must submit monthly proof of export and certified ARE-1 to obtain re-credit.
Export under bond without payment of duty requires submission of a monthly statement in Annexure-19 together with original ARE-1 duly certified (Pass for Shipment Order) by Customs, and supporting self-attested photocopies of the bill of lading and the Shipping Bill. The statement must be submitted to the divisional office (through the Range) or to the bond-accepting authority, which shall immediately acknowledge receipt. Exporters, notably merchant-exporters, must strictly comply to tender proof of export and obtain re-credit.

Adjustment of case assignment limits allows local modification to ensure equitable workload among assessing officers.
Permits Commissioner level authorities to adjust the Board's monetary limits for assignment of income tax cases by up to Rs. 5 lakhs where strict application would cause substantially uneven workload distribution between DCsIT/ACsIT and ITOs, subject to recording reasons. Clarifies that 'mofussil areas' mean all stations other than the specified metro cities, preserving the territorial classification for applying the limits.