Foreign investment ceilings in commodity exchanges: compliance deadline extended; failure to comply constitutes FEMA violation.
The Government requires affected commodity exchanges to comply with the foreign investment ceilings and related conditions of Press Note 2(2008) by 31.03.2010; exchanges must submit a status report of foreign investment as of 30.09.2009, equity structure, and corrective steps to DIP&P, Department of Consumer Affairs, FIPB, the Forward Market Commission and SEBI. Non-compliance after the date will be a violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

Cenvat credit on input services clarified: input services credit permitted without affecting ceramic tile notification eligibility.
The circular clarifies that the condition in Notification No. 05/2006 CE prohibits credit on inputs but not on input services, so taking CENVAT credit on input services does not violate the notification; and that abrasive stones affected by the shift from 6 digit to 8 digit tariff headings are to be treated as capital goods during the transitional period under the Central Excise (Removal of Difficulties) Rules, so entitlement under the notification cannot be denied for credits taken on those abrasive stones.

Input service credit permitted under Cenvat framework; classification of abrasive stones as capital goods preserves notification benefit.
The concessional excise duty condition prohibits credit on "inputs" but not on input services, so claiming CENVAT credit on input services does not breach the notification; abrasive stones classified differently during the tariff transition are to be treated as capital goods by virtue of the Removal of Difficulties provision substituting 6 digit references with corresponding 8 digit references in rules, and credit on such abrasive stones during the transition period does not forfeit the notification benefit.

Assessee-based jurisdiction: division of service tax administration by assessee name to centralize ST 3 filing and correspondence.
Streamlines work distribution in the Mumbai Service Tax Commissionerate by reallocating administration between Division I and Division II based on the first letter of the assessee's name, with A-L (and numerals) to Division I and M-Z to Division II; assessees must file ST 3 returns and all correspondence with the single designated Division, no fresh registrations are required, and existing Commissionerate and Division codes remain unchanged.

Line of Credit for export finance supports Indian supplies for rural electrification in Mozambique under FEMA compliance and AD bank procedures.
Exim Bank's Line of Credit finances eligible Indian exports for rural electrification in Mozambique, requiring at least eighty five percent of contract value to be supplied from India and permitting up to fifteen percent procurement from outside India (excluding consultancy). Shipments must be reported on GR/SDF forms; no agency commission is payable from the LOC though exporters may use their own or EEFC funds subject to prevailing rules. AD Category I banks must notify exporters and may permit commission remittances after realisation; directions are issued under FEMA.

Jurisdiction for appeals and objections reassigned; departmental work allocation updated to centralise case-handling and portfolios.
Administrative order reallocates departmental responsibilities and jurisdiction for appeal, objection, revision among Additional Commissioners. It assigns objection hearings and appellate/revision authority above a stated pecuniary threshold across specified zones under the DVAT Act and CST/erstwhile DST Act, and designates operational and administrative portfolios (including CFC, Planning, RTI, Policy, Law & Judicial with cross-consultation, Operations, Refunds, Enforcement, Vigilance, Audit, HR, Finance, Systems and VAT Audit). The order mandates circulation of specified files among officers and distribution of copies to senior officials and stakeholders for implementation.

Service tax registration requirements: specified identity, address documents and affidavits govern single and centralised registrations.
Service tax ST 1 registration requires submission of PAN, proprietor/partner residential addresses, Memorandum of Association or partnership deed, Power of Attorney for the authorised signatory, and proof of address for the premises. Centralised registration also requires a notarised affidavit certifying centralised accounting or billing at the premises listed in column 6 and correctness of branch addresses; where branches are fewer than ten this affidavit may substitute individual proofs. Previously filed documents need not be resubmitted for additions/deletions; new premises must be listed in the affidavit. The authorised signatory must complete all ST 1 entries legibly.

Revalidation of Duty Free Import Authorisations extended to allow a six-month import clearance window for affected issuances.
Revalidation of Duty Free Import Authorisations: DFIAs issued during the referenced issuance period, including those endorsed with transferability, may be revalidated for six months from the date of endorsement. Requests must be submitted to the issuing Regional Authority within 60 days of this Public Notice; RAs shall endorse revalidation within seven working days. No fee is required. The facility is not available where misrepresentation or fraud has come to light.

Filing time limits for export claims updated; BRC-linked applications and project-supply representations subject to specified timeframes.
Time limits are prescribed for filing export claims submitted with a BRC: within twelve months from export date or six months from realisation of export proceeds or from up linking of EDI shipping bill details or within three months from printing/release of the shipping bill, whichever is later, for shipments with claims. Paragraph 4.54 is deleted. For project supplies, representations against Norms Committee decisions must be filed within one year from communication of the decision.

Service tax automation enables online registration and electronic filing with phased module rollout and digital-signature deferred.
Implementation of the Automation of Central Excise and Service Tax (ACES) introduces a phased, workflow-based platform replacing legacy applications, initially providing Service Tax Registration (REG) and Service Tax Returns (RET) modules. It prescribes registration procedures for new, existing, non-assessee and LTU users, specifies user ID permanence and registration-number formats, and sets out online and offline return preparation, upload, validation and status tracking. Digital-signature acceptance is designed but initially not activated, so e-returns will be accepted without signed hard copies; system requirements and service-desk contact are provided.

Systems audit requirement: mutual funds must obtain independent CISA/CISM audits biennially and submit reports to trustees and regulator.
Mutual funds must commission a systems audit by an independent CISA/CISM qualified or equivalent auditor covering front office/back office integration, fund accounting and NAV calculation systems, financial accounting and reporting, unit holder administration and servicing, funds flow processes, systems for regulatory compliance and prudential investment limits, and access controls; audits are to be conducted biennially, placed before trustees and the audit report with trustee comments submitted to the regulator.

E-payment authorization for tax collection enables a bank to receive central excise and service tax electronically across commissionerates.
Oriental Bank of Commerce was authorized to collect Central Excise duties and Service Tax through bank-mediated electronic payments for all Central Excise, Service Tax and LTU Commissionerates, pursuant to approval by the Chief Controller of Accounts, CBEC; the Trade Notice announces commencement of the arrangement and requests wide publicity to trade associations.

Terminology change: factory/premises clarifies scope of premises for export procedural compliance under Foreign Trade Policy.
Amendment revises Para 5.3.1 of the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. I to replace the phrase "factory premises" with "factory/premises", altering the location descriptor used in that provision; issued under powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy and the Handbook of Procedures by public notice dated 16 September 2009.

Inter ministerial committee for exporters' issues established as a recommendatory forum to resolve sector wide export grievances.
An inter ministerial committee is constituted to redress problems affecting exporters as a class by identifying consultative solutions and guiding administrative departments; its role is recommendatory and it will not ordinarily handle individual grievances. Chaired by the Secretary, Department of Commerce, the Committee includes representatives from DGFT, Department of Revenue, Department of Economic Affairs, Reserve Bank of India, and Directorate General of Export Promotion (CBEC), may co opt other ministries as needed, and will meet quarterly. Exporters and trade organizations should submit sectoral issues to DGFT for placement before the Committee.

Reduced penalty under Section 11AC applies only when duty, interest and penalty are paid within the prescribed period at adjudication.
The reduced penalty under the Central Excise provisos is available only if the assessee pays the determined duty, interest and reduced penalty within 30 days of communication of the adjudicating authority's order; if duty or penalty is increased on appeal, the assessee may avail the reduced penalty only by paying the differential amount within 30 days of the appellate order.

Duty-free inputs for capital goods: manufactured in EOU must be bonded and are liable to duty on clearance.
Duty-free inputs may be used for manufacture of finished goods and for manufacture of capital goods for captive use within an EOU. Capital goods produced from duty-free inputs must be accounted for and bonded under the usual into-bond procedure; their value for bonding and any later assessment on clearance, debonding, or exit will be determined by the computed value method under Customs Valuation Rules. These goods will be liable to duty when cleared outside the unit or debonded, and the excise exemption referenced in the excise notification does not apply.

Leviability of service tax on construction: government canals exempt, private revenue-generating canals taxable under construction service rules.
Canal construction is taxable as a commercial or industrial construction service only if the structure is used, occupied, or engaged primarily for commerce or industry; government-built canals for public projects do not fall within commercial activity and are not chargeable, while privately developed, revenue-generating canals are taxable. Separately, works contracts for specified infrastructure-including canals and related irrigation projects-executed through turnkey or EPC arrangements are excluded from service tax liability.

Standard Input Output Norms amended for polyurethane wheels specifying constituent input types and proportional quantities per unit exported.
Amendment to SION entry A-3483 prescribes the input composition and exact per-kilogram input quantities for the export item Polyurethane Wheels, listing Polyurethane Pre-Polymer, Polyurethane Curing Agent, Colour Pigment, Polyurethane-to-Metal Adhesive, and the relevant ball bearing (net to net) as recommended raw materials to be incorporated into the Handbook of Procedures (Vol.II) for 2009-2014 under the specified policy provisions.

Standard Input-Output Norm amendment updates coconut oil input-output correlation and food-grade packaging requirements for export-import trade.
Amendment to the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. 2) revises the Standard Input-Output Norms entry for coconut oil, adjusting the input-output correlation to account for differing free fatty acid composition between edible-grade exported coconut oil and bulk ship-hold coconut oil, and reiterating that packaging must meet food-grade material specifications under PFA rules.

Applicability of delisting regulations: prior special resolutions may proceed if implemented promptly; otherwise fresh resolution under new rules required.
If a special resolution under the earlier Delisting Guidelines was passed before commencement of the Delisting Regulations, the delisting may proceed under the Delisting Guidelines only if that resolution is acted upon within three months of this circular; "acted upon" requires implementation steps including opening the book building process for determination of the exit price under Clause 8.1. If not acted upon within that period, a fresh special resolution is required and delisting must proceed under the Delisting Regulations.