Certificates of Origin authorization updated: issuing agency's address and contact details revised to reflect office relocation.
The Director General has amended Appendix 4C of the Handbook of Procedures to update the Delhi entry for the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers' Association, replacing its previous address and contact details with a new office location and revised telephone, fax, and email information to reflect the agency's relocation.

Export licence application requirements revised: ANF 2D replaced, application fee deleted and applicant guidelines simplified.
The Public Notice replaces the ANF 2D form in HBP Vol. I with a revised specimen, deletes the application fee field (no fee prescribed for export licence), and amends applicant guidelines. The revised form preserves fields for IEC, applicant and submission details, item and export history, export purpose, buyer and shipment particulars, special disclosures for samples and seeds, a detailed declaration undertaking compliance with the FT (D & R) Act and policy instruments, certifications on penal or caution status, RCMC representation, and signature authorization. New guidelines clarify hard copy and electronic submission, signature and enclosure requirements.

Taxpayer convenience: weekend receipt counters opened to facilitate filings and payments at income tax offices nationwide.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes ordered that income tax offices all over India shall make special arrangements by opening receipt counters on 29th and 30th September 2012 to facilitate taxpayers, requiring local offices to ensure availability of counters on those weekend dates to accept filings and receipts.

Counter timing change: unified morning receipt and delivery schedule reduces visits; afternoon exceptions allowed with approval.
Change in counter operations consolidates submission and collection into a morning receipt window followed by a morning delivery window to reduce multiple visits; exceptional hardship may permit afternoon submission or receipt with prior approval by the Joint Director General of Foreign Trade; the revised timings take effect from the announced implementation date.

Abatement for air passenger transport applies to journey related charges; non journey charges and separate cancellation fees taxed accordingly.
Abatement for air passenger transport applies to charges directly related to the journey; consolidated charges are characterised by the service with the essential character while itemised components are analysed individually. Excess baggage and pet charges are taxable only if embarkation is within the taxable territory; for domestic journeys they are taxable without abatement. Retained fare on cancellation remains taxable with abatement, but separately invoiced cancellation or no show fees are treated as administrative charges and do not attract abatement. The place where the passenger embarks governs taxability of continuous journeys.

Monitoring of High Court appeals: directive to submit overdue and quarterly reports to DGIT(L&R) to ensure compliance.
The Directorate reiterates the Monitoring Mechanism under Instruction No. 7 of 2011: CITs must maintain the prescribed register and submit quarterly High Court appeal reports (Annexure-IV and V) to CCIT(CCA) by the 15th of the month following each quarter; CCIT(CCA) must compile and send consolidated digital reports to DGIT(L&R) by month-end. The overdue report for quarter ended 30/06/12 is to be sent by 3rd October 2012 and future reports must meet prescribed timelines.

VaR margin methodology for index ETFs expanded, with cross margining allowed between ETFs and constituent instruments to improve margin efficiency.
The circular requires a VaR-based margin for broad-based index ETFs computed as the higher of a prescribed floor or a volatility multiple, excludes sectoral ETFs from this treatment, and extends cross-margining to allow offsets between ETFs and constituent stocks, ETFs and constituent stock futures, and ETFs and index futures to the extent they offset each other; cross-margining benefits will be withdrawn if ETF creation/redemption is suspended. Stock exchanges must implement systems, amend bylaws, notify members and publish the changes.

Special Currency Basket valuation revised, requiring authorised dealer banks to adopt the new rupee conversion and notify constituents.
The circular notifies Authorised Dealer Category I banks of a revision to the rupee value of the Special Currency Basket, fixes the revised rupee value effective from a specified date, directs AD Category I banks to inform their constituents, and states the directions are issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 without prejudice to other legal permissions.

FDI allotment pricing: non resident subscriptions under Memorandum of Association may be accepted at face value if eligible.
The Reserve Bank clarified that when non residents, including NRIs, subscribe to an Indian company's Memorandum of Association in compliance with the Companies Act, such investment may be made at face value, provided the investor is eligible under the FDI scheme; AD Category I banks are to inform their constituents of this pricing clarification, subject to other statutory permissions or approvals.

Arrear file due diligence: exhaustive tracing, detailed data capture and initiation of statutory enforcement measures.
Officers must perform exhaustive tracing and populate arrear files with comprehensive data-full addresses, PAN/IEC, bank details, lists of movable and immovable assets, adviser contact details, landlord information, and partners/directors particulars including PAN, addresses, bank accounts and identity documents-and report positive results; where not already done, initiate statutory action under Section 142(1)(a) and (b) of the Customs Act, 1962 as applied to Central Excise read with Section 11 of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

Improving quality of scrutiny assessments requires strict adherence to CAP guidance and focused completion of pending cases.
The Board directs Chief Commissioners to ensure Assessing Officers adopt the CAP strategy in Annexure II and scrupulously follow the prescribed steps and scrutiny guidelines, sensitize staff to prioritize pending scrutiny assessments for completion by year end, and provide meaningful lists of quality assessments, so as to improve assessment quality and augment post assessment tax revenues.

COD clearance requirement removed; departments must revive cases dismissed for lack of COD clearance and report compliance.
The Cabinet Secretariat's clarification has wound up the Committee on Disputes and removed the requirement to obtain COD clearance before approaching courts or tribunals. Field formations must prioritise revival of cases dismissed for want of COD clearance, and Chief Commissioners/Directors must report identified cases, their statuses, and any revival petitions filed, or submit a nil report where no such pendency exists.

ASBA branch expansion: SCSBs must designate branches as ASBA-enabled and submit prescribed status reports to widen investor access.
The circular mandates expansion of the Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) facility by requiring Self Certified Syndicate Banks to designate branches for ASBA in a phased manner and to submit prescribed status reports within fifteen days of each phase deadline, consolidating prior reforms to broaden investor access and streamline application processing.

Liaison and branch office reporting requirement: foreign offices must notify state police, file annual Annex reports and inform banks.
Foreign entities establishing Liaison, Branch or Project Offices in India must submit the prescribed Annex information to the state police authority within five working days of becoming functional, file the Annex annually along with the Annual Activity Certificate/Annual Report, and furnish copies to their Category I Authorised Dealer bank; existing offices must likewise file the Annex annually. The Annex specifies detailed information on the foreign entity, Indian office, head of office, personnel and visa compliance, visitors, projects/contracts, equipment imports and government and civil society contacts.

Trade credit limit for gold imports restricted to short-term usance from shipment under FEMA-authorised directions.
Suppliers' and Buyers' credit, including the usance period of Letters of Credit opened for import of gold in any form, including jewellery and items studded with diamonds or other precious/semi precious stones, shall not exceed ninety days from the date of shipment. Authorised Dealer Category I banks must apply this short term trade credit restriction, notify customers, and continue to follow existing circulars on related precious metal and diamond imports; the directions are issued under Section 10(4) and Section 11(1) of FEMA, 1999.

KYC AML obligations require specified non cash payment methods for authorised persons selling foreign exchange to customers.
The circular clarifies that for sale of foreign exchange within a person's eligibility, Authorised Persons may accept payment only by crossed cheque on the sponsoring firm's bank account, banker's cheque, pay order, demand draft, debit card, credit card or prepaid card where the rupee payment exceeds the specified threshold; for multiple drawals within the permitted period, second and subsequent payments must be by these specified non cash instruments when the cumulative rupee payment exceeds the threshold.

Transporters must carry DVAT 32 and DVAT 33 under VAT law or face penalties and vehicle detention.
Transporters and persons in charge of goods vehicles must carry a Transport Receipt in Form DVAT 32 and a Sale Invoice or Delivery Note in Form DVAT 33 while transporting goods; dealers and other persons using their own vehicles are included as transporters. Carrying goods without the required, genuine, and properly accounted documents attracts a penalty of forty paisa in a rupee on the value of such goods and may lead to detention of vehicles. The notice sets out the required forms and key fields.

Grievance redressal mechanism required on delivery instruction forms, with complaints to be filed via the designated regulatory portal.
The circular mandates printing a revised grievance redressal mechanism on the inside back cover of the Delivery Instruction Form Book; requires depositories to amend applicable bye laws, rules and regulations and to notify and disseminate the requirement to their Depository Participants; lists categories of entities and complaint types covered; and directs investors to file complaints via the designated online regulatory complaint portal or by sending complaints to the Office of Investor Assistance and Education or the regional offices using the provided contact details.

Investor complaint processing in SCORES required; KRAs must submit electronic ATRs and resolve complaints within one month.
Processing of investor complaints against KYC Registration Agencies must be carried out through the centralized SEBI web based system SCORES; KRAs must upload Action Taker Reports and supporting documents electronically and physical ATRs will not be accepted. KRAs must redress grievances and submit ATRs within one month, inform investors and SEBI of actions taken, and are liable to penal action for noncompliance.

Reduced withholding tax on foreign currency borrowing permitted when loans and infrastructure bonds meet ECB and RBI approval conditions.
Lower withholding tax under Section 194LC applies to interest on qualifying foreign currency borrowings where loan agreements or long term infrastructure bonds meet ECB regulations, have an RBI Loan Registration Number, comply with end use and other RBI conditions, are not restructurings solely for tax benefit, and where interest rates fall within the RBI specified All in cost ceilings; non ECB covered bond issues require case by case approval.