Compulsory dematerialised trading postponed for specified scrips due to depository connectivity issues; revised date to follow.
SEBI has postponed the effective date for compulsory settlement of trades in dematerialised form for 51 specified scrips because some companies had not signed agreements or established connectivity with one or both depositories in time. The circular lists the affected companies and states that a revised date for compulsory dematerialised trading by institutional investors and certain foreign categories will be announced later; the underlying requirement remains intended and will take effect once depository arrangements are completed.

Managerial remuneration compliance: companies must obtain Central Government approval before paying above Schedule XIII limits and await approval.
Payment of remuneration to managerial personnel must comply with the Companies Act ceiling in Schedule XIII; any proposed excess requires prior Central Government approval and must not be paid until that approval is received. Applications for approval should be submitted promptly on appointment, re appointment, or at the time of any mid term increase, and delayed or retrospective submissions are inappropriate.

Definition of port as infrastructure: inclusion of storage, loading, and unloading structures when authority certificate and BOT/BOLT transfer exist.
Such storage, loading and unloading structures will be included in the definition of port for the purposes of the relevant income tax infrastructure provisions only if (a) the concerned port authority issues a certificate that the structures form part of the port, and (b) the structures were built under BOT or BOLT schemes with an agreement providing for transfer to the authority on expiry of the stipulated period.

Direct investment rules: procedures and compliance for Indian investment in overseas joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries.
Indian parties may invest directly in overseas joint ventures or wholly owned subsidiaries under the 2000 Regulations subject to compliance with procedural filings (form ODA, form A-2, form ODR), routing transactions through one designated authorised dealer branch, allotment and use of a Reserve Bank unique identification number, limits on capitalisation of dues combined with market purchases to 25% of net worth, and reporting and approval requirements for certain investments; authorised dealers must obtain prescribed documents and report remittances promptly.

Validity of tax returns: pre-amendment forms accepted; PAN must be quoted or documented with returns to aid processing.
Returns of Income, Wealth or Expenditure filed during the current financial year in forms as they existed before the recent amendments should not be treated as invalid solely for not being filed on the newly notified forms. Administrative guidance requires assessees to quote PAN if allotted, to enclose PAN application and acknowledgement if applied for, or to submit a completed PAN application with photographs if not applied for, with publicity by tax administration to expedite PAN allotment.

PAN validation for IEC holders enables transfer to customs online and prescribes certificate collection and delivery procedures.
Validated PANs of IEC holders will be transferred to Customs online. IEC holders with online-validated applications may collect certificates at the IEC online counter during office hours; certificates will be issued to identity-card holders upon surrender of original receipts. Holders are advised to endorse their receipts to facilitate delivery, and those without identity cards may request postal dispatch of certificates.

Daily reporting requirement for derivative trading mandates exchanges and clearing houses to submit market activity and margin/MTM reports before next trading day.
SEBI requires exchanges to file a Daily Market Activity Report at the end of each trading day covering index futures price series, volumes, open interest and exceptional events, and requires the Clearing House to file an Initial Margin & Mark to Market Settlement Collection Report before trading the next day detailing 99% VaR and initial margin metrics, MTM liabilities and collections, and any shortages, to be submitted to the Sr. Director, IES with a copy to the Division Chief, Derivative Cell.

Recognition of branded products: criteria, mandatory product branding and disclosure for exporters, with procedural approvals and exemptions.
Guidelines set criteria and procedures for recognition of branded export products: export performance thresholds, domestic sales under the brand, prescribed quality certification, evidence of sales in destination markets, brand promotion abroad, and trade mark registration or application. Exporters must declare brand names on shipping bills; the Committee normally requires the brand to be embedded on the product with a Made in India logo, subject to exemptions. Bar coding using international symbologies is mandatory. Exemptions from value caps are specific to manufacturing units and products; recognition for foreign brands requires proof of foreign registration and the Made in India legend. Application timing governs retrospective or prospective benefit.

Special currency basket value updated; authorised dealers must adopt the new rupee conversion and notify constituents accordingly.
The Reserve Bank of India directed authorised dealers to adopt a revised rupee valuation for the special currency basket used in settlement of Deferred Payments Protocols with the erstwhile USSR, effective from the stated operative date; authorised dealers must notify constituents and comply with the instruction issued under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, failure of which attracts statutory penalties.

Refund procedure for duty-paid EDI bills: sanction, cash NPC and audit precede issuance of refund order.
Administrative procedure requires Group-sanctioned refunds to be recorded in the EDI system and case file, forwarded to Cash which logs TR-6 details and stamps challan copies to indicate approval and N.P.C. After Cash issues N.P.C. and internal audit clears the claim, the Group obtains a mock Out-of-Charge from the EDI section so the B/E moves to History, secures the EDI endorsement in the file, and then issues the Refund Order.

SCOMET export controls: IEC exemption removed for SCOMET items and inter ministerial clearance plus compliance required.
Exemption from obtaining an Importer-Exporter Code is not applicable to exports of SCOMET items in Appendix 3, Schedule 2 of the ITC (HS) except where another exemption applies. An Inter-Ministerial Working Group chaired by the Export Commissioner will consider SCOMET export applications under issued guidelines. Exporters must undertake to submit a copy of the Bill of Entry into the destination state party to DGFT (PC-III) within thirty days of delivery, failure of which will attract administrative enforcement and penalties under the foreign trade and customs regulatory framework.

Export obligation credit: physical exports under duty exemption and imprest licences count towards EPCG licence compliance.
Physical exports made under the Duty Exemption Scheme, Diamond Imprest Licence and Replenishment Licence by a manufacturer exporter shall be accepted as documentary evidence to discharge export obligation under the EPCG Scheme for the same export product; for licences issued prior to 1.4.1999 such exports shall be counted towards EPCG obligations with effect from 1.4.1993 to align with Paragraph 6.5(vi) of the Exim Policy 1997-2002.

EPCG licence issuance: RLAs may approve listed capital goods without reference to the headquarters committee for eligible exports.
EPCG licences for the export products and specified capital goods listed in the Annexure may be issued by the respective Regional Licensing Authorities without reference to the Headquarters EPCG Committee where nexus norms are already communicated or established, expanding the list of items eligible for such RLA-level approval in addition to those in Policy Circular No. 3 (RE-2000).

Drawback differentiation for silk floor coverings prompts vigilance to prevent misdeclaration and protect correct drawback entitlement.
Hand-knotted/hand-made floor coverings have been reclassified into separate entries for woollen, silk, and synthetic coverings with distinct drawback rates and maximum caps; silk coverings receive a higher rate and cap than synthetic coverings. Customs field formations are directed to exercise heightened vigilance when processing consignments and granting drawback to prevent misdeclaration of synthetic coverings as silk and to ensure correct classification and entitlement.

Selection for scrutiny under section 143(3) limited to specified case types; transfer ban persists with narrow exceptions.
Selection for scrutiny under section 143(3) for 2000-2001 is confined to specified categories-search and seizure assessments; assessments after survey under Section 147; set aside assessments; cases requiring 143(3) to comply with court directions; and all Central Circles cases not otherwise covered. The Chief Commissioner may exceptionally authorize other cases with written reasons. A ban on transfer of jurisdiction between assessing officers continues until 1 April 2001, with narrow exceptions for centralization of search cases and decentralization from Central charges; transfer orders in such exceptions must be sent to the computer centre.

EDI processing of DEPB shipping bills requires IEC registration, revised documentation, and Customs-verified DEPB credit procedures.
Computerised Customs EDI processing at New Custom House requires exporters to register their IEC and file DEPB shipping bills in revised Annexure formats with accurate Group Code/Item No. and unit quantities where value caps apply; certain chemical formulations remain manual. GRI filing is dispensed for EDI-processed bills and SDF declaration is required. Exchange Control copies are issued subject to bank certification. Customs may determine lower DEPB credit values, provisional exports are marked ineligible for DEPB pending market enquiry, and DEPB licence registration is verified and calculated by the Customs computer using Customs-approved values and exchange rates on realisation.

DEPB value caps updated for chemical exports, listing per unit caps by DEPB entry and product categories.
The Public Notice amends Appendix 28A of the Handbook (Vol. I) to impose specified DEPB value caps for Product Group: Chemicals (Product Code: 62), listing multiple DEPB entry numbers with corresponding per unit caps (per kg or per pair). It also revises the value cap for an additional DEPB entry and issues a corrigendum correcting descriptions and sentence references in earlier public notices, pursuant to powers under the Export and Import Policy 1997-2002.

Timely replies to Draft Audit Paras: commissioners must provide accurate comments and certify no pending paras by 10 November.
Commissioners must furnish timely, complete replies to Draft Audit Paras to enable the Ministry to send consolidated comments to the Comptroller and Auditor General within the prescribed schedule; delays or incomplete reports risk conversion of DAPs into Audit Paras placed before Parliament. Commissioners are expected to treat DAPs urgently-providing Commissioner-attended reports within about ten days-and must, by 10th November each year, certify that no DAP-related reports remain pending at their end.

Standard input-output norms updated for copper exports, specifying eligible input types and the input ratios per unit exported.
Correction to SI.No.C1503 prescribes that for each metric tonne of Continuous Cast Copper Rod / Cathodes the eligible import inputs are copper concentrate, copper scrap, or blister, with specified metric-tonne-per-metric-tonne input ratios for each input type, replacing the earlier published figures and governing input entitlements for export benefit calculations.

Clearing & Forwarding Agents classification triggers service tax liability and mandates survey and registration nationwide.
Activities consisting of renting storage tanks and supplying connected pipelines, pumps and valves for loading and unloading cargo are treated as Clearing & Forwarding Agents, bringing those services within service tax scope; Commissionerates are directed to survey, register such establishments and report actions taken to the Directorate.