Tariff Rate Quota filing deadline extended for certain dairy, maize and mustard oil imports under FT Policy provisions.
Extension of the last date for submission of applications under the Tariff Rate Quota regime is announced under powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy and the Handbook of Procedures; the extension applies only to imports of skimmed and whole milk powder and milk food for babies, maize (corn) other, and refined rape/colza/mustard oil other.

Duty drawback rates revised to reflect input duties, service tax and energy costs, with sectoral adjustments and transitional relief.
Revision of the All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback, effective mid July 2006, re calibrates drawback entitlements to reflect input prices, applied duties, education cess and duty on HSD/Furnace Oil; amends Drawback Rules to include service tax on input services (preventing double recovery), introduces numerous new schedule entries and sectoral rate adjustments, provides transitional relief for reclassified goods, limits drawback to the customs component for CENVAT chain chemical exporters, and directs commissioners to ensure timely payment, grievance redressal and reporting of errors.

Mandatory electronic payment of service tax required for major assessees; designated banks to provide facility and field coordination follows.
Mandatory electronic payment of service tax is prescribed for major assessees effective 1 October 2006: assessees exceeding the specified major-assessee threshold in the preceding or current financial year must pay service tax electronically. Nominated banks will provide the facility; field formations must inform officers and assessees and ensure smooth implementation; Commissioners should encourage other assessees to adopt electronic payment; the Principal Chief Controller of Accounts will coordinate local implementation issues and the Board invites suggestions within a short timeframe for further action.

Import from registered sources: new system with transitional pre-shipment inspection allowance for earlier bill of lading shipments.
The amendment replaces the last paragraph of Paragraph 2.32.2(g) to provide that the new system of import from registered sources will come into effect from 1st April, 2006, but where the Bill of Lading is dated on or before 1st November, 2006, imports will be allowed under the Pre Shipment Inspection regime in terms of Paragraph 2.32 and the Public Notice establishing that regime until the new system is in force.

Dematerialisation requirement enables shift to rolling settlement when depository connectivity and demat non promoter holdings are satisfied.
Companies with connectivity to both depositories may be shifted from Trade for Trade to rolling settlement only after meeting the dematerialisation requirement that at least half of non promoter holdings are in demat form, certified by the Registrar and Transfer Agent or, if none, by a practicing Company Secretary or Chartered Accountant, and provided there are no other grounds for continuation in Trade for Trade; exchanges must report actions taken in the monthly development report.

CHA examination eligibility: specified qualifications and mandatory oral test requirement for candidates nominated by licensed agents.
Written examination under Regulation 8 of CHALR 2004 is open to nominees (employees, partners or directors) of licensed CHAs who meet prescribed educational or experience qualifications: specified graduate plus professional degrees, graduate with three years' G Card CHA experience, or retired Group A IC&CES officers with ten years' Group A service. Oral examination follows the written test; written passers must clear the oral within two years or be deemed to have failed. Applications in the prescribed proforma with attested Custom Pass and educational certificates must reach the Personnel & Establishment Department by the deadline.

Revision of special currency basket value requires authorised banks to apply the updated rupee conversion rate from the effective date.
Authorised Dealer banks are required to adopt a revised rupee value for the special currency basket used under the Deferred Payment Protocols, with the circular specifying the new rupee value and its effective date, and directing AD banks to notify their constituents. The directions are issued under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and are without prejudice to other permissions or approvals under any other law.

Jurisdiction for appeals reallocated among VAT officials, assigning appellate limits, audit, enforcement and administrative duties.
Allocation of appellate jurisdiction and administrative responsibilities within the VAT department assigns Sandeep Kumar appeals and revisions above the pecuniary limit of Rs. 15 lacs for Zones I and II, and Devinder Singh appeals above Rs. 50,000 up to Rs. 15 lacs for Zone VII; Sandeep Kumar also receives Audit, Enforcement, Systems and I.T.; R.N. Sharma gains Enforcement and Border Control Unit duties; Ramesh Chander receives VAT Audit, all issued with prior approval of the Commissioner VAT and circulated to concerned officers.

Banking and financial services classification: postal money order and postal account services are not taxable under banking service levy.
Services provided by the Department of Posts are not similar to banks or financial institutions and therefore services such as transfer of money through money orders, operation of postal savings accounts and issue of postal orders do not fall within the banking and other financial services entry and are not liable to service tax under that classification.

Quarterly returns requirement: registered dealers must file pending returns or face registration cancellation and penalties.
Registered first- and second-stage dealers under the Cenvat Credit Rules must submit the specified quarterly return within the prescribed time to the Superintendent of Central Excise; outstanding returns must be filed by the Commissionerate deadline or proceedings for cancellation of registration and penalties will be initiated. Dealers must file a NIL report if no transactions occurred in a quarter, and trade associations are requested to inform their members of these compliance obligations.

Export warehousing expansion: inclusion of Navi Mumbai enables registration of export warehouses in Thane district.
Extension of the export warehousing facility to include Navi Mumbai in the district of Thane, Maharashtra, by amending paragraph 2(2) of the Board's Circular dated 29.6.2001; the revised paragraph adds Navi Mumbai to the list of places where warehouses may be established and registered, enabling exporters and warehouse operators in that locality to use the export warehousing mechanism under the Central Excise Rules, 2002.

DEPB schedule amendment adjusts export entitlement credits under the Foreign Trade Policy, updating product-specific DEPB rates and caps.
Public Notice No.29/2006 amends the DEPB Schedule under powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy and Handbook of Procedures, annexing a revised product grouped table. The annex lists product-specific DEPB rates and, where applicable, value caps, and includes qualifications (material, packing, CKD/SKD/CBU conditions) and deleted entries. The revised schedule governs calculation of exporter DEPB entitlements and must be applied in accordance with the Policy and Handbook procedures.

Certification requirement for service exporters: mandatory accountant attestation of export records and forex receipts for licensing compliance.
Amendments add Appendix-26A requiring Chartered Accountant/Cost and Works Accountant/Company Secretary certification for service exporters/service providers. The certificate must verify statutory registers, bank certificates and other records evidencing foreign exchange earnings (direct and indirect), confirm that the Aayaat Niryaat Form and books agree, declare auditor independence, acknowledge legal consequences for false statements, and include signatory details and registration number; Appendix-26A is prescribed for specified sub-sections and for double-weightage eligibility under Star Export House criteria.

Regularization of export obligation defaults through Settlement Commission ensures consistent treatment of duty and interest settlements.
Regularization of export obligation defaults and settlement of customs duty and interest under Para 2.46 of the Foreign Trade Policy are to be processed through the Settlement Commission of the Central Board of Excise & Customs. Regional Authorities must treat Settlement Commission decisions given prior to 1.4.2005 on the same footing as decisions relating to the period on or after 1.4.2005, ensuring consistent administrative handling of EO regularization and duty/interest settlement.

FDI ceiling in telecom: compliance deadline extended to give existing licensees additional time to meet prescribed conditions.
The Department amended the compliance timeline under Press Note 5 (2005 Series) for telecom service provider companies, extending the period to meet the conditions set out in that Press Note. An initial four month correction period was provided and previously extended to 2 July 2006; the Department further extended the compliance period w.e.f. 3 July 2006 up to 2 October 2006, and Press Note 5 (2005 Series) is modified to that extent.

Electronic payment of service tax enables taxpayers to register with authorized banks for round-the-clock online challan submission and secure settlement.
Electronic payment of service tax is an optional mode where registered taxpayers use authorized banks and the Electronic Accounting System (EASIEST) to complete secure online challans; mandatory on-line validation of Assessee Code, Location Code and Account Head is required, banks generate unique payment confirmation numbers and deliver cyber receipts and printed challans while assuming responsibility for fund transaction and settlement with the Government.

Permissible error on net quantity by weight in cement packaging: reconcile monthly and pay duty on any net excess delivered.
Manufacturers must compute the net variation between total quantity delivered in a month and the quantity assessed for duty, pay excise duty on any net excess, and maintain weighment and production records for audit. If duty on the net excess is not paid with the monthly liability, applicable interest will be charged, and the paid excess must be reported in monthly returns.

Trustees' certification of scheme novelty required; offer documents must state approval and non minor modification status.
Trustees must certify that an approved scheme is a new product of the mutual fund and not a minor modification of an existing scheme; this certification and the trustees' approval date must be disclosed in the offer document. The requirement supplements the existing trustee certification and applies to all offer documents pending clearance, excluding Fixed Maturity Plans and traditional close ended schemes but including close ended schemes convertible to open ended on maturity.

New reporting system mandates streamlined monthly, fortnightly and annual reports on searches, seizures, surveys and illegal payments.
A new reporting system limits required submissions to: monthly D.O./activity reports to Member (Inv.) without search/survey statistics; monthly statistical reports by the 5th (Search and Seizure/Appraisal to Director(Inv. II & III); Survey and TEP to D.S.(Inv. I)); fortnightly reports on illegal payments within three days of each fortnight; and an annual S&S summary for Cabinet by 5 April. DGIT(Inv) and CCIT(Central) must submit outstanding reports called for in April 2006, deliver the quarterly report for quarter ending 30 06 2006 by 15 July 2006, and send copies on CD.

Extension of investment deadline for section 54EC relief permits taxpayers to invest delayed capital gains following bond non-availability.
Extension of the six-month investment period under section 54EC was ordered to address non-availability of notified capital gain bonds issued by NHAI and REC after an amendment limited eligible bonds to those issued on or after 1 April 2006; the Central Board of Direct Taxes, under section 119(2)(c), granted specified extended deadlines for taxpayers who transferred long-term capital assets during designated transfer periods to remove hardship caused by temporary non-availability of the bonds.