Clearance of capital goods in DTA allowed upon payment of applicable duty and compliance with prevailing import policy.
Amendment permits clearance of capital goods, including second hand, into the Domestic Tariff Area under the Foreign Trade Policy on payment of applicable duty and in accordance with the import policy in force on the date of such clearance.

Eligibility of nominated directors for ESOS clarified, and graded vesting accounting aligned with revised guidance for amortisation.
A nominated director may participate in a company's ESOS if the nominating contract permits acceptance of options, prohibits renunciation in favour of the nominating institution, and specifies conditions for accepting fees and incentives; the contract must be filed by the nominating institution with the company and by the company with its stock exchanges, and the director must furnish the contract at the first board meeting attended after nomination. Options granted to such nominated directors cannot be renounced in favour of the nominating institution. Graded vesting accounting may be amortised per separate vesting portions or over the aggregate vesting period, subject to recognition at least equal to the vested portion's value.

EPCG scheme eligibility for airport service payments clarified; specified receipts qualify for EO discharge while others are excluded.
Eligible receipts for EPCG EO discharge by an airport service provider include charges from foreign airlines and foreign nationals such as landing and parking, land and space rentals, warehousing and related handling charges, CUTE counter charges, and Passenger Service Fee portions collected via airlines from foreign nationals; payments from ground handlers qualify only if not claimed by the handler and accompanied by a disclaimer. Excluded are licence fees from Trade Concessionaires, payments from duty free operators, the security portion of Passenger Service Fee, and cargo handling charges for Indian consumers. Payments by foreign airlines from repatriable INR earnings are treated as free foreign exchange.

EEFC account interest permission withdrawn; accounts now limited to non-interest-bearing current accounts and banks must notify customers.
With effect from November 1, 2008, EEFC accounts are restricted to being opened and maintained only as non-interest bearing current accounts, withdrawing the prior temporary permission for exporters to earn interest; Authorised Dealer Category I banks must notify their constituents and ensure accounts are maintained in the prescribed non-interest-bearing form under the relevant foreign exchange law.

Advance remittance for rough diamonds: approved supplier list expanded, remittances allowed subject to existing reporting and conditions.
Advance remittance for import of rough diamonds is permitted without limit and without bank guarantee or standby letter of credit for eligible private importers, subject to the terms, documentation and reporting format specified in A. P. (DIR Series) Circular No.34; the circular expands the list of approved foreign mining suppliers to include specified RIO TINTO and BHP Billiton entities in Belgium while preserving all existing conditions and compliance obligations under FEMA.

Dematerialization requirement enables move from trade-for-trade to rolling settlement when non promoter holdings are dematerialized and no other grounds exist.
Stock exchanges may shift securities that have established connectivity with both depositories from trade for trade to normal rolling settlement if at least fifty percent of non promoter holdings are dematerialized, evidenced by a certificate from the Registrar and Transfer Agent or, if none exists, from a practicing company secretary or chartered accountant, and provided there are no other grounds for continuation of trade for trade; exchanges must report action taken in the Monthly/Quarterly Development Report.

TDS exemption for ex servicemen welfare corporations granted, subject to contractual TDS obligations and time limited review.
Administrative exemption from TDS is granted to corporations established for ex servicemen welfare whose income qualifies for income tax exemption, while preserving their obligation to deduct TDS on contractual payments; the exemption runs for three years and requires Chief Commissioners to report on its operation to permit Board review.

All Industry Rate of Deemed export drawback set to nil for HSD and furnace oil supplied to EOU/SEZ units.
The All Industry Rate of Deemed export Drawback for HSD and Furnace Oil supplied by domestic oil companies to EOU/SEZ units is declared nil per metric tonne, effective 24.6.2008 until further orders, communicated by Public Notice No. 57/(RE-2008)/2004-2009 under the Foreign Trade Policy and covering supplies under relevant policy schemes.

Regional authority jurisdiction updated to reassign specific districts under the Foreign Trade Policy via amendment to Appendix I.
Amendment in Appendix I of the Handbook of Procedure under paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy adds a regional authority entry assigning territorial jurisdiction over specified districts to the Joint Director General of Foreign Trade at Moradabad and provides the office contact details; the Public Notice states the change is issued in public interest.

Standard Input Output Norms updated for aluminum cast exports, revising required aluminum scrap and ingot input ratios.
Amendment to the Standard Input Output Norms (SION) updates entry C-27 for Aluminum / Aluminum Alloy Cast Articles: for each kilogram of aluminum content in the export product, permissible imported inputs are Aluminum Scrap at 1.10 Kg per Kg of aluminum content, or Aluminum Ingot at 1.06 Kg per Kg of aluminum content. The change is made by Public Notice amending the Handbook of Procedures (Vol.2) via ANNEXURE "A".

Use of tax audit reports: assessing officers must test, requisition and document audit evidence before accepting certificates.
Assessing officers must critically examine tax audit reports and related records in scrutiny assessments, requisitioning reports where absent, and perform documented test checks of transactions referenced in Form 3CD certificates rather than accepting such certificates at face value. Where violations or factual misrepresentations by assessees or reporting accountants are found, appropriate follow-up action and applicable penal or professional sanctions should be pursued and recorded to ensure audit certification fulfils its verification function.

Deduction for rural branch advances must be verified before allowance and past assessments reviewed for compliance.
Banks may claim a deduction for provision for bad debts up to ten per cent of the aggregate average advances made by their rural branches as defined in Explanation (ia) to section 36(1)(viia). The Board found claims allowed without verifying rural-branch eligibility, causing under-assessment. Assessing Officers must verify (by test check) that branches qualify as rural branches before allowing deduction and should review completed assessments and take remedial action where necessary.

Foreign currency accounts: additional account allowed for project offices subject to same terms and maintained with same AD bank.
Foreign companies with project offices in India may open an additional foreign currency account for each project, subject to the same terms and conditions as the existing account, provided both accounts are maintained with the same Authorized Dealer Category I bank; other conditions remain unchanged, the measure is effective immediately, amendments to FEMA regulations will follow, and the directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

Applications Supported by Blocked Amount introduced as alternate payment method for retail book-built public issues, shifting blocking responsibility to banks.
Introduction of Applications Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) as an alternate payment mechanism for book-built public issues permitting eligible resident retail investors to apply by authorising an SCSB to block application monies in a specified bank account until allotment finalisation, withdrawal, rejection or issue failure. SCSBs must certify systems, designate Controlling and Designated Branches, block funds, upload prescribed bid data to the Stock Exchange electronic bidding system, act on Registrar instructions to unblock or transfer funds, maintain records, and are liable for omissions or commissions; Registrars, Merchant Bankers and Stock Exchanges have specified reconciliatory, disclosure and system roles and timelines for processing ASBAs.

Applications Supported by Blocked Amount lets retail investors apply by blocking bank funds, streamlining book-built public issue subscriptions.
Introduction of Applications Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) as a supplementary method for retail investors to subscribe in book-built public issues by authorising SCSBs to block application money in the investor's bank account until allotment finalisation, withdrawal or issue failure, with defined roles and obligations for Self Certified Syndicate Banks, Stock Exchanges, Registrars to the Issue and Merchant Bankers for data upload, reconciliation, fund blocking/unblocking, transfer on allotment, recordkeeping and investor redressal.

ASBA process: blocked account application method enabling certified banks to hold funds and facilitate allotment in book built issues.
SEBI introduces Applications Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) as an alternate payment mechanism for book built public issues whereby eligible resident retail investors submit ASBAs to certified Self Certified Syndicate Banks (SCSBs) which block the application money in the investor's bank account, upload bid details to the stock exchanges, and on instructions from the Registrar unblock or transfer funds after finalisation of allotment; lead merchant bankers, registrars and stock exchanges have specified disclosure, reconciliation and system obligations and timelines.

Applications Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) enables blocking of investor funds until allotment in book built issues.
ASBA permits resident retail investors bidding at cut off to authorise SCSBs to block application funds in their bank accounts until allotment finalisation or withdrawal. Certified SCSBs must block/unblock funds, upload applicant data to stock exchange electronic bidding systems, designate Controlling and Designated Branches, and retain records; Registrars reconcile and verify bid data against depository records, finalise basis of allotment, instruct SCSBs to transfer funds, and maintain electronic records and complaint redressal. Merchant bankers and stock exchanges must enable disclosures, forms, timelines, secure data interfaces and accurate transmission of bid files.

Service tax classification: contract egg hatching excluded from business auxiliary and business support taxable services.
Contract hatching of eggs is not to be treated as a taxable service within the categories of Business Auxiliary Service or Business Support Service for service tax purposes; administrative units are directed to note and apply this classification.

Sikkim income exemption clarified: relief for prior-year assessments on specified Sikkim-source income of non-Sikkimese residents.
Clause 26AAA (retrospective) exempts certain income of Sikkimese individuals. For non-Sikkimese individuals residing in Sikkim, specified income remains taxable; however, for assessment year 2007-08 and earlier no assessment or reassessment shall be made in respect of that specified income, proceedings for non-filing shall be dropped, and where proceedings are pending without orders the income shall be accepted as per the return. From assessment year 2008-09 onward, assessments will follow the Income-tax Act. These instructions apply only to non-Sikkimese residents of Sikkim.

Service Tax Code accuracy: ensure correct payer and service codes on challans to secure proper accountal of payments.
Service taxpayers must accurately record their Service Tax Payer Code (STP Code) and the applicable Service Tax Code (STC) on GAR-7 challans because incorrect or missing codes result in payments not being accounted to the correct assessee or service head. Directories of STP Codes and Service Tax Codes have been published on the Commissionerate website and stakeholders are requested to publicize this requirement to ensure proper accountal.