VKGUY benefit withdrawal on skimmed milk powder removes eligibility for incentive under amended Foreign Trade Policy.
Director General of Foreign Trade deletes skimmed milk powder from Appendix 37A Table 2 of the Handbook of Procedure (Vol. I), immediately withdrawing the VKGUY reward/incentive entitlement for that product under the Foreign Trade Policy.

Education cess exemption on CVD: importers must claim in the new BE column and ensure eligibility is verified.
Education and Higher Education Cess on CVD will be levied by default in ICES BE assessments; eligible importers must claim exemption in a new BE column by quoting 013/2012 SI.No.1, which exempts both cesses. Appraising officers must manually verify calculations and eligibility because ICES cannot fully validate the exemption. The BE message format on ICEGATE has been updated and importers should revise private RES packages; discrepancies should be reported to the Assistant Commissioner (EDI).

FDI pricing guidelines revised: listed follow SEBI pricing, unlisted require internationally accepted arm's length valuation for exit.
For listed companies, issuance and transfer of equity and compulsorily convertible instruments shall follow SEBI pricing norms and optionality exits permit market price exit subject to lock in without assured return. For unlisted companies, issuance and transfer of equity and compulsorily convertible instruments must be priced on an arm's length basis using any internationally accepted pricing methodology, certified by a chartered accountant or SEBI registered merchant banker, ensuring no assured exit price and exit at a fair price subject to lock in. Companies must disclose valuation details, methodology and certifying agency in the financial year of the transaction.

Education and Higher Education cess exemptions withdrawn for specified electronic imports; new BE field permits eligible importers to claim relief.
Budgetary amendments withdraw prior cess exemptions for certain electronic imports and the ICES system will levy Education and Higher Education cess on CVD by default for BEs filed on or after 13.07.2014; a new BE field permits eligible importers to claim the single exemption entry that covers both cesses. For BEs filed before the system update, the cesses and the resulting differential in the 4% SAD must be paid manually via challan, and importers should revise filing packages or recall/reassess earlier entries to ensure correct payments.

Security requirement for customs broker licences clarified: enhanced security applies only to fresh licences, renewals exempt.
The Board clarified that the enhanced security amount under CBLR 2013 is required only for fresh customs broker licences and does not apply to holders of valid licences seeking renewal; all other CBLR 2013 conditions remain applicable. For renewals the prescribed documents are: a declaration confirming no change in constitution/address and compliance matters, self-attested copy of Licence (Form B), list of Photo Identity Card holders (Forms F/G/H) with numbers and validity, self-attested Customs Brokers Association membership certificate where applicable, and self-attested PAN if not already on record.

Partly paid shares and warrants permitted as FDI/FPI subject to upfront payment, prescribed pricing, reporting and compliance conditions.
Partly paid equity shares and warrants issued by Indian companies qualify as FDI/FPI instruments subject to FDI/FPI scheme compliance. Issuances must determine pricing and receive an upfront portion of consideration, with balance received within prescribed timelines or monitored by an appointed agency for larger issues. Warrants require an upfront price/conversion formula and conversion price not below fair value. Reporting of each remittance and issuance/transfer is required via Advance Reporting Form, FIRCs, KYC, FC GPR, FC TRS and LEC as applicable. Investee companies and investors must comply with entry routes, sectoral caps, limits and any prior approval requirements.

SION reinstatement restores export eligibility while tightening permitted import material specifications to specified grades.
The Director General reinstates SIONs A1143, A1170, A3627 and K134, substituting the import items previously listed with amended descriptions that specify permitted material grades and exclusions (e.g., clarifying "Rutile" as "Rutile grade" and qualifying titanium dioxide entries as "other than Rutile grade"), thereby restoring export eligibility for the listed glass products subject to the revised import input specifications.

Emblems and Names Act compliance: registrars must ensure company and LLP names do not contravene the Act.
Registration of corporate names must conform to the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950; Registrars of Companies and Regional Directors are directed to ensure proposed names for Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships do not contravene the Act, to exercise due care in name allotment, and to be fully familiar with the Act's provisions so that its prohibitions are applied in routine name-allotment procedures.

Distribution of common input service credit must be pro rata by unit turnover, regardless of actual service use.
Allocation of common input service credit under amended rule 7(d) of the Cenvat Credit Rules is to be distributed pro rata among all units operational in the current year during the relevant period, by multiplying the total common credit by each unit's turnover divided by the total turnover of all operational units; the phrase 'such unit' does not confine distribution to only units that used the services, and the turnover-ratio method applies irrespective of actual service use.

Monetary limits for departmental appeals restrict filings to cases where the tax effect justifies pursuing appellate review.
Revision prescribes monetary thresholds limiting departmental appeals: appeals may be filed on merits only where the tax effect exceeds prescribed limits; tax effect is defined as the tax difference attributable to disputed issues (excluding interest unless disputed), computed separately for each assessment year, with composite orders and multi-assessee matters addressed per-year and per-assessee. Non-filing solely for monetary reasons must be recorded and does not imply acquiescence. Exceptions require contesting constitutional, ultra vires, or accepted audit-objection issues regardless of monetary effect.

Jurisdiction orders communication: nodal officers must promptly acknowledge and respond to emails regarding jurisdiction orders.
The circular directs that nodal officers handling jurisdiction orders under section 120 must regularly monitor official email accounts, promptly acknowledge all communications regarding draft jurisdiction orders, and send requisite responses without delay to ensure timely processing and coordination on jurisdictional matters.

Revision of monetary limits for departmental appeals clarifies limits are guidance; appeals must be filed only on merits.
The Central Board issued an instruction revising monetary limits as guidance for filing departmental appeals and directed immediate communication to Chief Commissioners, Directors General, departmental representatives and counsels. The instruction requires strict compliance and emphasizes that the prescribed monetary limits are guiding factors only; appeal filings must result from a proper application of mind and be decided strictly on the merits to reduce unnecessary litigation.

Customs and excise duty changes: immediate tariff and procedural amendments with provisional effect and sectoral exemptions.
The circular implements tariff and legislative changes proposed in the Finance (No.2) Bill, 2014, effected in part immediately under the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act. It details chapter-wise adjustments to basic customs duty and central excise duty, consolidation and omission of certain tariff items, expanded duty exemptions for specified raw materials and renewable energy inputs, procedural modifications to customs and excise Acts and rules-including pre-deposit requirements for appeals, CENVAT credit timing limits, mandatory e-payment and valuation clarifications-and directs reliance on the Finance Bill and official notifications for legal effect.

Customs and Excise Duty Changes: multiple tariff adjustments, exemptions and procedural reforms affecting import and excise compliance.
Amendments introduce widespread customs and central excise tariff adjustments, targeted exemptions for inputs and energy-related capital goods, retrospective measures under provisional collection authority, expanded exporter duty-free entitlements, and procedural reforms including higher appeal admission thresholds, mandatory pre-deposit requirements, CENVAT credit time limits, e-payment mandates and valuation rule changes; notifications and Finance Bill provisions govern effective dates and operative conditions.

Widening service tax base extends taxation to digital/out of home advertising and radio taxi services, with staged compliance measures.
The Budget proposals widen the service tax base by bringing additional services-including digital and out of home advertising and radio taxi services-within taxation, withdraw or rationalise specific exemptions (notably air conditioned contract carriages and certain clinical testing), and introduce compliance measures such as variable interest rates, mandatory e payment, amendments to reverse charge and place of provision rules, changes to CENVAT credit eligibility and works contract valuation, alongside facilitation provisions and specified social sector exemptions.

Valuation of fertilizers: excise duty assessed on MRP, excluding government subsidy from assessable value for excise purposes.
For subsidised fertilizers, excise duty is chargeable on the MRP charged to buyers and not on the subsidy reimbursed by the Government; the subsidy is paid to offset production cost differentials and is not consideration flowing from the buyer, nor an extra commercial consideration for valuation purposes. The circular distinguishes these facts from below cost pricing done to gain market advantage and directs field formations to exclude the subsidy component from the assessable value.

Bank authorization for customs collections enables SBI Panbazar to collect duties and disburse duty drawback cheques.
State Bank of India, Panbazar, Guwahati is authorized to collect Customs duty through physical mode under the EDI system at ICD Amingaon and to pay duty drawback cheques; the collecting branch must send scrolls and challans daily via SBI Shillong to the PAO, comply with the Revised Memorandum of Instructions for Collection and Accounting, and arrange installation of required EDI hardware/software, with the start date to be notified by the bank.

Quality control for CRGO steel requires BIS-licensed imports bearing standard marks or customs must bar substandard consignments.
Imports of CRGO steel sheets, strips and coils are permitted only from manufacturers/exporters holding a BIS licence and where the product meets the technical parameters of the relevant Indian Standards and bears the standard mark; secondhand, defective, old or used CRGO materials and any consignments not complying with those standards must not be allowed clearance by Customs.

Related party definition amendment clarifies conjunctive holding requirement, altering 'or' to 'and' for applicability in companies law
The order amends the definition of related party by substituting the word "and holds" for "or holds" in sub clause (v) of clause (76) of section 2, clarifying that the sub clause requires a conjunctive holding; the change is made under the power to remove difficulties and takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette.

Default authorised services expanded to include Business Support, Air Passenger Transport and Accommodation; UACs may expand further.
The Department of Commerce directs that Business Support Service, Transport Passengers by Air, and Accommodation Service be added to the list of default authorised services permitted by Unit Approval Committees in Special Economic Zones, supplementing an earlier conveyed list; Development Commissioners and UACs may further expand the list to facilitate Units and Developers in their Zones.