Differential voting rights shares rules circulated; appointment of a small shareholders' director also notified for compliance and action.
Circulation notifies Regional Directors, Registrars of Companies and Official Liquidators of two Gazette-published company law rules: one governing the issue of share capital with differential voting rights and the other prescribing the procedure for appointment of a small shareholders' director; recipients are asked to take necessary action and acknowledge receipt.

Product classification of cellulose insole sheets placed under cellulose insole sheet subheading, attracting additional customs duty.
The Board determined that cellulose insole sheets of size 150 cm x 100 cm are to be classified under the specific cellulose insole sheet sub-heading of the Central Excise Tariff rather than under the paper/paperboard heading, noting that the Central Excise Tariff lacks the Customs Tariff's size-limiting note and that goods marketed and declared as cellulose insole sheets should not be classified under heading 48.11 for levy of additional customs duty.

DEPB amendments revise export incentive rates and value caps for specified engineering, chemical, plastic, and electronics exports.
The notice amends Appendix 28A of the Handbook (Vol I) under the export-import policy, revising DEPB rates and corresponding value caps for specified products in the Engineering product group and adding DEPB entries for certain printing inks; it also adjusts value caps across Chemicals, Plastic, and Electronics product groups for enumerated export items.

Wheat export allocation: MARKFED authorised to export wheat under existing terms, subject to the overall export ceiling.
Amendment adds the Punjab State Co-operative Supply & Marketing Federation Limited (MARKFED), Chandigarh, as an authorised agency for wheat export under powers conferred by Para 4.11 of the Export & Import Policy; MARKFED will export wheat subject to the same terms and conditions as the existing authorised agencies and within the overall export ceiling set by prior public notices.

SIL debit procedure shifted to manual processing; licence verification to be recorded in Examination Order and endorsed post assessment.
SIL debits will not be processed on the EDI system for the specified period and must be debited manually in the Licence Section, where a special Appraising Officer will endorse the Customs copy of the Bill of Entry. The Licence column in the Check List need not be filled by CHA/Importers. Groups must record SIL verification in the Examination Order; CHA/Importers may obtain manual debit after assessment and the Docks Appraising Officer will verify the endorsement before granting Out of Charge.

Section 11C invocation denied: duty recovery required for specified drugs during disputed period under excise law.
Invocation of Section 11C for Bulk Drugs, formulations and specified drug intermediates for 6 January 1995 to 8 February 1995 is denied due to absence of a general practice of non-levy; duty payable for the period should therefore be recovered and the Board informed of the recovery, with acknowledgement of receipt.

Quantitative export ceiling on coarse grains permits allocation via registration certificates and extends shipment deadline for exports.
A quantitative export ceiling authorises an additional quantity of coarse grains - grain and flour of barley, maize, bajra, ragi and jowar (excluding hybrid jowar grown as kharif crop) - to be allocated via Registration cum Allocation Certificates, with specified shares assigned to designated agencies and a reserved portion for exporters; the notice also extends the last date for shipment for the licensing year under export-import policy powers.

Restriction on foreign investment in print media: purchases by certain foreign investors barred and exchanges must notify brokers.
An amendment to the foreign exchange regulations disallows purchase of shares and convertible debentures of Indian companies engaged in the print media sector by Foreign Institutional Investors and Foreign Venture Capital Investors; stock exchanges are directed to notify their brokers of this restriction for compliance and awareness.

Settlement Guarantee Fund utilisation permitted to meet member shortfalls before declaring default, subject to suspension and collateral conditions.
Exchanges may utilise the Settlement Guarantee Fund and other monies to meet members' settlement fund shortages before declaring them defaulters, subject to bye law amendment. Where shortages exceed thresholds relative to Base Minimum Capital or recur within specified periods, trading is withdrawn and securities pay outs withheld; on recovery members face reduced gross exposure for a set number of settlements. Exposure may be restored upon absence of further shortages or by depositing funds shortage collateral (cash, FDR, or bank guarantee) held for the specified period. Outstanding amounts attract penal interest of not less than 0.09% per day.

Disposal of seized gold routed through designated bank with prescribed pricing, assaying, tax and payment procedures.
Seized and confiscated gold ripe for disposal shall be routed through the State Bank of India as consignee agent; Customs will deliver gold in marketable form or converted to .999/.995 purity with Assaying Certificates, and the Bank will determine sale timing and venue, price the gold per the enclosed methodology (converting international prices, adding premiums, duties and local taxes, and deducting Bank expenses) to arrive at net payable to Customs; the Bank will not levy commission, will pay applicable taxes from proceeds, remit net proceeds to designated Customs accounts, and return counterfeit items to the Commissioner.

In-principle listing approval required before issuing further shares to prevent unlisted deliveries and ensure depository notification.
Companies issuing further shares must obtain in-principle approval for listing from the relevant stock exchange before issuing those shares. Stock exchanges must amend the Listing Agreement to require this, notify depositories immediately upon granting in-principle approval (uploading electronically where connected), and regional exchanges must confirm listing on all exchanges applied to. The instruction is effective immediately.

Compulsory dematerialised trading mandates affected scrips be transacted only in demat form, shifting non compliant scrips to trade for trade.
Compulsory dematerialised trading is directed for specified scrips and requires those scrips to be transacted in dematerialised form by all investors once connectivity with both depositories is established and a three month transition period expires. Scrips failing to establish connectivity by the scheduled date are to be traded only in the trade for trade settlement window until connectivity is achieved; scrips that subsequently establish connectivity return to normal trading with deliveries in physical or dematerialised form and become compulsorily dematerialised three months after restoration.

Settlement procedure requires sealed annexures, Secretariat registration, Bench admission, and requisition of only relevant records.
Procedure requires applicants to submit an annexure in a sealed cover; the Secretariat registers applications, seeks the jurisdictional Commissioner's report, endorses investigating agencies where applicable, and places matters before a Bench. On admission the sealed cover is opened, orders are issued under the AO's attestation with the Commission seal and serial numbering, and relevant records-distinct from full case files-may be requisitioned; originals need not be sent if certified copies suffice. The Bench may direct limited further investigation by the Commissioner (Investigation) but not suo motu probes; reports and directions are communicated to ensure transparency.

Search and seizure procedures tightened to require higher administrative approvals and safeguards against taxpayer harassment.
Search and seizure actions must follow tightened oversight: DGsIT (Inv.) must approve issuance and extensions of warrants and restraint orders, monitor searches, and ensure seizures target undisclosed assets by equipping search parties with declared asset information. Operational safeguards require adherence to time limits, completion of appraisal reports before new searches, prohibition on press disclosure, and quarterly reporting of actual seizures versus projections. A central Data Bank is to be developed for assessment data and top taxpayer lists. The Taxpayers Charter and annexed rights and duties must be provided to persons searched to prevent harassment.

Permanent establishment determines taxability of foreign telecasting companies' business receipts under domestic and treaty rules.
Prior presumptive computation for advertising receipts of foreign telecasting companies is withdrawn; Assessing Officers must determine total income under the Income tax Act, invoking rule 10 where Indian accounts are absent. For residents of DTAA countries advertising and other business receipts are taxable in India only if a Permanent Establishment exists, with taxability decided on case facts; residents of non DTAA countries are taxed under domestic territorial provisions (section 5 read with section 9).

DEPB rate eligibility: formulations qualify only under the chemical group formulations entry with a reduced DEPB rate per schedule.
A DEPB entry that does not explicitly cover formulations applies only to the bulk drug named; formulations must be claimed under the Chemical Group formulations entry and receive a reduced DEPB rate specified for formulations, rather than the rate listed against a bulk-drug-only entry.

Abolition timing for a customs provision revised, and excise interest applicability corrected to the later removal date.
Correction to the Finance Bill, 2001 memorandum advances the customs provision's effective abolition to be "abolished from 1st March, 2001" and corrects the excise explanatory text to state that interest on warehoused goods at a flat rate applies to removals on or after 16-3-2001, replacing the earlier date.

Registered brand name: excise duty applies only if brand is registered in India; foreign registration alone no levy.
Excise duty on Chapter 62 garments applies only where the goods bear or are sold under a brand name registered under the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958; foreign-only registration does not attract the levy. Export consignments bearing brands not registered in India must not be detained and AR 4A or other excise formalities should not be insisted upon unless the brand is registered in India; exports of registered branded goods should be cleared without delay.

Export policy amendment updates EPZ jurisdictions and DEPB rates affecting chemical and textile export entitlements.
The public notice amends Appendix 27 by revising S. No. 38 to designate the Development/Jt. Development/Deputy/Assistant Development Commissioner for Noida Export Processing Zone with updated contact details and territorial jurisdiction, and similarly amends the Falta EPZ entry. Appendix 28A corrections change the product description for paracetamol (DC Grade 77%) and alter DEPB rates and value caps across multiple textile product entries. Appendix 32A is amended to update Bureau Veritas Mumbai contact information; the amendments are issued under Paragraph 4.11 of the Export and Import Policy 1997-2002.

Reconstitution of Investor Education and Protection Fund Committee: notifications issued with related rule amendments and commencement measures notified.
The Department of Company Affairs transmitted Gazette notifications reconstituting the Investor Education and Protection Fund Committee, amending rules relating to shelf prospectus, and bringing into operation a provision of the Companies (Amendment) Act; regional directors, registrars of companies and official liquidators were instructed to note the notifications and acknowledge receipt.