Unit quantity code requirement: declare UQC in standard measurable units to ensure usable customs import data.
Importers and Customs House Agents must file Bills of Entry with UQC in Kg or the standard units as prescribed against the relevant tariff headings in the Customs Tariff; use of non-measurable descriptors (cartons, boxes, rolls without dimensions, running lengths without width) produces poor-quality data in the National Import Database and should be avoided, and any problems with filing UQC codes in Kg/standard units should be reported to the Additional Commissioner of Customs in charge of EDI systems.

Customs classification of buttons and fasteners confirms exemption eligibility for shank buttons, snap fasteners and zippers.
Shank buttons are a variety of buttons classifiable under Chapter 96 and therefore qualify for the Notification No.21/2002-Cus exemption for buttons. Press fasteners, snap fasteners/press studs (two-or-more-part goods operating by a snap mechanism) are classifiable under subheading 9606 10 and qualify as fasteners for the relevant exemption entries. Slide fasteners (zippers) and their parts are classifiable under heading 9607 and are eligible for exemption where the entry covers fasteners. The circular directs uniformity in classification and dissemination to trade and field formations.

Renting of immovable property taxable when used for business; government offices performing statutory functions excluded.
Applicability of service tax depends on use: the service category "renting of immovable property" is taxable when premises are used in the course or furtherance of business or commerce; occupancy by a government office for performing statutory functions is not use in furtherance of business and is therefore not taxable under that service category.

Delegation of certificate signing authority permits Member (Finance) of NHAI to issue excise duty exemption certificates accepted by field formations.
The Board authorised Central Excise field formations to accept exemption certificates issued by the Member (Finance) of NHAI in place of the Chairman's signature under the notification, provided all other statutory and procedural conditions of the notification are satisfied; the certificate remains the operative document required for manufacturers to claim central excise duty exemption for goods supplied to qualifying international projects.

Extension of due date for income-tax return filing allows re-filing in prescribed forms without penalty.
The due date for filing income-tax returns was extended to 29 February 2008 to allow assessees who filed returns on or after 14 May 2007, or who filed in forms other than the prescribed forms ITR-1 to ITR-8, to re-file their returns in the specified forms for assessment year 2007-08; such re-filings made on or before the extended date will not attract interest or penalty.

Central Excise registration requirements updated: invoices and certificates must record proprietor/HUF names and non-transferability enforced.
Amendments require invoices to state transactional particulars and, for proprietary concerns or HUFs, the proprietor/HUF name. Form A-1 must show the trading style and identify proprietor/HUF or, as relevant, partners or key managerial personnel. The revised Form RC must indicate the trading name and proprietor/HUF where applicable and carries standard conditions: validity limited to declared premises/purposes, non-transferability, corrections only after acknowledged application, continuity while the declared activity continues unless surrendered/revoked/suspended, and issuance without prejudice to other lawful third party rights.

Rupee Vostro account rules require RBI approval and strict funding, collateral, KYC/AML and monitoring safeguards.
Prior RBI approval is required for AD Category I banks to open and maintain rupee and foreign currency vostro accounts of non resident Exchange Houses. Accounts are for inward personal remittances only, must operate on a credit only basis, prohibit outward remittances and cash disbursements, and require due diligence, legal documentation, licence verification and, where appropriate, collateral or guarantees. Operations may follow DDA, Non DDA or Speed Remittance procedures with specified funding, audit/inspection and reporting obligations to ensure funds cover pipeline debits and compliance with KYC/AML and internal control requirements.

Motor vehicle classification determines compliance; road capable off highway vehicles must meet motor vehicle rules, including homologation.
Vehicles equipped to be driven on public roads under their own power, even incidentally or briefly, qualify as motor vehicles under Section 2(28) and must comply with the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, including homologation. Equipment purely designed for off highway use within enclosed premises and not capable of traveling on public roads under its own power is not a motor vehicle and falls outside the Motor Vehicles Act and the Central Motor Vehicle Rules.

Extension of return filing deadline permits assessees who used old return forms after form change to refile.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes, invoking section 119, extended the due date for filing returns for all categories of assessees to permit those who filed returns on or after the notification of new forms but did so in a form other than one of the forms notified for the assessment year to file returns in the specified prescribed forms.

Issue of shares under FDI must occur within prescribed period or advance refunded; banks must verify bonafides.
Companies receiving inward remittances as consideration for equity instruments must issue those instruments within the prescribed period, failing which the consideration must be refunded immediately to the non-resident investor by outward remittance or credit to the investor's NRE/FCNR(B) account. AD Category I banks may allow refunds after verifying bonafides and absence of interest on advances. Banks may seek Reserve Bank approval for refunds outstanding beyond the prescribed period, and companies with prior delayed cases must submit an action plan through their AD bank for specific approval. Advances are allowed only under the automatic route.

Standard Input Output Norms updated: substituted SION entries revise permitted import inputs for specified copper and galvanized products.
DGFT, under Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy and Paragraph 1.1 of the Handbook of Procedures, substitutes SION entries in Handbook of Procedures (Vol.2). The Public Notice replaces norms for SION C-1168, C-1185, C-1186 and C-560 by specifying for each export product the eligible import items (various forms of copper, zinc, hot-rolled or GP sheets/strips/coils) and the corresponding allowed input quantities relative to the export product, thereby clarifying permissible input materials and conversion norms.

Risk Management System in import clearance enables self assessment facilitation and targeted post clearance verification.
The RMS automates processing of electronically filed Bills of Entry and IGMs to permit facilitation of low risk self assessed B/Es for out of charge after duty payment, while selecting others for assessment or examination based on risk parameters, random sampling or intelligence. The Accredited Clients Programme confers predominant no assessment/no examination treatment subject to limited selection. Concurrent audit is replaced by Post Clearance Audit; bond debits become system driven and Compulsory Compliance Requirements from allied Acts must be declared and documented at filing.

Business support services defined as distribution and logistics - freight-related delivery and haulage charges are liable to service tax.
Delivery order charges and inland haulage charges collected by shipping companies for conveyance and handling of outward surface postal mails constitute distribution, management and logistics services, fall under business support services and are liable to service tax.

Line of Credit for export financing to PTA member countries under FEMA directions; shipment declarations and commission rules apply
Reserve Bank authorises a Line of Credit from Exim Bank to PTA Bank to finance exports of goods and services eligible under India's Foreign Trade Policy to PTA member countries, with specified effective and terminal dates for opening Letters of Credit and for disbursements. Shipments must be declared on GR/SDF Forms. No agency commission is ordinarily payable, but Reserve Bank may permit commission up to a prescribed maximum for exports requiring after sales service, to be deducted from invoices and reflected in reimbursable disbursements with prior approval. AD Category I banks must inform exporters and obtain LOC details from Exim Bank. Directions issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) FEMA.

Time-limit extension for Public Notice compliance under the Foreign Trade Policy expands the permitted compliance period.
Amendment under Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-2009 corrects Para 2 of Public Notice No.27 (RE-2005)/2004-2009 (read with Public Notice No.14 (RE-2006)/2004-2009) to state the period for compliance as "within three years from the date of issue of this Public Notice"; the change is issued in the public interest as an administrative correction.

RCMC issuance: exporters with head office in Orissa may obtain certificates from the regional office; minor forest produce from sectoral council.
Exporters with head office or registered office in the State of Orissa may obtain Registration cum Membership Certificates (RCMCs) from the regional export promotion office in Bhubaneshwar irrespective of product exported; exporters of minor forest produce from the State may obtain RCMCs from the sectoral export promotion council responsible for that produce.

Addition of Land Customs Station: Ghojadanga added to the Handbook of Procedures, updating official trade entry points.
The Director General of Foreign Trade, exercising powers under the Foreign Trade Policy, amends Paragraph 4.19 of the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. I to add the Land Customs Station at Ghojadanga, formally incorporating that LCS into the Handbook by Public Notice issued from the DGFT file.

Commissionerate code accuracy in TR-6 and GAR-7 challans ensures correct Service Tax revenue reporting by assessees.
Service Tax assessees and collecting banks must quote the correct Commissionerate code, division and range codes on TR-6 and GAR-7 challans to avoid misreporting of Commissionerate-wise revenue; the notice reproduces prescribed codes for Ahmedabad Commissionerate (SD), divisions SD01-SD03 and ranges SD0101-SD0305 and requests trade bodies to inform constituents.

Pure agent principle: reimbursable expenditures failing valuation conditions must be included in taxable service value.
Valuation rules exclude expenditure of a service provider acting as a Pure Agent only if all eight conditions of Rule 5(2) are met; many reimbursable items claimed by Custom House Agents (documentation, transport, storage, handling, inspection, port and terminal charges, etc.) are not covered by pure agent treatment because they are used in producing the output service, and where CHAs charge amounts above actual expenditure the pure agent conditions are breached and such sums must be included in the taxable value.

Large Taxpayer Unit operationalization shifts central excise and service tax return filing to LTU with transitional arrangements.
Operationalization of the Large Taxpayer Unit at Chennai shifts central excise and service tax responsibilities to the LTU with a transitional filing regime: returns for the month preceding commencement remain with jurisdictional officers while subsequent returns are to be filed with the LTU. Urgent time-bound matters occurring during the immediate transition month remain with the jurisdictional Commissioner, after which cases should be transferred; other matters requiring action in the following month must be accompanied by a detailed communication from the jurisdictional Commissionerate to the LTU.