Bank guarantee finalization required within one month after document submission for conditional re export and re import notifications.
Customs instruct that bank guarantees furnished under Notification Nos. 104/94 Cus, 158/95 Cus and 94/96 Cus must be finalised within one month of submission of documentary proof of fulfilment of the notification conditions by the importer/exporter or their representative, to address delays and trade hardship; Public Notice No.15/2008 setting guarantee amounts is referenced.

Export restriction on cotton yarn: licence regime imposed; pre-existing registered exporters may export within registered limits.
Export of cotton yarn is restricted and permitted only under export licence for 2010-11; exporters with Registration Certificates issued by the Textile Commissioner before 1 December 2010 may export within the quantity and validity of their registration and registered contracts. Data on quantities already exported are being collected and representations on exportable surplus are under examination; precise application modalities for licences will be notified after assessment of already-exported quantities and remaining surplus.

Minimum public shareholding compliance: companies must use issuance, offer for sale, or secondary market sales to raise public float.
Issuers must enhance shareholding transparency by filing the shareholding pattern one day prior to listing, quarterly within prescribed timelines, and within ten days where capital restructuring changes paid up capital by more than 2%; Depository Receipt custodial holdings must be segregated into promoter/promoter group and public. Issuers required to reach minimum public shareholding must adopt issuance, offer for sale, or secondary market sale (the latter subject to prior Specified Stock Exchange approval). Unclaimed physical shares are to be transferred to a dematerialised Unclaimed Suspense Account with frozen voting rights and annual report disclosures. Issuers must fix pre announced dividend/bonus pay dates, disclose media agreements on websites and exchanges, and maintain a functional updated corporate website.

Cotton export registration moved to DGFT; seasonal export cap maintained for current season, modalities to be notified.
Registration of contracts for cotton export is to be carried out by the DGFT under Notification No.12 dated 16.12.2010; the season's previously fixed export allocation remains unchanged. Exact modalities and conditions for such registration will be notified separately after the remaining balance of the allocation is ascertained. The circular notes exports under prior EARCs were below the approved quantity and that those EARCs permitted exports within a defined time window.

Export authorization suspension for cotton: shipments disallowed pending government decision on future export policy review.
Directive to Customs to prohibit cotton exports after expiry of export authorization registration contracts, pending government decision on future policy. The Ministry of Textiles advised that EARCs were valid only until the expiry date and requested that cotton export shipments not be permitted thereafter. The Central Board of Excise & Customs transmitted this request to Commissioners and directed necessary action to prevent exports of cotton until further notice.

Tariff rate quota allocation for raw sugar to USA via designated exporter; existing GSP and certification procedures remain applicable.
Allocation under the Foreign Trade Policy authorises export of raw sugar (HS 1701 00 00 at 98 Pol) to the United States under a tariff rate quota, allocated to M/s. Indian Sugar Exim Corporation Ltd. pursuant to Paragraphs 2.1, 2.4 and 2.29 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2009-14. Existing procedures for issuance of GSP certificates and other required export certifications for sugar to the US shall continue to be followed.

Third-party correspondence address acceptance permitted when DP completes KYC and PMLA due diligence; annual statement to permanent address required.
Depository Participants may accept a third party correspondence address for a beneficial owner's demat account if authorised by the beneficial owner, provided the DP obtains proof of identity and address for the third party and complies with Know Your Client norms and Rule 9 customer due diligence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Rules, 2005; statements of transactions and holdings must be sent to the beneficial owner's permanent address at least once a year, and the provision excludes Portfolio Management Services clients.

Dwell time reduction: importers and CHAs must file Bills of Entry promptly to enable rapid customs clearance.
Customs at the Air Cargo Complex, Bangalore reports continued high dwell time for import consignments despite ICES 1.5 migration, largely due to late filing of Bills of Entry and delayed duty payments by importers and CHAs. The notice requires use of advance Bills of Entry where possible, prompt filing after arrival, same day duty payment, and adoption of ICEGATE filing and forthcoming e payment to expedite clearance. Administrative measures include separate custodial storage for ACP clients, access control in assessment areas, and local tracking kiosks to reduce crowding and improve processing efficiency.

Disciplinary action upon member arrest: institutes must initiate proceedings, publish case details online, and pursue matters promptly.
On notice of a member's arrest, the institute must obtain details from the law enforcement agency and, if the arrest is confirmed, treat the matter as "information" under the relevant Acts and initiate disciplinary action. If details are not received within three weeks, the institute shall commence proceedings on available information and incorporate subsequent material as appropriate. Institutes must monitor press reports, pursue cases to early conclusion while following procedure, and publish factual case details on their website and in the institute's journal until proceedings conclude.

Salary TDS compliance for FY 2010-11 covers slab rates, perquisite valuation, deductions, PAN quoting, and quarterly reporting.
Income-tax deduction at source from salaries under section 192 for financial year 2010-11 is to be made on estimated salary income at the prescribed slab rates, with no surcharge for the year but with education cess and secondary and higher education cess chargeable. The circular explains salary computation, exemptions, deductions, valuation of perquisites, and employer obligations, including PAN and TAN quoting, quarterly filing of Form 24Q, issuance of Form 16, deposit timelines, and special procedures for Government deductors, pension payments, and e-filing.

Customer due diligence obligations require identifying beneficial owners, ongoing monitoring and prohibition of anonymous accounts.
Amendments require banking companies, financial institutions and intermediaries to identify and verify beneficial owners, exercise ongoing due diligence, closely examine transactions for consistency with client profiles and verify source of funds where necessary; prohibit anonymous or fictitious accounts; mandate re verification and enhanced measures upon suspicion of money laundering or terrorism financing; and clarify that identity records include identification data, account files and business correspondence, while cessation of transactions means termination of an account or business relationship.

Electronic token display enforces first-come-first-served container scanning; drivers proceed only when their token number displays.
Installation of an Electronic Token Display at container scanners requires transporters to queue containers and present the EIR at Check-in Cabin where Customs staff register the EIR and issue a printed serial token recording queue number, date/time, container and vehicle numbers, with the token stamped on the reverse of the EIR. Tokens are issued on a first-come first-served basis, displayed when the container's turn arrives, only one token is issued per driver, and failure to report when the token displays cancels the turn and requires obtaining a fresh token.

Special Valuation Branch registration required for related party imports; provisional deposits and documentary compliance govern valuation investigations.
A new Special Valuation Branch at Bangalore will investigate valuation of imports from related suppliers and under collaboration or technical agreements. Appraising Groups refer suspected related party cases to SVB, which issues provisional assessment circulars and questionnaires; importers must execute provisional bonds, deposit extra duty and furnish detailed documentary replies. SVB examines records, may call for additional information and hearings, issues Order in Original to finalize valuation, and handles renewals and appeals to the Commissioner (Appeals).

Line of Credit compliance requires exports to meet supply-content rules and FEMA authorisations for project financing.
Exim Bank's Line of Credit finances eligible Indian exports and consultancy for a Congolese hydroelectric project, requiring a prescribed minimum share of supplies from India with limited foreign procurement allowed; it sets effective and execution dates and deadlines for Letters of Credit and disbursements, mandates shipment declaration on GR/SDF forms, disallows agency commission under the LOC while permitting exporter-funded commission remittances under prevailing rules after realisation, tasks AD Category I banks to inform exporters and obtain full LOC details from Exim Bank, and issues directions under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act without prejudice to other statutory approvals.

Container hold: examination of other containers in same bill requires CSD NOC before further checks.
CSD stamps EIRs as CLEAN and grants on site NOC when scans match declarations; doubtful images are stamped suspicious and require DC/CSD clearance. If any container in a Bill of Entry is on hold, CSD treats the entire B.E. as on hold, and dock staff must obtain NOC from CSD before further examination of other containers in that B.E.

Smart order routing: brokers must secure client consent and exchanges must decide applications within prescribed timelines.
Stock brokers must inform clients of SOR features, risks, rights and liabilities and obtain a broker-client agreement or addendum; exchanges must permit SOR for all order types, allow approved brokers to offer SOR from any server location, and require re-approval only for addition of a new exchange or material system changes. Exchanges must decide SOR applications within thirty calendar days, not treat testing as part of completeness, schedule testing within that period if needed, and communicate reasons for any rejection to the broker and other exchanges.

Tax deducted at source credit: processing relaxed for specified returns; higher claim limit and verification rules apply.
For ITR-I and ITR-2 returns for A.Y. 2009-10, TDS credit reported in AS-26 (if not nil) shall be accepted during processing where the TDS claim and refund stay within prescribed thresholds; if those thresholds are exceeded or there is nil matching, the Assessing Officer shall allow credit only after due verification in the manner used in prior years.

TDS default thresholds: minor per-deductee shortfalls rounded off and small deductor demands ignored with DDO warnings.
Instruction prescribes that per-deductee short-deduction demands below a minimal threshold are to be rounded to zero and that, after that rounding, any remaining deductor-wise demand at or below a secondary minimal threshold is to be ignored; DDOs may be warned to avoid habitual short deduction. The instruction supersedes the earlier 2007 instruction, applies to all TCS/TDS cases under Direct Tax enactments, and is effective immediately.

Assignment of adjudication authority: Show Cause Notice reassigned to local Customs Commissioner for adjudication proceedings.
The Board, exercising powers under Notification No.15/2002 (NT) issued under sub section (1) of section 4 of the Customs Act, 1962, assigns the Show Cause Notice issued by the investigating directorate to M/s. H.R. Products Pvt. Ltd. and others to the Commissioner of Customs at the Inland Container Depot, Tughlakabad, New Delhi, for adjudication, effecting administrative reassignment of the matter to that customs adjudicating office for further proceedings.

Exemption for transmission and distribution of electricity includes meter rental by utilities, clarifying taxable service scope.
The circular clarifies that supply of electricity meters for hire by transmission and distribution companies, being an activity with a direct and close nexus to the supply of electricity, is covered by the exemption for transmission and distribution of electricity; field formations are to issue Trade Notices/Public Notices accordingly.