Margin requirement for foreign institutional investors on sale positions withdrawn, custodians instructed to notify clients under SEBI guidance.
SEBI notified that the temporary margin requirement on foreign institutional investors' sale positions has been withdrawn and custodians are directed to inform their FII clients; the implementing circular is enclosed and available on SEBI's Foreign Institutional Investors web page.

Service tax liability depends on service performance and realisation; providers must account for and remit tax irrespective of separate billing.
Service tax liability arises on rendition of taxable services and realisation of consideration; advances before performance are not taxable. Providers remain liable even if tax was not separately charged or collected; receipts will be treated as inclusive of tax and must be accounted for and remitted. A formal invoice is not a prerequisite where performance, determination of consideration and receipt are complete; provisional assessment and Form ST-3A are options where determination is unfinished. Registration is required within one month of levy or commencement; returns are half-yearly in Form ST-3 and records kept under other laws are acceptable.

Duty-free fuel supply applies when research vessels operate beyond territorial waters; denied for vessels conducting oil exploration within EEZ.
Supply of fuel to research vessels is duty-free when the vessels operate beyond India's territorial waters because that constitutes an export; fuel supplied to vessels conducting mineral oil exploration or extraction within the Exclusive Economic Zone or Continental Shelf is not an export and duty-free supply is not permitted, as examined under the definitions in the Customs Act, 1962 and Central Excise Rules, 2002.

Valuation Checking Cell to monitor declared import values and require monthly reporting to valuation authorities for review.
A Valuation Checking Cell must be created in each Customs House, staffed by Appraiser-rank officers with read-only terminal access to Bills of Entry and NIDB/valuation data, to monitor declared import values, identify suspect consignments, prompt value loading before final assessment or initiate reviews and show-cause notices, and compile and forward prescribed monthly reports via the Chief Commissioner to enable central valuation analysis by the 7th of the succeeding month.

Duty free import prohibition on natural rubber: imports and DFRC replenishment disallowed until further notice.
A public notice amends the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. II to add a General Note prohibiting duty free import of natural rubber despite its inclusion in the Standard Input Output Norms, and expressly bars duty free import against Duty Free Replenishment Certificate entitlements until further notice.

Margin requirements revised: sale-side margins withdrawn, price band removed and upfront margin collection threshold clarified.
The circular withdraws the temporary sale-side margin requirement on financial institutions, FIIs, banks and mutual funds that was based on a minimum VaR differential, and withdraws the temporary 10% price band on selected derivative-underlying stocks. The 10% upfront margin requirement for clients (excluding FIs, FIIs, MFs) is narrowed so brokers collect it only where the resulting margin reaches the specified collection threshold; certification of collection will be carried out by the compliance officer under the broker regulations.

Foreign exchange waiver allows SEZ units to remit premiums abroad for general insurance when paid from their foreign exchange balances.
Units located in Special Economic Zones are exempted from the prohibition on taking general insurance from insurers outside India for the limited purpose of permitting authorised dealers to allow remittances of premiums to non resident insurers, provided such premiums are paid by the units out of their foreign exchange balances; authorised dealers must bring this facilitation to the notice of constituents and ensure compliance with applicable FEMA powers.

Duty free import exclusion: exporters using duty free imported inputs cannot claim DEPB and must declare this on shipping bills.
DEPB benefit is available only when inputs used in the exported product have borne customs duty; inputs imported duty free under the duty free import notification against Bond/BG therefore disqualify the exporter from claiming DEPB. Customs must verify at export processing that duty free imports are not relied upon for DEPB credit, and exporters must declare on the shipping bill that specified materials were imported duty free, with trade notices and standing orders issued for guidance.

Reporting of securities write-off: FIIs must report write-offs as nil-value sales and follow prescribed disinvestment procedures.
SEBI mandates that securities may be written off only with prior FII approval and must be reported as sales at nil value or as compensation; recovered securities must be reported as purchases after obtaining prior regulatory permission. Where custodians cannot deliver or identify claimants, they must sell such securities on the exchange, credit net proceeds to the regional Investors Protection Fund within seven days, report the sale as a normal sale, and provide monthly confirmations. Custodians act as trustees and must include write-off and disinvestment provisions in client agreements. Reporting transaction codes: write-off 17, write-back 18, disinvestment 4.

Special currency basket value revised; authorised dealers must apply the updated rupee valuation and limits.
Revision of the rupee valuation for the special currency basket under the Deferred Payments Protocols with specified lower and upper limits; authorised dealers are instructed to implement the updated valuation and notify their constituents. The directions are issued under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Special Economic Zone provisions inserted in Customs and excise laws; retrospective excise validations and customs duty increased.
Reference substitution updates the Customs Act cross reference from the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act to the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and inserts Chapter XA and related Central Excise amendments for Special Economic Zones pending notification. Retrospective Central Excise Rule changes effective 1 3 2002 prescribe payment and return procedures for specified goods and validate deferments and extended deadlines for affected assessees. Other amendments correct the taxable service definition for cable operators, validate a retrospective cess notification for crude oil under production sharing contracts, and raise basic customs duty on certain milk derived fats to the WTO bound 40% rate.

Filing fees for foreign companies revised; standardized delay cost schedule allows belated statutory filings upon payment.
Revision of filing fees for foreign companies under Section 601 increases the prescribed per-document fee and is effective from the notified date. A standardized, tiered additional fee schedule is prescribed to condone delays in filing statutory documents by foreign companies, permitting Registrars to accept the additional fee alongside the normal filing fee to allow belated filings, and directing the Registrar of Companies, Delhi to implement collection of the revised fees and charges.

Repatriation of current income permitted for NRIs on Chartered Accountant certification ensuring eligibility and tax compliance.
Authorised dealers may permit repatriation of current income of NRIs (such as rent, dividend, pension, interest) even if the NRI lacks an NRO account, on the basis of a Chartered Accountant's certification that the remitted amount is eligible and that applicable taxes have been paid or provided for; dealers must notify constituents and implement the measure under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Remittance for foreign television advertising requires regulatory checks; authorised dealers must verify exporter eligibility and foreign broadcast.
Remittance for advertising on foreign television requires Reserve Bank prior approval where the remitter's export earnings do not meet the prescribed threshold in each of the two preceding years, unless payment is from an EEFC account. If prior permission is not required, authorised dealers must obtain a Chartered Accountant's certificate confirming the exporter meets the export-earnings criterion and that the advertisement will be broadcast abroad rather than solely in India.

DEPB issuance procedures clarified; FOB conversion, manual shipping bill documentation, separate policy-period applications, and mandatory electronic filing.
DEPB applications must be filed on Appendix.10 C with prescribed documents; FOB in free foreign exchange (column 14 of the Bank Realization Certificate) is to be converted to Indian Rupees at the export exchange rate notified by the Ministry of Finance applicable on the customs "Let export" date. For manual shipping bills exporters must attach a self certified photocopy of the DEPB shipping bill (second copy) showing customs examination endorsement. Separate applications must be made for exports under the 1997-2002 policy and the 2002-2007 policy. Electronic filing is to be made compulsory for all exporters within one month.

DEPB declaration requirement: applicants must submit a signed letterhead declaration excluding specified export categories for affected licences.
Applications for DEPB licences issued on or after 1.4.2002 must include a duly signed letterhead declaration stating that the export products covered by the shipping bills are not: manufactured in a customs warehouse; exported against an Advance Licence or under the DFRC scheme; produced by a 100% EOUs; from free trade/export processing/Special Economic Zone/EHTP schemes; goods of foreign origin unless processed in India; or exports under paragraphs 2.35 and 2.36 of the Exim Policy.

Monthly Activity Reporting requirement for derivatives mandates standardized exchange submission of trading and compliance data by the seventh.
SEBI requires derivatives segments of recognised exchanges to submit a standardized Monthly Activity Report (MAR) in the Annexure A format from May 2002 onwards by the 7th of the following month, covering detailed trading statistics across contract types, comparisons with cash market volumes, participant volume contributions, price scanning ranges, eligibility criteria compliance for underlyings, member/FII registration and inspection data, investor education and certification activity, investor complaints and arbitrations.

EDI connectivity streamlines customs-port data sharing, automates Export Rotation Number, entry outwards, and port clearance processes.
The notice establishes EDI connectivity between Mumbai Customs and Mumbai Port Trust to share transaction data and automate vessel operations. It mandates registration and transmission of vessel radio call signs and shipping line codes via the IPA directory before applying for an Export Rotation Number. Entry Outwards and Port Clearance procedures are to be executed and recorded on the Customs EDI system with printed permissions; port authorities will send electronic vessel sailing messages replacing separate sailing reports once implemented.

Audit qualification disclosure required in listed companies' financial results; exchanges must seek company explanations and remediation.
Companies may elect to publish annual audited results within three months instead of unaudited last quarter results and must use the prescribed Annexure I format. All audit qualifications must be disclosed in published unaudited or audited results with their impact on profit or loss. Where qualifications exist, the stock exchange must ask the company to explain the reasons for the qualification, why unqualified accounts were not published, and when qualifications will be removed. Exchanges must incorporate these amendments into the Listing Agreement and confirm compliance.

Revenue recognition norms for Nidhi and Mutual Benefit Societies require asset classification and updated regulatory compliance.
Norms establish standards for revenue recognition and classification of assets for Nidhi companies and Mutual Benefit Societies, circulated via two Gazette notifications: one amending directions for compliance and the other setting asset classification and revenue recognition norms that supersede the prior notification. The Department of Company Affairs instructs Regional Directors, Registrars of Companies and Official Liquidators to implement the updated regulatory instructions and acknowledge receipt.