Loans by Indian companies to non-resident branch employees permitted in foreign currency under staff welfare loan rules and standard terms.
Indian companies are granted general permission to provide foreign currency loans to employees of their overseas branches for personal purposes, treating such employees as persons resident outside India, and subjecting those loans to the lender's Staff Welfare Scheme/Loan Rules and the same terms and conditions applicable to staff resident in India and abroad.

Export of goods by way of gift liberalised; annual declaration threshold increased, easing export gift compliance.
The Reserve Bank of India has liberalised the export of goods by way of gift by raising the annual per exporter value ceiling from one lakh rupees to five lakh rupees, effective immediately; formal amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management (Export of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2000 will be notified separately and Authorised Dealers are directed to inform their constituents.

Evidence of import: accept photocopy of ex-bond Bill of Entry as final evidence after verification and clearance.
Following Customs EDI implementation, where only one copy of the ex-Bond Bill of Entry is issued, Authorised Dealers may accept a photocopy of that ex-Bond Bill of Entry, duly verified after warehouse/bond clearance, as final evidence of import; previously accepted Into-Bond Bill of Entry remained provisional pending submission of the Exchange Control copy for home consumption.

Agency commission payment allowed in foreign exchange for tea and tobacco exports to Russia against rupee state credit repayment.
Authorised Dealers may permit payment of agency commission in free foreign exchange for exports of tea and tobacco to Russia against repayment of Rupee State Credits, subject to a cap of ten per cent of invoice value; this relaxes the earlier prohibition under the Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transactions) Rules and follows a Government notification amending those rules.

Line of Credit terms for export finance permit limited commission for after sales service, subject to prior approval and documentation.
Reserve Bank directions under FEMA authorize an Exim Bank line of credit to ABSA Bank for financing Category A and B exports and other agreed items, effective December 30, 2003, with specified terminal dates for opening letters of credit and utilisation; shipments must be declared on GR/SDF forms. Agency commission is not payable under the facility except that Reserve Bank may permit up to five percent commission for exports requiring after sales service, subject to prior approval, invoice deduction in South Africa, and adjustment of the reimbursable amount.

Job-work scope clarified: use of indigenous materials does not negate customs exemption for imported inputs in export production.
The Customs exemption for imported materials used in execution of export orders under Notification No. 32/97-Cus applies to jobbing even when indigenous materials are used; incorporation of local content does not by itself remove the activity from job-work, and field formations should take a broad but precautionary approach guided by the Supreme Court's exposition of job-work and the Exim Policy.

Classification of CPU cooler fan: treated as fan, not computer part, affecting tariff treatment and pending assessments.
The Board directs that a CPU cooler fan with heat sink is classifiable as an other fan because its principal function is cooling the CPU area and the heat sink only enhances that cooling; consequently, pending assessments should be finalized on that basis and concessional benefits for computer parts do not apply.

Regulated entity definition expanded: corporate filings, central bank or securities regulator supervision, exchange membership, or externally managed investment entities.
Clarifies the scope of entities treated as regulated entities for the purposes of Regulation 15A under the SEBI(FII) framework: (1) entities incorporated in jurisdictions requiring registrar filings; (2) entities authorised and regulated by a central bank; (3) entities authorised and regulated by a securities or futures commission; (4) members of recognised securities or futures exchanges or accountable self regulatory organisations; and (5) individuals or investment vehicles whose advisory function is managed by an entity meeting the foregoing criteria.

Corrigendum omitting a specified paragraph removes that instruction; field formations must be informed and acknowledge receipt.
Corrigendum withdraws paragraph 6 of an earlier circular, directs that field formations be informed of the omission, and requires recipients to acknowledge receipt.

Preferential raw sugar export allocation placed with Indian Sugar Exim Corporation for USA tariff rate quota exports, subject to certification.
A quantity of raw sugar from the 2003-04 freesale quota is allocated for export under the Preferential Raw Cane Sugar Tariff Rate Quota to the USA and placed at the disposal of M/s Indian Sugar Exim Corporation Ltd., which is authorised as the sole agency to export that freesale sugar to the USA; existing procedures including issuance of GSP certificates and other prescribed export certifications remain mandatory.

Abeyance of appeals on export-linked tax deductions extended pending administrative clarification and circular guidance.
The Board directs continuation of abeyance of appeals and enforcement for matters concerning export-linked deductions until the date of this instruction, extending the prior suspension originally set to expire on 30 November 2003. The Board will not at present intervene administratively on allowance of the export-profit deduction as it relates to credits under the Duty Entitlement Passbook Scheme, while a separate export-deduction issue has been clarified by a specific circular; officials are to notify staff accordingly.

Service tax audit expansion to all taxable services, applying the existing audit manual and selection procedures.
Extension of the Service Tax Audit to all services subject to levy, while retaining selection and audit procedures as prescribed in the existing Service Tax Audit Manual; field formations to be informed and receipt acknowledged.

Service tax audit scope expanded to all taxable services; audits and selection must follow the Audit Manual.
Extension of Service Tax Audit coverage to all services subject to service tax, replacing prior selective coverage. Selection of assessees and the conduct of audits are to be governed strictly by the procedures, guidelines and criteria set out in the Service Tax Audit Manual. Field formations are to be informed and audits implemented only in accordance with the Manual's prescribed selection methodology, inspection protocols, documentation requirements and procedural safeguards.

Entitlement to DEPB for exports to Special Economic Zones now recognized under export-import policy amendment.
The Director General of Foreign Trade amended the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) to provide that exports made to Special Economic Zones notified by the Department of Commerce are entitled to DEPB, revising the provision earlier inserted by Public Notice No.11 and clarifying eligibility for the duty entitlement passbook scheme.

Service tax audit extension expands audit scope to all taxable services, subject to selection and manual procedures.
Extension of the Service Tax Audit to all services subject to service tax is directed, while selection of assessees and conduct of audits must follow the criteria, procedures and safeguards set out in the existing Service Tax Audit Manual; field formations are to be informed and receipt acknowledged.

Mutual fund amendment regulations circulated for recipient funds to update compliance and recordkeeping accordingly.
SEBI's Investment Management Department circulated the SEBI (Mutual Funds) (Amendment) Regulations, 2004 to all registered mutual funds and the Association of Mutual Funds in India, forwarding the gazette-published amended regulations for their reference and records to ensure receipt of the regulatory text for compliance and recordkeeping.

Input-output norms modification updates SION entries and prescribes revised permitted inputs and operational conditions for exports.
The Director General of Foreign Trade amends the Handbook of Procedures, Vol.2 by substituting, correcting and adding Standard Input Output Norms (SION). Annexure A lists targeted amendments and replacements of existing norms and descriptions; Annexures B-F add new SION entries across Chemicals, Engineering, Food, Textile and Miscellaneous product groups, each pairing export items with specified import components, allowed quantities, operational qualifiers such as 'Net to net', actual-user conditions, and aggregate FOB/CIF caps where indicated.

Extension of import period for Vegetable fats (Vanaspati) under India Nepal Trade Treaty, unutilised quota preserved.
The Public Notice amends earlier procedure to extend the import period for Vegetable fats (Vanaspati) for the specified marketing year and declares that any unutilised quota for that year shall not lapse until the extended date, preserving entitlement to unused allocations during the extended period.

SEZ unit transfers permit movement of manufactured goods and services between SEZ units and specified export-processing units.
Paragraph 19.1 of Appendix 14.II is substituted to permit SEZ units to transfer manufactured goods, including partly processed/semi finished goods and services, from one SEZ unit to another SEZ/EOU/EHTP/STP unit, and to allow trading units in SEZ to sell or transfer goods imported or procured from the Domestic Tariff Area to SEZ/EOU/EHTP/STP units.

Administrative control over EOU units determines which Commissioner handles investigations, show cause notices and adjudication.
Administrative jurisdiction for investigation, issuance of show cause notices and adjudication in cases of short-levy or evasion of Customs or Central Excise duties for 100% EOUs, EHTP, STP and SEZ units lies with the Commissioner who has administrative control over the unit. Procurement certificates and CT-3s are issued under a general B-17 Bond executed before the officer having jurisdiction over the unit, which may be invoked for recovery. Port/airport Assistant Commissioners must inform the unit in-charge when re-warehousing certificates are not received to enable demand notices.