Mineral oil extraction in the EEZ and continental shelf is within customs jurisdiction; imports and exports reclassified.
The Customs Act, 1962 and the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 are extended to the whole EEZ and Continental Shelf for prospecting, extraction or production of mineral oils and for supply of goods in connection with those activities; mineral oils (including petroleum and natural gas) produced there and brought to the mainland are not treated as imports and hence not subject to customs duty, while goods from foreign countries to the EEZ/Continental Shelf for such activities are treated as imports and dutiable.

Duty determination on intermixed petroleum products: higher duty between unused concessional SKO and gain in MS/HSD applies.
Where SKO imported under concessional duty intermixed with MS or HSD in pipelines, the interface quantity shall be quantified and taxed at the higher of (a) duty payable on SKO not used for its intended concessional purpose and (b) duty payable on the surge/gain in MS or HSD; this modifies prior instructions permitting simple offsetting between product gains and losses.

Current account transaction reporting changes: RBI discontinues ORR forwarding and requires half yearly ORA submissions.
Authorised dealers previously obtained Form ORR for remittances from EEFC accounts and forwarded Form ORR and monthly certified Form ORA to Reserve Bank regional offices; the Reserve Bank has discontinued forwarding Form ORR and requires submission of Form ORA on a half yearly basis instead of monthly, and authorised dealers must inform their constituents.

Export quota release for onions permits allocation to designated agencies for export under specified terms until deadline.
A quota of 6.00 (Six) Lakhs M.T. of onions, excluding Bangalore Rose and Krishnapuram varieties, is released for export up to 31st March, 2003 under Para 2.4 of the Export and Import Policy, 2002-2007. The quota is allocated to specified agencies and State Trading Enterprises for export either directly or through registered exporters on the same terms and conditions as Notification No.16(RE-2000)/1997-2002 dated 17.5.2000, except for the export time limit which is as indicated.

Export bond procedure: manufacturer exporters need not obtain CT-1 certificates; CT-1 required only for merchant exporters.
The Board clarifies that merchant exporters must obtain CT-1 certificates after furnishing a bond to procure excisable goods duty free for export, whereas manufacturer exporters who execute a bond with the jurisdictional authority or Maritime Commissioner, or file a Letter of Undertaking, need not obtain CT-1 for export purposes; exporter classification is to be determined by authorities on the merits.

Debenture Redemption Reserve clarified: exemptions for banking/AIFI issuers and prescribed adequacy for public and private debentures.
Section 117C requires companies to create a Debenture Redemption Reserve by crediting adequate amounts from profits annually until debentures are redeemed, to be used exclusively for redemption of the specified series. The obligation arises only from distributable profits; no DRR is required in loss years. Section 117C applies to debentures issued and pending redemption (including pre amendment issues) and to the non convertible portion of convertible debentures. Banking companies and RBI regulated All India Financial Institutions are exempt; differentiated adequacy rules are prescribed for RBI registered NBFCs and for manufacturing and infrastructure companies for public and private placements.

Classification of goods: plastic nameplates and component fittings treated by intrinsic character, affecting excise liability.
Name plates, emblems and labels of plastic are classifiable under sub heading 3926.90 and not as motor vehicle parts; bushes and thrust washers lacking anti friction rings are not plain shaft bearings under heading 84.83 and should be classified with the machines they serve; insulated cables with fitted connectors fall under heading 85.44 irrespective of who supplied inputs. Assembly, testing and affixation of brand such that an excisable product exists in unassembled form at the premises constitutes manufacture for excise. Authority to prosecute appeals requires a board resolution and locus standi can be contested post admission; letters from non adjudicating officers are not appealable orders.

Abolish no delivery period for dematerialised scrips; permit direct close out at reduced mark up using latest closing price.
Abolish the no delivery period for securities in compulsory dematerialised mode, to be implemented by exchanges without extension to coincide with rolling settlement. Permit direct close out of short deliveries where cum purchases cannot be acquired in auction, with a reduced mark up for such direct close outs. The reference price for close out shall be the latest available closing price at the exchange.

Import of crude drugs permitted without licence for manufacture of Ayurvedic, Unani and other traditional medicines after correction.
Import of crude drugs listed in licensing note no. 2 at the end of Chapter 12 of the ITC(HS) Classification is allowed without a licence for the manufacture of Ayurvedic, Unani or other systems of medicine; the previous heading stating import was "subject to Actual User Condition" was an editing error and is deleted.

Benchmark disclosure for debt and balanced funds now required; performance must be published and compliance reported.
Requirement to disclose benchmark performance for debt oriented and balanced mutual fund schemes in half yearly results, with benchmarks developed by research and rating agencies recommended by AMFI; existing procedural rules on changing benchmarks, management perception, review by AMCs and trustees, and reporting of compliance in AMC quarterly reports and trustees' half yearly reports continue to apply under the governing mutual fund regulation.

Export quota release for onions permits specified agencies to export allocated quantities under existing terms until prescribed deadline.
Director General of Foreign Trade released an export quota of 1 lakh metric tonnes of onions (excluding Bangalore Rose and Krishnapuram varieties) for export up to the prescribed deadline; exports must follow Notification No.16(RE-2000)/1997-2002 terms except for the revised time for export. The quantity is allocated among specified agencies and state trading enterprises for export, either directly or through registered exporters, with each agency assigned a defined allocation.

DEPB rate corrections: exclusions expanded and product-group chemical entries amended, including deletions and new entries.
Corrections to the Schedule of DEPB Rates amend the General Instructions to exclude DEPB applicability for goods manufactured in Customs Act Section 65 warehouses, under Advance Licence/DFRC fulfilment, by 100% EOU units, in FTZ/EPZ/SEZ/EHTP schemes, exports of foreign-origin goods unless processed in India, and exports under specified EXIM Policy paragraphs; and revise Product Group - Chemicals by correcting DEPB rates and value caps for listed products, deleting a specified chemical entry, and adding new chemical and tyre-related entries.

Export invoice value reduction permitted for jewellery and cut diamonds, enabling authorised dealers to approve modest decreases under FEMA.
Authorised dealers may approve reductions in invoice value of export bills up to 10% for exports including gold and silver jewellery and articles made of cut and polished diamonds, subject to the existing terms and conditions of paragraph C.12(b).

Interest relief under Wealth Tax permitted conditionally where return filed and tax paid, subject to authority discretion.
Designated wealth-tax authorities may reduce or waive interest under Section 17B if the assessee has filed the return for the relevant year and paid the entire assessed tax except the interest sought to be reduced or waived. Relief is permissible where delay or nonpayment results from seizure of books or cash during proceedings under Section 132, or where a return is voluntarily filed without detection; authorities may impose additional conditions and may grant relief for assessment years from 1989-90 onwards.

Two-way fungibility of ADRs/GDRs amended to recognise NSDL and CDSL for depository operations under FEMA.
Amendment to the operative guidelines for limited two-way fungibility under the Issue of Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds and Ordinary Shares (Through Depository Receipt Mechanism) Scheme, 1993 replaces the depository reference in item h by substituting a single depository name with a dual depository designation, allowing recognition of both depositories; Authorised Dealers are directed to notify their constituents and the circular is issued under FEMA authority.

Instruction cutoff for settlement: Beneficiary instructions within 24 hours before pay in must be acted on; late instructions at owner's risk.
Execution of Beneficiary Owner's instructions received by Depository Participants within 24 hours before pay-in time is mandated; instructions received after that cutoff may be executed at the risk of the Beneficiary Owner. Depositories must communicate the cutoff to Participants and report compliance to the regulator, and the directive takes immediate effect.

DEPB application filing: transitional acceptance of pre-updated forms while software is updated, other applications follow new procedures.
Applicants must submit new-form applications in Appendix 10-C and additional documentation should be requested only for deficient applications; non-DEPB cases will follow the policy and procedures effective from 01.04.2002. DEPB applications remain on pre-01.04.2002 forms and procedures because the DEPB software has not been updated to capture required data elements; this transitional practice continues until the software is modified. Pending Advance Licence annual requirement applications may be converted into Advance Licences without requesting T.R., subject to any additional information needed to process them.

DEPB rate amendments update entitlement and packaging conditions for exports under the Export Import Policy guidelines.
Corrections to the DEPB schedule fix Leather (Code 64) DEPB rates at 8.00 for gents shoe and boot uppers (including CKD/SKD) and Textiles (Code 89) processed cotton madeups at 8.00, with Textiles notes amended to define a one piece female garment and to include embroidered/metallised yarn items where a value cap applies. Miscellaneous (Code 90) S.No.22 now specifies packaging based DEPB entitlements: 2.00 for plastic/paper packaging, 1.00 for other packaging, and 3.00 for agro consumer packs 1 kg with labelling, subject to a non application clause if the DEPB rate exceeds three percent. General Instruction 1(h) is corrected to cover exports under Exim Policy paras 2.35 and 2.36.

Import compliance for jute bags: certified low JBO content and mandated country of origin marking required before customs clearance.
Imported jute bags and jute products must meet prescribed Jute Batching Oil composition limits and mandated country of origin printing; importers should produce a certificate from an authorised inspection agency at customs or, if absent, Customs will require testing by authorised Indian agencies before clearance, and non conforming goods must be returned or destroyed with fines or penalties applied.

Levy and collection procedures: referential adoption makes confiscation and penalty provisions applicable to additional excise duties.
Section 3(3) of the Additional Duties Act adopts provisions of the Central Excise Act and Rules "so far as may be", including those relating to refunds and exemptions; by this referential legislation the procedural and substantive mechanisms for levy and collection-assessment, recovery, confiscation and penalties-apply to additional duties unless expressly inconsistent with the 1957 Act.