Change in tax period: dealers exceeding turnover threshold required to adopt a monthly tax period from the prescribed effective date.
The Commissioner, under rule 26 of the DVAT Rules, 2005, orders that dealers listed in the Annexure whose turnovers in 2011-12 exceeded the turnover threshold shall have their tax period changed to one month, effective from the first day of April, 2012, converting those dealers from quarterly, half yearly or annual tax periods to monthly filing in accordance with the turnover based requirement.

Constitution of benches for company law matters establishes panel assignments and transitional case allocations across regional benches.
The Company Law Board orders the constitution of Principal, New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai benches with named Chairman and judicial or technical members, allocating jurisdictional categories of matters to each bench and designating specific members for certain subject-matter areas. It provides transitional arrangements for matters pending before the Principal and Additional Principal Benches as of 31 March 2008, directs transferred members who have reserved orders to pronounce them at their new postings after notice, and states an effective commencement date. The order is issued under statutory powers and supersedes earlier orders.

Dematerialisation threshold enables shifting securities from trade-for-trade to rolling settlement, subject to certification and reporting requirements.
Shifting eligible listed companies from Trade for Trade Settlement to normal Rolling Settlement is permitted where the company has established connectivity with both depositories and there are no other grounds for continuing Trade for Trade Settlement. Prior to shifting, at least 50% of other-than-promoter holdings must be in dematerialised form, evidenced by a certificate from the Registrar and Transfer Agent or, if no separate RTA exists, from a practicing Company Secretary or Chartered Accountant. Stock exchanges must report the action taken in Monthly/Quarterly Development Reports.

Description change: Activated Bleaching Earth replaces branded term; Shea nuts oil-content alters permitted import quantities.
Amendment to SION E-125 substitutes the import-item description for Shea Stearine from the brand name to "Activated Bleaching Earth" without changing permitted quantities. The SION sets permitted export/import items and provides an oil-content adjustment mechanism for Shea Nuts that alters permitted import quantity on a pro rata basis. Customs must sample and test every Bill of Entry for Shea Nuts, endorse oil content on the Bill, and Regional Authorities will redeem authorizations based on the weighted average oil content; imports may clear after sampling without awaiting test results.

Official email authentication: only NIC e mail addresses qualify as valid government communications, verify doubtful messages before responding.
Only e-mails from NIC e-mail accounts (for instance marked "@nic.in") are valid official communications from the Addl. DGFT, Mumbai. E-mails sent from non-NIC addresses claiming to be from DGFT officers are not official; exporters should not furnish documents or respond and should verify doubtful e-mails by writing to a known officer address on the DGFT Mumbai website.

Filing requirements for import manifests and bills of entry depend on vessel category and conversion or breaking up obligations.
Requirement to file Import General Manifest and Bill of Entry depends on vessel category: foreign flag vessels used as conveyances need not be declared as imported goods though goods and passengers must be manifested; Indian flag vessels entering for registration or used as imported goods must file IGM and Bill of Entry; vessels converted to coastal trade or imported for breaking up must file a fresh Bill of Entry at conversion or breaking up and pay applicable duties, with failures subject to adjudication and penalties.

Risk Management System facilitation increased; expand Post Clearance Audit coverage and reallocate staff to audit and compliance work.
The Board mandates that higher facilitation under the Risk Management System, introduced alongside self assessment, be matched by increased selection of Bills of Entry for Post Clearance Audit and Post Clearance Compliance Verification to safeguard revenue. OSPCA currently applies to ACP importers; until its wider application, transaction based PCA will continue for other importers but overall PCA coverage must be enhanced. Chief Commissioners must reallocate examination staff to audit functions (PCA, SIIB) and reduce PCA pendency, reporting any difficulties to the Board.

General Anti-Avoidance Rule deferred, revenue bears onus and taxpayers may seek Advance Rulings on arrangements.
The Finance Act, 2012 introduces targeted amendments: a tax exemption for Prasar Bharati effective 1 April 2013; substantive modification and one year deferral of GAAR with Revenue bearing onus, addition of an independent law member to the GAAR Approving Panel and AAR access for taxpayers; retention of VCC/VCF exemptions from TDS/DDT; extension of a 5% withholding rate for external borrowings and approved infrastructure bonds to all businesses; a 10% concessional tax rate on long term capital gains for non resident transfers of unlisted securities; treatment of excess share premium as income with potential notified exemptions; new retail equity deduction under section 80CCG; various TCS/TDS threshold adjustments; withdrawal of proposed TDS on immovable property transfers; and clarifications on DRP and TDS procedural language.

Negative list based levy introduced; service tax regime revised after enactment and issuance of implementing notifications.
The notice announces the introduction of a negative list based levy for service tax pursuant to the Finance Act 2012, states that the Central Government has appointed a commencement date for the new levy scheme, notes issuance of multiple implementing notifications, and requests trade associations to publicise the contents and enclosed enactment provisions and notifications.

Classification of dual mode vehicles: treat rail cum road vehicles under road vehicle tariff headings, finalise pending assessments.
Dual mode vehicles constructed to travel both road and rail are classifiable under the tariff headings for vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock by application of the General Rules of Interpretation and the Section XVII note that directs such vehicles to the appropriate heading of Chapter 87; pending provisional assessments of these imports must be finalised accordingly and implementation difficulties notified to the Board.

Money Transfer Service Scheme remittance cap raised; increases permitted inbound transfers per beneficiary while APs remain responsible for compliance.
The Reserve Bank amended the Money Transfer Service Scheme to raise the permitted number of inward cross border remittances a single individual beneficiary may receive in a calendar year; all other Notification conditions remain unchanged. The change applies mutatis mutandis to Sub Agents, and Indian Authorised Persons bear sole responsibility to ensure Sub Agent compliance and to inform their constituents. The directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act and are without prejudice to other statutory permissions.

VKGUY amendment adds skimmed milk powder to export incentive list; eligible exporters gain specified admissible benefit.
An amendment to Appendix 37A of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) adds Skimmed Milk Powder to Table 2 of the Vishesh Krishi and Gram Udyog Yojana as a designated VKGUY product with its ITC HS classification and a specified admissible rate for exports, effective immediately under the Directorate's authority.

Qualified Foreign Investor eligibility tightened to FATF/IOSCO criteria, revised holding limits and streamlined account and custody requirements.
SEBI revises the QFI framework: QFI must be resident in a FATF member jurisdiction and in a jurisdiction party to IOSCO MMOU or holding a bilateral MoU with SEBI, excluding jurisdictions with FATF AML/CFT deficiencies and residents of India; replaces "Purchase" with "Subscription"; caps aggregate holdings where investments are made via both QFI and FDI routes per equity class; permits reinvestment of sale/redemption/dividend proceeds into eligible securities held in a single demat account; allows appointment of a custodian only if it is the QFI's qualified DP and SEBI registered; requires a single non interest bearing Rupee account with an AD Category I bank.

Constitution of Regional Advisory Committee establishes an advisory forum for procedural issues and quarterly meetings.
Constitution of a Regional Advisory Committee for Organised, Small Scale and Service Tax sectors sets out membership from industry, chambers and export promotion bodies, leadership by the Chief Commissioner as Ex Officio Chairman, a named Vice Chairman and the Additional Commissioner (CCO) as Ex Officio Secretary. The Committee's remit is purely advisory to resolve procedural difficulties of a general nature while excluding individual judicial or semi judicial cases. Members serve two year terms, meet quarterly, must ensure attendance or face withdrawal after three unexcused absences, and follow prescribed TA/DA, venue, filing and correspondence procedures.

Transshipment procedures for sea-route containers require IGM filing, SEZ Customs verification, bond for Indian transshipments, and reporting.
Transshipment at ICTT requires Steamer Agents/Shipping Lines to file an IGM under port code INCOK1, submit transshipment requests and IGMs to the Specified Officer of SEZ Customs, and obtain transshipment permission under Section 54(3) of the Customs Act, 1962 subject to Section 11 and CBEC instructions. For Indian-port transshipments carriers must execute a bond; SEZ Customs will verify containers/seals, supervise loading, require landing certificates within one month, and report transshipments to the Proper Officer of Customs with vessel, IGM/EGM, container and load report details for IGM closure. Irregularities must be promptly reported for action under the Customs Act.

Special Deposit Scheme interest revision raises rates affecting non-government provident, superannuation and gratuity fund deposits.
Revision of interest rates under the Special Deposit Scheme for non-government provident, superannuation and gratuity funds: a notification of March 13, 2012 fixed the rate at 8.6% per annum effective December 1, 2011; a subsequent notification of May 22, 2012 fixed the rate at 8.8% per annum effective April 1, 2012 until further orders.

Extension of time for LLP annual return filing to avoid additional fees following system closure, applied to affected financial year.
The Registrar LLP functions were decentralised and the LLP filing system was closed from 31-5-2012 to 10-6-2012; accordingly the 60-day statutory filing period for Form 11 is extended by 30 days for the financial year ending 31-3-2012, so the 60-day limit is read as 90 days, effective from 31-5-2012, to prevent additional fees caused by the closure.

Extension of filing deadline for LLP annual return prevents additional fees due to system closure and decentralization.
To avoid additional fees caused by system closure during decentralization of Registrar functions, the prescribed 60 day period for filing Form 11 by LLPs in respect of the financial year ending 31-3-2012 shall be read as 90 days; the circular is effective from 31-5-2012 and applies to Form 11 filings for that year.

Reward and incentive scheme amendments expand and modify eligible export products and rates under Foreign Trade Policy.
Amendments to the Reward/Incentive Schemes revise Appendices 37A, 37C and 37D of the Handbook of Procedure: Appendix 37A deletes certain agricultural items from Table 2 and adds roasted cashew kernels and protein concentrates with a 5% admissible rate. Appendix 37D expands Table 1 with numerous focus products (general bonus benefit 2%, some at 5%), amends admissible rates to 5% for listed items, and adds Market Linked Focus Products in Table 2. Appendix 37C adds new focus and special focus markets; Appendix 7 adds Towns of Export Excellence. All changes take immediate effect.

Electronic Bank Realization Certificate now required: electronic transmission replaces physical BRC submission after a short transition period.
Banks must issue and transmit Bank Realization Certificates electronically to the Directorate under an electronic Bank Realization Certificate (e-BRC) system, with technical guidelines available on the Directorate's website. The physical BRC system will operate alongside the e-BRC during a short transition; thereafter mandatory electronic transmission applies and physical BRC submission for claiming Foreign Trade Policy benefits will no longer be required, reducing transaction time and cost.