Subcontracting of production allowed in DTA with safeguards; permission subject to bona fide necessity and verification.
EOUs, STP/EHTP and SEZ units may send goods out for job-work and have them returned within ninety days; value-addition figures need not be supplied with the permission application. Subcontracting of production in DTA is allowed under the Exim Policy but requires satisfaction of bonafide necessity by the jurisdictional Assistant/Deputy Commissioner, verification of antecedents, application of existing conditions including bank guarantees, and may be denied where misuse or high risk is identified.

Duty free entitlement expansion permits verified import credits for exporters and service providers, enhancing export input access.
Amendments extend and clarify duty free import entitlements and export incentive schemes: Status holders and service providers may obtain Duty Free Entitlement Credit Certificates for specified imports subject to actual user conditions, Customs verification and use of notified ports; Advance Licences for annual requirements are reintroduced for status holders and Advance Licences for supplies to export processing zones are exempt from anti dumping and safeguard duties; DFRC benefits are extended to deemed exports with specified documentation; DEPB eligibility is granted for DTA supplies to SEZ units with Bills of Export and verification; EPCG obligations are recalibrated as a multiple of duty saved, allow used capital goods and expanded spares, and permit combined fulfilment by goods and services exports.

Duty drawback admissibility for supplies from DTA units to SEZs clarified, treating such supplies as physical exports eligible for drawback.
Goods moved from DTA to SEZ are to be treated as physical exports for drawback under the Customs Act and Drawback Rules; such supplies qualify for All Industry and Brand Rates. The SEZ is a Customs Station; goods must enter under a Bill of Export registered in the SEZ Customs formation and examined by Customs. Drawback is payable to the SEZ unit on the basis of a disclaimer certificate from the DTA unit and may be disbursed by cheque or direct credit to the SEZ unit's account.

Duty Drawback Rates revised: updated all-industry rates effective early April with sector-specific adjustments and SEZ eligibility.
Ministry revised the All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback effective 7 April 2003, updating the Drawback Table to reflect changes in customs and central excise duties, maintaining rates where input duties are unchanged, creating new entries for man-made fibre handloom made-ups, reducing rates for several textiles and carpets, adding clarifying notes for leather and bicycle entries, and treating supplies to Special Economic Zones as eligible for drawback with declaratory relief subject to field verification.

Unique client code requirement mandates exchanges to assign codes to mutual funds and FIIs, with implementation and reporting obligations.
SEBI directs exchanges to generate a unique client code for Mutual Funds and their schemes, and for Foreign Institutional Investors and sub-accounts, to facilitate T+2 rolling settlement; exchanges have three months to implement, must amend bye-laws and notify members, publish the change on their websites, and report implementation status to SEBI in the Monthly Development Report (Section II, item no. 13).

Cenvat credit withdrawal for light diesel oil requires reversal of any credits claimed on existing stock.
Budgetary amendment effective 1.3.2003 removed Cenvat credit eligibility for Light Diesel Oil by excluding LDO from the definition of input under the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2002; therefore LDO stock as on 28.2.2003 is not eligible for credit and any credit already availed on such stock must be reversed under Rule 3 of the Rules.

Input-output norms revised: amendments update SIONs to specify allowed import items, component lists and accounting requirements.
The Director General of Foreign Trade amends the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. II by fixing and modifying Standard Input Output Norms (SIONs). The Public Notice prescribes substitutions, corrections, deletions and additions to SION entries across Chemicals and Allied Products, Engineering Products, Food Products, Plastic Products and Miscellaneous Products; inserts new entries; and sets detailed import item lists, alternate inputs and allowable quantities with net-to-net/component accounting requirements as specified in Annexures A-F.

De-linking domestic sale of surplus power: domestic sales by EOUs in DTA not counted against DTA sale entitlement.
De-linking of domestic sale of surplus power by EOUs and export-zone units from domestic sale entitlements: sales of surplus captive-generated power in the DTA, permitted only after payment of duty foregone on inputs, are not treated as finished products and therefore shall not be counted against the unit's domestic sale entitlement under the Exim Policy. Development Commissioners must ensure captive plant capacity matches unit requirements and the earlier circular is modified accordingly.

DEPB rate revision: revised export benefit schedule effective, prescribing applicability, value cap and calculation rules.
Public Notice No. 02(RE-03) dated 31 March 2003 revises the Schedule of DEPB rates effective 1 April 2003, updating percentage rates and value caps across product groups and prescribing that entitlement is calculated by applying the notified DEPB rate to the FOB value or to the value cap, whichever is lower. The notice sets exclusions (bonded warehouse manufacture, Advance Licence/DFRC exports, 100% EOUs, FTZ/EPZ/SEZ/EHTP units, foreign-origin goods without substantial Indian processing), CKD/SKD and composite product rules, and documentation and formulation calculation requirements.

Notification of Revised Handbook of Procedures sets revised Vol I under export import policy, establishing operative procedural guidance for trade compliance.
Notification under the export import regulatory framework invokes paragraph 2.4 of the Export and Import Policy, 2002-07 to notify the Revised Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I, March 2003 edition) as the operative procedural instrument for exports and imports, effective 1 April 2003, with the Annexure containing the full revised text.

Continuation of foreign exchange relaxations under FEMA powers; authorised dealers to continue facilities until further notice.
Authorised dealers are informed that the relaxations and facilities set out in A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No.63 regarding risk management and inter bank dealings will continue until further notice; the directions are issued under Section 10(4) and Section 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Declaration of stock requires assessees to disclose addresses of any off site premises holding textile stock.
Under rule 9A of the Cenvat Credit Rules, assessees must declare stock as of the transitional cut off and, if that stock is kept at locations other than the registered premises, must state the address of each such premise in the stock declaration.

Special currency basket valuation updated; authorised dealers must apply revised rupee value under FEMA provisions.
The Reserve Bank of India circular fixes the rupee value of the special currency basket at Rs.57.5227 effective from March 11, 2003, following a change on March 7, 2003, and advises authorised dealers to apply the revised valuation for transactions under the Deferred Payments Protocols; the directions are issued under Section 10(4) and Section 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Registration of foreign drug manufacturers and mandatory import licences now govern all drug imports, with inspections and shelf life conditions.
Foreign manufacturers or their authorised agents must obtain a registration certificate for manufacturing premises and for each drug before importation; registration requires specified documents, prescribed fees, a defined validity, reporting of manufacturing or testing changes, and permits Indian authority inspections with additional fees and testing charges. Registration may be suspended or cancelled for violations. Import licences are required for all drug types after completion of registration, subject to validity periods, prescribed licence fees, deletion of prior exemptions for actual users, and a requirement that imported drugs meet a minimum retained shelf life. Government hospitals have a separate, limited import provision for essential new drugs.

Service tax rounding rules require amounts to be rounded to the nearest rupee, with paise at threshold rounded up.
The amount of service tax, interest, penalty, fine or any other sum payable, and any refund or other sum due, shall be rounded off to the nearest rupee; where paise are present, paise at or above the half rupee threshold are increased to one rupee and paise below that threshold are ignored, and trade notices should be issued to inform field formations and service providers of this rounding practice.

Prepayment of foreign currency convertible bonds allowed under conditions; issuer-initiated with holder consent and funds restrictions.
Prepayment of foreign currency convertible bonds by Indian issuers is permitted until 30 September 2003; issuers may initiate prepayment but actual buy back requires holder consent. Prepayment must not exceed face value including expenses, bonds repurchased must be cancelled and not reissued, and funds for prepayment must not come from fresh external debt. The scheme operates under the automatic route with limits on prepayment from local resources and no limit for EEFC funds or inward equity remittances if conditions are met. Companies must report details of repurchases and sources of funds to the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank within 30 days of completion.

Introduction of new customs stamps by foreign authority conveyed for information and necessary administrative action by Indian customs.
Circular No.20/2003-Cus dated 27 March 2003 transmits a letter from the Embassy of India, Ashgabat (No.Ash/Misc/1/2003, dated 17 February 2003) regarding introduction of new customs stamps by the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan and directs Indian customs officials to take the information and necessary administrative action.

Exemption from Declarations for goods sent abroad for testing or repair, subject to re-import and repatriation requirements.
The amendment exempts goods sent outside India for testing or for repair and re-import from the GR-form declaration requirement, adds these categories to permitted exports, revises SOFTEX filing to triplicate submission at designated export points, and requires SEZ units to realize and repatriate the full export value within a specified period while empowering the Reserve Bank to extend the period or alter the unit's governance after opportunity to be heard.

Excise liability allocation to goods owners shifts duty and credit responsibilities, granting procedural relief to textile job workers.
Rules assign excise liability and procedural responsibility to the person who gets yarn, fabric or garments manufactured on job work, freeing job workers from duty and procedural obligations unless they opt to register; permit serially numbered printed challans/proforma invoices for inter job worker transfers and approval sales; preserve CENVAT credit by endorsement through exempt/non excisable stages; allow one time deemed or document based credit for stocks as of 31.03.2003; provide simplified quarterly returns for specified preparatory works while duty is paid monthly; and exclude EOUs/SEZs from the special procedure.

Simplified Exit Scheme enables administrative striking off of defunct companies after affidavit, audited accounts and indemnity.
Introduction of a Simplified Exit Scheme (SES) under Section 560 to permit administrative striking off of defunct companies upon prescribed application, fee, audited accounts showing no assets or liabilities, an affidavit by at least two directors affirming non operation, and a notarized indemnity bond by at least two directors to meet any future liabilities; the Registrar must publish applicants in local and national dailies, circulate lists to the Department and banking association, and strike off names where no objections are received within the specified notice periods, with related reporting and limited withdrawal of certain prosecutions.