Prohibition on duty free transfers of petroleum products: inland removal now requires customs duty payment before transfer.
Removal of petroleum products from port bonded warehouses to inland bonded warehouses without payment of customs duty is discontinued; warehousing for petroleum products is confined to port warehouses, and proper officers must ensure petroleum stocks in non port bonded warehouses are de bonded and duty realised immediately, with statutory exemptions and notified importers unaffected.

Extension of warehousing period: automatic alignment with licence renewal allows consolidated extensions for capital goods, easing compliance.
At renewal of the private bonded warehousing licence under section 58, all capital goods installed or put into use by EOU/EHTP/STP units will be granted a warehousing extension so that further extension for each item next falls due on the licence renewal date; any single extension granted at that time shall not exceed five years. The existing rule requiring duty and interest where capital goods are not used within one year (or within an approved extended period not exceeding five years) remains, and units may be asked to justify non utilisation.

Container movement automation: electronic request, Customs approval and gatepass controls regulate transfer from port to CFS.
Establishes a pilot EDI framework and a stepwise procedure for movement of import containers from port to CFS: Shipping/Steamer Agents file a triplicate Cargo Movement Request with IGM printouts, importer authorisations, CFS acceptance and bond proof; data entry generates a checklist for verification and a Movement No.; the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner (Docks) reviews and approves or rejects in the system, issues signed container-wise approval challans and a movement list; Port Preventive Officers verify seals, issue gatepass endorsements and record exit; CFS Entry Preventive Officers verify documents and seals, record arrival in the system, and report tampering to Customs.

Specified ports designation expanded to include additional SEZs, allowing those SEZs to serve for import and export.
Amendment to para 4.19 adds specified Special Economic Zones to the list of specified ports for import and export under the Foreign Trade Policy, making those SEZs eligible to function as designated points for customs import and export operations.

Minimum value addition for studded jewellery requires a prescribed threshold and CIF-based valuation tied to foreign-exchange outflow.
Minimum value addition for studded gold, silver and platinum jewellery is fixed at 15%. Value addition is calculated with reference to the CIF value of the metal content, defined as the total outflow of foreign exchange for the metal content plus admissible wastage; where metal is on loan, CIF also includes interest paid in free foreign exchange. The CIF-equivalent covers imported metal and metal procured from other sources used in the export product.

Export duty relief: additional and special additional excise duties on motor spirit and diesel not payable when exported under bond.
The Board clarifies that Notes in the charging provisions of the Finance Acts render the Central Excise Act and its rules applicable to AED and SAED, so the export under bond procedure under rule 19 applies to these duties. Consistent with Government policy to relieve exported goods of domestic tax elements, AED and SAED on motor spirit and high speed diesel are not required to be paid when exported under bond; pending show cause notices should be finalized accordingly except where issued after C&AG objections.

Disqualification for re-election bars former governing board members after supercession; exchanges must amend rules and notify members.
Where a Governing Board has been superseded for governance failures, members who were on the Governing Board at the time of supercession shall be disqualified from re election to the Governing Board for two years from the date of expiry of the order of supercession. Stock exchanges must amend their rules to provide for this disqualification, notify and disseminate the provision to members, and report implementation status in the Monthly Development Report.

Special currency basket revision requires authorised dealers to apply the new rupee rate effective mid-January under FEMA directions.
Authorised Dealer banks are notified that the rupee value of the special currency basket has been revised to a new rate, effective January 20, 2005; ADs must apply the revised rupee rate in their dealings and inform constituents. The direction is issued under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and is without prejudice to other statutory permissions or approvals.

Overseas direct investment liberalisation: ESOP acquisitions allowed without prior central bank permission for majority indirect holdings.
A consolidated amendment Notification (FEMA.120/2004 RB) integrates prior liberalisations to the foreign security regulations. Under the ESOP provision, a resident employee or director may buy equity of a foreign company offering shares where the Indian company has foreign equity of not less than 51 per cent, and where the foreign company holds indirectly through an SPV or step down subsidiary, no prior Reserve Bank permission is required if such indirect holding is not less than 51 per cent.

Reward scheme for informer tips extended to service tax; claims to be processed like central excise cases.
The reward scheme for informers has been amended to extend coverage to detection of service tax evasion under the Finance Act as it relates to service tax; informer claims in such cases shall be processed and decided in the same manner and under the same procedures as Central Excise reward claims, and trade and service associations are requested to notify their members accordingly.

Duty drawback admissibility for DTA-to-SEZ supplies: such supplies treated as physical exports and eligible for drawback.
Supplies from Domestic Tariff Area units to Special Economic Zones are to be treated as physical exports and made eligible for customs duty drawback under Chapter X A of the Customs Act and the amended Drawback Rules. The Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Customs stationed at the SEZ will act as the customs export authority; the triplicate of the assessed Bill of Export shall constitute the drawback claim and be processed in the SEZ Customs section. Commissioners must arrange authorisation and payment mechanisms and ensure claims are processed within CBEC time limits.

Customs area declaration permits riverine loading of fly ash for export, subject to defined site boundaries and security.
The Commissioner of Customs (Port) Kolkata has notified 1.16 hectare of the BISN jetty at Bhutghat as a Customs Area to permit loading and riverine export of fly ash (including granulated forms) to Bangladesh, with the area boundaries defined in the Schedule and the Inland Waterways Authority required to maintain fencing and security.

Compounding of contraventions under FEMA allows administrative settlement preventing further proceedings once compounded.
Compounding under FEMA provides an administrative settlement whereby the Compounding Authority may compound specified contraventions on application, after which no further proceedings shall be initiated or continued; the Reserve Bank is empowered to compound most contraventions (excluding certain hawala related contraventions retained by the Directorate of Enforcement), and applicants must submit prescribed form, fee and documents to the Compounding Authority, which will decide within 180 days and require payment of the compounding sum within fifteen days of the order.

Pre-shipment inspection option or full physical examination required for certain metal scrap imports not cleared for home consumption.
The DGFT amends Handbook of Procedures para 2.32 to allow metal scrap consignments shipped or arrived by the specified cutoff and not cleared for home consumption to either produce a pre-shipment inspection certificate per Appendix 28 or undergo a 100% physical examination under Customs Circular No.56/2004.

Abolition of ECOM password system extended, shifting the operational cutoff to a later administrative date.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade declares an administrative extension for the abolition of the ECOM password based system, moving the termination date to 31/03/2005 and establishing that the later date is the effective cutoff for the legacy password-based access method.

Education cess on imports payable under DFRC and EPCG, exempt for Advance Licence, debited from DEPB scrip.
Levy of Education Cess is on aggregate customs duties subject to exclusions. Advance Licence imports are exempt and not liable. DFRC and EPCG imports are liable to the cess. Under DEPB, duties are debited from DEPB scrip and the Education Cess must likewise be debited from the DEPB scrip. Trade Notices and Standing Orders should be issued for guidance and implementation issues reported.

Interpretation of statutory provisions: referrals limited to divergent or changed assessment practices, with required procedural details.
Field formations must themselves interpret statutory and policy provisions and not defer issuance of Show Cause Notices for routine clarifications. Only matters exhibiting a divergence of practice or a change in the assessment system shall be referred demi-officially by the Chief Commissioner / Director General, accompanied by the issue details, the Chief Commissioner/Director General's view, relevant documents and an email copy to the Director (Customs); a Public Notice should be issued and receipt acknowledged.

Dematerialisation charges reduced: investors exempted from account opening, credit and custody fees; issuers to bear annual custodial fees.
Dematerialisation charges are rationalised to exempt investors from BO account opening fees (except statutory levies), fees for crediting securities, and custody charges; custody fees will instead be payable by issuers to depositories on a per folio (ISIN) basis under prescribed slabs with minimum amounts and service tax, payable based on folio positions at financial year end and subject to penal interest for late payment.

Customs area declaration designates a container freight station for regulated import examination and export stuffing operations.
Declaration under clause (b) of Section 8 of the Customs Act, 1962 designates the Container Freight Station at NDR Estates, Kanakkanchatram, Madhavaram, Chennai as a CUSTOMS AREA for examination, unloading/destuffing of full container load import consignments and for loading/stuffing of export cargo into containers, with specified warehouses, bonded storage and container yard, and operating boundaries. Operations must follow procedural requirements set out in earlier Public Notices for handling import (excluding LCL and passenger unaccompanied baggage) and export cargo, bringing the premises under customs control for the stated containerised activities.

Striking off company names: streamlined exit procedure allowing defunct companies to apply for deregistration under section 560.
The Simplified Exit Scheme, 2005 enables eligible defunct companies to apply under section 560 of the Companies Act, 1956 for striking off their names from the Register. Eligibility excludes section 25 companies and imposes special conditions for NBFCs and Collective Investment Management Companies requiring regulatory no-objection where registered. Applications must use prescribed forms, be supported by affidavits declaring absence of assets and liabilities, and include notarized indemnity bonds. Financial documentation varies by operating history; companies with pending non-compoundable prosecutions are ineligible. Striking off is effective from the ROC order and applications attract a prescribed fee.