Ad-hoc customs duty exemption: importers may apply to the port Commissioner who can recommend provisional clearance.
Importers seeking an ad-hoc exemption under Section 25(2) of the Customs Act may apply to the Commissioner of Customs at the port, who will forward the request to the Board with the documents listed in Annexure II and with comments on the applicant's charitable nature, activities and reputation; the Commissioner may also recommend provisional clearance and the guidelines must be publicised by public notice.

Temporary removal of duty free laptops and projectors requires inventory accounting, named authorization, notification to jurisdictional officers, and record retention.
Temporary removal of duty free laptops and video projection systems from EOU, EHTP, STP and SEZ units is permitted provided units account for the equipment in inventory, issue a named written authorization with full specifications and serial identifiers, endorse a copy to the jurisdictional Assistant/Deputy Commissioner of Customs/Central Excise with acknowledgement, and maintain records of such authorisations for inspection.

Carry-on-Business licence form revised; applications must use the simplified, revised format for submission and processing.
All future applications for grant of Carry-on-Business (COB) licence must be submitted in the simplified revised application format attached to the press note, replacing the earlier requirement to use Form 'EE'; the designated secretariat handling industrial licence applications will accept applications in the new format.

Temporary foreign currency accounts allowed for international events with prior administrative approval and restricted permitted transactions.
Authorised dealers may open temporary foreign currency accounts for organisers of international seminars, conferences and conventions where the organiser has obtained prior approval from the concerned Administrative Ministry; permitted credits are inward remittances for registration fees, grants, sponsorships and donations, and permitted debits are payments to foreign invitees (travel, hotel, honoraria), refunds, bank charges and conversion into rupees. All other transactions require Reserve Bank approval and the account must be closed immediately after the event.

Submission requirements for Committee on Disputes: attach legible certified documents and referenced government orders, and circulate to processing officers.
Parties submitting cases to the Committee on Disputes must provide legible documents and annexures, supplying retyped and certified copies where necessary, and attach copies of all Government orders, notifications or official instruments cited; these submission standards must be circulated to all officers who process cases for the Committee.

Bank Guarantee reduction for eligible manufacturer and domestic exporters granted retrospective effect to earlier advance licences.
DGFT permits manufacturer exporters registered with state sales tax authorities to furnish a Bank Guarantee at 25% of duties saved for Advance Licences upon CA-certified past exports, tax/ excise registration proof and a declaration of no penalisation, and directs that this facility, together with endorsed bond/BG terms for qualifying established domestic companies, applies retrospectively to licences issued before the Public Notices.

Mandatory EDIFAR filing requirement expanded to additional companies; online financial statement uploads required under specified prior circular.
SEBI extends mandatory EDIFAR online filing to a further 500 listed companies selected by market capitalization and turnover; these companies must upload all statements and information as specified in the prior EDIFAR circular with effect from the quarter ending March 30, 2003. Newly listed companies must also upload financial statements/documents on the EDIFAR web site. Stock exchanges are to notify the listed companies and advise them about EDIFAR filing procedures.

Customs valuation procedure: follow Rule 10A process before rejecting a declared invoice value, ensuring written grounds and hearing rights.
Customs officers must not enhance invoice value arbitrarily; rejection of a declared value requires satisfaction based on contemporaneous prices, written intimation to the importer specifying grounds for doubt, a reasonable opportunity to be heard, and issuance of a speaking, appealable order. Reliance on Directorate of Valuation data and Valuation Bulletins is emphasised.

Removal of final products from job-worker premises requires Commissioner permission, prescribed challans, invoicing and duty compliance.
Removal of final products from a job-worker's premises requires annual Commissioner permission communicated to relevant officers and the job-worker. The principal must file a detailed application and maintain serial triplicate challans and registers; the job-worker must batch, identify and return duplicate challans and maintain manufacture records. The principal issues invoices referencing the Commissioner's permission and the job-worker premises, sends duplicate invoices with dispatched goods, and ensures duty payment and prescribed export documentation where applicable. Waste must be returned or cleared under the same procedures.

Deemed credit refund admissible for grey fabrics used in exported processed textiles despite dispute; earlier-period claims considered.
Refund of unutilized deemed credit on grey fabrics used in processed fabrics exported under bond is administratively recognised as admissible because grey fabrics are made from duty-paid yarn/fibres which are declared inputs and deemed credit applied where inputs are contained in final products; refunds for earlier periods must be considered on their merits since substantive entitlement to refund existed and cannot be denied merely because procedural notification was issued later.

Eligibility criteria for derivatives updated; exchanges must revise monthly reporting to include price scanning, volatility and sigma-based compliance.
SEBI mandates a revised monthly report for the derivative segment: Trading statistics for all futures and options must be reported; the prior scanning table is replaced by a Price Scanning Range and Volatility table with average, maximum and minimum scanning ranges and volatilities plus impact cost. Eligibility compliance is restructured into two tables-one for underlyings traded in derivatives requiring quarter sigma order size, current eligibility status, duration of ineligibility and actions taken; another for other Top-500 stocks requiring median quarter sigma order size and eligibility months. Submission begins from March 2003.

Cenvat credit refund for additional excise duty permitted under rule five even if duty not leviable on finished goods.
Unutilized CENVAT credit of Additional Excise Duty (Goods of Special Importance) paid on inputs is admissible under rule 3, and, with the restriction in sub rule (6) removed by notification, such admissible unutilized credit is refundable under rule 5 of the CENVAT Credit Rules even if that duty is not leviable on the finished product; pending cases should be decided accordingly.

Import licensing for plastic waste: entitlement and environmental compliance required before authorization to import.
Import of plastic waste/scrap requires an import licence based on submission of industrial approval, valid pollution control clearances, certified details of recycling process and production equipment, and past consumption records. Entitlement is determined by capacity rules: generally 50% of installed machinery capacity (on a 20 hrs/day, 330 days/year basis) for non-acrylic wastes, while acrylic entitlement is based on best historical consumption; units set up after the policy cut-off are ineligible. Environment Ministry comments and all public notice conditions remain mandatory.

Risk-based margining for T+2 rolling settlement uses scrip impact cost and amplified VaR to determine margins and collection timing.
Stock exchanges must classify scrips into three groups using trading frequency and a rolling six month impact cost calculated from four intra-day order book snapshots; publish a common methodology; and apply differentiated margins: scrip VaR for low-impact scrips, scaled amplified VaR for higher-impact and illiquid scrips with an index VaR floor, together with continuing mark-to-market collection, discretionary adhoc margins, phased reduction of additional margins, and T+1 margin collection, with daily VaR dissemination and mandatory real-time market data.

Cancellation of registration: SEBI may issue No Due Certificate after required confirmations, documents and settlement of outstanding fees.
Exchanges must request SEBI cancellation and issue of a No Due Certificate upon surrender of membership, confirming the broker owes no amount to SEBI, is disabled from trading, is not connected to defaulting members, has given an undertaking to remain liable for violations, and that no complaints, proceedings or investigations are pending; the request must include the original registration certificate (or indemnity), turnover details, and confirmations. SEBI may cancel registration and issue the certificate subject to remittance of accrued fees, provision of an undertaking to pay further fees or interest, and withholding of the member's security deposit until dues are cleared.

E-filing of Service Tax Returns: optional rollout requiring STP code verification and computer acknowledgement; limited penalty assurance.
Electronic filing of ST 3 Service Tax returns is made optional in a phased rollout for selected service categories and assessees possessing and using a 15 digit STP code. Applicants must apply to the local excise formation, receive user credentials, download return/challan forms from the central server, enter details, and obtain a computer generated key and acknowledgement; payments will be cross verified with Focal Point Bank records. Technical failures must be reported by e mail and, if unresolved, manual returns filed; the department offers limited penalty assurance under Section 77 for filing delays attributable to the e filing trial.

Exemption from TDS: interest and specified mutual fund income payable to an exempt trust may be paid without deduction.
Payments to World Renewal Spiritual Trust, Mumbai-whose income is exempt under section 10(23C)(vi)-of interest on securities, other interest, and income from specified mutual fund units may be made without deduction of income-tax at source under sections 193, 194A and 194K; this instruction applies to the financial years 2002-03 and 2003-04 (assessment years 2003-04 and 2004-05).

TDS exemption on specified incomes allows payments to exempt charitable institution without tax deduction at source.
The Board directed that payments to Shri Ram Chandra Mission, Chennai - being an exempt charitable institution under section 10(23C)(iv) - by way of interest on securities, dividends, other interest, and income in respect of units of specified Mutual Funds or the Unit Trust of India may be made without deduction of income-tax at source for financial years 2002-03 and 2003-04.

Duty exemption for gifts under bilateral agreements - distribution certificates not required; compliance with agreement terms remains necessary.
Notification No. 148/94-Cus. exempts goods gifted free of cost under a bilateral government-to-government agreement and contains no condition requiring a distribution certificate for that entry; the distribution-certificate requirement applies only to a different entry. Authorities must not demand a distribution certificate for imports under the bilateral-gift entry, though imports must conform to the provisions of the bilateral agreement, and a public notice should be issued to inform trade.

Confession of undisclosed income discouraged; investigations must prioritise independent evidential proof over compelled admissions.
Confession of undisclosed income obtained during search and survey operations should not be solicited or relied upon in isolation; officers must avoid eliciting confessions while recording statements and instead focus on collecting tangible, corroborative evidence. Assessing officers must base assessment orders on evidentiary material gathered during or after searches and surveys rather than on compelled or unsupported admissions.