Coastal carriage permits Indian foreign going vessels to carry coastal containers between Indian ports under prescribed customs procedures.
Indian flag foreign going vessels calling at multiple Indian ports may carry coastal containers between Indian ports on the same voyage subject to Customs Act requirements. Consignors must submit a Bill of Coastal Goods, containers must be marked and sealed, a Coastal Manifest prepared for each coastal port, and a bond executed before loading. Customs must record entries in the Advice Book, verify unloading and intact seals before departure, reconcile manifests at the last Indian port, and follow adjudication procedures for tampering or discrepancies.

Budget Day removal restrictions suspend self-removal; Commissioner permission required and enhanced duty becomes payable for post-Budget clearances.
The amendment inserts rule 30A imposing Budget Day restrictions that suspend self-removal from the appointed time until midnight; removals during this period require Commissioner permission based on advance written undertakings to pay any enhanced duty and to comply with specified conditions. A provisional/ final two-form application process is prescribed (including ARE 4), designated officers must be appointed to receive applications and supervise clearances, and Commissioners must review permissions and recover any differential duty owing to enhanced rates. Limited acceptances for goods arising after the appointed time are provided in defined circumstances.

Duty free R&D import entitlement for pharma and biotech units upon regional certification of export performance and R&D registration.
Permits duty free import entitlement for pharma and biotechnology units for R&D up to one percent of the preceding year's FOB exports where the unit's R&D wing is registered with the competent scientific authority and export thresholds are met. Regional Licensing Authorities may issue certification on formal application with prescribed appendices; applicants must submit a declaration that imports are solely for R&D, will be installed within six months, not transferred or sold for seven years, and a chartered accountant's certificate. The Regional Office verifies records and issues the certificate subject to notification conditions and penal consequences for false information.

Classification of polyester woven fabrics: misclassification to obtain concessional duty triggers customs monitoring and duty re-assessment.
Customs reported mis-declaration of polyester woven fabrics being classified under 5407.61 notwithstanding representative tests showing non-textured polyester filament content below the required threshold for that entry; this misclassification was used to claim concessional duty. Customs houses are instructed to monitor such imports, verify composition by sampling and testing, and ensure correct classification and duty charging to prevent evasion.

Custodian security exemption for Central and State PSUs allows appointment on execution of bond instead of bank guarantee.
Central and State Public Sector Undertakings appointed as custodians of EPZs, ICDs and CFSs are exempt from the requirement to furnish bank guarantees or other prescribed security; they may be appointed on execution of a bond equal to the value of goods likely to be stored for a period of 30 days.

Classification of flavoured tea: treated as tea under central excise tariff rather than as preparations under Chapter Twenty-One.
Flavoured tea is classifiable as tea under the Central Excise Tariff rather than as an extract or preparation under the extracts-and-preparations chapter. The Board reasoned that the HSN excludes flavoured tea from the extracts/preparations chapter and the Central Excise Tariff aligns with the HSN, and that items commercially known and marketed as tea fall within the tariff term for tea. The Customs Tariff's explicit reference to flavoured tea further supports this classification, and trade notices should be issued accordingly.

Statutory time limit for refunds governs diplomatic missions' purchase claims, subject to exemption notification conditions and territorial jurisdiction.
Refunds for purchases by diplomatic and consular missions are governed by notification No.3/2001-CE and the statutory refund provisions; exemption applies only to goods for official use subject to Protocol Division certification, an undertaking on specified use, a three-year non-disposal condition, and refund claims must be filed within the statutory time limit and processed by the Commissionerate having territorial jurisdiction.

PAN-based Service Tax Code introduced to centralize STC allotment and streamline registration and accounting procedures.
A centralized PAN based Service Tax Code (STC) allotment system will operate via a central server accessible by divisions or Commissionerate Headquarters to key applications, ensuring unique STC codes without forwarding applications to Commissioner or DGST. Modified Annexures II and III require PAN, a structured address format, and a list of services per registered premises; centralized billing premises must supply other site details. Allotment Letters must state account heads for remittance, transitional use of existing classification codes is allowed until the cut over date, and a user guide and trade notices will be issued.

Valuation of securities: benchmark yields and specified fallback pricing rules govern mutual fund NAV valuation uniformly.
SEBI prescribes fallback valuation for non-traded securities: most recent trade within thirty days for non-debt and within fifteen days for debt (private placements eligible for fifteen days at purchase price). A debt security is thinly traded if no marketable-lot trades occur on the valuation date. Government securities yields are grouped by duration to form a volume-weighted risk-free benchmark set at least weekly and reset on significant market moves. Specified discretionary and mandatory discounts over the benchmark apply by rating and duration. The benchmark and government security prices from an AMFI suggested agency must be used for same day valuation.

Proof of duty payment certificates allowed for small scale industries as trade facilitation after administrative verification.
The Board directs that certificates evidencing payment of Central Excise duty may be issued to Small Scale Industries as a matter of trade facilitation, subject to due verification and without causing harassment or delay, despite the absence of a specific provision in the Central Excise Rules or Manual; field formations are to be informed and receipt acknowledged.

Service tax applicability to clearing and forwarding agents clarified; ICDs/CFS not treated as C&F agents absent contract and principal relationship.
Clarifies that service tax applies to services of a C&F agent where there is a contract and a principal agent relationship; ICDs/CFSs, lacking agreements with importers/exporters and operating under government authority rather than as authorised representatives of a named principal, are ordinarily not C&F agents. Domestic container depots should be examined separately against the Board's contractual parameters and treated accordingly.

Sole agency authorisation for sugar exports to designated market: pre shipment certificate removed while GSP certification procedures remain.
The procedure for issuance of the GSP Certificate and any other certification requirements specifically prescribed for export of sugar shall continue to be followed; the condition requiring a pre-shipment certificate by the Export Inspection Council is deleted, and the Indian Sugar Exim Corporation Ltd. is authorised as the sole agency to export raw sugar from the freesale quota to the designated market.

Export allocation of sugar quota placed for Maldives under trade agreement and vested with Indian Sugar Exim Corporation.
A quantity of 10,000 MTs of sugar from the freesale portion of the 2001-2002 season is allocated for export to Maldives under Articles VIII and IX of the Trade Agreement and placed at the disposal of Indian Sugar Exim Corporation Ltd., pursuant to Paragraph 4.25 of the Handbook of Procedure Vol. I and with the approval of the Director General of Foreign Trade.

Port restrictions on natural rubber: SEZ imports exempted while duty-exemption schemes otherwise remain barred.
Port restrictions on imports of natural rubber do not apply to units in Special Economic Zones, but imports of natural rubber are not permitted under any duty-exemption schemes except for SEZ units; EOU and EPZ imports remain disallowed.

Valuation of job-work goods: job charges plus attributable material and royalty costs determine assessable value
Valuation of goods manufactured on job-work basis requires adding the job-worker's charges (including any profit not already included) to the cost of materials used, including items supplied free. For recorded media, royalty and studio-recording costs attributable to each unit must be apportioned-using the ratio of royalty-plus-recording costs to the copyright owner's net sales-and added to job-charges. Assessments may be provisional pending prior-year data; suppliers must provide wholesale price, royalty and free-material cost details for finalisation.

Overseas direct investment restrictions: two tier structures need prior RBI approval and defaulters barred from automatic route.
Indian parties may invest directly abroad in a Joint Venture or Wholly Owned Subsidiary under Regulation 6, but proposals using a holding company or Special Purpose Vehicle abroad that sets up step down subsidiaries require prior Reserve Bank approval. Parties on the Reserve Bank's Caution List or the Defaulters List are not eligible for the automatic route; authorised dealers must verify remitters are not listed and advise listed parties to seek prior approval from the Reserve Bank.

Accrual taxation of deep discount bonds: annual mark-to-market accrual taxed as interest or business income.
Income from deep discount bonds is to be taxed annually by marking each bond to market on the financial year valuation date under RBI valuation guidelines; the increase between successive valuation dates is taxable as interest income for investors or business income for traders. On transfer before maturity, sale proceeds over adjusted cost (acquisition cost plus income already taxed under annual valuation) are taxable as capital gains for investors or business income for traders. On redemption, taxable income equals redemption price less last valuation date value (or adjusted cost for intermediate purchasers). STRIPS follow the same treatment and stripping/reconstitution is not a transfer.

Export credit financing under Exim Bank's line of credit secures payment via approved irrevocable letters of credit.
Exim Bank extended a line of credit to PTA Bank to finance exports of eligible goods and related services to PTA member countries, requiring Exim Bank approval of contracts, contracts in U.S. dollars above a minimum value, an advance payment by buyers, and balance payment via irrevocable letters of credit subject to the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits. Negotiating banks pay beneficiaries in Indian rupees on presentation of conforming documents and are reimbursed by Exim Bank in U.S. dollars; inspection certificates, GR/SDF declaration and documentation procedures, commission restrictions, and specified terminal dates apply under directions issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

Central Excise chargeability affirmed for EOU clearances to domestic market, duty leviable under Section 3(1) despite export restrictions.
The Board clarifies that clearances by 100% EOUs to the domestic tariff area remain chargeable to duty under Section 3(1) of the Central Excise Act even where such goods were "not allowed" to be sold in India; the proviso to Section 3(1) does not remove main chargeability. The circular notes a legislative amendment replacing "allowed to be sold" with "brought to any other place" and directs corrective action against interpretations treating these clearances as leviable only under the Customs Act.

Two-way fungibility of depository receipts permits conversion between Indian shares and ADRs/GDRs under FEMA-enabled guidelines.
Two-way fungibility of ADRs/GDRs is authorised under the foreign exchange framework, permitting conversion between Indian equity and depository receipts subject to the Issue of Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds and Ordinary Shares (Through Depository Receipt Mechanism) Scheme, 1993 and related Central Government guidelines; RBI issued operative guidelines implementing a limited two-way fungibility mechanism and confirmed the notifications provide the statutory basis, directing authorised dealers to inform constituents and relying on powers under the Foreign Exchange Management Act.