Declaration of Technical Characteristics required in shipping bills; DFRCs withheld unless declaration or customs attested additional declaration provided.
Declaration of Technical Characteristics, quality and specification of inputs under Para 4.31 must appear in the shipping bill for DFRC issuance; if absent, an additional declaration attested by Customs must be submitted, and for Deemed Exports an additional declaration attested by the Excise authorities over the recipient unit is required.

Charitable deduction under section 80G: DDO/employer certificate suffices for payroll donations to specified relief funds.
Donations by employees to the Prime Ministers National Relief Fund, Chief Ministers Relief Fund or Lieutenant Governors Relief Fund made through employers qualify for deduction under section 80G. Where contributions are paid as a consolidated cheque and individual certificates from the funds are not issued, the claim will be admissible on the basis of a certificate issued by the Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO)/employer.

Foreign collaboration approval under the automatic route requires proof of non interference with existing technology or trademark partners.
New proposals for foreign investment and technical collaboration are allowed under the automatic route subject to sectoral policy, but prior government approval is required when the foreign investor has an existing joint venture or technology transfer/trademark agreement in the same field; the foreign investor and Indian partner must furnish justification and proof, while specified exceptions waive prior approval and joint venture agreements may include conflict of interest clauses.

Clearance of imported metal scraps: procedure amended to include additional inland container depots for customs clearance.
The Board amends Circular No.56/2004-Cus to reflect Handbook of Procedure changes and inserts two additional Inland Container Depot entries-ICD Ludhiana and ICD Dadri (Greater Noida)-into the list at para 5(ii) authorizing customs stations for clearance of imported metal scraps, and directs issuance of a Public Notice and acknowledgement of receipt.

Export under bond requirement clarified as prospective; amendment does not apply to earlier exports.
The amendment clarifies that goods manufactured or processed using materials obtained without payment of duty can only be exported under bond in terms of sub rule (1) of rule 19 of the Central Excise Rules, and that the amending notification applies prospectively from its issue and does not affect exports already effected; earlier circular guidance is modified accordingly and pending claims may be decided on that basis.

Import restriction declaration required for EPCG applications, confirming goods are not restricted or prohibited under ITC HS classification.
EPCG applicants must declare that items proposed for import are not restricted or prohibited under the ITC(HS) Classification and must state the applicable ITC(HS) codes when filing applications; a reference has been made to DGFT for clarification and trade is to include this declaration pending guidance.

Classification and use determine tariff treatment: actual function controls heading and notification eligibility.
The Board clarified multiple tariff and exemption issues: pontoons upgraded as accommodation barges classifiable under heading 8905; inflatable life rafts and life jackets supplied with vessels qualify as parts/raw materials for ship manufacture; used steel rails for re-rolling are scrap under CTH 7204 and freely importable. Classification must be determined before granting notification benefits: disassembled mobile parts may be classed as complete handsets under Rule 2(a) and lose parts exemptions; general purpose labelling machines usable in textiles qualify for concession; ACT test tubes are consumable accessories eligible for concession. Fuel pumps re-imported fitted on engines do not retain identity for re-import exemption; warranty replacement spares imported by companies are ineligible under the private property exemption; temporary vehicle registrations for transport to export do not defeat notification benefit.

Duty Drawback Expansion: broadening coverage to include more inputs and provide duty neutralisation for export manufacture.
Expansion of the Duty Drawback Scheme to include additional inputs and provide duty neutralisation for all inputs used in export manufacture, with drawback rates to be determined by input prices, duty incidence, input output ratios and import share; administrative bodies must supply production, import and price data for listed inputs via an enclosed proforma and customs website resources to permit schedule expansion and rate revision.

Import restrictions on agricultural products limit scheme eligibility and require designated agencies for all edible oil imports.
The amendment excludes specified agricultural commodities from import eligibility under the trade scheme where they attract duties above a stated threshold, including certain vegetables, fruits, spices (except cloves), tea, coffee, pepper, all oilseeds, and natural rubber. It also requires that edible oil imports under the scheme be routed only through designated state trading enterprises (STC and MMTC).

Tax holiday eligibility under section 10B clarified: converted DTA units get deduction from approval year, subject to conditions.
A DTA unit that later obtains approval as a 100% EOU qualifies for the tax holiday under section 10B only from the assessment year of approval and only for the remaining portion of the ten consecutive assessment years measured from the year it began manufacturing as a DTA unit; in the approval year deduction is restricted to export profits attributable from the approval date, and disqualifications apply where the unit results from splitting/reconstruction or significant transfer of old plant and machinery, with no deduction allowable beyond the statutory terminal assessment year.

Renewal of Registration: intermediaries must cease activities after expiry unless renewed; clients must be transferred without additional cost.
Intermediaries must submit a complete renewal application three months before certificate expiry; absent a complete application by expiry they must cease intermediary activities, transfer client accounts to another registered intermediary before expiry, and may not undertake fresh business after expiry. No renewal can be sought post-expiry; post-expiry filings are treated as fresh registration applications. If renewal is refused or received late, the intermediary must cease activities and transfer clients within any specified period. Voluntary surrender requires prior transfer of client accounts, and clients must not bear additional costs. Incomplete applications are treated as no application.

UIN requirement for corporate investors requires registration, but entities with government as promoter are exempt under SEBI.
All corporate investors and their promoters and directors are required to obtain a Unique Identification Number (UIN) under the Central Database of Market Participants regime; however, where the President of India, the Central Government, or a State Government is a promoter of a corporate investor, that promoter is exempt from the UIN requirement.

Import restrictions on livestock: clearance requires quarantine at designated ports and prohibition applies to wild animal imports.
Imports of live animals and livestock products are restricted to ports and airports with Animal Quarantine and Certification Services stations; consignments at locations without such facilities must not be cleared without quarantine clearance. Live animal imports require a DGFT licence issued after recommendations from designated veterinary and wildlife authorities. Importation of wild animals and their parts and products is prohibited. Customs field formations must withhold clearance absent quarantine certification and deport consignments imported through non quarantine ports/airports to the country of origin.

Provisional Assessment: refineries may use provisional assessment when consignments for end use exemptions are unidentifiable, subject to conditions.
Where a refinery cannot identify at removal which consignments will qualify for end use exemptions, it may opt for Provisional Assessment, subject to documentary support of end user requirements, compliance with provisional assessment and bond procedures, submission of reconciliation within a fortnight of delivery, payment of duty on quantities cleared from the refinery with liability for any differential, and jurisdictional Commissioner monitoring to ensure timely finalisation; no post removal abatement for storage losses is permitted.

Import restrictions on agricultural products: specified commodity exclusions and mandated state-trader route for edible oils.
Imports of agricultural products in Chapters 1-24 are permitted under the Handbook subject to exclusions: vegetables, specified fruits and spices with duties above thirty percent are barred; tea, coffee and pepper are excluded; all oilseeds and natural rubber are prohibited; and edible oils may be imported under the scheme only through STC and MMTC.