E com filing accepted as timely if physical documents follow within prescribed working days; late submissions face a mandated late cut.
An application filed through the electronic system by the last date is deemed timely if the applicant delivers the physical application and supporting documents to the concerned Regional Authority within seven working days; applications received after the last date but within six months will be processed with the late cut prescribed by the Handbook of Procedure.

Advance remittance liberalisation for rough diamond imports permits unlimited prepayments to specified miners subject to KYC and reporting.
AD Category - I banks may permit advance remittances without monetary limit and without bank guarantee or standby letter of credit for import of rough diamonds from a specified list of overseas mining companies, provided the importer is a GJEPC recognised processor with good export track record; banks satisfy themselves of the transaction's bonafides, make payments strictly to the ultimate beneficiary account, exercise caution against conflict diamonds, perform KYC and due diligence on both parties, obtain import evidence, and report large advance payments to the Reserve Bank as required.

Quarantine referral requirement: Customs must obtain a quarantine no objection before clearing livestock and livestock products.
All consignments of livestock and livestock products must be referred to Quarantine authorities before Customs clearance and detained until a no objection is received from the animal quarantine officer regardless of any Sanitary Import Permits; destruction or re-export directed by quarantine officers must be carried out and custodians may auction uncleared consignments only after a custodial NOC based on quarantine no objection.

Corporate bond reporting platform: NSE authorised to operate one; unified mandatory reporting and public dissemination required.
SEBI authorised NSE to set up a corporate bond reporting platform alongside the existing exchange platform; trades by members are to be reported to the platform of the executing exchange while OTC trades may be reported to either exchange. BSE and NSE must aggregate, check for redundancy and disseminate reported information homogeneously on their websites. Exchanges must publish specified essential bond data and make additional instrument details available by hyperlink, cooperate with FIMMDA for interim value-added dissemination, require reporting by all persons for listed debt securities, allow reporting to only one platform per transaction, amend rules and notify stakeholders, and report implementation status to SEBI.

Education cess on excisable goods increased; Cenvat credit allowed for the new cess and payment rules clarified.
A Secondary and Higher Education Cess is imposed on excisable goods in addition to the existing education cess, collectible immediately and calculated on aggregate excise duties excluding both cesses. Cenvat Credit Rules are amended to allow credit of the new cess, usable only for payment of the Education Cess or the Secondary and Higher Education Cess. The SSI full exemption threshold is increased effective 1 April 2007, and multiple tariff and notification amendments adjust excise rates, exemptions and MRP abatement across various product chapters.

Service tax threshold increase and scope expansion broaden taxable services and clarify credit and registration rules.
A cess on service tax is introduced with input credit for cess; the Finance Bill widens taxable services to include telecommunication, mining, commercial immovable property renting, works contract service components, content development for telecom, asset and fund management, and broader design services, consolidates telecommunication subcategories into a single definition, and clarifies or renames numerous existing service categories while adding definitions for key terms.

Duty Drawback Rate Revision seeks industry input on input consumption, duties and service tax for annual rate recalculation.
The Department requests industry submissions to revise All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback for 2007-08 by providing detailed proformas that itemise input materials (domestic and imported), quantities used, excise and customs duties paid, domestic and export sales and FOB realisations, company cost sheets, and a company-level service tax break up; entries must be relatable to actual export activity and auditor-certified where specified, and must be furnished by the prescribed deadline to the stated e-mail.

Widening of service tax base expands taxable services and adjusts thresholds, definitions, exemptions and compliance rules.
The Finance Bill expands the service tax base and adjusts thresholds: it raises exemption and registration limits for small providers, consolidates and newly specifies taxable services-notably telecommunication, mining, renting of immovable property for business, works contract services (with valuation rules and optional composition), content development for telecom/advertising/internet, non-banking asset/fund management, and design services-and amends definitions, exclusions and procedural rules. New targeted exemptions (RWAs, incubators/incubatees, CRO clinical trials, and digital cinema delivery) and amendments to CENVAT, export rules, registration, return revision and reverse-charge mechanisms are also provided.

Education cess expanded to fund secondary and higher education, added to customs, excise and service tax collections.
A new Secondary and Higher Education Cess is imposed on the aggregate duties of customs, excise and service tax with calculation methodology aligned to the existing education cess and limited CENVAT credit allowed for inputs and capital goods. Customs and excise schedules are revised: export duties on specified ores are introduced; peak customs rates and numerous sectoral tariffs are adjusted; targeted exemptions and withdrawals are prescribed. Central excise introduces exemptions, reduced and restructured rates, RSP based assessment extension to specified electronic items, changes to cement taxation, and amendments to valuation and CENVAT rules, while settlement, refund and procedural provisions are tightened and reporting requirements to monitor revenue and price behaviour are mandated.

Regional Licensing Authority permissions for Dollar Gram exports expanded to include additional offices, subject to central quantitative ceiling.
The procedure for Dollar Gram (Chana) export is amended under the Foreign Trade Policy, Paragraph 2.4: Regional Licensing Authorities at Bhopal, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai will issue necessary permissions, replacing the prior limitation to two offices, with all permissions remaining subject to the quantitative ceiling to be communicated by the headquarters.

Declaration requirement for manufacturers of handmade unbranded biris secures excise exemption; undeclared products remain dutiable.
Manufacturers of handmade unbranded biris (other than paper rolled) must file an annual declaration to claim an excise duty exemption; the declaration must include name, address, manufacturing process, prior year quantity, and job worker details in the prescribed format. Excise remains payable on branded biris and on unbranded biris not covered by the declaration. Only final packing/manufacturing principals must file; job workers on a job work basis are excluded. Verification visits are not to be made solely because a declaration was filed, though the Commissioner may authorize inquiry on credible intelligence of false declarations.

Secondary and Higher Education Cess introduced; customs and excise tariffs restructured and CENVAT credit rules amended.
A 1% Secondary and Higher Education Cess is levied on aggregate customs, excise and service tax duties with specified exclusions and CENVAT creditability; major customs tariff reductions, sectoral duty adjustments, and targeted export duties are announced; central excise measures include new exemptions, revised rates, RSP based assessment expansion, dual cement rates and increased SSI threshold; procedural amendments revise valuation (transaction value basis), refund relevant dates, Settlement Commission eligibility and timelines, CENVAT credit conditions and job work valuation, with specified effective and transitional provisions.

Extension of time for realisation of export proceeds: authorised bank extensions permitted subject to prescribed conditions.
AD Category I banks are authorised to extend time for realisation of export proceeds up to six months at a time irrespective of invoice value, subject to conditions including no investigation, bank satisfaction on justifications, exporter declaration, and aggregate outstanding limits when extensions exceed one year; Status Holder exporters' write off entitlement is consolidated to the higher of two prescribed percentage measures; mandatory repatriation of a fixed share of on site software contract receipts is removed while profits must be repatriated after completion; invoice value reductions up to twenty five percent are permitted and credit report requirements for certain low value import documents are relaxed, with financial year adopted as uniform time base.

Export permissions for Dollar Gram(Chana) limited to RLA issuance subject to centrally notified quantitative ceilings.
Regional Licensing Authorities in Bhopal, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai are to issue export permissions for Dollar Gram(Chana) subject to the quantitative ceiling communicated by DGFT Headquarters under the powers of Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy.

Advance Rulings authority issues binding determinations on central excise, customs and service tax providing legal certainty to taxpayers.
The Authority for Advance Rulings, a high level quasi judicial body headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, is empowered to issue binding rulings on specified questions under Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax law; statutory provisions, procedures, regulations and rulings are available on the Authority's website and trade and industry are advised to consult that site to familiarise themselves with the Advance Rulings scheme.

Mandatory electronic filing of excise returns requires all registered manufacturers to submit ER returns via online or offline systems.
All registered manufacturers and EOUs must file ER-1, ER-2 and ER-3 returns electronically from the return period for March 2007 onwards. Units must obtain departmental passwords and may use either on-line filing via the department website (requiring high-speed Internet) or off-line filing using free NIC-developed software that permits upload over a simple dial-up connection. Software and password application forms are available from Range Offices or the department website, and support is provided through training sessions, Service Centres, Range Office computers and a call centre.

Summons in service tax matters should be exceptional, authorized and accompanied by written reasons and safeguards.
Issuance of summons in service tax matters is limited: routine information requests should be by telephone or letter; summons only when those means fail, revenue is jeopardized, or personal presence is essential. Prior written permission of an officer not below Deputy Commissioner is required with reasons recorded; if impracticable, oral permission must be reduced to writing promptly. The issuing officer must report proceedings and the authorizing officer must ensure no harassment occurred. Non-compliance will be viewed seriously.

Amendment to trade procedures: updated authorised agency address for issuing Certificates of Origin, including SAPTA/APTA and non-preferential lists.
Amendments revise the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) to update the registered office and Northern Region office contact details for the Export Promotion Council entry, and to record the Federation of Indian Export Organisations as an authorised issuer of Certificates of Origin for SAPTA/APTA and Non Preferential Certificates of Origin for Delhi. These changes supply corrected addresses, telephone/fax numbers, website and email, and are issued in the public interest under powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy.

Overseas investment reporting requirement: mutual funds must include ADR/GDR, foreign securities and overseas ETF details with monthly MCR.
Mutual funds must furnish an additional report with the Monthly Cumulative Report capturing investments in ADRs/GDRs, foreign securities and overseas Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in the prescribed format, commencing with the MCR for February 2007, pursuant to the applicable mutual fund regulations.

Tax evasion petitions monitoring: centralised registration, categorisation and mandatory timed investigation with documented final reports.
A centralized procedure requires each DIT(Inv.) to operate a Central Registry Unit to register and repository all Tax Evasion Petitions, assign a persistent Unique Identification Number, link related complaints, categorise matters by actionable priority, allocate TEPs to Investigation Units or Assessing Officers, and enforce prescribed investigation, reporting and disposal processes under supervisory controls. Unit heads must assign Investigating Officers, adopt discreet or open enquiry methods, compile final reports with findings and recommendations, and record disposal in the CRU.