Regional filing requirements for offer documents: smaller-issue drafts to regional offices, larger-issue filings to head office.
Revises filing locations under the Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements framework: draft offer documents for issues up to a specified threshold must be filed with the regional office having jurisdiction over the issuer's registered office; issues above that threshold must be filed at the regulator's head office. Merchant bankers must submit three copies of draft offer documents and one copy of final offer documents to the designated office. The amendments take effect for draft offer documents filed on or after the specified effective date and are issued under the regulator's statutory powers.

Advance authorisation registration procedure: streamlined one-day EDI process requiring original licence, EODC, verification, checklist and Job No.
Amended registration procedures require licence-holders or authorized CHAs to submit original Customs copy of the licence and, for licences post-export-obligation, original EODC with annexure and, where required, Part "F" export verification or excise-certified deemed-export documents. The Licence Section will perform NO ALERT and BULLETIN-VERIFICATION, generate a checklist in EDI for verification, produce a Job No., and the Appraiser/Superintendent (Licence) will accept the Job No., endorse registration number and date on the Customs copy and return originals; one working day completion (three days if Part "F" verification applies).

ITC HS Code revisions permit revised classifications to qualify for VKGUY and FPS benefits when shown on shipping bills.
Amendments update specific ITC (HS) Code entries in Appendix 37A (VKGUY) and Appendix 37D (FPS) for listed products; where revised codes appear in Shipping Bills the shipments will be eligible for the grant of VKGUY and FPS benefits, aligning Handbook entries with earlier tariff renotifications and effective dates.

Container movement controls: permits and customs supervision required for entry, examination, sealing, and release from CFS.
Procedures for the GDKL Container Freight Station require serially numbered triplicate permits with space availability certificates for container movement from notified customs areas; custodian bond and bank guarantee adequacy; customs verification of container and seal integrity on arrival with recording of transit times and action on tampering; maintenance of detailed registers, weekly statements and monthly physical reconciliations; supervised LCL destuffing with separate accounting; segregation of seized, valuable or hazardous cargo; and customs control over out of charge releases, gate passes and removal of empty containers.

Refund of 4% CVD (SAD) extension allows re credited amounts to be used in DEPB scrips until June 30, 2012.
The period for utilisation of re credited 4% CVD (SAD) amounts in DEPB/Reward Scheme scrips is extended to 30 June 2012; no further extension will be granted. Exporters/importers are advised to pay the 4% SAD in cash for expeditious refunds because re crediting will not be allowed where initial payment is made by scrips. Re credited CVD refunds must be used only for payment of basic customs duty and CVD and not for payment of the 4% CVD (SAD), to avoid cascading re crediting.

Line of Credit for project and supply exports sets sourcing, disbursement timelines, documentation and commission remittance conditions.
Exim Bank's Line of Credit finances eligible goods, machinery, equipment and consultancy services for the Kabu Hydro Electric Project with at least 75 per cent of contract value supplied from India and up to 25 per cent (excluding consultancy) procured abroad; disbursement windows differ for project and supply contracts. Shipments must be declared on GR/SDF Forms. No agency commission is payable under the LOC, but exporters may remit commission from their own resources or Exchange Earners' Foreign Currency Accounts in free foreign exchange after full realisation and subject to AD Category-I bank compliance with prevailing rules.

Regional jurisdiction updated: new Srinagar regional office established and Jammu office districts redefined under trade procedure rules.
Amendment inserts a new Joint Director General of Foreign Trade office at the Export Development Center, Srinagar, assigning territorial jurisdiction over specified districts including Srinagar, Kupwara, Kulgam, Pulwama, Ganderbal, Shopian, Bandipora, Baramulla, Anantnag, Budgam, Leh and Kargil, and simultaneously revises the territorial jurisdiction of the Jammu office to cover Jammu, Kathua, Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur, Samba, Reasi, Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar; changes are made under paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-2014 and incorporated into Appendix 1 of the Handbook of Procedure Vol. I.

Preservation of DVAT-43: contractors may file a photocopy with returns while retaining originals for inspection.
The circular permits a contractor who received one copy of the DVAT-43 certificate from the contractee to file a photocopy of DVAT-43 with the DVAT-16 or DVAT-17 return, while preserving the original certificate for seven years and producing it to the Assessing Authority on demand.

Drawback clearance drive to expedite pending export refund claims by establishing a special nodal cell and trade coordination.
A special administrative mechanism is instituted to expedite clearance of pending drawback claims by observing May and June 2012 as Drawback Clearance Months. A Special Drawback Cell led by a Senior Nodal Officer will coordinate with export sections and trade to speed processing; the Deputy Commissioner of the Drawback Section, Shri D P Singh, is appointed as the Customs Nodal Officer for this purpose.

Revalidation provision withdrawn: no revalidation of registration certificates for export of cotton and cotton yarn permitted.
The revalidation provision for Registration Certificates issued for export of cotton and cotton yarn is withdrawn as stated in Paragraph 3 of Public Notice No. 102; accordingly Regional Authorities shall not grant revalidation of RCs for cotton or cotton yarn exports.

Classification of Micro/Mini SD cards as solid state non volatile storage devices affirmed, directing finalisation of provisional assessments.
Micro/Mini SD cards whose PCB is replaced by substrates that meet the Harmonized System definition of a printed circuit and whose connecting pins qualify as connecting sockets are classifiable under sub heading 8523.51 as semiconductor media, solid state non volatile data storage devices, applying GRI 1 and 6 and Note 4(a) to Chapter 85; provisional assessments should be finalised accordingly.

Permission to affix labels before clearance now allowed from dock authorities, easing pre-clearance labeling for importers.
The Public Notice amends prior guidance by allowing DC/AC(Docks) to grant permission to affix labels before clearance where the importer or CHA cannot obtain permission from the DC/AC of the concerned Group; this permission may be obtained prior to registration and examination of the goods, and parties are asked to note the change and report implementation difficulties.

Online transmission requirement for export authorizations mandates EDI transmission of shipping bills and authorizations to trade authorities.
ICD CONCOR, Tondiarpet, Chennai (IN TVT 6) is designated for mandatory EDI transmission: all Shipping Bills from this port must be sent via EDI to DGFT and all DES (Advance Authorization), DFIA and EPCG authorizations issued for this port on or after 08.05.2012 must be communicated to Customs on-line.

Renumbering of SIONs reassigns product code for sugar-free assorted confectionery, maintaining previously authorised import inputs and quantities.
SION E-1A is re-numbered as E-131 for the export product Assorted Confectionery (Sugar Free) by exercise of powers under the Foreign Trade Policy. There is no change to the permitted import items or their quantities; the same list of artificial sweetening agents, starch/modified starch/gelatin, liquid glucose, relevant fruit juices/pulps or cocoa and milk products, specified acids, essential oils, food colours and flavours, emulsifiers/stabilizers/thickeners, other confectionery ingredients, and packing material continues to apply, with specified prohibitions on certain substitute inputs.

Renumbering of Standard Input Output Norms: SION E-129A reclassified as E-130 for sugar-free instant fruit juice powder; import permissions unchanged.
Renumbering of SION E-129A as E-130 for Instant Fruit Juice Powder/Crystals (Sugar Free) is effected under Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy, with no change to the description or permitted import input quantities. The schedule of permitted sweetening agents, food additives, concentrates, flavours, colours and packing requirements remains operative. Lactose and Mannitol are not allowed as substitute sweetening agents, and cumulative relevant food additives are limited to 100 grams per kilogram in addition to individual limits.

FII debt allocation auctions: monthly schedule with bidding caps, minimum tick and utilisation windows governing allocations.
FII debt limits are to be allocated by monthly auctions on the 20th (or next working day) based on prior month free limits; auctions occur when free limit in a debt category exceeds the prescribed threshold. Bidding runs for two hours under existing SEBI pricing and allocation rules; single entity allocation is limited by a cap or one tenth of free limit, with a fixed minimum bid size and tick. Auctions will alternate between the two principal exchanges, exchanges will govern authentication and multiple bids, custodians remit auction fees to SEBI promptly, and category specific utilisation windows apply as per prior SEBI guidance.

Business Auxiliary Service: APMC market fee-funded infrastructure is exempt, while separately charged services remain taxable.
Services financed from the market fee charged by APMCs for providing and maintaining market infrastructure are statutory, non-contractual facilities for all market users and do not amount to outsourced Business Support Services; such services qualify as Business Auxiliary Service and are covered by the service tax exemption for auxiliary agricultural services, whereas separately charged services remain taxable under their respective service heads.

Exemption eligibility: eligible units may claim area based excise exemption even if option is exercised after sunset.
Eligible new or substantially expanded units that commenced commercial production on or before the sunset date remain entitled to area based excise exemption for goods even where excise levy was imposed subsequently. The sunset clause is an eligibility cutoff only; exercising the written option may occur after the sunset, and the ten year concession period is computed from commencement of production, not from the date the option is exercised.

Post-verification requirement: failure to obtain Central Excise verification or LoFSP endorsement risks withdrawal of factory/warehouse stuffing permission.
Non-receipt of Central Excise post-verification reports has led to reminders and a directive that one-time Factory/Warehouse Stuffing Permissions for exporters in Annexure-A will be withdrawn if verification is not received by the specified deadline; exporters in Annexure-B who have verification but lack endorsement must present the ORIGINAL COPY OF LoFSP to the FSP Cell for endorsement to avoid withdrawal of permission.

Centralised registration for service tax requires online ST 1, notarized affidavit, annexures, and surrender of branch ST 2 registrations.
A service provider seeking Centralised Registration under Rule 4 must file ST 1 online and submit a signed printout with Annexure I documents within 15 days; Annexure II must list branches and disclose pending SCNs, appeals, audits and CENVAT balances. Applicants must provide a notarized affidavit certifying centralized accounting and an undertaking (Annexure III) to maintain records centrally for five years and to cooperate with audits and inquiries. After grant, surrender of branch ST 2 certificates within two months and notification of branch CENVAT balances within 15 days are required; statutory compliance continues with existing jurisdictions until grant.