Export certificate issuance streamlined: travelers may email completed form before departure and present originals at airport.
Export Certificates for high value personal property can be obtained at the Commissionerate office or at the international airport; existing issuance options remain available. A printable certificate format is available on the Commissionerate website and may be downloaded, completed and e mailed to the designated address at least twenty four hours before departure with flight details; passengers must carry triplicate hard copies to present at the airport counter.

Classification of medical filters: disposable dialyzers and microbarriers classed as filters under filtering machinery, not as renal dialysis equipment.
The Disposable Sterilized Dialyzer and the Microbarrier, though used in blood purifying systems, are filtering elements that in themselves constitute articles of the heading for filtering or purifying machinery for liquids; therefore, by application of GRI 1 and the Chapter Note on parts and accessories, they are classifiable as filters in the appropriate heading for filtering apparatus and not as complete renal dialysis equipment.

Drawback claim processing: unanswered departmental queries will lead to officer decision after the reply period to prevent backlog.
Where departmental queries to exporters remain un-replied for 14 days or more, the Proper Officer shall process and decide drawback claims on the basis of available records without further reference to the exporters; all claims currently pending will be decided similarly if requisite replies are not furnished within the stipulated period.

Exchange of tax information: Agreement provisions effective in India; notification published and circulated for implementation.
The Department circulates the Notification of the Agreement between the Republic of India and Gibraltar on exchange of information with respect to taxes, published in the Gazette and enclosed; instructs dissemination to specified tax administration units and requests placement on the Departmental website. All provisions of the Agreement are to be given effect within the Union of India from the Agreement's effective date to enable implementation of its information-exchange mechanisms.

Full and true disclosure before the Settlement Commission underpins entitlement to immunity in settlement proceedings.
Full and true disclosure of income before the Settlement Commission is the operative predicate for claiming immunity under the settlement provisions; the CBDT has issued administrative guidance emphasising that immunity is contingent on satisfying the full and true disclosure requirement and directing consistent application of disclosure and immunity criteria by field formations.

Customs duty exemption for LNG imports extended to specified public undertakings subject to conditional supply to power generators.
Notifications dated 8-5-2013 amend excise and customs schedules to implement targeted excise duty reductions and exemptions (including jaggery powder, bamboo products, clay bricks, particle/fibre board and conditional steel supply to shipyards) and to modify basic customs duty and exemptions (including LNG/NG exemption for specified PSUs subject to conditions, increased duties on titanium dioxide and certain polymers, imposition of duty on metal scraps, and withdrawal of special CVD exemption on brass scrap).

Pre Shipment Inspection Agencies added and operational areas amended, expanding inspection coverage and correcting registry entries.
The Director General of Foreign Trade amends Appendix 5 of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol I) to add two Pre Shipment Inspection Agencies with specified contact details and areas of operation, and corrects the existing Sl. No. 30 entry to update the name, contacts and broaden the operational region for Worldwide Logistic, Survey and Inspection Group and Affiliates.

Extension of work item validity under Regulation 17(6): ROCs may create ad-hoc extensions subject to prescribed reporting requirements.
Under Regulation 17(6), ROCs may create ad-hoc work items to extend validity beyond prescribed time limits, recording specific reasons and reporting details (SRN, form, extended up to, reasons, RD observations) to the Regional Director fortnightly; the Regional Director must consolidate and e-mail a consolidated report with observations to the E-Gov Division within one week. The circular is effective from its date.

Container scanning delay protocol permits movement to CFS after a waiting period to prevent port congestion.
Where ICEGATE fails to generate scanning lists after entry inward registration, the Scanning Division will contact relevant IT authorities; if the list remains unavailable after the operational waiting period, containers may be moved to respective CFSs with entry inward timing endorsed to relieve port congestion, and if the list appears later the containers under scan hold must be diverted back to a fixed scanner. If non-generation persists beyond the extended waiting period, most containers may be examined and cleared by Docks Staff, but Pakistan-origin and HMS containers are subject to mandatory 100% or specified supervised examination as directed.

Certificate of Origin authorization: VTPC and its branches now authorised to issue non-preferential certificates for export compliance.
Authorisation under paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-2014 enlists Visvesvaraya Trade Promotion Centre, Bangalore, and its Dharwad and Mysore branches to issue Certificate of Origin (Non-Preferential). Their names are added at Serial No. 7 (Karnataka) of Appendix 4C of the Handbook of Procedure Vol. I, 2009-2014, making these offices authorized issuers for export documentation and compliance.

Deletion of Sodium Dithionate as permissible input under SION entries reduces permissible inputs and takes immediate effect.
The Handbook of Procedures (Vol. II) deletes Sodium Dithionate (Hy-drose) as a permissible input from SION entries G-7 and G-46 in the Leather Product Group, reducing permissible inputs in those entries from forty-three to forty-two, effective immediately, with no change to descriptions or quantities of other inputs.

Drawback clearance period: long pending exporter queries to be finalised using prescribed presumptive valuations and serial assignment.
A Special Drawback Cell at Tuticorin will oversee disposal of drawback claims; shipping bills pending in exporters' queues for over one year will be processed without exporter replies by: assigning appropriate drawback serial numbers; applying freight at 20% of FOB and insurance at 1.125% of FOB; and valuing hangers at Rs.3 per kids' piece and Rs.5 for others.

Advance NOC for pet imports requires airlines to verify AQCS clearance before booking, or face repatriation liability.
Airlines and importers must obtain an advance NOC from AQCS Bangalore before booking or lifting any livestock, including dogs and cats, and ensure production of the required Health Certificate, import sanitary permit or import licence as applicable; failure to confirm AQCS clearance may lead to deportation of the animal and airlines may be held responsible and required to return the animal at their cost.

Standard Input-Output Norms: new SION prescribes input quantities for Amyl Salicylate exports under foreign trade policy.
Notification of a new SION A-3642 prescribes input-output norms for export of Amyl Salicylate, specifying allowable import items (Primary Amyl Alcohol or Pentanol Mixture; Salicylic Acid) and their permitted quantities tied to the export quantity, inserted in the Chemicals and Allied Products Group under the Foreign Trade Policy and Handbook of Procedures.

SION notification for Verdyl Propionate specifies permitted imported inputs for its export under Foreign Trade Policy.
Notification under Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy and Paragraph 1.1 of the Handbook of Procedures announces SION A-3641 for Verdyl Propionate, prescribing permitted imported input items - dicyclopentadiene and propionic acid - with specified input quantities relative to the export quantity, and formally adding the SION to the Chemicals and Allied Products Group.

Anti money laundering standards require Indian Agents to apply FATF guidance to cross border remittances and ensure sub agent compliance.
Anti money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism standards apply to cross border inward remittances under the Money Transfer Service Scheme; Authorised Persons (Indian Agents) must consider FATF guidance on jurisdictions with AML/CFT deficiencies. The directive does not bar legitimate transactions but imposes responsibility on Indian Agents to ensure Sub Agent compliance, notify constituents, obtain Principal Officer acknowledgement, and observe statutory due diligence, verification and record keeping obligations.

Anti-Money Laundering standards require authorised persons and agents to apply enhanced due diligence for high-risk jurisdictions.
Authorised Persons in money changing activities must consider the FATF statement on jurisdictions with AML/CFT deficiencies and apply appropriate vigilance while not barring legitimate transactions. The circular places responsibility on franchisers to ensure agents and franchisees comply, requires Authorised Persons to inform constituents and obtain Principal Officer acknowledgement, and issues directions under FEMA and PMLA and related rules without prejudice to other statutory permissions.

Transit of motor vehicles: self-driven vehicles banned and must be transported on Customs-sealed trailers for cross-border transit.
The notice construes the Protocol to the Treaty of Transit as allowing carriage by railway wagons, marine containers, pilfer proof container trucks or other sealable trucks but not by motor vehicles under their own power; therefore self driven vehicles are prohibited for transit and must be transported on Customs sealed trailers before movement.

SION notification updates export controls for Verdyl Acetate, specifying permitted precursor imports and compliance conditions.
Notification of a new SION A-3640 prescribes the regulatory input-output specification for the export product Verdyl Acetate, listing the export product, a prescribed export quantity, and the specific import precursor items with allowed input quantities; the entry brings Verdyl Acetate into the Chemicals and Allied Products Group SION roster and establishes the compliance baseline for exporters.

Conversion into LLP: multiple firms cannot be merged into one LLP; auditor status transfers to the LLP and board should note.
The LLP Act permits only conversion of a single partnership firm into a single LLP; conversion of multiple firms into one LLP is not provided. Upon conversion, all property, assets, interests, rights, privileges, liabilities and the whole undertaking of the firm vest in the LLP without further act or deed, and where the firm was auditor of a company the LLP is deemed to be the auditor. Appointee companies should note the auditor status change by a Board resolution and comply accordingly.