Circular Number Correction: specified circular renumbered and field formations instructed to update records and acknowledge receipt.
Correction issued that the circular published as 863/1/2008-CX dated 18 January 2008 is a duplicate and shall be read as 864/2/2008-CX; the Board had previously assigned 863/1/2008-CX to another circular concerning filing of appeals. Field formations are instructed to inform offices, update records, and acknowledge receipt; a Hindi version will follow.

Reorganisation of service tax divisions mandates use of new location codes in GAR 7 challans and ST 3 returns.
Division-II of the Service Tax Commissionerate, Chennai is bifurcated into Division-II and Division-V effective 1st March, 2008; Annexure sets out revised jurisdictional allocations and new location codes. Service providers must use the new location codes on GAR-7 challans and ST-3 returns and may contact the Assistant/Deputy Commissioners or the Joint Commissioner (Tech) for difficulties. Trade associations are requested to notify members.

Amendment to Standard Input Output Norms updates input requirement for automotive steel wheel rims and deletes a related SION entry.
Amendment to the Standard Input Output Norms substitutes the norm for SION C-1878 governing inputs for the export of automotive steel wheel rims (12"-17", excluding wire wheels), specifying the permitted hot rolled sheet/wide coil input per unit of export product. The Public Notice concurrently deletes SION entry C-1879 as part of corrections to the Handbook of Procedures (Vol.2).

Standard Input-Output Norms added for resistance welding products, specifying eligible copper-alloy inputs and import-export input ratios.
Amendment to the Handbook of Procedures (Vol.2) adds SION entries C-2040-C-2044 for resistance welding products, specifying covered export items and identifying relevant copper-alloy input materials by form and type, and establishing the operative import-to-export input-output ratio to be used for compliance.

Certificate of Origin-Non-Preferential: new authorized issuer added to the official list by DGFT amendment.
The Director General of Foreign Trade amends Appendix 4-C of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) to add M/s Association of Small & Medium Chemical Manufacturers (ASMECHEM) to the Maharashtra list of agencies authorized to issue Certificate of Origin-Non-Preferential, providing its address and contact details and issuing the change by public notice under the Foreign Trade Policy.

VKGUY product classification updated to include cashew under specified HS codes, enabling export benefits from the effective date.
Amendment adds a new VKGUY product classification for cashew in Table 10 of Appendix 37A, listing ITC HS codes 080131, 080132 and 20081910, and stipulates that export benefits shall be admissible with effect from 1.4.2007, made under Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009 and issued by Public Notice No. 116(RE-2007)/2004-2009.

Mutual fund advertisement warning duration increased to ensure intelligible risk disclosure and better investor protection.
Mutual fund advertisements must present the prescribed standard warning intelligibly by displaying and voice overing it for five seconds in audio visual advertisements and by reading it in an easily understandable manner over five seconds in audio advertisements; all other conditions of the earlier circular remain unchanged and mutual funds must comply with these presentation requirements under the regulator's statutory authority.

Cargo movement approval via EDI enables automatic port-to-CFS container transfers upon compliant IGM submission, streamlining gate processes.
Electronic EDI messaging governs port-to-CFS container movement through three messages: Cargo Movement Approval (message 19) from Customs to shipping agents, port/terminal operators and destination CFSs; Gate Pass (message 20) from the source custodian to Customs upon port exit; and CFS Arrival (message 21) from destination custodian upon receipt. Automatic movement approval is granted at entry inward if IGM contains mandatory fields (destination CFS code, cargo type 'C' or 'CP', cargo movement 'LC', and MLO code); otherwise a manual application per Annexure C is required. Terminals must generate and Customs endorse EIRs at exit. A mail-based procedure remains until messaging stabilizes.

CENVAT credit denial on tower components and prefabricated shelters mandates recovery from telecom service providers within the current financial year.
CENVAT credit on structural materials used for erecting towers and on prefabricated shelters/PUF panels used to house equipment is not available to telecom service providers because such goods form part of civil structures, are attached to the earth and are not excisable goods; consequently, irregularly availed credit must be recovered expeditiously within the current financial year and reporting of recovery difficulties must be made to the Board.

Centralization of export processing consolidates factory stuffed container export formalities at designated CFSs to improve efficiency.
All procedural work for exports of factory stuffed containers - including shipping bill filing, checklist generation, assessment, grant of LEO, EP copy generation, and amendments or EGM error corrections - shall be handled centrally at designated Container Freight Stations; online filings via ICEGATE will be processed at the designated CFS chosen by the exporter or CHA, with a short transitional period to facilitate implementation.

Declaration of Public Financial Institution: notification circulated to regional directors and registrars under Companies Act, prompting administrative action.
Circulation of a government notification declaring a company to be a Public Financial Institution under the Companies Act is forwarded to Regional Directors and Registrars of Companies for information, acknowledgement, and necessary administrative action to ensure regulatory follow-up and record-keeping.

Bank-wide R-Return submission required: mandatory transition for all AD Category I banks beginning January 2009.
All Authorised Dealer Category I banks must transition from branch-wise to bank-wide R-Return submission, with bank-wide reporting mandatory from the first fortnight of January 2009; banks previously had the option to submit bank-wide returns from November 2006 and were advised to create necessary infrastructure as branch-wise reporting would be phased out, the direction being issued under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the FEMA 1999.

Benign Assessment Procedure for diamond businesses permits acceptance of declared trading profit at a prescribed percentage of turnover.
The Benign Assessment Procedure for diamond manufacturing and trading directs acceptance of declared trading profits where an assessee reports income equal to or higher than 6% of turnover for that business in an assessment year. Assessees must maintain separate books of accounts. Acceptance at that rate for a year is not precedent. The procedure is excluded where assessment follows search, requisition or survey actions, where substantial deductions are claimed under specified chapters, or where information of escapement exists. The prescribed rate will be reviewed annually and the instruction is issued under the administrative power in the Income-tax Act.

Line of Credit conditions require predominant domestic sourcing, specified LC/disbursement timelines, and regulated commission remittance.
Exim Bank's Line of Credit to Ethiopia finances exports for sugar projects with at least 85 per cent of contract value to be supplied from India; remaining goods (other than consultancy) may be procured abroad. The agreement sets deadlines for opening Letters of Credit and disbursements for project and supply contracts, requires GR/SDF shipment declarations, disallows agency commission under the LOC while permitting exporter-funded commission remittances after full realisation, and directs AD Category - I banks to inform exporters. Directions are issued under FEMA and do not override other legal permissions.

Securities lending/borrowing treated as non transfer for tax purposes and not subject to securities transaction tax.
Lending and borrowing under SEBI's Securities Lending and Borrowing framework qualify under the existing Securities Lending Scheme exclusion, so such lending is not treated as a transfer for income tax purposes. Further, transactions of lending and borrowing do not fall within the statutory scope of the securities transaction tax levy and thus are not liable to securities transaction tax.

Securities lending and borrowing not treated as transfer for income tax purposes and not subject to securities transaction tax.
The circular confirms that securities lending and borrowing under SEBI's SLB framework is covered by the statutory exclusion from the definition of transfer in income tax law, so lending is not treated as a transfer for income tax purposes, and that lending/borrowing transactions do not fall within the charging provisions for securities transaction tax and thus are not liable to that tax.

Dematerialisation requirement enables shift from trade-for-trade to rolling settlement when majority non-promoter holdings are dematerialised.
Companies with connectivity to both depositories may be shifted from Trade-for-Trade Segment to Rolling Settlement provided at least half of non promoter holdings are in dematerialised form, certified by the company's RTA or, if no RTA exists, by a practicing Company Secretary or Chartered Accountant; exchanges must also ensure no other grounds for continuation of TFTS exist and report actions in the Monthly/Quarterly Development Report (Section II, item 13).

Container Freight Station designation: procedural framework for custodian responsibilities and import/export container clearance under customs supervision.
The notice declares the Mundra premises as a Container Freight Station and customs area, approves M/s Central Warehousing Corporation as custodian, and prescribes detailed procedures for import and export container clearance: submission of IGM/OBL and movement requests, joint Equipment Interchange Reports on transfers, de stuffing and de stuffing sheets signed by customs and parties, Bill of Entry and Shipping Bill processing (including EDI flows, appraisement, physical examination, duty payment and out of charge), custodian responsibilities, movement of empties under EIR, auctioning of uncleared goods under Section 48, and export stuffing, sealing and port transfer with EGM/manifest filing.

Liberalised Remittance Scheme permits resident individuals to remit abroad for permitted transactions subject to KYC and reporting requirements.
Regulation of miscellaneous remittances under FEMA allocates authority: drawals for Schedule I purposes are prohibited; Schedule II requires Government approval and Schedule III requires Reserve Bank approval above specified thresholds, with Authorised Dealers permitted to release foreign exchange up to delegated limits. Authorised Dealers may allow a range of non trade current account remittances (private/business travel, education, medical treatment, tour operator settlements, etc.) on self declaration or simplified documentation within prescribed ceilings, enforce KYC and record keeping under Section 10(5), and report transactions and guarantee invocations to the Reserve Bank.

Remittance limits for non-residents permit capped outward transfers with prescribed documentation and tax certification.
Master Circular consolidates RBI rules permitting remittance of current income and limited repatriation of balances and sale proceeds by NRIs/PIOs and eligible foreign nationals, subject to documentary evidence, remitter undertakings and Chartered Accountant certification in prescribed formats. Repatriation of residential property sale proceeds purchased with foreign exchange is allowed to the extent of original foreign exchange payment and limited to two properties. Authorised dealers must verify compliance, preserve documents, refuse deficient transactions, and report suspected contraventions; certain nationalities are excluded from specific remittance facilities.