Classification of tea admixture as preparation with a basis of tea under tariff, not as flavoured tea.
Tea admixtures containing rice flour, tapioca, vitamins and similar non-flavouring additives, included to add bulk or provide health benefits, are not flavoured tea; such products fall within the scope of preparations made by addition or mixing and are classifiable as preparations with a basis of tea under the tariff heading for tea-based preparations.

Annual issuers' custodial charges revised; depositories may levy per-folio fees with minimums and penal interest for late payment.
Depositories may levy per-folio (ISIN position) custody fees from issuers subject to prescribed minimum annual fee slabs and applicable service tax; issuers must pay based on folio counts as at 31 March of the preceding financial year by 30 April each year, and depositories may charge penal interest up to 12% p.a. for late payment.

EASIEST e payment requirement mandates NSDL validation and online challan generation before bank net banking payment completion.
Payment of Central Excise duty and Service Tax by qualifying assessees must be effected electronically through the NSDL EASIEST gateway which validates the 15 digit Assessee Code, displays assessee details, selects the tax head, permits selection of accounting codes, and transmits validated challan and location data to an authorized bank; the taxpayer then completes payment at the bank's secure net banking site and receives an electronic counterfoil with a unique Challan Identification Number and transaction details.

Import clearance without licence permitted when bill of entry is filed after removal of an import restriction.
Where goods were imported during a period of import restriction but the Bill of Entry was filed on or after the removal of that restriction, customs may allow import clearance without a licence; licensing authorities and customs commissioners are directed to permit such licence-free clearance when the filing condition is met.

Service tax on chartering: use-only aircraft leases are taxable unless effective control transfers, examine facts.
Service tax applies to chartering of aircraft that confers only the right to use without transfer of possession or effective control; whether effective control is transferred is a question of fact to be determined in each case. Where the lessor supplies crew (wet lease), effective control is not transferred and the arrangement is taxable. Officers should examine leasing facts, recover tax where due, and report collection status and further action to the central office.

Export procedure amendment requires linked market declaration and proof of landing, and revises incentive rate descriptions for product categories.
ANF 3E is amended to require that Market Linked Focus Product claims specify the linked market for each shipping bill and include proof of landing as per the Handbook (Para 3.20.3). The heading of Column No.12 in the table under the procedure is also revised to describe differentiated incentive rates for high value added manufactured goods, special market-linked products/sectors, and a separate rate for toys and sports goods.

Eligibility of virgin olive oil exemption: unrefined edible virgin olive oils qualify for notification exemption when certified edible.
The term crude in Serial No.33A of Notification No.21/2002 is intended to include all edible oils that have not been refined; mechanically extracted virgin olive oils (including ordinary and extra virgin) that have not undergone refining and meet edible grade standards qualify for exemption under the notification. Edible grade must be certified by testing against Appendix B of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955, and field formations should finalize pending provisional assessments accordingly.

Special Additional Duty refund re-credit to incentive scrips authorised for VKGUY, FPS and FMS; procedural guidance issued.
Refunds of Special Additional Duty of Customs previously re-creditable to DEPB scrips are extended so that when the duty was paid through VKGUY, FPS or FMS scrips, the eligible refund amount shall be re-credited to the relevant VKGUY, FPS or FMS scrip, and Public Notice and Standing Order should be issued for guidance.

Good Dealer Scheme recognition grants administrative benefits including certification, security deposit moratorium, and inspection exemptions.
The Good Dealer Scheme sets eligibility requiring no pending appeals or enforcement, timely filing, and sectoral selection; dealers exceeding sectoral tax growth over a three-year period will be recognised and receive a certificate and memento, a one-year moratorium on increased security deposit for forms, and exemption from inspections except with Commissioner approval; the recognised list will be published on the Department's website.

Debt investment allocation to FIIs via open bidding platform; price-based allocation with time priority and utilisation deadline.
An open bidding platform administered by stock exchanges will allocate a designated portion of FII corporate debt investment capacity. Bids, placed via trading members, are priced in basis points and allocated by price then time priority. The procedure specifies minimum bid and tick sizes, a minimum flat fee or the bid price payable by successful bidders, conversion of limits into rupee terms at the RBI reference rate on bid date, and a per-entity allocation cap; utilisation periods and a separate first-come, first-served route for smaller allocations are also prescribed.

Import prohibition on toys from China clarified to apply by manufacture origin; transitional relief and prior shipments may be allowed.
Import prohibition on toys under ITC codes 9501-9503 applies to goods manufactured in China irrespective of the country of import; transitional relief under Para 1.5 of the FTP continues and pre-notification shipments may be allowed under Para 9.11A of the Handbook of Procedures, directing licensing and customs authorities to apply these clarifications.

Export certificate issuance: present high value jewellery in advance or provide purchase invoice/valuation to obtain certificate before departure.
Passengers carrying high value jewellery must present such items to Customs at Bangalore International Airport in advance so that correct valuation for issuance of an export certificate can be ascertained; alternatively passengers may produce a purchase invoice or a valuation certificate from an authorized valuer to support their claimed value for export certificate issuance.

Service Tax liability clarified: providers generally liable; registration, payment, returns, CENVAT and exemptions procedures outlined.
Service Tax is levied on specified services under Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994 with the service provider generally liable; value is the gross amount received subject to Section 67 and notified abatements. Registration, invoicing, record-keeping, periodic payment and return-filing obligations are mandatory, with electronic payment required for larger assessees. CENVAT Credit may be availed for input services and duties subject to conditions, exemptions and refund mechanisms apply for exports and excess payments, and adjudication, appeals and advance ruling procedures govern disputes.

Reconstruction of EP copy shipping bills: standardized, centralized procedure requiring documentary proof and EDI cross verification before issuance.
Centralized procedure requires reconstruction requests for E.P. Copy Shipping Bills ( five years old) to be filed at CFS Dronagiri with specified documentary evidence; examiner prints the Shipping Bill from the EDI system, A.O. cross-checks particulars and obtains a No Objection Certificate confirming no prior benefit, AC/DC grants permission, an indemnity bond is taken, entries are recorded in a manual register, and EDI records are updated before handing over the reconstructed copy.

Freight risk hedging permitted for domestic refiners and shipping firms subject to regulated exchanges and board-approved risk policies.
AD Category - I banks may permit domestic oil-refining and shipping companies to hedge freight risk in regulated overseas exchanges or OTC markets for a maximum forward tenor of one year. Oil refiners' hedges must be anchored to import/export contracts or limited anticipated imports based on past performance and regularized by underlying documents; shipping companies' hedges must concern owned/controlled ships without committed employment, with CA certification of quantum and regularization by employment documents. Banks must verify Board-approved Risk Management policies, obtain Board sanction, and ensure transactions reflect the underlying business; other companies must seek RBI permission via AD Category - I banks.

Export benefit eligibility extended to frozen fish product categories; exporters may claim benefits under amended Handbook provisions.
DGFT amends Handbook of Procedures Vol. I (RE2008) by retitling Table 13 and inserting new entries to include frozen fish products. The amendment makes frozen fish covered by ITC HS codes 1604 and 1605, and a grouped set of specified fish HS subheadings, admissible for export benefits, with benefits applicable from 1 April 2008 as set out in the Public Notice.

Delisting of inspection and certification agency: removal from Appendix 5 under powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy.
The Director General amends Appendix 5 of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) under powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009 to delist M/s. Intertek Deutschland GmbH, Germany (Sl. No. 55), removing it from the official List of Inspection and Certification Agencies; the public notice states this action is taken in the public interest.

Promoter share encumbrance disclosure required: listing formats now mandate pledged share details in shareholding pattern and quarterly reports.
Amendments mandate disclosure of promoter and promoter group shares pledged or otherwise encumbered in the Equity Listing Agreement: Clause 35's shareholding pattern must add fields for pledged shares and a promoter schedule showing each promoter's total shares and encumbered shares with percentages; Clause 41's quarterly financial results format must similarly disclose pledged and non encumbered promoter holdings with percentages. Stock exchanges must implement the revised formats immediately, report implementation status to the regulator, and commence reporting from the quarter ending March 31, 2009, with limited transitional relief for prior year quarter comparisons.

Disclosure of pledged promoter shares required in prescribed formats; promoters and companies must file reports when thresholds are exceeded.
Mandates standardized disclosure formats for pledge transactions: promoters/promoter-group must report to the company (Annexure A) pre-transaction holdings, transaction type (pledge/revoke/invoke), numbers and post-transaction percentages; companies must report to stock exchanges (Annexure B) whenever aggregate promoter/promoter-group pledges exceed the regulatory threshold in a quarter, supplying chronological transaction details and aggregated post-transaction percentages. Stock exchanges are to notify listed companies; ''entity'' denotes promoter or person in promoter group.

Export permission for branded edible oil packs extended pending quota monitoring by DGFT, customs instructed to allow shipments.
DGFT directed that Customs should permit export consignments of edible oil in branded consumer packs up to 5 kg until the specified extended date; the export is subject to an overall monitored limit and DGFT will continue to track aggregate quantities and inform field formations.