Import of spares under EPCG now allowed for imported capital goods; not permitted for domestically sourced replacements.
EPCG Scheme treatment is clarified: spares imports are allowed under EPCG for all capital goods that were originally imported, whether or not the EPCG facility was used for the original import. Capital goods procured domestically after invalidating an EPCG authorization are not treated as imported capital goods, and therefore do not qualify for the spares-import entitlement under the EPCG scheme.

Re fixation of Annual Average Export Obligation permitted where exports decline; Regional Offices must adjust EPCG authorizations and record amendments.
Para 5.11.2 permits re fixation of the Annual Average Export Obligation where a sector or product group shows more than a 5% decline; the circular lists product groups declining in 2010 11 and directs Regional Offices to re fix EPCG Annual Average Export Obligations for 2010 11, record any reductions on licence files and amendment sheets, and to consider these Policy Circular concessions before issuing demand notices and in the EODC check sheet.

Corrigendum to DEPB Rate Schedule: export item description corrected to Vinyl Pyridine Latex, typographical error rectified.
Corrigendum under Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2009-14 corrects the DEPB Rate Schedule description at Sl. No. 915, Product Code-62 from the typographical misprint "Vinyl Oyridine Latex" to the correct description "Vinyl Pyridine Latex"; the modification is strictly a textual correction and does not alter the product code, DEPB rate, or any other provision.

Transition period extension for courier electronic declarations permits employees to complete required licensing examinations.
The Board has extended the transitional compliance period for the Regulation 19 examination under the Custom House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004 until 30.06.2012, directing Commissionerates to conduct and complete required examinations so that employees of authorized couriers who pass may file electronic import/export declarations under Regulation 12 of the Courier Imports and Exports (Electronic Declaration and Processing) Regulations, 2010.

Tobacco packaging warnings now apply to molasses used in hookah, requiring specified health warnings on imported product packaging.
Imported molasses intended for use in hookah containing tobacco must bear the new specified pictorial health warnings prescribed under the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008, as updated by the 2011 notification; products containing tobacco are within the statutory tobacco control framework and imports must conform to the prescribed warning display for customs clearance.

Toll as user charge exempt from service tax; commission retained by collectors taxable under business auxiliary service.
Service tax is not leviable on tolls charged to road users, including tolls collected by SPVs under PPP/BOT arrangements, because tolls fall in the State List and are not covered by taxable services. SPVs' toll collections are on their own account and SPVs are not agents of the authority. If an independent collector retains commission or is otherwise compensated for collecting tolls, service tax applies to that commission under the Business Auxiliary Service. Renting or leasing vacant land by an authority to an SPV for road construction does not attract service tax.

Condonation of delay in filing returns when mercantile interest accounting is negated by bank TDS at maturity.
Condonation of delay in filing returns is allowed where an investor in Government savings taxable bonds opted for cumulative interest on maturity but accounted interest on a mercantile basis and the intermediary bank deducted tax at source on the entire interest at maturity without apportioning accrued interest/TDS across financial years; other conditions of the relevant CBDT instruction continue to apply.

Know Your Customer obligations require verified exporter documents before container stuffing; carriers face liability for breaches under customs law.
KYC compliance is mandated for shipping lines, agents and freight forwarders leasing containers: retain at least three specified documents including one photographic ID, address proof and IEC copy; verify IEC holder by phone or e-mail; accept payment by A/c payee cheque or RTGS; permit changes to exporter/goods/destination only after documentary verification; and note carriers and agents will be held liable with penal consequences under the Customs Act, 1962 for violations.

Standardized lot size for SME exchange establishes uniform IPO and secondary market lot sizes tied to price bands.
Standardizes minimum IPO and secondary market lot sizes for SME exchange listings tied to price bands, mandates identical IPO and trading lot sizes and that the higher price band controls if a proposed price band spans two bands; prohibits exchanges from reducing lot sizes below the IPO lot size when trading falls below issue price, allows semiannual review with one month's notice, requires uniform lot sizes across exchanges and compliance steps by exchanges including bye-law amendments and reporting.

Release of foreign exchange for imports liberalised; higher remittance threshold permits transactions with minimal documentation for current account payments.
Release of foreign exchange for imports was liberalised to permit authorised dealers to release foreign exchange for current account import payments without Form A-1 or other documentation, subject to the transaction not falling within the notified excluded schedules, the amount being within the prescribed ceiling, and payment being made by cheque drawn on the applicant's bank account or by demand draft; only a simple letter from the applicant containing name and address of applicant and beneficiary, amount and purpose is required.

Advance payment for long term exports permitted by banks subject to KYC, AML, bona fide use, and interest cap.
Authorised Dealer Category I banks may accept advance payment for exports involving shipment beyond one year if they complete KYC and due diligence on the overseas buyer, ensure anti money laundering compliance, verify that advances are used solely for executing the export, receive progress payments directly per contract, route shipping documents through the same authorised dealer, apply an interest cap linked to LIBOR, limit refund instances, and obtain prior regulatory approval before making refunds or interest payments when shipment cannot be made.

Digital Signature role-check to validate authorized bank signatories' DSCs for acceptance of charge registration filings.
A role-check will verify Digital Signature Certificates (DSCs) of authorized bank/FI signatories for charge-related filings on MCA21. Banks must nominate a nodal officer to create and manage user logins and associate DSCs; MCA21 will validate the bank signatory's DSC during upload of modified charge eForms and accept the filing only if validation passes.

Concentrate classification determines excise liability: beneficiation, not mere crushing or screening, is required to attract duty.
Excise duty on iron ore is leviable only when the product meets the HSN-based definition of a concentrate-ores with foreign matter removed by special treatments because such matter would hamper metallurgical operations or for economical transport-so that beneficiation processes that materially improve ore grade (not mere crushing or screening) are necessary to attract duty.

Allocation of corporate debt investment limits to foreign institutional investors via exchange bidding with entity caps and minimum bids enforced.
Allocation of unutilized corporate debt long term investment limits to foreign institutional investors will be effected by competitive bidding on the national exchange subject to a minimum bid of one crore and an entity cap limiting any single entity's allocation to one thousand crore; bids made on behalf of multiple entities are limited per single entity. The allocation concerns the corporate debt long term infrastructure category with a one year lock in and one year residual maturity, and custodians must remit bidding fees to the regulator within three working days.

Area-based exemption admissibility: ownership changes, relocation, and adjacent expansion preserve residual exemption subject to safeguards.
The Board confirms the area-based exemption attaches to the Unit: change of ownership does not forfeit the residual exemption if the new owner opts in writing before first clearance; relocation within specified areas preserves residual exemption subject to inventorisation and Chartered Engineer certification that plant, machinery and manpower have been shifted within the notified area; and expansion by acquiring adjacent land and installing new plant and machinery is treated like on-plot expansion and remains eligible for the residual exemption period.

Wet Metric Ton basis for iron ore export duty: Fe contents must be assessed from gross weight inclusive of moisture.
Fe content for export duty shall be determined on a Wet Metric Ton (WMT) basis: calculate Fe percentage with reference to total/gross weight inclusive of impurities and moisture, and deduct impurities (inclusive of moisture) to arrive at Net Fe content; where net Fe cannot be reliably derived, assessment may be based on test results directly determining Fe content.

Foreign Trade corrections update item descriptions and effective inclusion dates in the Hand Book of Procedure, preserving tariff codes.
Corrections amend the Hand Book of Procedure, Vol. I: items at Sr. No.247 and Sr. No.248 in Table 4 Appendix 37D are made effective from 13.10.2011 with prior VKGUY benefits preserved; Sr. No.252 in Table 4 is re described as Other Derivatives of Pyradine while retaining ITC HS Code 29333919; Mexico remains listed in Table 6; and Sr. No.23 in Table 8 Appendix 37D is re described as g.v.w. exceeding 5 tonnes but not exceeding 20 tonnes: Lorries and trucks, with ITC HS Code 870422 unchanged.

Investor grievance redressal expansion: stock exchanges must establish regional grievance and arbitration centres and report implementation.
Requires major stock exchanges to expand the Investor Grievance Redressal Mechanism and establish arbitration and appellate arbitration at additional regional centres, ensuring compliance with applicable SEBI circulars, provision of adequate infrastructure and manpower, dissemination to brokers, coordinated amendments to bye-laws for uniformity, and reporting implementation status to SEBI in the Monthly Development Report.

Softex procedure revision streamlines bulk certification and reporting for eligible software exporters, with STPI sample verification.
Eligible large software exporters may submit a consolidated SOFTEX statement in an excel template with quadruplicate SOFTEX copies to the nearest STPI; STPI will verify, perform percentage sample checks, certify on a Top Sheet and forward copies to RBI Regional Office, the Authorised Dealer, the exporter and retain one copy. Exporters must provide supporting documents on demand within prescribed timelines, include all invoices in the bulk statement, and use centrally allocated SOFTEX numbers as transaction control identifiers.

Reporting requirement for foreign-established branches acquiring immovable property: file Form IPI with RBI within ninety days.
Persons resident outside India who have established a branch, office or other place of business in India (excluding liaison offices) and who acquire immovable property must submit Form IPI to the Reserve Bank of India within ninety days of acquisition; Form IPI requires acquirer and property details, purpose, mode of acquisition, seller particulars, purchase price and source of funds, acquisition date, and Reserve Bank permission details, and must be filed in duplicate with certified copies of any RBI approvals obtained under the Act.