EDI inbox communications require regular review; failure to respond may prompt regulatory action under FTDR Act.
Exporters and importers must check DGFT EDI 'INBOX' for notices about personal hearings, recovery of excess entitlements from audit objections, and export obligation settlement; failure to respond after INBOX messages may prompt action under the FTDR Act, and parties should update IEC address records to avoid nondelivery.

Public/Private bonded warehouses may store gems and jewellery for re-export or clearance subject to 5% value addition.
Licensed public/private bonded warehouses may store specified imported gems and jewellery in SEZ/DTA for re-export or clearance subject to a minimum Value Addition of 5%. The scheme applies at designated airports/cargo complexes, waives certain physical control requirements, and allows GEM REP authorisations and SEZ/EOU clearances under prescribed procedures. Warehouse licence holders must maintain custody, effect physical delivery against duty-assessed ex-bond Bills of Entry, and keep Bond/Stock Account registers and Stock Cards in the proforma annexed, recording transactions with authorised signatures.

Post Export EPCG duty credit scrips allow proportionate duty remission tied to export obligation fulfillment and strict registration controls.
Post Export EPCG duty credit scrips provide a duty remission against basic customs duty paid on imported capital goods, granted proportionately by the Regional Authority based on export obligation fulfillment within a fixed export obligation period. The scheme requires imports on payment of full duties in cash, sequential registration and endorsement at the port, installation/use certification, and verification by Customs before scrip registration. Options on non-availment of Cenvat Credit affect export obligations; re-export with drawback precludes remission and indigenous sourcing on payment of duty is not permitted.

Service tax return deadline extended; filing window adjusted due to ACES availability and anticipated filing congestion.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs, invoking sub-rule(4) of rule 7 of the Service Tax Rules, 1994, extends the submission date for Form ST-3 for the period 1 July 2012 to 30 September 2012. The extension responds to late availability of the ACES electronic filing facility and the risk of network congestion from simultaneous filings, and is communicated to all relevant commissioners and directorates to implement the revised filing timeline.

Dematerialisation requirement enables shift from Trade-for-Trade to Rolling Settlement upon certified dematerialised public holdings and no other grounds.
Stock exchanges may shift trading in securities from Trade-for-Trade Settlement to Normal Rolling Settlement for companies that have established connectivity with both depositories, subject to: at least 50% of other-than-promoter holdings being dematerialized as per clause 35 of the Listing Agreement (certified by the RTA or, if none, by a practicing Company Secretary/Chartered Accountant), and absence of other grounds for continuation of TFTS; stock exchanges must report actions in their Monthly/Quarterly Development Reports.

External Commercial Borrowings access allowed under Automatic route despite pending investigations, with mandated agency notification upon approval.
ECB policy now permits entities under investigation, adjudication, or appeal to avail ECB under the Automatic route subject to existing ECB norms; AD Category - I banks must, when approving and where the borrower has disclosed pending proceedings, endorse the approval letter to the concerned agencies, and the Reserve Bank will follow the same practice. All other Automatic route conditions, including eligible borrowers, recognised lenders, end-use, cost ceilings, maturity, prepayment, refinancing and reporting obligations, remain unchanged.

Focus Product Scheme amendment: Set Top Box added with bonus benefit under Foreign Trade Policy, effective immediately.
Amendment adds Set Top Box to Table 1 of Appendix 37D (Focus Product Scheme) at Sl. No. 756, with an attached bonus benefit rate specified in the Public Notice, made under paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-2014 and effective immediately for exports.

Customs EDI system mandates electronic filing and online processing of shipping bills, requiring registration and bank details.
Launch of the Customs EDI System (ICES 1.5) mandates electronic filing and automated online processing of export Shipping Bills at Visakhapatnam via ICEGATE or Service Centres, subject to pre filing requirements (valid IE Code, CHA/carrier registration, bank account/IFSC registration, prescribed code usage), submission of specified annexures, checklist verification and system generated Shipping Bill numbers; scheme specific flows (drawback, DEPB, EPCG/DES, 100% EOU) integrate online validation with DGFT and require direct credit bank details for drawback, while examinations, "Let Export" orders and ancillary functions (amendments, queries, sample testing, reprints, cess application and forex monitoring) are handled within the EDI framework under prescribed supervisory approvals.

Full and true disclosure requirement challenged by piecemeal offers, prompting directives for stricter departmental scrutiny.
Section 245C requires a full and true disclosure of undisclosed income and its manner of derivation as a precondition for the Settlement Commission; observed practices of piecemeal disclosures, post admission additional offers, year selective disclosures, capitalization without evidence, and improper set offs undermine that requirement and have led to grants of immunity under section 245H without recorded satisfaction of the cumulative conditions. Officers must make robust Rule 9 reports, ensure Commission satisfaction on disclosure and derivation before immunity is granted, and take prompt remedial or legal action where orders contravene statutory requirements.

Bank guarantee exemption: prior penalization bars exemption; affidavit and random verification required before granting exemption.
Bank guarantee exemption for Advance Authorization, DFIA and EPCG holders requires the licensee not to have been penalized in the previous three financial years for specified substantive violations (including mis-declaration, clandestine removal, fraudulent availing of credits or incentives, failure to deposit collected duties, non-registration to evade tax, or comparable foreign exchange/foreign trade bookings). Licensees may be asked to furnish an affidavit and Commissioners must randomly cross-check affidavits with field formations; other para 3.2 conditions remain unchanged.

Tax residency certificate accepted as proof; authorities will not challenge resident status when claiming DTAA benefits.
A Tax Residency Certificate with prescribed particulars is required to claim DTAA benefits; it is necessary but not automatically sufficient. The government clarifies that a TRC produced by a resident of a contracting state will be accepted as evidence of residency and Indian tax authorities will not go behind the TRC to question resident status when DTAA benefits are claimed.

Partial two-way fungibility of IDRs enables conversion between IDRs and underlying shares with specified headroom and disclosure requirements.
Partial two-way fungibility permits conversion of IDRs into underlying equity shares and reconversion into IDRs within available Headroom (original issuance less outstanding and redeemed IDRs). Future issuers face a one-year lock-in before continuous fungibility, must disclose fungibility mode (shares, sale proceeds, or both) and costs, and transfer applied IDRs to an IDR redemption account. Existing issuers must offer annual conversion availability after the first anniversary, run periodic fungibility windows with predetermined quantum, allocate excess demand proportionately, reserve a retail allocation, disclose Headroom and significant transactions continuously, and may opt into the new regime by public notice.

Foreign exchange exposure limits revised requiring board approved NOOP limits and prohibition on netting between exchange and OTC positions.
Revised guidelines establish dual exposure limits for Authorised Dealers: a Net Overnight Open Position Limit (NOOPL) for capital charge and a NOP INR for exchange rate management. NOOPL is board set subject to a capital related cap; positions are measured per currency by aggregating net spot, forward and delta equivalent options, PV adjusted using an approved yield curve and combined by the shorthand method. Offshore exposures are calculated standalone and aggregated with onshore exposures for reporting. Exchange positions cannot be netted with OTC positions and ALCO/Internal Audit must monitor compliance and maintain audit trails.

Extension of reconciliation return deadline: DVAT-51 and original declaration forms permitted filing until the extended deadline.
Extension granted for furnishing the reconciliation return in Form DVAT-51 for Q1-Q4 of 2011-12 under Rule 67 of the Delhi VAT Rules and Rule 4 of the Central Sales Tax (Delhi) Rules. The order also extends time for furnishing the original portions of Declaration Forms C, E I, E II, F, I, J and H under the Central Sales Tax (Delhi) Rules and the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, setting a single extended filing deadline for the four quarters.

Customs and indirect tax reforms tighten procedural controls and enforcement, raising thresholds and modernising filing and recovery powers.
Amendments overhaul Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax procedures and thresholds: introducing electronic manifest filings; shortening duty payment windows; limiting warehouse storage with possible extensions; permitting export of warehoused goods on prescribed documentation; renaming and expanding duties of customs brokers; creating provisional attachment and third-party recovery powers; raising non-bailable and enforcement thresholds and tribunal monetary jurisdiction; and revising tariff classifications, duty rates, tariff exemptions and retrospective relief under provisional collection authority.

Direct tax restructuring: new commodities transaction tax, revised withholding rules, targeted incentives and strengthened anti avoidance regime.
The Finance Bill, 2013 amends direct tax laws to set income tax rates and surcharges, revise withholding rules, introduce a Commodities Transaction Tax with deductibility for business income, raise withholding on royalties and fees to non residents, provide targeted incentives (including an investment linked deduction for new plant and machinery and a first home interest deduction), extend and rationalise exemptions and pass through treatments for investment funds and securitisation trusts, widen the tax base through TDS on property transfers and anti avoidance measures, and defer and tighten the General Anti Avoidance Rule with an expert Approving Panel whose directions are binding.

Customs and excise duty revisions take immediate effect and expand advance ruling and non bailable offence thresholds.
Immediate tariff and procedural amendments for Customs and Central Excise take effect from midnight of 28 February/1 March 2013, with certain measures provisionally effective under the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1931. Annexes summarise chapter wise rate changes, reclassifications, exemptions and technical rectifications across Customs and Central Excise schedules, and the Finance Bill, 2013 proposes legislative amendments expanding the scope and eligibility of advance ruling, raising thresholds for non bailable and cognizable offences, capping Tribunal stay of recoveries, and introducing multiple procedural reforms including electronic manifest filing, reduced interest free periods, and provisional attachment and recovery powers.

Customs and excise duty changes under Finance Bill broaden advance ruling scope and impose procedural and enforcement reforms.
The circular implements Finance Bill, 2013 tariff and procedural changes effective from 28 February/1 March 2013 (with select measures provisional under the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1931), setting out chapter-wise Customs and Central Excise duty rate adjustments, tariff reclassifications, targeted exemptions and technical rectifications, plus procedural clarifications on baggage allowances, time-limits for consumption/installation, and concession continuations. It also summarises legislative amendments expanding advance ruling scope, raising thresholds and non-bailable offence categories, limiting Tribunal stay relief to 365 days, and other enforcement and electronic filing reforms.

Service tax amendments reshape negative list, narrow exemptions, reduce abatement and introduce a voluntary compliance settlement scheme.
Amendments expand negative list definitions and adjust assessment and penalty provisions: widening vocational-course and manufacturing-process definitions, deleting a limiting word to broaden agricultural testing exemptions, allowing determination of demand for an eighteen-month period when extended-period grounds fail, capping a specified penalty, introducing director-level penalties for willful offences, and restructuring cognizability and bailability of certain offences. Exemptions are narrowed and harmonised, abatement for construction services is reduced, advance ruling eligibility is extended to resident public limited companies, and a Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme (VCES) offers staged settlement with immunity subject to exclusions; key changes commence on enactment or specified effective dates.

Speed Remittance Procedure extended to FATF compliant exchange houses, permitting medical and hotel inward remittances through AD banks.
Extension of the Rupee Drawing Arrangements under the Speed Remittance Procedure to Exchange Houses in all FATF compliant jurisdictions, allowing AD Category I banks to receive inward remittances through those Exchange Houses. Permitted transactions are amended to include payments to Indian medical institutions for treatment of NRIs/their dependents and nationals of FATF compliant countries, and payments to hotels by nationals of FATF compliant countries and NRIs. Other earlier instructions remain unchanged and banks must notify constituents; directions are issued under the foreign exchange statute without prejudice to other legal approvals.