Companies Act schedule amendments circulated for implementation and acknowledgement by company registries.
Amendments to Schedule V and Schedule VI of the Companies Act, 1956 were notified by Gazette instruments and circulated by the Department of Company Affairs to Regional Directors and Registrars of Companies for information and necessary action, with a request for acknowledgement of receipt.

EPCG scheme import eligibility for service providers requires technical justification via Chartered Engineer Certificate to permit restricted item imports.
Service providers who require items such as carpets, crockery, marble and chandeliers may be granted imports under the EPCG Scheme; regional offices must follow Customs guidance when issuing licences. For items restricted under the Scheme, applicants must submit a Chartered Engineer Certificate in the prescribed annexed format certifying that the technical description, specification and quantities are correct and that the items are actually required for the EPCG application.

FOB value retained as primary basis for DEPB credit; market verification only on intelligence of over valuation.
FOB value shall generally be the basis for granting DEPB credit as recognised in export transactions. Market verification to determine Present Market Value (PMV) may be initiated only on specific intelligence or evidence of FOB inflation, sensitive destinations, or sub standard goods, and requires express written approval of the Commissioner of Customs. If investigation conclusively proves artificial inflation, DEPB entitlement will be calculated on PMV; verifications must not be routine and should be completed expeditiously to avoid trade harassment.

Evidence of import documentary acceptance extended to audited autonomous bodies; authorised dealers may accept auditor/CEO declaration.
Authorised dealers may accept either the Exchange Control copy of the Bill of Entry for home consumption or a certificate from the CEO or auditor confirming goods were imported for eligible importers; the facility, previously limited to listed companies meeting a net worth threshold and public sector entities, is extended to autonomous bodies and specified scientific/academic institutions whose accounts are audited by the statutory government auditor, provided a declaration from the auditor/CEO confirming such audit accompanies the documentary evidence.

Submission of soft copy of Cost Audit Reports must be on non rewritable media in prescribed two part formats to ensure uniformity.
Cost Auditors must submit the soft copy of Cost Audit Reports on a non rewritable CD ROM with two parts: Part I as a single file in PDF (Adobe Acrobat v4.0+) or Microsoft XLS format containing the full report and annexures, and Part II as an Excel worksheet reproducing Paras 4-28 of the Annexure in the prescribed format. The electronic submission must not disclose any identifying or location information of the unit or company. These format and anonymity requirements are effective immediately.

DEEC book logging: exporters urged to submit pending case lists for expedited customs action and DGFT coordination.
Delays in DEEC book logging have exposed exporters to DGFT penalties; exporters must submit lists of pending DEEC cases to the Joint Commissioner of Customs so Customs can expeditiously log the DEECs or communicate genuine reasons for further delay to DGFT.

Deduction of tax at source: revised undertaking and accountant certificate formats ensure correct withholding for remittances.
Remitters must furnish revised proforma undertakings accompanied by an accountant's certificate certifying the nature and amount of income, tax payable and tax paid; authorised dealers and the Reserve Bank shall obtain and forward these documents to the Assessing Officer. The new formats replace earlier proformas to ensure correct deduction of tax at source, require particulars and reasons for nil or lower withholding claims, and reiterate remitter liability for any shortfall with interest and penal consequences.

Foreign currency loans against FCNRB deposits restricted: prohibitions on relending, agricultural and real estate use apply.
Foreign currency loans in India granted against the security of FCNR(B) deposits to account holders are subject to the same prohibitions as rupee loans against NRE/FCNR deposits, including bans on relending, agricultural or plantation activities, and investment in the real estate business; authorised dealers must inform their constituents and the directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Excise duty recovery required for DTA sales under excluded policy provision; differential customs-equivalent duty must be collected.
Clearances into DTA of goods manufactured from wholly indigenous raw materials under Exim Policy paragraph 6.8(f) are not covered by the central excise notification permitting exemption; such clearances are liable to excise duty recoverable as an amount equivalent to customs duties on similar imports, and jurisdictions are directed to examine DTA sales under paragraph 6.8(f), recover any differential duty, and report details to the Board.

Export warehousing to Nepal: exporters may clear goods on payment of duty without interest when transactions are in Indian rupees.
Exports to Nepal from export warehouses may be allowed on payment of duty without interest when transactions are in Indian rupees and duty rebate is given to Nepal. Merchant exporters may clear goods directly from job-worker premises to export warehouses on the basis of the exporter's certificate, subject to procedural conditions prescribed by the Commissioner.

Foreign exchange remittance permissions expanded for miscellaneous current account transactions, allowing authorised dealers to permit specified cross border payments.
The Reserve Bank permits remittance of foreign exchange for specified miscellaneous current account purposes and directs authorised dealers to implement Annexure provisions superseding parts of the Exchange Control Manual. Authorised dealers may allow remittances without prior Reserve Bank approval for items such as travel passes, overseas hotel reservations, prepaid telephone card sale proceeds, overseas TV subscriptions and eligible advertisement charges, subject to conditions on commission, travellers' entitlements and beneficiary residence, and may facilitate foreign currency payments between export units and for centrally authorised project bids.

Resident Foreign Currency Account allows residents to hold non interest foreign currency balances for permitted current and capital transactions.
A Resident Foreign Currency (Domestic) Account may be opened, held and maintained with an Authorised Dealer in India from foreign exchange acquired as currency notes, bank notes and travellers cheques, including unspent travel foreign exchange, honoraria, gifts and payments from non residents visiting India. Debits are permitted for current account transactions under the Current Account Transactions Rules and for permissible capital account transactions; the account must be a non interest bearing Current Account and there is no ceiling on balances.

ADR/GDR/FCCB proceeds may be used to fund divestment subject to repatriation, approvals, and sectoral FDI limits.
Sponsored issues of ADRs/GDRs/FCCBs against existing shares are permitted for divestment, subject to compliance with depository receipt scheme rules and government guidelines; companies must offer the facility pari-passu, secure a special resolution, repatriate proceeds within one month, limit escrow retention to three months, treat tranches as separate transactions, furnish full particulars to the Exchange Control Department within 30 days, and obtain required approvals including FIPB clearance where foreign equity induction occurs.

TDS exemption on specified interest, rent and mutual fund income permits payments to exempt charitable institutions without deduction.
Payments of interest other than interest on securities, rent, and income in respect of units of specified mutual funds or the Unit Trust may be paid to the named Sri Sathya Sai charitable institutions without deduction of income-tax at source for the financial years 2002-03 and 2003-04.

Exemption from withholding tax allows interest on securities paid to exempt charitable trusts without TDS deduction.
Payments to Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Kolkata, whose income is exempt under section 10(23C)(iv), may be made without deduction of tax at source; interest on all securities covered by section 193 - including Central and State Government securities previously specified - may be paid to these assessees without TDS.

Registrar registration requirements: applicants must submit complete Form A with prescribed proformas and information to avoid delays.
Applicants for registration and renewal as Registrar to an Issue and/or Share Transfer Agent must submit Form A together with the detailed prescribed proformas and Additional Information Sheet for registration, and the Information Sheet for renewal for renewals, all as available on the regulator's website. Submitted information must be full and complete, failing which processing may be delayed; the streamlined procedure takes effect immediately.

Reconciliation procedure for government securities mandates monthly balance reconciliation and periodic compliance reporting by mutual funds.
Monthly reconciliation of Government Securities in SGL/CSGL accounts requires Public Debt Offices to issue monthly balance statements to mutual funds, which must reconcile those balances with their transaction records; the reconciliation must form part of internal audit with auditors reporting continuously to Audit Committees and Boards, mutual funds must submit quarterly compliance certificates to the monetary authority and report compliance in AMC quarterly and Trustees' half yearly reports.

Abeyance for Advance Licences: temporary acceptance of Customs acknowledgements instead of formal letters, subject to later reinstatement of procedures.
Abeyance on refusal orders against old Quantity Based and Value Based Advance Licences is allowed where exporters submit Customs acknowledgements proving DEEC books have been presented for logging; a one time abeyance is permitted for a limited period from that acknowledgement without requiring a formal Customs letter, after which the previous procedural requirements will be reinstated.

Foreign exchange release limit for private visits increased; prior Reserve Bank permission required for releases above the prescribed threshold.
The permissible release of foreign exchange for resident individuals on private visits abroad has been liberalised by raising the ceiling on releases without prior Reserve Bank permission; releases to Nepal and Bhutan remain excluded. Authorised Persons must submit applications for permission to release amounts exceeding the prescribed ceiling to the Reserve Bank's Regional Office through the Authorised Person channel, and must inform their constituents of the change. The circular is issued under the statutory powers in the foreign exchange law.

Forward cover for foreign institutional investors: FIIs may hedge full market value of equity holdings, subject to existing Schedule II terms.
Registered Foreign Institutional Investors are permitted to enter into forward contracts to hedge the market value of their entire equity investment as on a particular date, without reference to the earlier cut off or percentage limit; hedges that become partially or fully naked due to portfolio shrinkage may continue to original maturity if desired. Other Schedule II requirements remain unchanged and regulatory amendments will be notified separately under FEMA.