Jurisdictional reallocation of agarbattis shifts export council oversight to EPCH under Foreign Trade Policy amendment.
The product Agarbattis is removed from the jurisdiction of Basic Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals & Cosmetics Export Promotion Council (CHEMEXCIL) and allocated to the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) in Appendix 2 of the Handbook of Procedures Vol. I, by an amendment made under paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-2014 and issued by the Director General of Foreign Trade.

Standard Input Output Norms amendment substitutes import item descriptions, updating SION entries C1708 and C1789.
Director General issues amendments to the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. II, substituting import item descriptions: for SION Entry C-1708, item no. 6 is replaced with "Plywood / Pine Lumber / FIR Lumber"; for SION Entry C-1789, item no. 1 is replaced with "Relevant Woven Wire Cloth in SS 316L / SS 904L".

Refund limitation on foreign agent commission clarified: refundable service tax capped by FOB-based exemption; commission ceiling remains unchanged.
Refund of service tax on foreign agent commission is limited by an exemption cap tied to the free on board (FOB) value of export goods: the refundable amount of service tax is restricted to the portion of tax attributable to the allowable percentage of FOB for which the foreign agent service was used. Until further notification, the maximum allowable foreign agency commission for refund computations remains at the pre-budget ceiling of ten percent of FOB.

Location code allocation for service tax groups requires assessees to use new codes on GAR Challan for ACES processing.
Assignment of specific location codes to six Service Tax Groups under the Hyderabad Commissionerate replaces the previous common code to facilitate ACES workflow automation, with a detailed list of Group-wise new codes and their respective taxable service categories. Registered assessees are required to mention the assigned Group location code on the GAR Challan when making Service Tax payments to ensure correct allocation and processing.

Post-shipment amendment procedure under Customs Act requires documentary justification and internal scrutiny; major changes need senior approval.
Requests for post-shipment amendments under Section 149 must be filed by the CHA/exporter with certified supporting documents and justification to the TA/STA at the CFS; after preliminary scrutiny and completion of documents, the Superintendent examines the amendment against SO 34/2008 and forwards comments to AC/DC(X). Major amendments affecting quantity/value, party names, duty rate/schedule, or licence number require prior ADC/JC approval before issuance of any amendment certificate, and files are to be examined and disposed of within the prescribed time frame.

Export limit for edible oil: branded-pack exemption stopped to prevent breach of the authorised quantitative cap.
Export of edible oil in branded consumer packs of up to 5 Kg was permitted subject to a quantitative limit of 10,000 MT; with exports approaching that cap, authorities are instructed to stop further shipments under the exemption forthwith, ensure no exports beyond the 10,000 MT limit from any ports, and submit a final compliance report to the Directorate.

Quality control for pneumatic tyres requires BIS certification and Standard Mark for manufacture, import or sale, with inspection powers.
All pneumatic tyres and tubes for automotive vehicles must conform to the Specified Standard and bear the Standard Mark of the Bureau of Indian Standards; manufacturers must obtain a BIS licence before commencing production and notify licence expiry or cancellation. Specified exemptions (exports, OEM imports for fitment, CBUs with self-declaration, R&D, and reviewed replacement-market imports) are provided. The Appropriate Authority may require information, inspect, draw samples for testing in approved laboratories, and issue directions which manufacturers, dealers and importers must comply with.

Suspicious Transaction Reporting requirement: authorised persons must file STRs for suspicious money changing transactions within prescribed timeframe.
Authorised persons engaged in money changing are classed as Financial Institutions under the PMLA and must furnish Suspicious Transaction Reports to FIU IND in prescribed formats for transactions or attempted transactions that give rise to reasonable grounds of suspicion; this reporting duty extends to franchisees, with franchisers responsible for ensuring compliance.

Inter CFS transfer procedures for export goods require prior approval, customs examination, identification, supervised loading and customs escort.
Inter CFS transfer of export goods where LEO has not been given requires a written request by the exporter/CHA to the AC/X of the transferring CFS with reasons and prior written approval from the receiving CFS AC/X; the AC/X will examine and permit transfers if satisfied. The custodian must identify consignments before loading, loading/unloading occurs under customs supervision, movement is under customs escort with payment of applicable MOT charges, and requests must be made sufficiently prior to the shipping cut off to allow customs examination.

Avoiding harassment during passenger searches: procedural safeguards, voluntary statements, swift authorizations, and welfare provisions required.
Units may act on scanner or other information to enquire or intercept air passengers for action under section 132, either before departure or by relaying information to destination units to intercept on arrival. Statements must be recorded in a language the passenger understands, read back and signed voluntarily, with oath procedures followed. Investigating Directors may obtain telephonic administrative approval but may issue a warrant of authorization on statutory powers without delay. Seizures of bullion or jewellery require approved valuers available at short notice, and passengers must be afforded basic welfare and medical assistance.

Prior Delegated Authority Review required - BoA will only consider authorized operation requests certified by DCs.
Requests for authorized operations must be made first to the concerned Development Commissioner, who shall consider and dispose of them within a timebound period; only requests certified by the DC as outside delegated authority, with specific comments, shall be referred to the Board of Approval, and the BoA will not consider requests lacking such DC certification.

EPCG authorization eligibility expanded to permit applications from branch offices and manufacturing units to regional authorities.
EPCG authorization applications may be submitted by a Regional Office, Head Office, Branch Office, or Manufacturing Unit of an eligible exporter to the concerned Regional Authority. Paras 4.2 and 4.3 of HBP Vol.-1 apply mutatis mutandis to the EPCG scheme, so the same conditions and procedural checks in those provisions govern issuance of EPCG authorizations when applications are made by such offices or units.

Indian Customs EDI System (ICES 1.5) at ICD Maliwada enables electronic filing and processing of export shipping bills.
ICES 1.5 at ICD Maliwada enables centralized electronic filing and automated processing of export Shipping Bills; requires prior registration of IE codes, CHAs, shipping agents and bank accounts (including for drawback credit), and use of prescribed exchange, currency, country, unit and exim scheme codes; initial filing limited to duty free white Shipping Bills and EGMs.

SION amendment corrects import item description permitting Sodium Dithionite imports linked to finished leather export norms.
Amendment corrects the Standard Input Output Norms (SION) entry G-7 in the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. II by rectifying a spelling mistake in import item S.No.20. The Public Notice updates Annexure A to record the import description as Sodium Dithionite (Hydrose) and specifies the allowed import quantity corresponding to the export item Finished Leather from Hide of Cow/Buffalo.

Expiry date flexibility for equity derivatives permitted; exchanges must preserve contract specifications and risk management safeguards.
SEBI permits stock exchanges to set the expiry date/day for equity derivative contracts provided there is no change to contract specifications, no alteration of the risk management framework, and that market integrity and investor protection are maintained when exercising this flexibility.

Mutual fund transactions through stock exchange infrastructure expand distribution via empanelled brokers subject to certification and conduct rules.
Mutual fund units may be transacted through registered stock brokers on recognized exchanges; such brokers must pass AMFI certification and comply with SEBI intermediary conduct requirements to be treated as empanelled distributors, with stock exchanges providing operating guidelines, time-stamping confirmations deemed sufficient for specified acceptance requirements, and exchanges monitoring the code of conduct.

Special Economic Zone development guidelines require compliance with land acquisition norms and comprehensive long term master planning.
Guidelines require promoters of Special Economic Zones to comply with land acquisition and resettlement norms, prioritise non-cultivable land, and prepare a 20-25 year Development Plan divided into five-year action plans addressing site analysis, land use, sectoral infrastructure, transport linkages, environmental safeguards, energy conservation and phased investment backed implementation. State Governments may constitute Empowered Committees for regulated areas, delegate building approvals to the Zone Approval Committee, and are expected to provide time-bound master plan approvals while developers provide comprehensive internal infrastructure and community facilities.

Drawback claims liquidation: exporters must reply to pending EDI queries by deadline for merit processing subject to BRC or supplementary claim rights.
Drawback claims pending due to unanswered EDI queries must be addressed by exporters using service centre printouts, the Drawback Help Desk, or the e-mail/internet facility; a circulated list identifies pending queries. Exporters with shipping bills under "Query raised" before 30-06-2008 must submit replies by 31-12-2009 for merit processing subject to production of Bank Realisation Certificate, or else the claim will be processed at zero drawback while preserving the right to file a supplementary claim within six months.

NFE calculation must be in rupee terms; negative balances from forex fluctuation may be considered with bank certification.
Calculation of Net Foreign Exchange (NFE) under Rule 53 of the SEZ Rules, 2006 must be done in rupee terms. If a unit is NFE negative and attributes it to foreign exchange fluctuation, the Approval Committee may consider the case provided the unit submits computations certified by an Authorised Bank.

EPCG redemption: Foreign exchange to be counted under FTP Chapter Five; Circular 25 is inapplicable to EPCG authorizations.
Circular No. 25 (SFIS) is not applicable to the EPCG Scheme; EPCG authorizations are to be issued and redeemed under Chapter Five of the FTP and HBP Vol. I, and Regional Authorities must not apply the SFIS circular when counting foreign exchange earnings for EPCG redemption.