International credit cards for NRIs/PIOs may be issued without prior approval if charges are paid from permitted NRE/FCNR funds.
Authorised dealers may issue international credit cards to NRIs/PIOs without prior Reserve Bank approval provided all charges on card use are settled only from inward remittances or from balances in the cardholder's NRE or FCNR accounts, and authorised dealers must inform their constituents and ensure compliance with this funding restriction.

Repatriation of NCD redemption proceeds permitted without prior central bank approval when original approval conditions are met.
Companies that issued NCDs/PCDs to NRIs/OCBs on a repatriation basis no longer require prior Reserve Bank permission to remit redemption proceeds, provided they have complied with all other conditions stipulated in their original approval letters and the issuance aligns with the general permission for rupee borrowings by way of NCDs under the FEMA framework.

FCNR(B) fund investment allowed in overseas long term fixed income securities subject to specified high credit ratings.
Authorised dealers may invest undeployed FCNR(B) funds in overseas long term fixed income securities provided those instruments carry at least AA by Standard & Poor's, Aa3 by Moody's or AA by Fitch IBCA; all other instructions of A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No.40 dated April 29, 2002 remain unchanged. The direction is issued under Section 10(4) and Section 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and conditions such overseas deployment on compliance with the prescribed rating requirements and existing RBI procedures.

Mutual Agreement Procedure secures treaty-based relief and requires taxpayer acceptance and withdrawal of related appeals for implementation.
The Mutual Agreement Procedure permits a taxpayer to request resolution from the Competent Authority when a tax action is believed inconsistent with treaty terms; Section 90 gives treaty provisions precedence where more beneficial. Once the Competent Authority communicates a MAP decision to the Chief Commissioner/Director General, the decision is to be treated as part of the applicable treaty for that case. Assessing Officers must give effect to MAP outcomes according to the assessment or appeal stage, obtain the assessee's written undertaking to accept the decision and withdraw related appeals, and record MAP facts in orders passed under section 143(3) read with section 90(2) and the relevant treaty Article.

Mandatory admission of debt instruments on both depositories required, ensuring dual depository registration for all issuances effective immediately.
Debt instruments issued by companies must be admitted on both recognized depositories rather than on a single depository; issuers and custodial participants are required to arrange dual admission to standardise dematerialisation, custody and settlement across market infrastructure participants as decided following the Working Group on Dematerialisation.

Protective demands prohibition where audit objections conflict with board instructions; refer such matters to PAC for resolution.
Field formations must not raise protective demands on the basis of CERA objections that are contrary to existing Board instructions or circulars; instead, such matters should be immediately referred to the PAC section of the Board for resolution with the C&AG rather than issuing demand-cum-show cause notices.

Third party export recognition under EDI shipping bill permits corroborated proofs and ECGC payments to count for export benefits.
Third party exports under the EDI shipping bill are acceptable upon production of Customs authenticated corroborative evidence (e.g., ARE 1 with Customs verification). Exports whose payment is realised through ECGC cover qualify for benefits under para 2.25.3 of the Handbook of Procedures, including cases prior to 01.04.2002. Branch offices may apply for all licence categories with an authority letter or NOC from the registered/head office. Where SIL surrender was mandated, regularisation may be effected by payment equal to 1% of the SIL value into the designated Central Bank account.

Drawback under Section 74 clarified: re-export need not be to same supplier or from same port if conditions met.
Drawback of customs duties on re-exported goods is allowed where the statutory conditions, the Re export of Imported Goods (Drawback of Customs Duties) Rules, 1995, and relevant notifications are met; neither the statute nor the Rules or notifications require re-export to the original supplier or through the same port, and drawback should be granted on merits with appropriate public guidance and standing orders for customs officers.

Resident Foreign Currency Account allows residents to hold foreign currency for authorised current and capital account transactions under FEMA rules.
Residents may open a Resident Foreign Currency (Domestic) Account with Authorised Dealers using foreign currency notes, bank notes and travellers cheques from prescribed personal sources; the account is a non interest bearing current account with cheque facility, unlimited balance, and debits allowed for authorised current and capital account transactions under existing foreign exchange regulations. Authorised Dealers must follow normal account opening and KYC procedures and may forward requests to the Reserve Bank's regional offices pending formal notification.

Repatriation of sale proceeds: NRIs and PIOs may remit proceeds without a holding-period restriction, subject to original foreign exchange limits.
Removal of the lock-in period permits Non-Resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin to remit sale proceeds of Indian immovable property without any minimum holding period, excluding agricultural land/farmhouse/plantation property, provided repatriation does not exceed the foreign exchange originally brought to acquire the property.

EEFC account repayment permitted for packing credit advances, subject to export realisation compliance and FEMA requirements.
The Reserve Bank permits exporters to repay packing credit and pre shipment credit advances, whether in rupee or foreign currency, from balances in their Exchange Earners' Foreign Currency (EEFC) Account to the extent exports have been realised; authorised dealers may allow such repayments but must ensure compliance with exchange control requirements governing export realisation and notify their constituents accordingly.

Time-bound arbitration limits adjournments and extensions, requiring awards within a capped maximum period after reference.
Adjournments are permitted only in exceptional cases for bonafide reasons recorded in writing. The arbitral tribunal shall normally make the award within three months from the date of entering upon the reference; the Managing Director or relevant authority may grant up to three extensions on application, but notwithstanding such extensions the award must be passed within six months from the date of entering the reference. The tribunal is deemed to have entered upon the reference on the date of its first hearing. Exchanges should incorporate these clauses into their arbitration bye-laws.

Account closure charges removed for beneficial owner accounts, while transaction charges remain payable under depository rules.
No account closure fees shall be levied on the termination of beneficial owner accounts with depositories and custodians, while ordinary transaction charges remain collectible; depositories, stock exchanges and custodians must implement this instruction prospectively as specified by the regulator and adjust account-management practices accordingly.

Extension of time for replenishment granted so exporters can obtain precious metal replenishment for exports made before 2002.
The Director General of Foreign Trade authorised an extension of the time limit to obtain replenishment of gold, silver and platinum from nominated agencies for exports effected on or before 31 March 2002 that had been eligible under the earlier Exim Policy provision; the extension responds to exporters who missed the earlier transitional deadline due to belief that applications awaited realization of export proceeds, and permits them to procure replenishment within the newly specified period.

Inter unit transfer of duty free capital and manufactured goods permitted between export units, subject to prior permission for capital goods.
The Exim Policy permits duty-free transfer of manufactured goods between EOU/EPZ/EHTP/STP/SEZ units and allows transfer or loan of capital goods between such units with prior permission of the concerned Development Commissioner or Customs authorities; administrative reliance is authorised pending amendment of the implementing customs notification and a public notice is to be issued.

MRP valuation rules clarify scored-out labels are ignored and multi-pack valuation uses pack or aggregate MRPs.
Section 4A valuation: a scored-out MRP is ignored. For multi-piece packages, if individual items are marked not to be sold separately or are inseparably packed, use the multi-pack MRP; if items can be sold separately and display MRPs, use the aggregate of individual MRPs. If item MRPs are scored out or a free item lacks an MRP, use the multi-pack MRP. The circular references multi-piece package definitions and packaging declaration requirements.

Sports requisites exemption confirmed for materials used to lay synthetic tracks and indoor wooden flooring, allowing duty relief.
Materials imported for laying synthetic athletic tracks and wooden flooring systems for indoor stadia qualify for the sports requisites exemption under notification No.146/94-Cus rather than the scheme-specific provisions of notification No.21/2002-Cus. The Board held that synthetic tracks and artificial surfaces are essential for playing sports and therefore are sports requisites, and the materials required to lay them are either requisites or consumables related to sports requisites; the exemption provision is broad and should not be narrowly construed. Customs formations are to apply this position and decide pending cases.

Duty-free import eligibility for reusable plastic containers requires re-export within prescribed period and identity documentation.
Reusable plastic trays qualify as durable containers eligible for duty exemption if re-exported within the prescribed period and documentary evidence is furnished to the satisfaction of the Assistant Commissioner. To address identification challenges, importers must declare colour, dimensions, weight and any engraved identification number for each tray type, may provide attested photographs at their expense, and consignments may be inspected at random; identity at export may be verified using these parameters with a permissible variation threshold.

Service fees for mutual funds revised under amendment regulations, introducing a tiered fee structure and related schedule changes.
The amendment substitutes a new clause in the Second Schedule establishing a tiered service fee structure payable by mutual funds linked to net assets as on 31st March and makes the revised structure effective from the financial year 2003-2004; it renumbers certain clauses in the Eighth Schedule, notes that separate enquiry-and-penalty procedure regulations have been notified and appends a footnote listing prior amendments to the principal Mutual Funds Regulations.

Amendment to Schedule XIII notified; compliance for companies in special economic zones and IEPF committee changes forwarded.
The Department of Company Affairs forwards two Gazette notifications for action: an amendment to Schedule XIII of the Companies Act, 1956 concerning companies in Special Economic Zones, and an amendment to the committee that administers the Investor Education and Protection Fund, directing Regional Directors and Registrars of Companies to note the changes and acknowledge receipt.