Code of Conduct for Investor Associations requires annual compliance, disclosure, governance standards and prohibition on promoting issuers.
The circular mandates a Code of Conduct for SEBI recognised Investor Associations requiring disclosure of objectives to members, adherence to honesty, integrity and fairness, adequate staffing and infrastructure, comprehensive record keeping backed by operation manuals, regular updating and dissemination of regulatory developments, and cooperation with SEBI. Governance limits include representation only by executive committee/governing board members and disqualification of persons against whom adverse Board orders have been passed. IAs must not promote issuers or act as agents and must submit an annual letter of compliance.

Transfer of used capital goods: SEZ units may receive DTA/STPI transfers subject to tax exemption limits and prescribed guidelines.
Transfers of used capital goods into SEZ units from STPI or other DTA sources are not prohibited by the SEZ Act or Rules; the main constraint is income tax treatment, whereby the SEZ unit cannot claim exemption if the value of transferred used goods exceeds 20% of total capital goods installed in a year. The Instruction reiterates detailed guidelines for transferring used/second hand capital goods from DTA, including from EOU/EHTP/STP/BTP units, and directs Development Commissioners to follow those guidelines or refer doubts to the Department of Commerce.

Suspension of Rule 47(3): abeyance applies to duty on sale of power from SEZ to DTA under customs change.
Operation of Rule 47(3) of the SEZ Rules, 2006 has been kept in abeyance with effect from the earlier notified date to implement the related customs notification, thereby suspending the rule's application to duty on sale of power from an SEZ to the DTA until further orders.

Bond condition for duty exemption: revised to require fulfilment of notification conditions before import and compliance with terms.
The prescribed bond form for Advance License and EPCG duty exemption is amended: Condition 1 now states that the obligor "fulfil[s] all the conditions of the said notification and shall observe and comply with all its terms and conditions," reflecting the requirement that importers meet notification conditions at the time of import under the zero-duty EPCG scheme. A Public Notice for trade and a Standing Order for staff should be issued, and implementation difficulties notified to the Board.

Energy conservation in SEZs mandates green building compliance, renewable integration, centralized treatment and periodic certification.
Energy conservation requirements for SEZs require the entire zone and individual buildings to adopt recognized green measures, applying the Energy Conservation Building Code where applicable and alternate rating programmes otherwise; mandate efficiency of envelope, HVAC and lighting, centralized metering and planning for district heating and cooling where appropriate; promote on-site renewable generation, organic waste power use, solar water heating and progressive solar/LED external lighting; impose rainwater harvesting, centralized tertiary sewage treatment and wastewater reuse; require waste segregation and industrial waste treatment; and mandate landscaping, transport measures, regional material sourcing and certification under Green SEZ guidelines with periodic recertification.

Special Economic Zones guidelines require comprehensive development plans and state approved master plans ensuring infrastructure and rehabilitation.
SEZ development is governed by applicable Land Acquisition Act procedures and the Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy, requiring promoters to prioritise non cultivable land and ensure resource adequacy. Developers must prepare a long term Development Plan with land use, sectoral infrastructure, phased investment programmes, and environmental safeguards. State Governments shall constitute Empowered Committees to approve and enforce master plans and may delegate building plan approvals to Zone Approval Committees. Developers must provide core infrastructure-connectivity, water, drainage, sewerage, power-housing for workers, training facilities, and prioritise space for Small Scale Units.

Exercise style flexibility allows exchanges to adopt European or American stock options, with uniform application and SEBI approval for changes.
Allows stock exchanges to adopt either European or American exercise styles for stock options, requiring that an exchange apply its chosen style uniformly to all eligible stocks and obtain SEBI approval before changing styles. Contract specifications and the risk management framework applicable to American style options apply to European style options unless SEBI approves modifications. Exchanges introducing European style options must implement systems and procedures, amend bye-laws and rules, and notify market participants and the public at least one month prior to implementation.

Inclusion of after-sale service and pre-delivery inspection charges in assessable value required under Section 4 of Central Excise Act.
The larger bench has held that pre-delivery inspection charges and after-sale service charges collected by dealers are to be included in the assessable value under Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944; cases held in the call book should be decided consistent with that legal position and prior Board guidance.

Validity of approvals under Section 10(23C) and Section 80G confirmed as one-time until withdrawn, removing renewal requirement.
Approvals under Section 10(23C)(iv) and (v) issued on or after 13.07.2006, under Section 10(23C)(vi) and (via) issued on or after 01.12.2006 pursuant to Rule 2CA, and approvals under Section 80G(5) issued on or after 01.10.2009 are to be treated as one-time approvals valid until withdrawn, removing the requirement for periodic renewal and subject to withdrawal where activities are not genuine or not in accordance with objects.

Minimum non promoter demat shareholding requirement: government holdings may be excluded and exchanges must amend rules.
For computing the minimum non promoter dematerialised shareholding obligation, government holdings in the non promoter category may be excluded; stock exchanges must implement systems, amend relevant bye laws rules and regulations, notify member brokers and report implementation status in Monthly Development Reports under the regulator's investor protection and market development powers.

Standard Input Output Norm amendment remains effective despite omission from published SION book; amended norm available online.
Amendment to Standard Input Output Norm H-158 for nylon filament knitted/knotted nets, made by Public Notice of 7 November 2008, was inadvertently omitted from the subsequently published SION Book; this omission does not rescind the amendment, which remains valid and available via the DGFT application filing software, and Regional Authorities are to take note.

Merger of mutual fund schemes not deemed change in fundamental attributes if conditions met and SEBI approvals obtained.
Merger of mutual fund schemes is not a change in the fundamental attributes of the surviving scheme if the surviving scheme's fundamental attributes remain unchanged and the mutual fund demonstrates that the merger is justified and that unitholders' interests are not adversely affected; board and trustee approvals are required, the proposal must be filed with SEBI, SEBI will communicate observations within the prescribed timeframe, and the letter to unitholders may be issued only after incorporation of SEBI's final observations and filing of final copies.

Automatic extension clause required in customs bank guarantees, mandating self-renewal for new and existing guarantees.
Customs requires bank guarantees to contain an automatic extension (self-renewal) clause; a model guarantee form is provided for new guarantees and banks must furnish similar extension clauses for existing guarantees to ensure conformity with the Reserve Bank's clarification.

Work allocation assigns appeals, administrative, objection hearing and enforcement responsibilities among department tax commissioners.
Order reallocates administrative, appellate and objection-hearing responsibilities among senior officers in the Department of Trade & Taxes, assigning zone-specific administration, monitoring, public relations, Export Import Cell oversight and Enforcement-II functions, and apportioning appeals and objections jurisdiction under the DST, CST and DVAT frameworks by specified pecuniary bands.

Export statement requirement under EPCG scheme mandates a standardized submission for bond and bank guarantee cancellation.
Under the EPCG scheme, exporters seeking cancellation of bond or bank guarantee must file a uniform export statement in addition to previously required documents. The statement must include items of import; export items under the licence; licence stipulated exports in foreign currency and in rupees; detailed export entries with shipping bill number and date, export item, country, FOB values in both currencies and totals; percentage of export obligation fulfilled; and average export performance figures.

Extension of filing deadline for VAT reconciliation and central declaration forms granted for 2009-10 quarterly submissions.
The Commissioner extended the filing deadline for the reconciliation return in Form DVAT-51 for all four quarters of 2009-10 to 15th November 2010, and likewise extended the time to furnish the original portion of Central Declaration Forms C, E I, E II, F, I, J and H for those quarters to the same date.

Extension of filing deadline for DVAT reconciliation and original central declaration forms allowing late compliance.
Extension of Time is ordered to permit delayed submission of the reconciliation return in Form DVAT-51 for the first quarter and to permit furnishing of the original portion of Central Declaration Forms C, E-I, E-II, F, I, J and H for the same quarter, invoking the relevant provisions of the Delhi Value Added Tax Rules and the Central Sales Tax rules to extend the statutory filing deadlines.

Special Leave Petition filings must be timely, complete, and accompanied by prescribed annexures to ensure departmental protection.
Submission and processing of Special Leave Petition proposals must meet procedural and temporal standards: proposals must reach the Directorate within 45 days with one legible set of annexures and an MS Word 2007 soft copy; late submissions must state reasons for delay. Common deficiencies include expired limitation, incomplete Proforma B, incorrect limitation computation, multiple or illegible annexures, missing soft copy, and absence of CCIT comments. Compliance requires parawise comments, petition copies and vakalatnama within three weeks of notice, prompt filing of counter-affidavits, and active follow-up by CITs to avoid costs or dismissal.

Monetary thresholds for departmental appeals limit filing to reduce government litigation and restrict precedent effect in indirect tax matters.
The Board directs that appeals shall not be filed by the Department in the appellate tribunal or in High Courts when the duty involved falls below prescribed monetary thresholds, with duty being decisive irrespective of associated penalties; exceptions require contesting adverse rulings on constitutional validity, illegal notifications or where audit objections are accepted. Commissioners must record non-appeal decisions as being due to monetary limits and create a database of such orders for monthly reporting and posting.

Monetary thresholds for appeals restrict departmental litigation and require recorded non-appeals and a central database.
Departmental appeals in indirect tax matters are limited by prescribed monetary thresholds: Tribunal appeals are barred where the duty involved falls at or below the lower threshold and High Court appeals are barred where the duty involved falls at or below the higher threshold, with the duty being the decisive element. Adverse decisions on constitutional validity, invalidation of notifications/instructions/orders/circulars, or accepted audit objections must be contested regardless of amount. When appeals are not filed solely due to monetary limits, Commissioners must record the non-appeal and such decisions are not departmental precedent; a database of such orders must be maintained and reported using prescribed proforma.