External Commercial Borrowings by SIDBI allowed for on lending to MSMEs, requiring hedging and route based approvals.
SIDBI is authorised to avail External Commercial Borrowings for on lending to the MSME sector, with on lending permitted in INR or foreign currency; INR on lending requires full hedging of foreign currency risk by SIDBI, while foreign currency on lending is limited to beneficiaries with a natural hedge. ECB for on lending up to fifty per cent of SIDBI's owned funds is under the automatic route, amounts beyond that require approval and are subject to an annual ceiling. Proceeds must be used only for permissible end uses and other ECB conditions remain applicable.

Service Delivery Excellence model ensures standardized citizen-facing service norms and centralized single-window submissions with acknowledgements.
The SEVOTTAM model establishes a centralized "Single Window" receipt and disposal mechanism for written communications with immediate counter acknowledgement issuing a unique diary number and deadlines for postal acknowledgements. It sets explicit Citizen's Charter service norms-timelines for acknowledgements, decisions, registrations, refund and drawback disposals, export/import clearances, document release, audit notices and grievance handling-and provides feedback channels and designated grievance officers to ensure accountability and continuous service improvement.

Examination of company balance sheets: registrars scrutinize specified filings and may initiate inspections or prosecutions.
Registrars of Companies make annual balance sheet filings publicly available but do not verify every filing; companies and their officers remain liable for inaccurate filings. RoCs routinely scrutinize filings where there are complaints, public fundraising, auditor qualifications, defaults on matured deposits and debentures, or regulatory references alleging violations. Upon scrutiny RoCs obtain explanations and may initiate inspections, investigations and prosecutions as warranted.

Appointment of Cost Auditor: companies must issue appointment letters and auditors must notify government promptly under revised filing procedures.
Companies must issue a formal letter of appointment to the cost auditor within thirty days of Central Government approval of Form 23C, and the appointed cost auditor must notify the Central Government in Form 23D within thirty days of that letter. Auditor changes due to death may be regularised by filing a fresh Form 23C within ninety days without additional fee; other changes require fresh Form 23C with applicable fees, reasons and supporting documents such as resignation letters or a Board approved rotation policy.

Verification of uploaded arrear demands required before refund adjustment; CCITs must certify within prescribed timeframe and report compliance.
Assessing officers must verify and certify arrear demands uploaded to the CPC Portal before those demands are adjusted against refunds claimed in e returns; the cases have been listed on I Taxnet for review. CCITs must monitor this verification, ensure certification within a short prescribed period, and send compliance reports to respective Zonal Members of the CBDT with a copy to the Chief Commissioner (CPC) Bangalore at the designated e mail address.

Cost auditors must file Form 23D for approved Form 23C promptly or risk disciplinary and professional sanctions.
Companies must e-file appointment applications in Form 23C and, after Central Government approval and issuance of the formal letter of appointment, the appointed cost auditor must inform the Central Government in Form 23D within thirty days. The Ministry directed defaulting cost auditors to file all overdue Form 23D filings by the specified final date or face referral to the Institute for initiation of disciplinary proceedings; companies failing to issue appointment letters within fifteen days would be liable under the companies law provisions.

Service Tax return ST-3 updated for April-June 2012; available offline and filing extended to 25 November 2012.
Modified Service Tax Return (ST-3) for April-June 2012 is available in an offline upload utility with view/print online for submission. The April-September 2012 cycle is split because the Negative List took effect 1 July 2012; this ST-3 covers only April-June 2012. The filing due date for April-June ST-3 has been extended to 25 November 2012, and past half yearly ST-3s up to March 2012 can be filed offline or online. Certified Facilitation Centres and help resources are available to assist filers.

Service tax return filing extension allows use of a modified offline return utility and urges early submission.
The Board authorised an extension of the filing date and released a modified offline-only Form ST-3 for the April-June 2012 quarter to mitigate ACES congestion; this ST-3 covers the pre-Negative List period and is available for download with online view/print. Half-yearly returns up to March 2012 may still be filed offline or online. Assessees are urged to file early and may use Certified Facilitation Centres and ACES help resources for assistance; further guidance will follow for the July-September filing period.

Extension of return filing deadline: modified ST 3 offline utility released to ease ACES filing during transition to negative list regime.
The Central Board extended the ST 3 filing deadline for the April-June 2012 quarter and released a modified ST 3 offline utility on ACES to avoid network congestion; this ST 3 covers the period before the Negative List implementation, while past half yearly returns up to March 2012 remain filable via offline and online versions, and assessees are advised to file early and may use Certified Facilitation Centres for assistance.

Dematerialisation eligibility enables shift from trade for trade to rolling settlement if demat threshold and no continuation grounds met.
Securities of companies with connectivity to both depositories may be shifted from Trade for Trade Settlement to Rolling Settlement if at least half of non promoter holdings are in dematerialised form, evidenced by a certificate from the Registrar and Transfer Agent or, where no separate RTA exists, from a practicing company secretary or chartered accountant, and provided there are no other grounds for continuation of Trade for Trade Settlement; exchanges must report actions taken in development reports.

Single and centralized service tax registration requires signed ST-1, PAN, address proof, MOA/partnership deed, and POA.
Applications for single registration require a printed, signed ST-1 form, a copy of the assessee's PAN, proof of address for the premises sought to be registered (such as property tax receipts, sale deed, lease/license, rent receipts, or NOC with ownership/tenancy evidence), and, if applicable, the Memorandum of Association/partnership deed and a power of attorney or board resolution authorizing the signatory.

Mandatory declaration of material specifications: importers must state grade, thickness and core loss to secure correct customs assessment.
Importers and CHAs must declare clearly the grade, thickness and maximum core loss (or the applicable nomenclature) and use standard units in the bill of entry for Prime CRGO sheets, because classification and valuation vary with these technical parameters. Appraising Groups and Import Docks shall verify these particulars; incomplete declarations may require testing of coils, delay assessment, and amendments arising from non-compliance will attract statutory penalties. The notice includes an illustrative table of common grades and warns that poor data quality compromises assessment consistency and national import statistics.

Duty credit scrip verification requires online issuance confirmation before licence registration; manual scrips need regional written confirmation.
AO/Supdt must retrieve and cross-check duty credit scrip issuance particulars on the DGFT regional website and, if scrip details are not available online (such as manually issued scrips), obtain written confirmation from the concerned Regional Licensing Authority before registering licences. Bulletin or signature verification is required only for licences not transmitted online (Chapter 3 schemes); the Joint Director will provide Bulletins and specimen signatures to the Air Cargo Complex, and the Clerk/Tax Assistant must endorse verification on the licence with the Appraiser countersigning.

Service tax returns: filing date for April-June 2012 ST 3 extended to 25 November; offline ST 3 available.
The due date for filing Form ST 3 for 1 April-30 June 2012 is extended to 25 November 2012 to avoid ACES related filing congestion. A modified ST 3 for April-June 2012 is available only as an offline ACES utility with online view/print; this return covers the period prior to the implementation of the Negative List (1 July 2012). Returns for July-September 2012 will be announced separately. Past half yearly ST 3 returns up to March 2012 can be filed offline or online. Certified Facilitation Centres are available for assistance.

Delegation of Financial Powers allows Chief Commissioners to approve original office works funded by specific grants without central vetting.
Chief Commissioners of CBEC and CBDT are authorized to give administrative approval and expenditure sanction for Original Works for Office Accommodation up to Rupees One Crore when funds are provided under MoUD/CPWD grants without IFU vetting, subject to prescribed norms and the standard checklist issued by IFU/HRD; Chief Commissioners must certify personal satisfaction with the proposal against the checklist and enclose a copy of the sanction order to the respective Boards.

Change of name in BO account allowed with prescribed proof; DPs must verify, retain records and maintain an audit trail.
Change of name in an individual Beneficial Owner account is allowed subject to prescribed documents: for marriage, a marriage certificate, passport showing spouse's name, or official gazette publication; for other name changes and change of father's name, publication in the official gazette. Depository Participants must collect self attested copies, verify them against originals, and retain the copies. Depositories must implement the provisions within three months, maintain an audit trail of name changes, amend relevant bye laws and operating instructions, and notify DPs and publish the circular on their websites.

Online IEC application requirements: ensure clear scans, office details, bank certificate attestation and complete ANF form Part D.
Directive prescribing corrective actions for recurring deficiencies in online IEC applications: ensure passport-size photographs and PAN images are of adequate size and clarity; bank certificates must be clearly scanned, show the bank manager's signature and code, and the bank address must be entered in the ANF; the registered office in the application must match the bank certificate; applicants must preview uploads. Applicants must submit the complete ANF including Part D, tick non-resident interest where applicable and provide required regulatory approval details, include a self-addressed stamped envelope, and file at the correct Regional Authority.

Warehousing date for interest calculation must be entered in ICES for ex-bond bills before filing; scrip-paid duty requires manual calculation.
ICES 1.5 now calculates warehousing interest under Section 61 for ex-bond Bills of Entry when duty is paid in cash, effective 16.10.2012, and requires entry of the warehousing date in the SUP or SUX roles before filing; duties paid by reward scrips must be calculated manually. Warehousing date is the relevant date for the interest-free period, and an annexed Certificate of Warehousing must be produced to evidence the date of deposit for goods removed to bonded warehouses.

Service tax on foreign remittances clarified: remitted amounts and associated overseas fees are not subject to service tax.
The notice clarifies that amounts of foreign currency remitted to India are not subject to service tax because transactions in money are excluded from the definition of service; fees or conversion charges by overseas remitters or remittance operators are not taxable as those services are deemed provided outside India under the Place of Provision of Services Rules, and an Indian receiving bank charging a foreign recipient is likewise not liable because the place of provision is the recipient's location under rule 3.

Service tax on rent: landlords must pay tax on rent from government office tenants where no exemption applies.
Landlords or property owners are liable to pay service tax on rent received for buildings rented to Central, State or local government departments for office purposes from 1 July 2012, because the negative-list framework and the related exemption notification do not exempt such rental services, making these receipts taxable.