Input-output norms modification updates SION entries, adding and revising input lists and quantities under Annexures A-D.
The Director General of Foreign Trade, exercising powers under Paragraph 2.4 of the Export and Import Policy 2002-2007, issues a Public Notice substituting, deleting and adding Standard Input Output Norms in the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. II. The Notice supplies detailed replacement norms, alternative inputs, quantities and engineering table cross references in Annexure A, and adds new SION entries in Annexures B (A-3240-A-3256), C (C-1924-C-1927) and D (H-536), affecting Chemicals & Allied, Engineering, Plastics, Food and Textile product groups and modifying applicable General Notes and import conditions.

Duty drawback exclusion where input-stage relief has been claimed prevents simultaneous drawback; brand-rate letters must certify non availment.
Brand-rate fixation must exclude inputs for which input-stage duties have been relieved through alternative schemes such as Cenvat credit, rebate mechanisms, duty-free removal with approval, Advance Licence or DEPB exemptions; drawback may be allowed only where evidence shows no concurrent relief has been availed. Jurisdictional Central Excise authorities must issue brand-rate letters certifying non availment of other input-stage reliefs, and Customs will permit drawback only on the strength of those letters, except in limited situations expressly allowed (for example, CVD element under DFRC where Cenvat is not claimed).

Telegraphic Release Advice under DFCEC and EPCG schemes permits imports from notified ports subject to licence verification and importability checks.
Permits imports against Telegraphic Release Advice (TRA) under DFCEC for Status Holders, DFCEC for Service Providers, and the EPCG scheme from any place notified in Notifications Nos.53/2003, 54/2003 and 55/2003; TRA must be issued after the Custom House at the licence's port of registration verifies the genuineness of the certificate/licence and issues TRA on the basis of declared import value, and the port of import decides validity and importability under the Customs Act while recordkeeping and accountability for TRA use rests with the issuing Custom House authorities.

Movement of domestic courier bags on international flight domestic segments allowed under specified customs segregation and declaration safeguards.
Movement of domestic courier bags on domestic segments of international flights is permitted if the courier is registered with Customs, consignments are marked "DOMESTIC COURIER" and stowed separately on pallets and in marked domestic bins. A goods declaration stating bag and package counts and contents must be submitted at embarkation to the on-board courier or person-in-charge with a copy to the Escort Officer. At arrival the cargo manifest must be filed with the proper Customs officer by the person-in-charge or on-board courier, and the Escort Officer will hand the declaration copy to Customs for checks. On-board couriers may not carry courier bags as hand baggage.

Date of payment by cheque: treated as date of presentation for Central Excise and Service Tax, subject to realisation.
Specific provisions in the Central Excise and Service Tax rules override the general Government Accounts treatment: for Central Excise duty and Service Tax the date of payment by cheque is the date of presentation to the bank, subject to realisation, and therefore the general rule deeming payment upon cheque clearance does not apply to these taxes.

Consignment export of books: authorised dealers may approve extended realisation periods and permit abandonment of unsold stock.
Authorised dealers may approve export of books on consignment permitting extended realisation of export proceeds from the date of shipment; exporters may abandon unsold books at the expiry of the sale contract and show the value of unsold books as a deduction from export proceeds in the Account Sales. Authorised dealers should inform their constituents. Directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Service tax liability and compliance: provider liability, registration, payment, returns and input credit rules govern taxable services.
Service tax is an indirect levy on specified services charged on the value of taxable service, normally payable by the service provider but payable by the Indian recipient when the provider is non-resident or has no Indian establishment; services rendered within India are taxable while services consumed abroad are not. Registrants must obtain Central Excise registration (Form ST-1) within thirty days, pay tax through prescribed challans to designated banks by statutory due dates, file half-yearly returns (Form ST-3/ST-3A) or e-file where eligible, maintain documentary evidence for input tax credit under the Service Tax Credit Scheme, and follow notification-specific exemptions and appeal/refund procedures.

Monetary limits for central excise adjudication revised to standardise officer competence and cover CENVAT credit and valuation cases.
The Board prescribed uniform monetary limits for adjudication under Sections 11A and 33 of the Central Excise Act, 1944, applicable irrespective of fraud, collusion, wilful mis-statement, suppression, contravention with intent to evade duty, or extended period; classification, valuation and CENVAT credit cases are included. Show cause notices must be approved and signed by the competent adjudicating officer; orders should normally be passed by the authority before whom personal hearing was held. Previous inconsistent circulars are rescinded or modified and transfers and reporting for implementation are required.

Nominated Agency Scheme: Letters of credit for gold imports must be opened only by the nominated agencies, not by third parties.
Only designated nominated agencies and permitted banks may open Letters of Credit for import of gold under the Nominated Agency Scheme; other entities must not establish such Letters of Credit even if they furnish a letter of authority from a nominated agency, and Authorised Dealers must ensure LCs are opened only on behalf of the nominated agencies themselves.

Risk Disclosure Document mandate ensures clients receive and sign standardized risk disclosures before trading, creating broker obligations.
A mandatory model Risk Disclosure Document is prescribed for stock exchanges to adopt and require members to disclose to constituents and obtain signed acknowledgement. The RDD enumerates market risks-higher volatility, lower liquidity, wider spreads, order execution limitations, news and rumours impact, and system/network risks-and prescribes constituent obligations including KYC, broker client agreement, contract notes, settlement timelines, trade verification and grievance procedures, with claims against defaulters subject to the Investors' Protection Fund scheme.

Secondary market transparency for privately placed corporate debt: exchange trading limited to qualified institutional and high net worth investors.
Listed companies issuing debt on private placement must provide initial and continuing disclosures under Schedule II, SEBI disclosure guidelines and the listing agreement (with web-only disclosure permitted for securities in a standard denomination); obtain an investment grade rating from a SEBI-registered agency; appoint a SEBI-registered debenture trustee; issue and trade securities in demat form; sign a separate listing agreement; and ensure all non-spot trades occur on exchange platforms with trading restricted to qualified institutional investors and high networth individuals. Intermediaries associating with such issuances are accountable and must furnish periodic reports to SEBI.

Utilisation of AED (GSI) credit: reassessment and protective action directed to safeguard revenue after prior concession.
Direction addressing utilisation of AED (GSI) credit for payment of CENVAT duty: Board highlights instances where manufacturers availed AED (GSI) credit after 1.3.2003 for inputs received prior to 1.3.2003 though finished goods did not attract AED (GSI). Board has sought legal opinion and instructs field formations to take protective revenue measures notwithstanding earlier circulars, collect detailed commodity-wise information on such availment, and submit reports to headquarters in line with TRU guidance.

EPCG nexus fixation revised: regional offices finalize below threshold cases while headquarters handles above threshold applications.
Amendments revise EPCG procedural allocation: RLAs grant licences on self declaration and fix nexus for below threshold cases, while headquarters fixes nexus for above threshold applications; committees must finalize nexus within two months based on Chartered Engineer certificates and EPCG nexus norms, failure to do so renders the applied nexus final, and RLAs must maintain sector/industry registers. Appendix 9 now requires a Chartered Engineer certificate detailing end use or essentiality of imported machinery/spares and specific registration or manufacturing licences where applicable.

In principle approval for listing: issuers must obtain it from nationwide trading exchanges before issuing further shares or securities.
A listed company must obtain in-principle approval from exchanges with nationwide trading terminals before issuing further shares or securities; if not listed on any such exchange, it must obtain in-principle approval from all exchanges where it is listed. Stock exchanges are required to amend listing agreements, notify stakeholders, publish the change for investors and report implementation to the regulator.

Import restriction on second hand personal computers: treated as second hand goods and excluded from EPCG eligibility.
Second hand personal computers and laptops are classified as second hand goods under Para 2.17 of the EXIM Policy, 2002-07 and are not covered by the definition of capital goods in Para 9.10 or Para 2.33 of the Handbook of Procedures. Consequently they are subject to import restrictions for second hand goods and are ineligible for import under the EPCG scheme under Para 5.1, including for service providers.

Borrowing from close relatives abroad allowed subject to one year minimum maturity, interest free terms and normal banking receipt.
An individual resident may borrow from close relatives outside India subject to RBI permission up to the prescribed foreign currency ceiling, provided the loan has a minimum maturity of one year, is interest free, and the amount is received by inward remittance in free foreign exchange through normal banking channels or by debit to the non resident lender's NRE/FCNR(B) account; "close relative" follows the Companies Act definition.

Levy of interest absent statutory provision cannot be ordered; tribunal held interest cannot be imposed without enabling law.
The Tribunal held that it lacked power to award interest on customs demands in the absence of any statutory provision under the Customs Act authorising such levy, rejecting reliance on a Supreme Court order issued under extraordinary constitutional powers and emphasising that a statutory adjudicatory body's remedial powers cannot be extended beyond legislative authority.

Valuation cum-duty price: treat sale price as inclusive of excise duty; stay adjudications pending review decision.
Sale price for excise valuation is to be regarded as inclusive of excise duty, and the duty element must be excluded in determining excisable value per the cited Supreme Court rulings. Cases pending or remanded on this issue are to be kept pending until the Department's review petition is decided; adverse interim appellate decisions should be appealed. The Finance Act amendment deeming price cum duty to include duty is viewed by the Board as prospectively applicable only, so earlier cases are to be pursued under the law in force at the relevant time.

Selection for scrutiny: mandatory case categories and randomized sampling determine corporate assessees' tax audit selection under income tax instructions.
Procedure prescribes compulsory scrutiny categories-public sector undertakings and banks; cases with sustained appellate additions/disallowances; search and seizure cases; survey cases; information-driven cases from other agencies or credible departmental evidence of evasion; and high value international transactions. Additionally, companies are split into two paid up capital bands, alphabetised, and sampled at fixed intervals with higher sampling intensity for larger paid up capital companies and lower intensity for smaller ones.

Offshore derivative instrument reporting: registered FIIs must email prescribed reports and custodians must confirm compliance promptly.
Registered Foreign Institutional Investors issuing Offshore Derivative Instruments must submit periodic reports by email to the designated address only, using a subject line that identifies FII name, registration number and reporting period. FIIs not issuing ODIs must file a Nil-Report by declaration without Annexure B. Custodians must inform FII clients of these obligations and provide compliance confirmation by the stated deadline; prior contact addresses are superseded and the circular is available on the regulator's website.