Unjust enrichment and limitation must be expressly addressed in refund orders, with CA certificates reconciled to accounts.
Orders disposing refund or rebate claims must expressly address unjust enrichment and statutory time-bar considerations and, if relief is granted, state the specific proviso under the applicable statute authorising the refund; when sanctioning refunds on a Chartered Accountant's certificate, the order must record whether the certificate reconciles with the Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Account and whether the amount has been received or is receivable.

Unjust enrichment and time bar requirements must be expressly addressed in refund and rebate orders, with CA certificate reconciliation.
Orders disposing refund or rebate claims must expressly address unjust enrichment and time bar limitations, specifying the proviso under which the refund is allowed when those clauses do not apply. Where refunds are based on a Chartered Accountant's certificate, the Order in Original must record whether the certificate conforms with the company's Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account for the relevant year and whether the claimed amount has been received or remains receivable.

Refund claims speaking order: require explicit findings on unjust enrichment and time-bar before sanctioning refunds.
Orders disposing refund and rebate claims must state reasoned findings on unjust enrichment and time-bar applicability, specify the proviso-based legal basis when refunds are granted, and, where reliance is placed on a Chartered Accountant's certificate, record its conformity with the Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account and whether the claimed amount is received or receivable.

Hazardous waste import rules allow DGFT-approved inspection certificates and SPCB-registered importers to import for actual users.
Amendments permit import of wastes in Part B Schedule III marked ** by actual users or by SPCB-registered importers acting for actual users, who must submit quarterly details of imports and actual users; Rule 16(5) now allows a DGFT-approved inspection and certification agency's pre-shipment inspection certificate as an alternative to an exporting-country laboratory test report, and consignments must be accompanied by Form 9 and satisfy other Hazardous Waste Rules conditions; Customs may clear consignments pending SPCB registration during a transitional period, coordinating with designated nodal officers.

Disposal of unclaimed export cargo: CFS to initiate auction, valuers determine reserve price; sale proceeds shared.
CFSs must identify unclaimed export goods not under seizure or hold, submit lists for no-hold confirmation, and dispose of such goods by Public Auction/E-auction/Tender. Custodians shall value goods through approved valuers, with a panel of three valuers to resolve doubts, and the valuers' assessed value will form the reserve price. Sale proceeds are to be shared between Custodians and Customs.

Refund scrutiny authorises ward VAT officers to examine selling suppliers and obtain information beyond territorial jurisdiction for refund processing.
Ward VATOs/AVATOs/VATIs are authorised, for refund processing only, to inspect dealers in any ward and to seek information under section 59(2) from selling parties irrespective of territorial jurisdiction to verify purchases supporting refund claims; ward VATOs bear primary responsibility to ensure refund claims are genuine and must upload and notify any adverse supplier information.

Compounding of customs offences: eligibility exclusions, disclosure-based scrutiny and payment prerequisites govern acceptance.
Guidelines establish the operative framework for compounding under the Customs Act, 1962 after amendment to Section 137(3), specifying exclusions from compounding, reinforcing the disclosure requirement (applications with contradictions, inconsistencies or incompleteness are not entertainable), mandating factual verification and payment of duty, penalty and interest before filing, limiting immunity to the applicant who fully discloses, applying a higher compounding amount where multiple offences on the same goods have equal evasion metrics, and directing early offer of compounding while preserving the Chief Commissioner's discretion.

Revision of transaction charges must preserve market integrity and risk controls while being applied uniformly and transparently.
Stock exchanges reducing or waiving transaction charges must ensure system capacity for additional load, maintain existing risk management, avoid favouring selective trades or investor categories, prevent artificial demand and market irregularities, and apply charges uniformly and transparently; exchanges must notify members and publish the measures online; issued under Section 11(1) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 to protect investors and regulate the securities market.

Duty free precious metal supply - Nominated agencies must bond imports, maintain segregated vaults and report exporter compliance.
Nominated agencies may import precious metal duty free for warehousing in licensed bonded vaults, subject to furnishing a bond (general or revolving) and, except where exempted, a bank guarantee tied to estimated monthly duty. Agencies must keep export designated stocks segregated, maintain exporter wise day to day accounts, submit consolidated monthly statements of releases and duty at the effective rate, and obtain exporter proof of export (shipping bill EP copy and bank realisation certificate). If proof is not produced within the prescribed period, the agency must deposit duty on unexported metal within seven days and report defaults to the Commissioner.

DEPB rate fixation updates export entitlements for agricultural tractors and revises polyester staple fibre value cap.
A new DEPB entry for Agricultural Tractor in CKD/SKD/CBU/SKID condition sets a DEPB rate of 4, and the existing DEPB entry for Polyester Staple Fibre is amended to a DEPB rate of 8 with a value cap of eighty currency units per kilogram; both measures are effected under the Foreign Trade Policy and Handbook of Procedures with immediate effect.

Reimbursement of secondary and higher education cess eligible for refund on excise duty in deemed exports, including prior claims.
Secondary and Higher Education Cess paid along with excise duty on supplies made under deemed exports is eligible for deemed export drawback and refund of terminal excise duty, subject to fulfillment of the requisite conditions; the communication extending refundability to this cess was clarificatory and applies to claims filed before that clarification.

Declaration of Customs Area enables ICD operations with custodian liabilities, transshipment bonds, and customs seal verification procedures.
Declaration of ICD Sanand as a Customs Area appoints M/s. The Thar Dry Port (HPCSL) as custodian and prescribes: transshipment and transport by road/rail to specified Gateway Ports; filing of sub-manifests, transshipment permits and bonds at Gateway Ports; Customs verification of seals and endorsement on arrival; discharge of carrier liability upon endorsed transshipment permits; custodian obligations to maintain registers, arrange de stuffing and surveys where seals are tampered, and bear liability for shortages/damages under bonded conditions.

Custodian IT infrastructure obligations: ensure secured connectivity and provisioned hardware to interface with customs datacenters via SFTP or MPLS.
Custodians of customs stations must provide and maintain required IT infrastructure-reliable Internet connectivity, computing hardware (Linux thin clients or specified PCs), servers, printers, LAN, UPS, generator backup, maintenance engineers, and office space-and ensure security measures including CBEC LAN isolation, OS hardening, antivirus updates, VPN configuration and signing a Non Disclosure Agreement. Connectivity options to CBEC datacenters include secure Internet SFTP with VPN or MPLS carrier networks; CBEC facilitates but custodians arrange connectivity. Costs for expansions or additional acquisitions are borne by custodians and coordination with Directorate General of Systems is required.

Spares procurement policy clarified for granite EOUs: cap applies only to quarry-removed spares; no cap for in unit capital goods.
Clarification explains that the five percent spares restriction applies only to quarrying equipments and spares removed to the quarry site; spares for capital goods used within the EOU for processing and manufacture of granite for export are not subject to that limit and may be procured without the five percent cap, as specified in the notifications' annexures.

Importer registration for cenvat credit: proposed rule amendment to validate invoices from registered importers and clarify credit eligibility.
Proposal to amend the CENVAT Credit Rules to expressly provide that an invoice issued by an importer registered with the Central Excise Officer is a valid document for availing CENVAT credit, clarifying that endorsement of bill of entry is not permissible and seeking views from trade, industry and field formations before taking a final decision.

Importer registration requirement for cenvat invoices proposed, affecting validity of importer-issued invoices for input credit.
Proposal to amend the CENVAT Credit Rules to specify that an invoice issued by an importer registered with the Central Excise Officer will be a valid document for availing CENVAT credit, noting endorsement of bill of entry is impermissible and that registration-numbered invoices are the basis for credit; stakeholder comments are invited before a final decision.

EPCG authorization compliance: submit only applicable declarations and delete non-applicable clauses to avoid deficiency notices.
Applicants for EPCG authorization must submit only those ANF5A declarations and undertakings applicable to their specific application, deleting or striking out non-applicable clauses; Chartered Engineers and Chartered Accountants must likewise delete non-applicable portions in their certificates or face deficiency notices.

Transaction value system for petroleum product valuation challenges deemed normal price approach; appeals should be pursued pending larger bench review.
Valuation under the transaction value system for SKO (PDS), LPG and similar goods from 1 July 2000 is contested; the Board directs transfer of pending cases to the call book, filing of appeals against decided orders, and thorough briefing of departmental representatives to argue that earlier circulars and decisions addressing the deemed-price regime do not apply to the present transaction-value framework. Appellate authorities should be notified that a larger-bench reference on the material departure between the transaction value concept and the earlier deemed-normal-price concept is pending and decisions may be held in abeyance.

First-time merchant exporter verification required; submission of specified documents enables clearance and prevents fraudulent exports.
Verification requirement for first-time merchant exporters at Kachchh ports: exporters or their Clearing Agents must submit at least three specified documents (VAT/Sales Tax registration or exemption certificate; bank certificate confirming satisfactory account maintenance; details of other bank accounts if the remittance account is under three months old; past export details; previous year balance sheet; or last Income Tax/VAT/Sales Tax Return). Customs House Agents must assist per licensing obligations. Export clearances are granted once any three documents are filed, as a preventive measure against misuse of IECs and illicit finance.

Importer verification requires first-time importers to submit registration, bank certification, payment proof, financial statements before clearance.
First-time importers through Kachchh ports must submit VAT/Sales Tax registration, a bank certificate of account and signatures, proof of payment via the importer's account, the previous year's balance sheet, and the latest income-tax or sales tax/VAT return to the Assessing Officer; CHAs must assist and the Addl./Jt. Commissioner may grant relaxations.