Decentralisation of customs audit shifts assessment audits to local commissionerates where EDI and risk tools permit, requiring compliance reporting.
Audit of assessments arising from clearances at minor ports and foreign post offices shall be conducted within the local Commissionerate rather than being sent to major Customs Houses. This decentralisation reflects departmental restructuring and technological advances such as Electronic Data Interchange and Risk Management System; where EDI enables concurrent/post-audit at a Customs House, outstation submission of Bills of Entry is unnecessary. Commissioners must make arrangements for in house audit, Chief Commissioners must issue Standing Orders and report compliance to the Board, and the prior Board instruction is rescinded.

Prior approval for resuming stock exchange trading required; exchanges must establish adequate systems and obtain regulatory clearance.
Exchanges inactive for six months or more must obtain prior SEBI approval and ensure adequate trading systems, clearing and settlement arrangements, monitoring and surveillance, risk management systems, and compliance with regulatory requirements before resuming trading; they must also complete the Annual Systems Audit within sixty days of trading commencement. Exchanges inactive for less than six months must ensure regulatory compliance, board review, and report to SEBI in development reports prior to resumption.

Authorized signatory documentation clarified; affidavit allowed as alternate address verification when branches are limited.
The corrigendum requires a power of attorney or board resolution evidencing the authorized signatory's name and address, and permits an affidavit certifying the correctness of addresses listed in column five of the ST-1 as an alternative to full address proofs where the number of branches is fewer than ten, or alternatively allows submission of the standard address proofs.

Duty-paid packing material permitted into export warehouses with permission, subject to recordkeeping and prohibition on rebate claims.
Duty-paid packing material may be permitted into export warehouses to facilitate packing for export when procurement procedures are impractical, provided the exporter obtains written permission from the jurisdictional Assistant/Deputy Commissioner for time-limited periods, maintains proper accounts of such materials, and does not claim any export benefit, rebate, or duty drawback on the duties already paid for that packing material.

Bank guarantee for service imports: increased limit with conditions on bona fides, documentation and contractual security.
AD Category I banks may issue guarantees in favour of non resident service providers on behalf of resident service importers up to USD 500,000, provided the bank is satisfied about the bona fides, documentary evidence for import of services is submitted in the normal course, and the guarantee secures a direct contractual liability between the resident and the non resident. Public sector entities and government departments/undertakings require prior Ministry approval for guarantees above the earlier USD 100,000 threshold; other terms of A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 13 remain unchanged.

Advance remittance limits for import of services revised, excluding public sector which requires Ministry of Finance approval.
The circular clarifies that the increased advance remittance limit for import of services without bank guarantee applies generally but does not apply to Public Sector Companies or Government Departments/Undertakings; those entities must continue to obtain Ministry of Finance approval for advance remittances exceeding the earlier threshold. All other terms of the prior circular remain unchanged, and Authorised Dealer Category I banks should notify their constituents. The directions are issued under Section 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Bank guarantees for service imports: limit raised to USD 500,000, subject to bank satisfaction, documentation, and contractual security.
Authorised Dealer Category I banks may issue guarantees up to USD 500,000 for resident service importers in favour of non resident service providers, provided the bank is satisfied about the bonafides, documentary evidence of import of services is ensured, and the guarantee secures a direct contractual liability; Public Sector Companies and Government Departments/Undertakings require government approval for guarantees exceeding USD 100,000.

Advance remittance limit for import of services increased; public sector and government bodies need finance ministry approval for excess.
Increase in permissible advance remittance for import of services to USD 500,000 or its equivalent without bank guarantee applies to admissible current account transactions and is to be implemented by Authorised Dealer Category I banks, while all other terms of the earlier circular remain unchanged; Public Sector Companies and Government Departments/Undertakings remain subject to prior Ministry of Finance approval for amounts exceeding USD 100,000 or its equivalent.

Email identity submission for ACES access: secure email and company constitution required to receive TPIN and login credentials.
Request for furnishing a valid, regularly checked and secure email identity and the constitution of the firm so that the office can email a temporary identity called TPIN and a password for ACES; recipients must change credentials on first login and may submit the signed declaration form by email or hard copy to the Assistant Commissioner of Service Tax, Delhi.

Hazardous waste import rules limit imports to recycling or reuse and require movement documents, certification and monitoring.
SPCB officers should attend SEZ Approval Committee meetings to ensure environmental compliance before unit approvals. Imports of hazardous waste are prohibited for disposal and permitted only for recycling, recovery or reuse; Customs must verify documents, draw random samples, ensure a movement document and accredited certification accompany consignments, and take action against violators. SPCBs must monitor recycling/reprocessing units regularly, enforce the Rules and report to the Ministry.

Correction of misposted tax payments allows assessing officers to claim challans at other collection centres for crediting taxpayers.
A new administrative utility permits Assessing Officers with the AR_ITOAC role to claim prior year challans lying at other RCCs/CCs when payments are recorded under wrong PAN/TAN; the claiming AO must provide CIN, Amount and Major Head and may populate PAN/TAN of his/her RCC/CC only. The process requires verification by both the AO where payment is held and the AO initiating the claim, after which records are routed to the RCC corresponding to the corrected PAN/TAN for assessment.

Deemed export benefits clarified for suppliers under invalidation letters and AROs; clubbing uses CIF weighted value addition.
Against an Invalidation Letter the supplier may avail Advance Authorisation for Intermediate supplies and TED refund where excise exemption is unavailable; against an ARO the supplier is entitled to deemed export duty drawback. For clubbing Advance Authorisations with different prescribed minimum value addition norms, the applicable requirement is the FTP prescribed minimums and the aggregate must be the CIF weighted average of those prescribed minima so the clubbed authorisation meets the weighted average value addition.

Registration database update requires service providers to submit updated contact details with their half-yearly ST-3 returns.
The notice requires service tax assessees to update specified contact details-telephone/fax of premises, email/postal address, and phone number of the proprietor/partner/director-and to submit these updates along with their half-yearly ST-3 returns to enable accurate migration into the centralized Automation of Centralized Excise and Service Tax (ACES) registration database.

Export incentive eligibility revised: status holder, agri-infrastructure and EPCG conditions updated with stricter compliance and transfer rules.
FTP 2009-14 introduces new incentives-Status Holder Incentive Scrip, Agri-Infrastructure Incentive Scrip and sector-specific Zero Duty EPCG-and amends operational rules for existing schemes to align customs notifications with the Policy and Handbook. Key changes require bonds and post-clearance certification for imports after export-obligation discharge, allow alternative customs duty payment eligible for CENVAT credit, permit job work and project-site movement under conditions, shorten and extend specific timeframes for re-export and discharge evidence, and adjust EPCG obligations and eligibility. Notifications operationalize these changes and trade guidance is mandated.

Allotment of new services under Finance Act assigns specific service tax ranges across commissionerate divisions.
Three services newly included by the Finance Act, 2009 are allocated to specific service-tax ranges within the Service Tax Commissionerate, Delhi: Legal Consultancy Services, Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery Service, and Transport of Coastal Goods and Goods Transported through Inland Water, with the Trade Notice directing wide publicity of these divisional allotments to trade associations and constituents.

Document disclosure requirements: mutual funds must file SAI and SID electronically for central publication with certified matching hard copies.
AMCs must submit SAI soft copies in PDF within seven days and SID soft copies in PDF plus printed/final SID two working days prior to scheme launch; updated SAI and SID filings in PDF with printed copies are required within seven days of revision. AMCs must upload SID to the industry association website two working days prior to launch and provide an undertaking certifying that the electronic documents match the hard copies, are current and relevant, and that the AMC is fully responsible for their content.

Filing requirements for offer documents: regional submission rules and copy obligations govern merchant banker submissions.
Issuers making public or rights issues must file a draft offer document or offer document with the Board as required by the ICDR Regulations; merchant bankers must file such documents at designated SEBI regional offices based on the issuer's registered office and the estimated issue size, and must submit five copies of the draft or final offer document to the specified office.

Extension of tax audit deadline extends filing period for affected taxpayers in specified Maharashtra districts.
An administrative order extends the due date for obtaining tax audit reports under the statutory tax-audit provision and for filing associated income-tax returns for assesses in Pune, Satara, Kolhapur and Sangli districts of Maharashtra, shifting the prescribed September deadline to the end of the following month because of local disturbances caused by Swine Flu and riots; the extension is issued under the Board's general powers and circulated to tax offices and stakeholders for implementation.

Re-export credit entitlement extended to reward-scheme imports allowing re-export of defective goods with certificate-based re-credit.
Re-export credit entitlement is extended to reward-scheme scrips when imported goods are defective or unfit for use; re-export may be permitted by the Commissioner of Customs subject to re-export from the same port, re-export within six months, identity verification by the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner, and non-use of goods. On re-export, Customs will issue a Certificate generating re-credit equivalent to ninety-eight percent of the debit in the original duty credit scrip, detailing the original scrip and the goods; the exporter must then apply to the Regional Authority for action under the Handbook of Procedure.

Import quota increase for rough marble blocks: licence holders may apply to enhance existing allocations under conditions.
Former licence holders may apply to the concerned Regional Authority to enhance the quantity in their licences by up to an additional 25% of the quantity granted to them in 2008-09; import of the enhanced quantity is subject to all conditions applicable under the relevant circulars.