Business Auxiliary Services: air cargo agents taxable on remuneration for billing, collection and logistical support provided to airlines.
Air cargo agents perform incidental or auxiliary support services to airlines - including billing, collection, issuance of airway bills, booking, distribution and logistics - and, under the statutory definition of Business Auxiliary Services, there exists a service-provider/client relationship with airlines; accordingly agents are liable to pay service tax on remuneration received and remain liable for past liabilities with interest.

Compounding of offences: new rules allow classified settlements with exclusions and Chief Commissioner discretion for early resolution.
The Rules establish a compounding regime classifying offences as technical (eligible for repeat compounding) and substantive or non-technical (compounding permitted only once), specify categories excluded from compounding including persons linked to serious statutes and smuggling of sensitive/prohibited items, exclude departmental officers, vest verification and discretionary power in the Chief Commissioner, permit compounding before or after complaint subject to court-affidavit procedures for pending prosecutions, require disposal within six months, publicity, and reporting to the Board.

Compounding of offences allows settlement by payment, with Chief Commissioners empowered to approve or reject applications.
The circular implements Customs and Central Excise compounding rules, classifying offences into technical (compoundable multiple times) and substantive or non-technical (compoundable only once), and lists categories of serious offences and persons barred from compounding. Chief Commissioners may accept or reject applications, must verify facts, and follow a specified procedure for pending court prosecutions requiring an applicant affidavit and court submission of the compounding order; payment leads the reporting authority to seek disposal by the court, with refund if the court rejects compounding.

Extension of filing deadline for agricultural and served-from-india scheme applications grants additional time to submit documentation.
Extension of the last date for submission of applications under the Served From India Scheme and the Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana is granted as a facilitation measure due to representations about time needed to prepare documentation; the filing period is accordingly extended to provide additional time for applicants to submit required applications, as communicated in an official departmental circular.

DEPB benefit extended provisionally to imports filed during the gap and to licences endorsed under earlier notification, subject to conditions.
Imports filed during 1-3 October 2005 are eligible for DEPB benefits with DEPB credit on Bills of Entry allowed provisionally; DEPB licences endorsed as issued under an earlier notification are acceptable under the later notification if the licence is valid for the imported goods and all conditions of the later notification are satisfied, and licences under earlier open ended notifications may be utilised likewise where valid and compliant.

Compounding of offences allows discretionary settlement of customs and excise breaches subject to eligibility, exclusions and procedural safeguards.
Compounding permits settlement of customs and excise offences by payment, with offences classified as technical (eligible for repeated compounding) and substantive/non-technical (compounding only once); specified categories are excluded from compounding. Chief Commissioners decide eligibility and may compound before or after complaint, with pending prosecutions requiring a court affidavit by the applicant and notification to the court; if the court refuses immunity, paid amounts are refunded. Administrative duties include publicity, six-month disposal targets, and reporting of compounding realisations.

Excise duty on branded jewellery requires referral to the central board before charging duty when classification is disputed
Reiterates that excise duty applies only to jewellery marketed under recognised brand names per the Board's circular; where classification as branded is disputed or a Commissioner is in doubt, the case must be referred through the zonal Chief Commissioner to the Board (Member, Central Excise) with full details and documents, and no duty should be charged or precipitate action taken until the Board decides; referrals are unnecessary where the manufacturer admits branding or the Commissioner finds the item not branded.

Administrative control over Special Economic Zones shifts to Customs in ports and to Central Excise elsewhere under amended guidance.
Administrative control over Special Economic Zones in port cities remains with the Commissioner of Customs, while SEZs at other locations will be under the jurisdictional Commissioner of Central Excise; this amends the earlier Board Circular No. 31/2003-Cus and requires wide publicity, acknowledgement of receipt, and prompt reporting of implementation difficulties to the Board.

Judicial order forwarded: copy of decision in excise appeal circulated to officers for departmental information and compliance.
Forwarding a copy of the Supreme Court order dated 01-03-2005 in Civil Appeal Nos. 2816-2818/2002 in the matter of the Commissioner of Central Excise v. M/s Simplex Mills Co. Ltd., enclosed for information and issued as Circular No. 823/20/2005 CX dated 28 12 2005 to inform departmental officers and stakeholders.

Investigation of high profile cases: pursue targeted search and seizure to secure stronger revenue outcomes and enforcement impact.
Directs the Investigation Wing to proactively pursue high profile search and seizure enquiries without reluctance, noting that taking up select cases involving property can yield a strong beneficial revenue effect; transmits this administrative instruction to all Director Generals of Income tax (Investigation) for information and necessary action.

Amendment to public notice corrects SPS Raw Sugar export quantity for EU, issued under Foreign Trade Policy powers.
Amendment corrects the export quantity of SPS Raw Sugar to the European Union in Public Notice No. 76 (26.12.2005), replacing the previously published erroneous figure with the intended tonnage; the change is made under powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy and issued in public interest for administrative and compliance purposes.

Extension of tax period intimation deadline for Form DVAT permits late filing under applicable VAT rule.
The Commissioner of Value Added Tax, exercising powers under rule 49A of the Delhi VAT Rules, 2005, has extended the time prescribed in the first proviso to sub rule (4) of rule 26 for submitting intimation of change of tax period in Form DVAT 55 for the 2005 06 year, thereby permitting late submission under the amended timetable, and has directed circulation and publicity of the order to departmental and stakeholder bodies.

Extension of PAN submission deadline for registered dealers: new timelines for filing PAN details and post-registration compliance.
Exercising rule 49A, the Commissioner extends the period under sub rule (3) of rule 18 for submission of Permanent Account Number in Form DVAT-52: dealers registered under the Delhi Value Added Tax Act, 2004 as on the order date must submit PAN information by 31st January, 2006; where registration is filed after the notification and PAN is obtained later, PAN must be furnished within 15 days of obtaining it.

DEPB rate amendment: corrected export entitlements for specified engineering products with prescribed value caps.
Amendment to the Schedule of DEPB rates revises export entitlements for specified engineering products for the period 06.10.2004 to 29.03.2005. The Director General of Foreign Trade notifies corrected DEPB entries for Forged Crank Shaft made of Alloy Steel and Front Axle Beam Forging made of Alloy Steel, each at a 9% DEPB rate with specified per kilogram value caps, and circulates the notice to all concerned.

Preferential export quota for sugar requires designated agency, certification endorsements, and conditional white sugar exports.
Allocation of exportable sugar for fiscal 2005 sets a preferential export quota for raw sugar to the USA and EU, names the designated exporting agency under the relevant HS code, and prescribes certification procedures: EUR form endorsement by Customs and GSP certificates by Export Inspection Agency/Directorate General of Foreign Trade. A separate allocation for white sugar to the EU is conditional on factories meeting export obligations linked to raw sugar imports under Advance Licences.

Preservation of originals: exchanges must retain original electronic and physical records seized by enforcement agencies until trial concludes.
Stock exchanges must preserve originals of documents and electronic records, copies of which have been taken by enforcement agencies during investigations, in both electronic and physical form until the trial is completed; exchanges must amend bye-laws and Listing Agreement as applicable, notify members, publish the requirement on their websites, and report implementation status to SEBI.

Preservation of originals: depositories must retain original records taken by enforcement agencies until trial completion and update rules.
Depositories are advised to preserve the originals of documents, both electronic and physical, copies of which have been taken by CBI, Police or any other enforcement agency during the course of an investigation until the trial is completed. Depositories must amend relevant bye laws, notify Depository Participants, disseminate the requirement on their websites, and report implementation status to SEBI in the Monthly Development Report for January 2006.

Search notification requirement: report search actions to supervising tax officers within thirty days after warrant execution.
The addl. DIT (Inv.)/JDIT (Inv.) who processes a search must, within 30 days of the first execution of the warrant in a case or group of cases, in writing inform the concerned CIT, Addl. CIT/JCIT and the assessing AO about the search action that has taken place.

Name correction in official schedule under Section 18G authorises substitution of a mill's registered name in the Order.
Amendment under the Section 18G authority substitutes the Schedule entry at serial number 18 in paragraph 4, replacing "Ram Paper Mills Ltd." with "Rama Paper Mills Ltd.", as effected by S.O. 1785(E) which amends the principal Order S.O. 1105(E).

Definition of port as infrastructural facility now includes storage and handling structures if certified by port authority and transfer agreement.
Structures at ports for storage, loading and unloading qualify as part of the port for tax purposes if the port authority certifies they form part of the port; for assessment years up to 2001-02 an additional condition requires construction under BOT/BOLT with an agreement to transfer to the authority, while from 2002-03 onward only the port authority certificate is required.