Special Economic Zone approvals expand formal and in-principle permissions enabling new IT, biotech, FTWZ and multi product projects.
The Board of Approval recommended grant of 10 formal and 3 in-principle SEZ approvals, noting 395 formal approvals to date, 156 notified SEZs, substantial investment and direct employment figures. Approved projects span IT/ITES, biotechnology, electronic hardware and software, and a Free Trade Warehousing Zone, with developers, locations and site areas specified. The in-principle approvals cover multi-product and electronics & electrical products SEZs with large proposed land areas, recording the administrative authorisations and project scope for each proposal.

Excise duty evasion detected: undisclosed continuous production revealed, prompting intensified anti-evasion enforcement and machinery verification nationwide.
Detection disclosed excise duty evasion by a Gutkha manufacturer who declared only one shift while operating round the clock; searches recovered duplicate challans and unaccounted clearances kept at the manager's residence, evidencing undisclosed production. Authorities directed verification of machinery, sealing of non-working machines, and intensified anti-evasion inspections in the sector.

Foreign direct investment approvals cleared across multiple sectors; several proposals deferred and one advised to seek central bank clearance.
Approval of 14 Foreign Direct Investment proposals across multiple sectors was granted, covering induction of foreign equity, formation of wholly owned subsidiaries, conversions to operating cum holding companies for downstream investments, and share swaps; major investments were in new & renewable energy, telecommunications and economic affairs, with aggregate inflows set out. Six proposals were recommended for deferment and one applicant was advised to first seek Reserve Bank of India clearance for post facto conversion to an operating cum holding company.

SEZ area limits revised and processing area mandate introduced, permitting reuse of previously installed domestic plant and machinery.
Amendment revises SEZ regulatory parameters by fixing a maximum land ceiling for multi product zones, prescribing a mandated portion of the zone as a processing area, and permitting reuse of plant and machinery previously used in the Domestic Tariff Area, thereby guiding planning, approvals, and asset relocation into SEZ projects.

Tariff values for edible oils unchanged; brass scrap tariff value increased under new customs notification.
A customs notification dated 15 October 2007 fixes tariff values in US dollars per metric tonne for specified edible oils-including crude palm oil, RBD palm oil, other palm oils, crude palmolein, RBD palmolein, other palmolein-and crude soyabean oil, with the six palm-group oils and crude soyabean oil unchanged; it also establishes a raised tariff value for brass scrap (all grades).

Duty drawback automatic payment for EDI-processed exports after rate increase; manual shipping bills still require supplementary claims.
Increase in duty drawback rates from 1-4-2007 entitles exporters to differential drawback amounts, which under Rule 15 normally require filing a supplementary claim. The Board's circular dated 9-10-2007 provides that where exports were processed through the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system, exporters need not file supplementary claims and differential drawback will be paid automatically; manual shipping bills remain subject to filing supplementary claims under Rule 15.

Import valuation rules revised: new customs valuation framework effective, altering valuation procedure and administrative compliance guidance.
Finance Act, 2007 revised the statutory basis for valuing imported goods by substituting the prior provision of Section 14 and introducing the Customs Valuation (Determination of Value of Imported Goods) Rules, 2007, effective 10 October 2007; administrative guidance via a departmental circular was issued to field formations and parallel valuation rules for export goods were notified to take effect on the same date.

Misuse of baggage rules: unaccompanied baggage treated as accompanied baggage and free allowance excluded under customs law.
Unaccompanied baggage used to import goods for multiple persons is an abuse of the baggage concessions; all provisions applicable to accompanied baggage apply to unaccompanied baggage except that the free allowance is not available, and penal provisions may be invoked to prevent door to door delivery exploitation.

Indirect tax collections rise year-on-year, driven by Customs, Excise and Service Tax growth in late 2007.
Provisional monthly indirect tax collections for late 2007 show year on year increases across Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax. September 2007 Customs and Excise receipts rose for the month and cumulatively; Service Tax figures through August 2007 show marked year on year growth. Aggregated August 2007 data for the three heads record overall positive growth in indirect tax realisations. The figures are presented as provisional revenue realisations.

Exporter relief measures expand service-tax refunds and interest subvention, extending sectoral coverage and credit interest concessions.
Government expanded exporter relief by adding specified services to the list eligible for service-tax refund/exemption and permitting interest on EEFC accounts subject to per-exporter balance limits, bank-determined rates, term-deposit form and temporal validity. It also widened interest subvention for pre- and post-shipment export credit by extending sectoral coverage to additional manufacturing and processed agricultural items and to all SME exporters, and extended the subsidy period; subvention is calculated from disbursement until repayment or until the credit becomes overdue within prescribed limits.

Service tax refund for exporters: eligible services expanded and refunds allowed subject to procedural and exclusion conditions.
Notification No. 41/2007-ST permits refund of service tax paid by exporters on seven specified taxable services linked to exported goods, expanding the earlier list under Notification No. 40/2007 to add General Insurance, Technical Testing and Analysis, and Technical Inspection and Certification. Refunds are subject to conditions: no Duty Drawback claimed, claims filed with the jurisdictional AC/DC, quarterly filing, and use of the prescribed form and procedure.

Import of sensitive items shows marginal increase while sectoral and country-specific shifts affect trade composition.
Import of sensitive items recorded a marginal year-on-year rise for April-July 2007 while their share of gross imports edged down; key commodity movements included declines in fruits and vegetables, SSI products, marble and granite, tea and coffee, and milk products, and increases in cotton and silk, automobiles, rubber and alcoholic beverages. Within edible oils, crude imports fell modestly, refined oil imports rose markedly, and crude palm oil and fractions grew; country-level sourcing showed mixed increases and decreases across trading partners.