External debt composition shift: rise driven by commercial and short term borrowing, increasing private share and dollar exposure.
India's external debt rose during the quarter to end December 2007, driven mainly by commercial borrowing and increased short term debt; valuation effects from currency movements also contributed. A residual maturity breakdown, provided for the first time, shows a significant proportion of liabilities maturing within one year. Private sector debt accounts for the larger share of external liabilities while government debt is a smaller component. Foreign exchange reserves provide substantial coverage of total external debt and the US dollar's share in the debt portfolio has increased, signalling greater currency exposure.

Import duty reductions on edible oils and temporary duty exemption for milled rice to curb food price inflation.
With effect from 20/21 March 2008, customs duty on semi milled and wholly milled rice is exempted until 31 March 2009; import duties on edible oils were reduced (crude palm oil to 20%, refined palm oil to 27.5%, crude and refined mustard/rapeseed/colza/canola oils to 20% and 27.5% respectively, crude sunflower oil to 20% and refined sunflower oil to 27.5%); tariff values for various palm oil products were frozen at July 2006 levels under Notification No.37/2008 Customs.

Tariff values for edible oils, brass scrap and poppy seeds notified; most oil rates unchanged, new values set.
Notification of tariff values dated 17 March 2008 sets US dollar per metric tonne import valuation benchmarks for edible oils, brass scrap and poppy seeds, listing specific commodity subheadings and indicating most edible oil values remain unchanged while separate values are specified for brass scrap and poppy seeds to guide customs valuation and clearance.

Drawback monitoring: new BRC certificate requirement obliges exporters to report unrealised export proceeds and triggers alerts and recovery notices.
A BRC (Bank Realisation Certificate) module will be implemented to monitor export proceeds realisation for shipping bills under the Drawback Scheme. Exporters must submit port wise authorised dealer certificates detailing shipments outstanding beyond prescribed realisation periods-generally quarterly, or once in six months for status holders and exporters with extended realisation permission. The software will flag shipping bills lacking BRCs or negative statements and Customs will issue notices to recover drawback paid where proceeds remain unrealised. The module follows consultations with trade bodies and is to be operationalised from 1.4.08.

Duty drawback disallowed after eighteen months; re-exports beyond that period no longer eligible for drawback.
The Central Government amended the duty drawback regime to limit eligibility to re-exports made within eighteen months of clearance for home consumption, preserving the graded percentages of import duty refundable for re-exports up to eighteen months and declaring nil entitlement for all re-exports placed under customs control after eighteen months.

Trade balance deterioration as imports surge sharply while exports grow, widening the deficit across the period.
Provisional trade data show exports increased in January and cumulatively for April-January in both dollar and rupee terms, while imports rose by a larger percentage, widening the April-January trade deficit. The release separately reports increases in oil imports and in non oil imports, with all values presented in US dollars and Indian rupees and a note that prior year figures are revised and current year figures are provisional.

Export of services: remote electronic provision for goods or property abroad treated as export of service under rules.
Advance payment of service tax is allowed subject to intimation to the Superintendent; revised return filing period is extended to ninety days; a central excise officer may reduce penalties for late return filing. Remote services provided via internet in relation to goods, material or immovable property situated outside India are treated as performed outside India and as export of service. Rules provide for publication of names of persons who intentionally evaded or failed to pay service tax.

Excise duty rate reduction alters peak rates and manufacturer obligations under new retail sale price determination rules.
Peak excise duty has been reduced by notification, with various goods subject to reduced, increased, or exempted duties; packaged software and tariff values for certain retail pan masala have been adjusted. Abatement for MRP products has been reduced. SSI benefits are extended to plastic strips and to manufacturing of printers and monitors. The deemed manufacturer definition is broadened to include repacking or relabeling in unit containers. Exemption for supplies to international organisations is limited to actual use. Duty on EOU DTA clearances is increased under a specified formula, and rules set the method for determining Retail Sale Price where RSP is undeclared or altered.