Price stability and anchored inflation expectations guide policy, with active liquidity management and regulatory reform measures.
The Reserve Bank's policy prioritises Price Stability and anchored inflation expectations while supporting growth, committing to active demand management of liquidity through CRR adjustments and open market operations, preserving flexibility under the LAF, and keeping key policy rates unchanged; concurrently it advances market, credit-delivery and prudential reforms including introduction of STRIPS and currency futures, eased priority-sector mechanisms and strengthened supervisory frameworks for consolidated and cross-border supervision.

Additional customs duty refund allowed within a limited filing period, subject to single-claim rule and unjust enrichment checks.
Refunds of the 4% Additional Duty of Customs must be filed with the Centralized Refund Section and will be acknowledged and listed online. Claims are allowable up to one year from payment, with only a single claim per Bill of Entry; part-quantity claims are restricted. No interest is payable on delayed refunds. Refunds require examination for unjust enrichment, supported by a statutory auditor/chartered accountant certificate where necessary. Only duties paid on or after the notification date qualify, and amounts paid via DEPB scrip should be recredited to the relevant DEPB scrip rather than refunded in cash.

Pre-show cause notice payment of tax and interest bars penalty when bona fide doubt on taxability exists.
Payment of service tax together with interest before issuance of a show cause notice removes the need to initiate penalty proceedings, and a bona fide doubt about taxability constitutes a reasonable cause relevant to declining to impose penalty under the penalty provision.

Entitlement to DEPB confirmed for exports made before withdrawal, using the DEPB rate prevailing on shipment date.
Exports shipped prior to the date of withdrawal or suspension shall receive DEPB benefit at the rate prevailing on the date of shipment, so exports made before issuance of withdrawal notices remain eligible for DEPB.

Service tax refund entitlement for exporters depends on whether taxed services were specified by the notification and its effective date.
Allowance of refund claims concerns exporters' entitlement to reclaim service tax paid on services later specified in the notification; eligibility depends on whether the taxed service is one of the services specified by the notification and the effective date of insertion for that service, with listed services (insurer services, export facilitation services, technical testing and analysis, inspection and certification, transport from inland container depots to port, and specialized cleaning of export containers) treated as covered from the notification's effective date.

Limitation on service tax demands: extended period requires proof of mala fide evasion, otherwise notices are unsustainable.
Section 73(3) requires proof of mala fide evasion before invoking the extended limitation for service tax show cause notices; genuine reasons or bona fide doubt on liability prevent issuance beyond the normal limitation, and a co operative society that is not a commercial concern cannot be treated as such for levy of Security Agency Services, rendering demands confirmed against it unsustainable.

Refund claim timelines: reporting and escalation required when not finalised within short prescribed periods, with priority for small and medium exporters.
CBEC directed field formations to ensure expedited payment of refund claims for service tax attributable to exported goods, instituted a monitoring framework requiring Commissioners to report claims not finalised within an initial short period to the Chief Commissioner and to escalate further-delayed claims to CBEC, and instructed prioritised disposal for small and medium exporters.

Tariff value notification establishes US dollar per tonne reference prices for specified imported edible oils, brass scrap, and poppy seeds.
Notification No. 37/2008-Customs (N.T.) dated 16 April 2008 fixes tariff values in US dollars per metric tonne for specified imports, listing values for edible oils (crude and refined palm oil and palmolein, crude soybean oil), brass scrap (all grades), and poppy seeds to serve as reference import valuation figures for customs clearance.

Supply to SEZs permitted despite cement export ban as such transfers qualify as deemed exports.
A Central export prohibition on cement was modified by a subsequent notification permitting supply of cement to SEZ units because supplies to SEZs are treated as deemed exports, so transfers to SEZs are allowed despite the export ban.

Service Tax Return Preparer Scheme invites stakeholder input on qualifications, selection, training and conduct for preparers.
A committee will frame a Service Tax Return Preparer Scheme to define eligibility, selection, incentives, training and certification, code of conduct, performance review and the manner of preparation and furnishing of service tax returns; stakeholder submissions are invited to inform final scheme modalities.

Evasion of duty: criminal proceedings may be initiated against customs officers where complaint prima facie discloses an offence.
Allegations that a customs officer and others used fictitious firms to claim duty drawback on over invoiced exports and made corroborative statements raised charges under the amended evasion provision which criminalises knowing participation in fraudulent evasion, dealing in goods liable to confiscation, and attempted export of such goods; on a prima facie consideration the court found the complaint discloses an offence and refused to quash proceedings.

Invoice price rejection demands cogent evidence of comparable imports before alternative valuation is applied to imported goods.
Rejection of an invoice price for customs valuation requires cogent reasons and evidence that the declared transaction value is unreliable; absent contemporaneous or comparable imports evidencing higher prices, the invoice must be accepted as the transaction value. Allegations of undervaluation demand detailed inquiries and adequate evidence by the department; mere suspicion is insufficient and the benefit of doubt favors the importer when comparable-import proof is lacking.

Re importation treated as import: repaired goods returned attract countervailing duty as on first time importation.
Re-imported goods returned after repair are treated as imports for duty purposes; the statutory definition of import includes re-imports and requires duties on re-importation to be the same as would apply on first-time importation, thereby attracting countervailing duty even where no domestic exciseable manufacturing occurred.

Export prohibition on cement; edible oil exports relaxed with specified allowances; sawn timber export policy amended.
Export of cement is now categorically prohibited. Edible oil exports are relaxed to allow castor oil, coconut oil via Kochi port, deemed exports of edible oils to 100% export oriented units where the final product is non edible, and oils from listed minor forest produce. The export policy for sawn timber is amended to permit sawn timber made exclusively from imported logs/timber, excluding species covered by CITES Appendix I and II.

Service tax exemption for export-related services clarified; specified services excluded and refund mechanisms linked to verifiable export linkage.
Clarification that specified export-related activities-including participation in exhibitions abroad; services availed outside the country such as CHA, steamer agent, accountancy, market research, port, cargo handling, inspection and quality control services; receipt of export proceeds and payments in foreign exchange; C&F services; and loading/unloading of export cargo-are not subject to service tax, and that the Department of Revenue will prescribe refund methodologies and issue refund notifications for services linked to exports by verifiable methods.

Foreign Trade Policy announced with accompanying procedures and annual supplement; ministerial speech and press release outline implementation priorities.
Announcement and release of the Foreign Trade Policy 2008-2009 with its Annual Supplement and Foreign Trade Procedures, accompanied by the Commerce Minister's speech and an official press release, forming the administrative policy package and implementation framework.

Refund of service tax extended to additional taxable services related to export goods, including custom house and financial services.
Notification extends refund of service tax to additional taxable services attributable to exports, specifically Custom House Agent service, Banking and other financial services for collection of export bills and letters of credit, and Commission Agent service under Business Auxiliary Service provided by agents located outside India subject to prescribed conditions. This supplements existing neutralisation schemes for input services and an extended refund framework for taxable services not treated as input services but attributable to export goods.

Import duty adjustments and export restrictions to curb food price rise, with revised tariffs and state stock limit powers.
Government imposes a ban on non-basmati rice exports, raises the minimum export price for basmati rice, extends a pulses export ban, differentiates import duties for crude and refined edible oils with reduced duties for refined and hydrogenated fats, maintains existing tariff values pending revision, reduces customs duty on select staples and applies a Tariff Rate Quota to maize; administrative measures permit State stock limits by keeping licensing removal orders in abeyance while excluding inter state import movement and authorising monitored oil exports under conditions.

Regulatory notification error requires corrigendum as amendment improperly references a nonexistent entry in an earlier notification
An amendment notification purports to amend "entry no. 25" of an earlier notification governing Chief Commissioners' and Commissioners' committees, but the earlier notification contains only twenty entries; this cross referencing error requires a corrigendum to correct the mistaken entry reference.