Import of sensitive items records year-on-year increase, driven mainly by surge in edible oil and crude palm oil.
Import values of sensitive items for April-February 2009 increased about thirty percent year-on-year and remained a small share of total imports. Spices and food grains declined while most other sensitive categories rose. Edible oil imports-both crude and refined-grew markedly, with the rise chiefly driven by increased imports of crude palm oil and its fractions. Country-specific flows were mixed, with increases from a number of trading partners and declines from others.

Levy exemption on imported raw sugar confirmed, permitting duty-free imports under advance authorization with no levy obligation.
Imported raw sugar brought in under the Advance Authorization Scheme for processing and domestic sale with corresponding export obligations is permitted at zero import duty and will not attract any levy obligation; a formal notification to that effect is to be issued shortly.

Foreign direct investment approvals cover multiple sectors; several proposals deferred, rejected, or advised transfer or automatic route where eligible
The Government approved 22 FDI proposals across multiple ministries involving ex post facto approvals, issuance/conversion of warrants and convertible securities, share transfers, amendments to foreign collaboration approvals, and formation of WOS for trading. Six proposals were deferred, two rejected, two advised to use the automatic route, one recommended for transfer to DIPP/PAB, and one advised to approach the sectoral regulator, with several approvals noting no fresh foreign inflow and others specifying reported inflows.

Service tax liability on cross-border royalties and support revenues asserted, prompting demand and explanation from tax authority.
A revenue authority asserts service tax liability on payments by an Indian subsidiary to its foreign parent characterised as royalty/franchise fees and on income from product and technical support consulting, has quantified the multi-year liability including education cess, and has sought an explanation alleging intentional suppression of facts concerning provision, receipt and collection of the impugned taxable services.

Precautionary import fee withdrawn after diplomatic challenge; CIF based surcharge on cotton textiles rescinded following engagement.
Egypt imposed a temporary precautionary CIF based import fee on cotton yarn and textiles in addition to existing import duties, a measure India challenged as exceeding Egypt's WTO bound rates; following diplomatic engagement by Indian ministries and export bodies, Egypt withdrew the surcharge by a subsequent ministerial decree, removing the CIF based fee that had applied over and above existing duties.

Authority of Board circulars: administrative circulars cannot override binding court law and may be challenged in court.
Whether departmental authorities may challenge the authority and validity of a Board circular or clarification turns on the relationship between administrative instructions and judicially declared law. Authority of Board circulars is subject to Article 141 principles: circulars cannot prevail over binding decisions of the Supreme Court, and courts and tribunals must follow the law as laid down by the Court. If a circular conflicts with statute or precedent, either the department or the assessee may challenge it and courts will decide the issue.

Cenvat credit eligibility depends on maintaining separate accounts; lack of segregation prevents credit retention on duty-free clearances.
Cenvat credit is disallowed on inputs used in manufacture of goods cleared without payment of duty where separate accounts for inputs and final products are not maintained. Absence of segregation invokes the cenvat rule that treats such outputs as exempt for credit purposes and requires payment specified by the cenvat framework prior to clearance without duty; job-work manufacture does not alter this requirement and job workers must keep distinct records to retain credit entitlement.

Same factory requirement: imported inputs must be used in the factory where the importer carries out manufacturing activity.
The term same factory denotes the factory where the goods are actually manufactured and requires that imported goods claiming exemption from countervailing duty be used in the importer's factory in which manufacturing activity takes place; the condition focuses on location of use and does not impose additional production mandates beyond use in the manufacturing premises.

Handling of cargo regulations impose standards and responsibilities for entities managing import and export operations in customs areas.
Regulations establish a comprehensive framework prescribing terms and conditions for facilities handling customs cargo and set the conditions and responsibilities of persons and entities managing import and export cargo at Inland Container Depots, Container Freight Stations, seaports, airports and Land Customs Stations, requiring adequate infrastructure and administrative controls to ensure efficient and controlled handling of consignments within customs areas.