Tariff value notification updates import valuation for edible oils, brass scrap and poppy seeds under customs rules.
Notification fixes tariff values in US dollars per metric tonne for specified imported goods, listing edible oils (various palm oil and soyabean oil types), brass scrap (all grades) and poppy seeds; most edible oil entries remain unchanged while brass scrap and poppy seeds have specified rates. The June 30, 2008 directive supplies the customs valuation schedule to be applied for import clearance and duty assessment for the listed tariff headings.

Bilateral Investment Promotion Agreement establishes investment protection and facilitation, supported by credit lines and banking ties to boost power and border trade.
India and Myanmar concluded four economic cooperation instruments: a Bilateral Investment Promotion Agreement establishing investment protection, dispute resolution, national treatment and facilitation of managerial and technical personnel; two credit line financing agreements to support transmission infrastructure and a power sector manufacturing facility; and a bilateral banking arrangement to provide correspondent banking for implementation and expansion of border trade, alongside expressed mutual interest in collaborative hydropower development.

Service tax exemption limitation: circular tying exemption to services rendered within SEZs is challenged as contrary to SEZ law.
Availability of service tax exemption and Cenvat credit for SEZ-related transactions is contested; petitioners challenge a circular conditioning exemption on services being rendered from within SEZs and denying input credit to manufacturers supplying SEZ developers, asserting the SEZ Act's overriding provision makes exemptions depend on services being used for authorised SEZ operations regardless of the service provider's location, and that DTA sales to SEZ developers qualify as exports eligible for input credit or refund.

Intellectual property cooperation agreement to be signed, strengthening bilateral IPR collaboration and trade-linked technology transfer.
A Bilateral Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Cooperation between the intellectual property offices of India and Singapore is imminent, creating a cooperative framework for IPR matters. The agreement is linked to broader trade and investment relations, and is contextualised by progress on the ASEAN-India FTA negotiations, with trade growth, principal export/import categories, and key sectors for foreign direct investment and technology transfer noted as the economic backdrop for cooperation.

Service tax on advertising: agency commissions charged to clients are taxable; broadcaster discounts to agencies are not taxable.
Service tax applies to amounts charged by an advertising agency to its client for agency services, including agency commission billed to the client, because the advertiser is the agency's client. Discounts or rebates given by print or broadcasting media directly to the advertising agency do not constitute receipts from the client and are not includible in the agency's gross taxable value for service tax purposes.

Tariff value notification establishes customs valuation for specified edible oils, brass scrap and poppy seeds.
Notification sets tariff values for specified goods to be applied for customs import valuation, listing per metric tonne values for edible oils (crude palm oil, RBD palm oil, palmolein variants, crude soybean oil) and separate notified values for brass scrap (all grades) and poppy seeds as the operative benchmarks for import clearance.

Tax revenue collection shows year on year growth in customs, excise and service tax monthly receipts.
Provisional month wise indirect tax receipts show comparative monthly and year to date figures for Customs and Central Excise (May 2008) and Service Tax (April 2008) with percentage growth rates; Customs and Excise are itemised and aggregated, excise figures exclude cess not administered by the Department of Revenue, and Service Tax publishes a year on year monthly increase.

Foreign investment caps and entry routes clarified; automatic admission or prior government approval required with sectoral conditions.
The policy sets a sectoral matrix assigning permitted foreign equity shares, entry routes (automatic or prior government approval) and accompanying conditions. It lists prohibited sectors, allows full foreign ownership in unlisted sectors subject to sectoral rules, and imposes recurring conditions such as licensing, compliance with sector statutes, mandatory minority divestment to Indian partners/public for specified activities, limits on foreign participation in certain services, and minimum capitalization or project-size requirements for designated sectors.

Export duty uniform ad valorem on iron ore and added specific excise on large-engine vehicles to protect domestic supply.
A uniform export duty at an ad valorem rate has been imposed on iron ore irrespective of iron content to conserve higher grade ore and ensure domestic availability; export duties on flat-rolled steel products and pipes have been exempted while duties on long steel products have been increased. Central excise duty on passenger vehicles above 1500 cc now carries an added specific duty component in addition to the existing ad valorem rate, with prior notifications issued to implement these changes effective immediately.

Special Economic Zone approvals advance formal permissions and conversions, with developer referrals to state government for comments.
The Board of Approval considered establishment and conversion proposals, recommending multiple Formal approvals across IT/ITES, sector specific, FTWZ and other SEZ categories, and recommended conversion of certain In Principle approvals to Formal Approval. The Board recorded prior approval and notification counts, reported employment and export growth figures for context, and referred developers' submissions to the relevant state government for comment after personal hearings where the state had withdrawn its recommendation.

Services sector borrowers eligible for external commercial borrowings for import of capital goods under approval route upon regulatory notification.
Borrowers in the services sector, specifically hotels, hospitals and software companies, are now permitted to obtain External Commercial Borrowings for the import of capital goods under the approval route rather than the automatic route, subject to a specified ceiling. This amendment takes effect upon issuance of regulatory notification or directions under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and retains supervisory oversight through an approval requirement.