Import prohibition on dairy products from China imposes temporary ban and suspends transitional import allowances.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade added an Import Licensing Note to Chapter 4 of the ITC (HS) Classification prohibiting import of milk and milk products from China, effective immediately for a temporary period and until further notice. The notification bars application of transitional arrangements under paragraph 1.5 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09 for such imports during the prohibition.

Duty credit scrip entitlement for service exporters broadened to allow current-year earnings and refine category-specific treatment.
Amendments to the Service From India Scheme modify Duty Credit scrip entitlement by allowing free foreign exchange earnings to be assessed from the preceding financial year or the current financial year as applicable, retain distinct minimum thresholds for corporate and individual service providers, and specify category-specific treatment for stand-alone restaurants and tourism-sector service providers registered with the Department of Tourism.

Classification of parts under tariff headings determines treatment as complete goods; headings and notes take primacy over later rules.
Classification of imported components hinges on the primacy of headings and Chapter Notes under Rule 1; these controls the tariff outcome. For parts within Section XVI the section-specific mandate governs and precludes resort to Rule 2(a). Applied to CKD kits of colour televisions, the goods did not exhibit the essential character of complete sets and no factual finding justified treating them as complete televisions, so classification must follow the terms of the headings and notes.

SEZ approvals expand sectoral economic zones, enabling formal and in-principle project clearances for developers.
The Board of Approval for Special Economic Zones recommended grant of formal approvals and in-principle approvals after considering 35 proposals, including conversions from in-principle to formal status. The Board recommended 18 formal approvals across sectors such as aluminium, biotechnology, IT/ITES, electronics hardware, engineering, steel and mineral-based industries, and multi-product and multi-service SEZs, and recommended 10 in-principle approvals for multi-product, multi-service, heavy engineering, agro and food processing, airport-based, textile park, building materials and auto components SEZs, naming sponsoring developers and states.

DEPB eligibility expanded to cover DTA to SEZ supplies, allowing rupee or foreign currency payments to qualify for credit.
Amendment expands DEPB eligibility for supplies by DTA units to SEZ units/developers/co-developers: exporters may claim credit on FOB export value realised in freely convertible currency or via payment from the SEZ entity's foreign currency account, and exporters are entitled to DEPB benefit where SEZ developers or co-developers make payment in Indian rupees for applicable supplies; DEPB credits remain utilisable for customs duty and as prescribed by authorities.

Import restrictions on agglomerated stone: processed tiles allowed only where CIF meets prescribed minimum threshold for free import.
Amendment distinguishes unprocessed rough blocks and slabs of agglomerated/artificial stone, which are restricted, from processed tiles and slabs, which are freely importable provided they meet a minimum CIF value threshold per square metre; the rule is applied across the chapter's subheadings for bricks, tiles, prefabricated components and other articles.

Export of seed-quality non-basmati cereals permitted when consignments are chemically treated and rendered unfit for human consumption.
Free export is permitted for non-basmati rice, maize and wheat of seed quality provided the export consignments are chemically treated and rendered not fit for human consumption; this treatment condition is the operative requirement for unrestricted export.

Geographical indication protection expanded: APEDA authorised to register and protect speciality product names domestically and internationally.
Amendment grants the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) a statutory authority to undertake registration and protection of intellectual property rights in specialised product names, including Geographical Indication designations, enabling APEDA to initiate registration of products such as Basmati rice and to manage and enforce protection of those special product names domestically and abroad.

SEZ exports projected to surge, driving substantial employment growth and major investment expansion across notified zones.
SEZs are projected to achieve a marked rise in exports this year and to provide incremental direct employment exceeding eight lakh people by December 2009, with investment levels in SEZs forecast to reach a substantial committed amount by that date. The statement highlights the complementary roles of EOUs and SEZ units in export promotion, notes strong export growth and employment from EOUs, and records that the Government has formally approved 513 SEZs, notified 250, and seen 87 SEZs become operational.

Indirect tax revenue collection rises year-on-year, showing growth in customs, excise and service tax receipts.
Provisional revenue data presents month and year to date collections for indirect taxes: Customs and Central Excise receipts for August 2008 and Service Tax receipts for July 2008, each compared with the prior year, showing higher Customs collections, modest increases in Excise, an overall rise in combined Customs and Excise totals, and growth in Service Tax; cess receipts administered outside the Department of Revenue are excluded.

Manufacture classification: finishing processes that do not create a new article are not treated as manufacture for excise.
The tribunal found that washing, stentering, calendaring, chemical padding and special finishing that impart temporary stiffness do not produce goods of a new name and therefore do not constitute manufacture for excise purposes; such activities also do not amount to deemed manufacture and the phrase "any other process" must be read in the extended sense of manufacture, so these finishing processes on dyed cotton-polyester lungi fabrics fall outside excisable manufacture.

Classification of inks: water-based inks treated as writing ink; non-water marker inks classifiable under residuary tariff.
Classification of inks for central excise rests on constituent material: water based inks ordinarily qualify as writing ink and are classifiable under the writing ink subheading, while non water marker inks fall under the residuary ink subheading. Reliance on HSN is permissible only when HSN entries align with the tariff; where they do not, the tariff text and head notes govern classification and end use evidence is not decisive.

Full duty exemption for flood relief goods: customs and excise duties waived subject to certification and procedures.
Full duty exemption applies to goods imported for donation and to goods donated or purchased out of cash donations for Bihar flood relief: imports are exempt from basic customs duty and additional duty (with automatic exemption from countervailing duty), and relief goods are exempt from basic excise duty. Exemptions are subject to certification and procedural requirements and are effective immediately until 28 February 2009 under Notifications 101/2008 Customs and 48/2008 Central Excise dated 2 September 2008.

Tariff values for edible oils, brass scrap and poppy seeds set for import valuation and customs assessment.
Notification No.104/2008-Customs (N.T.) fixes tariff values per metric tonne for listed imported goods-various edible oils, brass scrap (all grades) and poppy seeds-for use in customs valuation. The table identifies goods by tariff headings and supplies US dollar per metric tonne figures; several edible oil entries are noted as unchanged.

SSI exemption extended to branded packing materials, allowing small-scale units to use third-party trade names.
The amendment permits SSI units to avail the central excise exemption for goods bearing another person's brand or trade name only when those goods are packing materials-such as printed cartons, metal containers, HDPE woven sacks, adhesive tapes, stickers, PP caps, crown corks and metal labels-and is available subject to turnover limits for the remainder of the financial year while existing SSI turnover eligibility rules remain applicable.