Foreign direct investment approvals expand across sectors; many proposals deferred, one rejected, one withdrawn, and one noted ex post facto.
Foreign Direct Investment approvals were granted for twenty-nine proposals across multiple ministries and sectors, amounting to approximately Rs. 616.08 crore. Approvals include induction of foreign equity, conversions of operating companies into operating cum holding companies to permit downstream investments, issuance of convertible instruments, post facto regularisations, and sector specific permissions subject to Press Note constraints. Nineteen proposals were deferred for further scrutiny, one was rejected for impermissible repatriation of original investment, one withdrawn, and one investment was noted ex post facto absent a policy at the time.

Exemption through refund mode: SEZ units may claim refund for service tax paid by providers under revised scheme.
Service tax treatment for SEZ units and developers is revised to an exemption through refund mode: service providers must pay service tax on services to SEZ units or developers, while the SEZ units or developers may claim exemption by filing refund claims for the service tax paid; the previous notification granting direct exemption has been withdrawn.

Trade facilitation: duty credit scrips issued without prior export realisation, conditioned on bank guarantee and compliance.
The policy permits issuance of duty credit scrips under Chapter 3 and DEPB without prior export realization, conditional on submission of realization proof within RBI time limits and provision of a Bank Guarantee or Letter of Undertaking; it also extends DEPB utilization to restricted imports, revises DEPB value caps, and simplifies Advance Authorisation and EPCG procedural requirements including export obligation adjustments and electronic processing.

Export of services designation enables service tax refunds for specified professional and techno commercial services and prompts administrative simplification.
A clarification treats Export of Services outside India to include architectural, general insurance, market research, storage and warehousing, and knowledge and technology services, removing ambiguity and enabling claimants to seek service tax refund where tax was paid. The executive also committed to administrative changes to expedite refunds and simplify refund procedures for affected service exporters.

Duty credit scrip issuance to proceed without awaiting export proceeds, easing export-import duty and refund procedures.
Duty credit scrips under the DEPB scheme will be issued without awaiting realization of export proceeds; DEPB/Duty Credit Scrip utilization is extended to permit payment of duty on restricted imports. EPCG export obligations are extended for affected exports and electronic message transfer for advance authorisation and EPCG will be established. Refund and drawback procedures, including terminal excise duty and service tax refunds, are simplified and accelerated, and re credit of special additional duty for specified schemes is allowed.

Trade facilitation measures streamline export incentives and procedural relief to ease liquidity and compliance burdens for exporters.
Interim trade facilitation measures and procedural relaxations to support exporters during the global financial crisis, including issuance of duty credit scrips without realization of export proceeds, extension and restoration of DEPB benefits, expanded use of duty credit/DEPB for restricted imports, simplification of duty drawback and deemed export refund procedures, and extension of export obligation timelines under advance authorisations and EPCG. Complementary sectoral incentives, nominated agency additions, recognition threshold reductions for trading houses, and clarifications on export of services are provided to improve liquidity and reduce compliance burden.

Easing export credit norms expands tenor, refinance and liquidity support to reduce exporters' funding strain.
Regulatory measures relax credit conditions for exporters by extending tenors, broadening refinance and liquidity support, and adjusting permissible interest ceilings. The Reserve Bank increased the duration of pre shipment and post shipment rupee export credit, permitted longer realization periods for certain exporters, extended prescribed interest rate applicability to overdue post shipment bills, expanded Export Credit Refinance availability, allocated refinance to EXIM Bank for export lending, provided short term forex swap liquidity to banks, raised the foreign currency export credit ceiling and lines of credit margin, reintroduced targeted interest subvention for employment oriented sectors, and allowed consideration of premature FCCB buy backs.

SSI exemption allowing branded packing clearances while permitting cenvat credit prompts need for regulatory clarification.
Amendments permit SSI units to clear specified packing materials bearing another's brand name, now including plastic bags, and to avail Cenvat credit on inputs for those dutiable clearances; CBEC had issued a circular citing a Supreme Court decision against simultaneous credit and exemption while a tribunal decision supported permissibility and an appeal was pending, and the amendment effectively allows concurrent benefit. A remaining compliance issue is that turnover for SSI threshold is calculated after excluding values of dutiable branded clearances, creating potential disputes if departments challenge such deductions, prompting a call for CBEC clarification.

Economic stimulus package combining fiscal support, tax concessions and targeted credit measures to sustain demand.
A macroeconomic stimulus package combines additional plan expenditure for rural, infrastructure and social security programmes with fiscal and credit measures: an across the board cut in CENVAT, selective customs protection restoration, service tax concessions, higher export drawback rates, interest subvention for labour intensive exports, refinance support for housing and MSME finance, and authorization for tax exempt infrastructure bond issuance, coordinated by an Apex Committee headed by the Finance Secretary.

Customs duty exemption for newsprint and magazine paper reduces import tax burden on newspaper and magazine publishers.
Customs duty has been fully exempted on newsprint, uncoated paper used for printing newspapers (glazed newsprint), and on light weight coated paper used for printing magazines, removing import duty and-given existing excise exemptions-precluding countervailing duty and the Special Additional Duty to provide import tax relief for the newspaper and magazine publishing sector.

SEZ rule amendments expand housing obligations and permit duty reimbursement even when payment is in local currency.
Amendments require developers and co-developers to provide adequate housing facilities for SEZ workers and confirm that reimbursement of duty in lieu of drawback or DEPB credit is allowable even when payment is made in Indian rupees. Corrections and clarifications address definitions, procurement entitlements, entry permissions by the Development Commissioner, lease deed and appeal formalities, re import and destruction procedures, and other technical cross references affecting SEZ administration.

Tariff values of edible oils, brass scrap and poppy seeds notified, updating customs valuation entries.
Central Board of Excise and Customs issued Notification No.19/2009-Customs (N.T.) notifying tariff values for specified imported commodities-various edible oils, brass scrap (all grades) and poppy seeds-stating unit values in US dollars per metric tonne, with several edible oil entries noted as no change; the notification provides the administrative tariff valuation figures for customs assessment and import valuation.

Taxation of imported services: service tax applies only from commencement of the statutory charging provision, not earlier.
The Mumbai High Court determined that imposition of service tax on imports of services was legally tenable only from the date the statutory charging provision came into force; imports prior to that commencement were outside the service tax net and lacked statutory basis.

Deemed export claims funding released to settle pending excise duty, duty drawback and central sales tax liabilities under export schemes.
The Government released funds to regional authorities for settlement of pending Terminal Excise Duty and Duty Drawback claims under the deemed export scheme, and provided additional funds to Development Commissioner offices of Special Economic Zones to discharge pending Central Sales Tax claims for supplies to 100% Export Oriented Units.

Special Economic Zones drive employment growth and export expansion through incentives and regulatory facilitation.
Government measures to arrest export deceleration combine fiscal and liquidity interventions-excise duty reductions, targeted interest subvention for labour intensive export sectors, additional funding for incentive schemes and textile claim clearances, elimination/reduction of selected export/import duties, and guarantee/refund mechanisms-alongside promotion of Special Economic Zones as engines of employment and export growth and continued use of anti dumping investigations and sectoral promotion schemes to support competitiveness.

Economic stimulus measures liberalise external borrowing and strengthen liquidity and credit support for infrastructure and MSMEs.
Regulatory and fiscal measures provide a counter cyclical stimulus by liberalising External Commercial Borrowing approvals, permitting ECB for integrated township development and infrastructure NBFCs, increasing FII limits in rupee corporate bonds, authorising IIFCL to raise tax free bonds for infrastructure refinancing, creating an SPV to offer liquidity support to eligible NBFCs, instituting credit lines and revised bank credit targets with enhanced monitoring, and expanding credit guarantee coverage and MSME credit resolution mechanisms.

Customs duty changes restore import duties on cement, zinc, ferro-alloys and TMT bars to protect domestic industry.
Imported cement, zinc, ferro-alloys, and TMT bars and structurals will have previously withdrawn exemptions reinstated as customs or additional duties, implemented by Notification No. 2/2009-Customs dated 2 January 2009 to equalize treatment with domestic industry. The drawback schedule for 2008-09 is amended effective 1 September 2008 to increase rates for certain knitted fabrics and hand tools, raise value caps for specified items, include central excise for certain polyester yarns, and extend drawback to specific footwear, following Drawback Committee recommendations.

ECB policy liberalisation suspends all-in-cost ceilings temporarily and widens eligible borrowers and routes for external borrowing.
The ECB policy review dispenses with the requirement of all-in-cost ceilings until review and allows borrowers exceeding prior ceilings to seek approval from the Reserve Bank; concurrently, it permits integrated township developers and specified NBFCs to access ECBs under the approval route (with a direct-lending ratio condition), moves certain services sector capital expenditure ECBs to the automatic route (excluding land acquisition), and raises the FII corporate debt investment ceiling, with changes effective on RBI notification.