Filing deadline extension for sales-tax statements under sales and works-contract laws; deadline extended and other conditions unchanged.
Dealers under the Delhi Sales Tax Act, 1975 must file Form ST-11A and dealers/works contractors under the Delhi Sales Tax on Works Contract Act, 1999 must file Forms XIII for assessment year 2004-05 by the last date of 16.01.2006; all other conditions of prior notifications dated 17.8.2005 remain unchanged and the notification is effective immediately.

Notification under section 80-IA(4)(v): Ratnagiri Gas & Power Pvt Ltd designated for specified income-tax benefit under Act.
The Central Government, exercising powers under sub-clause (a) of clause (v) of sub-section (4) of section 80-IA, notifies Ratnagiri Gas & Power Private Limited by name and registered office for the purposes of that sub-clause, thereby designating the company as within the scope of the specified provision.

Compounding of customs offences establishes procedures, compounding amounts and conditional immunity from prosecution upon payment.
These rules authorise Chief Commissioners of Customs as compounding authorities to accept applications from importers, exporters or other persons for compounding offences under the Customs Act. Applications may be made before or after prosecution; the compounding authority must obtain a report from the reporting authority, may allow compounding by fixing a compounding amount and granting conditional immunity from prosecution or reject the application after hearing. The schedule prescribes base amounts and percentage-based caps for specified offences. Immunity is conditional and withdrawable for non-payment, concealment or false evidence.

Agreement for sale of electricity: amended to replace 'importer and purchaser' with 'producer of power and purchaser'.
The notification amends condition (ii) of Notification No. 33/2005-Central Excise by substituting the words "the producer of power and the purchaser" for the words "the importer and the purchaser," thereby altering the designated counterparty in agreements for sale and purchase of electricity generated for the project under the tariff/condition framework.

Exemption for matches limited to those manufactured without the listed power-assisted processes, narrowing duty relief applicability.
The amendment substitutes the entry for S. No. 256 in Notification No. 6/2002-Central Excise to exempt matches only where none of the following processes is ordinarily carried on with the aid of power in or in relation to their manufacture: giving veneer flats or strips and configuring matchboxes with match paper; frame filling; dipping splints in match head composition; filling boxes with matches; pasting labels on match boxes, veneers or cardboards; and packaging.

Compounding of excise offences establishes application process, tiered compounding amounts and conditional immunity upon disclosure and payment.
The rules permit an assessee or eligible person to apply to the compounding authority to compound specified Central Excise offences; the authority must obtain a reporting authority's report, may allow or reject applications after hearing, and, if allowed, fix a tiered compounding amount tied to offence category and valuation. The applicant must pay within the stipulated period and furnish proof; payment is generally non refundable. Immunity from prosecution may be granted for full and true disclosure and cooperation but is withdrawn for non payment, non compliance, or concealment or false evidence.

Special Economic Zone designation at Puthuvypeen establishes a port-based SEZ following approval to Cochin Port Trust.
Notification designates land at Puthuvypeen, Ernakulam District, Kerala, as a Special Economic Zone following approval to Cochin Port Trust, listing specific survey numbers and areas in hectares across Elamkunnapuzha and Puthuvype villages within Kochi taluk and stating the total notified extent.

Special Economic Zone notification establishes a port-based SEZ designation and defines the demarcated land parcel.
Notification designates Vallarpadam in Ernakulam District as a Special Economic Zone for a port-based SEZ approved for Cochin Port Trust, specifying the notified survey parcel (235/2 part), the area in hectares (115.2500), and the relevant village and taluk for the demarcated land, issued by the Department of Commerce with the departmental file reference and signatory authority.

Special Economic Zone notified for Hadapsar-Manjri enabling biotech and pharmaceutical SEZ development within designated parcels.
Central Government notification S.O.1833(E) dated 29-12-2005 designates specified survey parcels in Hadapsar/Manjri, District Pune, as a Special Economic Zone for the Biotech and Pharmaceuticals sector, listing each parcel with its surveyed extent and recording a consolidated area of 23.1793 hectares, thereby constituting the described land as the notified SEZ under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Income-tax Appellate Tribunal members' retirement ages set: President 65; Senior Vice President, Vice President and Members 62.
Clause (c) of rule 2 is amended so that rules 12 and 13 do not include the President, Senior Vice President and Vice President. Rule 11 is replaced to prescribe retirement ages: the President on attaining sixty five years; the Senior Vice President, Vice President and Member on attaining sixty two years, and retirement occurs on the date of attaining the specified age rather than the last date of the month applicable to other Government servants.

Industrial park approval granted subject to infrastructure, allocation and compliance conditions and FDI approvals required.
The Central Government notifies M/s. Vanenburg IT Park Private Limited as an industrial park under clause (iii) of sub-section (4) of the tax provision, subject to annexed terms: specified location, foreign ownership, software-related industrial activities, investment and area details, mandatory minimum allocable industrial area and caps on commercial area, minimum infrastructure and built-up expenditure thresholds, defined infrastructure components, restrictions on unit occupancy, requirement for separate foreign investment approvals, operator continuity during benefit period, and withdrawal of approval for non-compliance or nondisclosure.

Refinery definition clarified - kerosene exemption now applies specifically to units producing kerosene from crude petroleum or natural gas.
The notification amends the kerosene exemption by omitting the words referencing declaration under rule 20 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002, and by inserting a definition that "refinery" means a unit which makes kerosene either from crude petroleum oil or natural gas, thereby clarifying the exemption's scope.

Appointment of Whole Time Member: Government appoints Dr. T. C. Nair with a fixed term and age cap.
Central Government appoints Dr. T. C. Nair as a Whole Time Member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India under Sub section (1) of Section 4 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Terms and Conditions of Services of Chairman and Members) Rules, 1992, for a fixed tenure from assumption of charge subject to an upper age limit and until further orders.

Export prohibition for beche-de-mer: regulatory amendment bars all exports irrespective of size under trade policy.
The ITC(HS) Schedule 2 entry for beche-de-mer under Fish and Crustaceans, Molluscs and other Aquatic Invertebrates is amended to classify beche-de-mer as Prohibited for export, not permitted irrespective of size, under the Foreign Trade Policy framework and in the public interest.

Adjudicating authority appointment centralizes adjudication of show cause notices arising from revenue intelligence investigations.
A notification under section 4(1) of the Customs Act and rule 3(1) of the Central Excise Rules appoints the Commissioner of Customs (Exports), Jawahar Custom House, Nhava Sheva, Mumbai to act as the designated Commissioner for multiple Commissionerates and posts for the specific purpose of adjudicating show cause notices concerning M/s Clarrity Intermediates and Pesticides, Surat and others arising from specified revenue intelligence investigation files.

Appointment of special adjudicators formally designates officers to adjudicate specified customs show-cause matters and investigations.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs designates specified customs officers to act as special adjudicators and investigators for a series of listed show-cause matters, mapping each notice and named party to the officer(s) empowered to perform the functions of the Common Adjudicating Authority or proper officer for adjudication and investigation of those matters.

Exemption extension: import exemptions under ATVP and IGMDP have operative dates substituted to extend application.
The Central Government amends Notification No.39/96-Customs by substituting new operative dates in the Table: S.No.13's Explanation is changed to the 1st day of January 2011 and S.No.14's Explanation is changed to the 1st day of January 2008, thereby extending the temporal application of import exemptions under the ATVP and IGMDP schemes pursuant to powers under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962.

Exchange rate determination prescribes conversion rates for specified foreign currencies for export goods effective from the notified date.
Determination of exchange rates for conversion of specified foreign currencies for export goods effective from 1 January 2006, superseding the prior notification; two schedules prescribe unit conversion rates for listed currencies, including one-unit rates for eleven currencies and a 100 unit rate for the Japanese Yen, which are the operative figures for export-related customs conversion.

Exchange rate determination for imported goods establishes specified currency conversion rates for customs purposes effective now.
The Board, exercising powers under the Customs Act, prescribes conversion rates for specified foreign currencies into Indian rupees for customs purposes, effective 1 January 2006, superseding the prior notification; Schedule I states rupee equivalents per one unit of listed currencies, and Schedule II states the rupee equivalent per one hundred units of Japanese yen.

Duty Entitlement Pass Book extension permits continued DEPB validity under a Customs Act amendment substituting the prior expiry date.
Extension of the Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) scheme by amendment under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, replacing the earlier expiry wording in paragraph 2 of Notification No. 89/2005-Customs with a new expiry date, thereby continuing the scheme's operative terms for the substituted validity period.