Tariff value fixation updated: notification substitutes the tariff value table for edible oils, brass scrap, and poppy seeds.
Substitutes the tariff value table in the principal customs notification to fix per metric tonne benchmark values for specified imports, maintaining existing values for palm and soya oil entries and specifying values for brass scrap (all grades) and poppy seeds, thereby amending the 2001 customs non tariff notification by administrative substitution of the schedule.

Foreign Trade Policy amendment limits blanket 'onwards' export applicability and allows specific export dates by public notice.
The amendment replaces the terminal word 'onwards.' in specified FTP provisions with "onwards, unless a specific date of export / period is specified by public notice/notification." This conditions default continuing applicability on any later public notice or notification that specifies a particular export date or period and is issued under the statutory authority for the Foreign Trade Policy.

Customs tariff adjustment: specified percentage entries in an existing exemption notification are revised and substituted.
Under sub section (1) of section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962, the Central Government amends Notification No.152/2009 Customs by substituting specified percentage entries in column (4) of the Table with revised percentage figures, the amendment being limited to replacing those percentage entries wherever they occur in the Table.

Recruitment and service conditions revised: Board can relax qualifications and redefine seniority, pay, leave and gratuity rules.
The amendments empower the Board to waive or relax service regulations, require the Board to specify pay and sanction posts with Executive Director and Chairman as competent authorities for specified levels, and prescribe entry-level recruitment including campus selection with permitted higher-grade recruitment in special circumstances. They revise seniority rules tied to confirmation and selection ranking, update qualifications, age and experience requirements across streams and grades while allowing recorded relaxations, and adjust leave encashment and gratuity provisions including Board-determined gratuity amounts and authority to create a gratuity trust.

Assignment of Show Cause Notice under Customs Act directs adjudication by designated customs adjudicating authority.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs, invoking powers under Notification No. 37/2003 Customs (N.T.) issued under section 4(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, assigns the Show Cause Notice F.No. DRI/SRU/INV-09/2008/NIDHI dated 07.12.2009 issued by the Additional Director General, DRI, Ahmedabad, in the case of M/s. Nidhi Textiles and others to the Commissioner of Customs (Adjudication), Mumbai for adjudication.

Tariff-based competitive bidding allows exemption from ICB requirement for mega power projects, enabling deemed-export benefits for expansion.
The amendment exempts mega power projects from the ICB requirement where required power has been tied up or the project awarded via tariff-based competitive bidding, and makes supplies for expansion of specified existing mega power projects eligible for the deemed export benefits under paragraph 8.3(a),(b) and (c) of the FTP.

Rescission of appointment: Central government withdraws prior designations of Director, Software Technology Parks of India as Development Commissioner of SEZs.
Central Government rescinds earlier notifications appointing the Director, Software Technology Parks of India as Development Commissioner of Special Economic Zones under the power conferred by sub section (1) of Section 11 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, by notification S.O. 78(E) dated 13 January 2010 issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Notified offences under foreign trade law authorise the Development Commissioner as enforcement officer for violations within Special Economic Zones.
The Central Government specified certain acts and omissions under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 as notified offences for purposes of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, and authorised the Development Commissioner of the relevant Special Economic Zone to act as the Enforcement Officer for those notified offences within the zone.

Specified offences under foreign trade law now applicable to Special Economic Zones as notified for enforcement and regulatory purposes.
Specification by the Central Government designates acts and omissions punishable under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act as notified offences for purposes of the Special Economic Zones Act, thereby aligning SEZ compliance and enforcement with the penal provisions of the foreign trade statute and enabling application of those punishability standards within SEZs.

Commencement of SEZ provisions: Sections 20-22 activated under the Act by Central Government notification.
The Central Government, invoking the enabling power in sub-section (3) of Section 1 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, by notification appointed 13th January 2010 as the date on which Sections 20, 21 and 22 of the Act shall come into force, thereby commencing those provisions.

PMLA jurisdiction updated to designate adjudicating authorities covering entire territorial units under amended notification.
Amendment under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act uses powers under section 43(1), after consultation with High Courts, to revise the notification Annexure: it substitutes the entry at serial number 2 to designate the District and Sessions Judge at the relevant seat as the authority for the entire territorial unit, and inserts a new serial entry designating the Court of Additional District and Sessions Judge at the relevant seat as the authority for an additional entire territorial unit.

Commencement of amendment: sections of the Delhi VAT Amendment come into force on 13 January 2010.
The Lieutenant Governor appoints 13 January 2010 as the date on which specified provisions of the Delhi Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act, 2009 shall come into force, exercised under the powers conferred by sub section (3) of section 1 of the Amendment Act read with the proviso to sub section (3) of section 1 of the principal Act, and issued as a formal notification signed by the Joint Secretary (Finance/Planning).

Taxability of carbon credits: treated as intangible goods under VAT and subject to VAT at the prescribed rate.
Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) are intangible instruments with innate market value, transferable and marketable, and therefore fall within the definition of "goods" under the DVAT Act, 2004; transactions in CERs constitute "sale" and persons trading them are "dealers". CERs are comparable to intangible items listed in Entry No. 3 of the Third Schedule and, applying judicial precedents on tradable licences and scrips, are taxable under the DVAT Act and subject to the VAT rate applicable to such intangible goods.

Customs amendment permits unloading of imports and loading of exports at Jaigad under delegated authority.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs, under Section 7(1)(a) of the Customs Act, 1962, substitutes the Table entry for Jaigad in the Principal Notification so that permitted operations at Jaigad are: "Unloading of imported goods and the Loading of export goods or any class of such goods."

Customs exemption amendment expands notified nuclear power project units eligible for duty exemption under existing notification.
Amendment to a customs exemption notification substitutes the Rajasthan Atomic Power Project entry to update unit designations and capacities and inserts the Kakrapar Atomic Power Project units into the notified list, thereby extending the scope of the earlier customs concession to those specified atomic power plant units under the principal notification.

Establishment of Special Economic Zone: area notified, Approval Committee constituted and ICD/Port status declared for developer operation.
Notification establishes a sector specific Special Economic Zone for IT/ITES at Malumichampatti by notifying specified survey parcels; constitutes an Approval Committee composed of the Development Commissioner (Chairperson, ex officio), specified central ex officio members, two state nominated officers, and a developer representative as special invitee; and declares the SEZ to be deemed an Inland Container Depot/Port under the Customs Act from the appointed date.

Deduction for donations to specified sports expanded; additional disciplines now qualify for tax deduction under section 80G.
Amendment under section 80G inserts specified sports disciplines into the notified list of recipients whose donations qualify for deduction, adding Baseball, Fencing, Handball, Ice Hockey, Karate, Kayaking and Canoeing, Netball, Sepak Takraw, Snooker, Soft Tennis, Taekwondo, Triathlon, Winter Games (Skiing and Ice Skating) and Wushu. The amendment provides that donations to these newly listed items shall be eligible for deduction for assessment year 2010-11 and subsequent assessment years.

Valuation of perquisites corrected: textual references and reimbursement wording clarified in tax amendment notification.
Corrigendum to Income-tax (Thirteenth Amendment) Rules, 2009 corrects textual references and formulations relating to valuation of perquisites, replacing certain "sub-section" references with "clause" or "sub-clause", clarifying that employer charges met or reimbursed are to be reduced by the amount attributable to official vehicle use where conditions are met, and fixing typographical errors such as "credit care" to "credit card", with other contents remaining unchanged.

Renewal of recognition granted to a stock exchange subject to investor fund contribution and regulatory compliance before trading commencement.
Renewal of recognition is granted to Jaipur Stock Exchange Limited under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act for a one-year term commencing in January 2010, subject to conditions: the Exchange must contribute to an Investor Services Fund and may commence trading only after complying with all regulatory requirements imposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, with further conditions to be prescribed or imposed as applicable.

Limited Liability Partnership rules amended: DPIN process tightened, corporate nominee formalities set, LLP agreement filing deadline enforced.
The Amendment substitutes rule 10 to require electronic DPIN applications in Form 7 with attested proof of identity, proof of residence, a signed photograph and, for corporate nominees, a corporate resolution naming the individual nominee; specified authorities must attest documents and foreign entities must provide duly certified translations. The Central Government shall decide DPIN applications within thirty days; DPINs are lifetime identifiers. Designated partners must file DPIN in Form 9 and notify changes within 30 days to the Central Government (Form 10) and within 15 days to the LLP (Form 6). Rule 12 and rule 21 are similarly amended and Forms 1-7 are substituted; one fee reduced from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 5,000.