Appointment of part-time SEBI member under Section 4(1)(d): Dr. G. Mohan Gopal named for a fixed tenure.
The Central Government, under sub-section (1) of Section 4 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 and the Rules on terms and conditions of service, appoints Dr. G. Mohan Gopal, Director, National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, as a part-time member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India for a fixed tenure commencing on the date specified in the notification or until further orders, whichever is earlier, issued by official notification and authorised by the joint secretary.

Corporatisation and demutualisation: appointed dates designated following statutory compliance, confirming corporate conversion of specified stock exchanges.
SEBI confirms that each named stock exchange satisfied statutory compliance for corporatisation and demutualisation under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act and completed conversion on the recorded dates, and SEBI designates those completion dates as the appointed date for the respective exchanges.

Delivery-based trading requirement limits FIIs to actual delivery; short selling and securities lending allowed under Board frameworks.
Amendments to regulation 15 require foreign institutional investors and sub-accounts to transact in Indian securities only on the basis of taking and giving delivery, except for derivatives on recognised exchanges, and permit short selling only under a Board-specified framework; sub-regulation (8) is replaced to authorize securities lending and borrowing solely in accordance with a Board-specified framework.

Section 80C deduction eligibility for NABARD Rural Bonds specified, applying from the assessment year commencing in 2008.
The Central Government specifies the NABARD Rural Bonds issued by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development as eligible investments for deduction under Section 80C, invoking powers conferred by the Finance Act, 2007 amendment; the specification is subject to an aggregate subscription ceiling and takes effect from the commencement of the stated fiscal period, applying to the subsequent assessment year.

Human Resource Development directorate established to centralize HR planning and performance management for income tax department.
Constitution of the Directorate of Income Tax, Human Resource Development establishes a centralized HR unit within CBDT to develop strategic HR plans, assess job requirements and project manpower needs, operate a Human Resource Information System, and assist CBDT in recruitment, promotions, performance appraisal, transfers, succession planning, equal opportunity, and employee welfare. The Directorate will design a performance management system linking rewards to measurable performance and promote international cooperation. It is headed by a Director General (HRD), located in New Delhi, organized into three divisions-Cadre Management, Performance Management and ACR, and Training and Capacity Building-each with specified operational responsibilities.

Tariff concession: substitution of Nil rates for specified customs entries, effective from the start of January, ensuring concessional import treatment.
The Central Government amends Notification No.68/2006-Customs by substituting the entry Nil in column (5) of the Table against S.No.1 to 248, thereby applying concessional import tariff treatment under the SAFTA-linked schedule; the amendment takes effect from the 1st day of January, 2008.

Customs Tariff Amendment revises import duty structure for goods from specified countries, granting preferential nil duty to designated appendix.
The Central Government substitutes the existing customs tariff table in Notification No.67/2006 Customs with a new table that sets differential import duty rates by tariff classification for goods imported from countries listed in a designated Appendix I and those listed in a designated Appendix II. The table specifies the rate applicable for Appendix I origins and records a preferential nil rate for Appendix II origins for the listed goods, and includes explanatory entries and product specific characterisations. The amendment takes effect on the stated commencement date.

Anti-dumping duty on imported flat base steel wheels enforces definitive duties after finding dumped imports caused material injury.
Imposition of anti-dumping duty on flat base steel wheels (tariff item 8708 70 00) from the People's Republic of China based on findings of exports below normal value, substantial dumping margin, and material injury to domestic industry; duties specified by producer/exporter combinations and country of origin/export, expressed per metric tonne in Indian currency, levied from the date of provisional imposition and remaining in force until the notification's stated expiry unless revoked earlier.

Customs amendment alters tariff treatment by omitting a proviso clause, affecting duty rates on vegetable fats and oils.
Notification 123/2007-Customs removes proviso clause (iab) from the preamble of Notification No.21/2002-Customs, thereby amending the effective rate framework for customs duty on "vegetable fats and oils". The Central Government made the change under powers conferred by the Customs Act on grounds of public interest as a further modification to the principal notification of 1 March 2002.

Withdrawal of exemption under Section 303(2) restores mandatory Form 32 filings, with a conditional fee waiver and late fees applying.
The amendment withdraws the prior exemption by omitting reference to Section 303(2) from notification S.O. 1578 and requires existing companies to file Form 32 for director or officer changes occurring after filing Form DIN-3 up to the order's commencement; filings within sixty days receive a fee waiver, whereas later filings require payment of the prescribed fee and additional fees under section 611.

Rescission of registration fee order removes prior fee concession for licensed not for profit companies, with a saving clause preserving past actions.
The Central Government hereby rescinds S.O. 3879 dated 22nd December, 1962, which ordered a reduction in the registration fee for associations not for profit licensed under section 25 of the Companies Act, with the rescission to take effect from 31st December, 2007; such rescission shall not affect anything done or omitted to be done under the said notification before this notification.

Access to registered premises: authorised officers may inspect and demand records, trial balance and tax audit report promptly.
Every assessee must furnish a duplicate list of records accounting for service transactions (taxable or exempt), input services and payments, inputs and capital goods transactions, other business activities, and other financial records when filing a return for the first time or by the specified deadline. An authorised officer may access registered premises to carry out scrutiny and, on demand, the assessee must provide within a reasonable time not exceeding fifteen working days the records mentioned above, the trial balance or equivalent, and the income-tax audit report under section 44AB for scrutiny.

SEZ amendment updates plot designation and land area for Rajarhat IT/ITES zone, clarifying site boundaries.
Amendment to the notification for a sector specific Special Economic Zone for information technology and information technology enabled services at Rajarhat, Kolkata replaces the Plot No. at Serial No. 1 from "DH-01" to "DH-01 (Part)", amends the Area at Serial No. 2 to read as 8.91 hectares, and revises the total area to read as 18.37 hectares, thereby clarifying plot designation and allocated land area.

Reimbursement of duty on fuel now governed by DGFT drawback rates under amended Foreign Trade Policy.
Amendment to FTP 2004-2009 revises paragraph 6.11(c)(iv) to provide reimbursement of duty on fuel procured from domestic oil companies and depots of domestic Public Sector Undertakings as per the drawback rate notified by DGFT from time to time.

Import approval for GM soybean oil exempting a specific import restriction until further orders for consumption after refining.
Amendment grants a one-time approval for import of crude de-gummed and refined soybean oil derived from Roundup-Ready soybean for consumption after refining, and accordingly Condition No. 18 of Chapter 1A (General Notes Regarding Import Policy) will not apply to such imports until further orders.

Minimum Export Price increased for non-basmati rice, raising the export price threshold and tightening export prohibitions.
Amendment raises the Minimum Export Price for non-basmati rice by substituting the prior MEP figure in the earlier notification with a higher MEP in FOB terms, making exports subject to the revised price condition and taking immediate effect as a public interest measure.

Export regulation of ketamine requires a No Objection Certificate before export despite permissive classification under trade policy.
Ketamine (HS codes 30039036 and 30049096) is added to Chapter 30 of Schedule 2 as a kilogram-measured item under a Free export policy, promulgated under Section 5 read with Section 3(2) of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act and relevant Foreign Trade Policy provisions; export is allowed only after obtaining a No Objection Certificate from the designated narcotics control authority.

Duty credit scrip incentive for agricultural exporters under specified ITC HS chapters grants FOB-linked benefit and import relief for capital equipment.
Recognised Status Holders exporting agricultural products in specified ITC HS chapters are eligible for a duty credit scrip equal to ten percent of FOB value, subject to an overall cap, the actual user non-transferability condition, and compliance with procedural conditions in the Handbook of Procedures; permitted importable capital goods include cold storage units, pack houses and reefer vans for use in storage, packing and transportation of agricultural and agro-processed perishable products.

Compounding of offences: payment of duty, penalty and interest made mandatory before compounding application is accepted.
The amendment makes payment of duty, penalty and interest a mandatory prerequisite to allow compounding applications and adds a form field to capture payment details. It replaces the compounding-amount rule with a Table prescribing lump-sum and percentage-based compounding amounts for various offences under section 9(1), and provides that where multiple offence categories arise in respect of the same goods with identical duty evasion or CENVAT amounts, the higher prescribed compounding amount applies.

Import classification amendment expands authorised public entities to include an additional agro service corporation under the import schedule.
The notification amends Schedule I (Imports) of the ITC(HS) 2004-09 classifications by substituting references to M/s MMTC Limited and M/s Tamil Nadu Cements Corporation Ltd. (TANCEM) in Condition 6 of Chapter I A with an expanded list that includes M/s Puducherry Agro Service and Industries Corporation Ltd. (PASIC) alongside the previously listed entities.