Import liberalisation of arms and ammunition allows specified sportspersons and bodies free import subject to record-keeping and Arms Act compliance.
Import of arms (including parts) and ammunition is permitted freely to specified sportspersons and sport bodies without import licensing; recommending or certifying bodies must maintain required records. Policy for import of air gun pellets is free. The amendment removes the prior licensing procedure for those categories but does not exempt them from the Arms Act and related rules.

Exemption for LR-SAM imports: conditional duty-free entry for specified defence goods on authorised centre certification and use restriction.
Conditional customs exemption for specified goods for the LR-SAM Programme is inserted: goods imported by authorised works centres designated by an officer not below Deputy Secretary, and accompanied at import by a certified list from the Programme Director to the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Customs stating the items are required for, authorised under, and will be used solely for the LR-SAM Programme; the exemption expires on or after the 25th day of May, 2012.

Excise exemption for LR SAM programme subject to supply to programme and pre clearance certificate; exemption has specified expiry.
Exemption added for specified machinery, equipment, components, software, raw materials and consumables required for the Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LR SAM) Programme of the Ministry of Defence, conditional upon supply to the LR SAM Programme and production, prior to clearance, of a certificate from the Programme Director confirming intended use; the exemption is limited by a specified expiry date.

CENVAT Credit Rules amendment makes rule 12 subject to the proviso to clause (i) of sub rule (1) of rule 3.
The CENVAT Credit (First Amendment) Rules, 2012, effective on publication in the Official Gazette, substitute in rule 12 the words "notwithstanding anything contained in these rules" with "notwithstanding anything contained in these rules but subject to the proviso to clause (i) of sub rule (1) of the rule 3", thereby making rule 12 expressly subject to that proviso.

Customs corrigendum adjusts tariff entries in an earlier notification, revising specified table figures.
Corrigendum effects targeted amendments to an earlier customs exemption notification by altering specified tariff-entry figures in the Appendix I table. The corrigendum replaces the figures recorded in column (4) for two listed serial entries, modifying the numerical values that govern the tariff/exemption treatment set out in the original schedule and is published as an official correction to the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) notification.

Anti-dumping duty on Coumarin imports from China imposed, calculated as the margin between set price and landed value.
Imposes definitive anti-dumping duty on Coumarin (Tariff Item 2932 20 10) originating in or exported from the People's Republic of China, payable in Indian currency. Duty equals the difference between the specified US Dollar amount per kilogram and the landed value of imports. The notification includes producer-exporter specific entries and residual coverage, defines "landed value" as assessable value under the Customs Act excluding specified tariff duties, and prescribes the notified exchange rate on bill of entry date for calculation. The duty is levied for a five-year period and remains in force up to the stated terminal date unless revoked earlier.

Buyback reservation for small shareholders introduced; procedural timelines and expanded disclosure obligations tightened for buybacks.
Amendments add definitions for small shareholder and working day, require filing of board resolutions within two working days, reserve a portion of buybacks for small shareholders with reserved and general categories and entitlement-based acceptance, and tighten timelines: public announcements and filings within two working days, dispatch of letter of offer within five working days of Board comments, offer periods and a seven-working-day deadline for verification and payment. Revised Schedules consolidate expanded disclosure requirements for public announcements and letters of offer, including board, financial, market and promoter-related information.

Treatment of convertible debt instruments clarified: compulsorily convertible instruments govern reserved allotments and preferential exemptions applied.
Regulations amend the treatment of outstanding convertible debt in rights and bonus issues by specifying holders of compulsorily convertible debt instruments, removing prior conditional wording, adding ", if any," to allocation language, and replacing "on" with "at" in pricing/allotment clauses. A new provision exempts certain sub regulation requirements from applying to preferential issues where the proposed allottee is a registered Mutual Fund or an Insurance Company.

Special Economic Zone area expansion: additional surveyed land formally notified into the biotechnology SEZ, altering its notified footprint.
The Central Government, invoking the second proviso to Section 4 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 and rule 8 of the Special Economic Zone Rules, 2006, notified inclusion of specified surveyed land parcels at Manjari Budruk into the existing Biotechnology SEZ. The notification lists the survey numbers and their areas, records the aggregate area after inclusion, and the Notes reference subsequent de-notification actions affecting parts of the notified territory.

Income Tax Appellate Tribunal rules require revised Form 36 for address changes and broaden registrar and representation rules.
Amendments revise definitions to include Central Board appointed authorised representatives and Chief Commissioner authorised persons; expand Registrar powers to receive appeals, miscellaneous applications and stay petitions; require filing of a revised Form No. 36 for address changes with appeal identification for service; substitute "Assessing Officer" for "Income Tax Officer" and "CIT(Appeals)" for "Appellate Assistant Commissioner"; provide that appeals do not abate on death, insolvency or winding up if a revised Form No. 36 is filed; and require triplicate filing and disclosure of prior miscellaneous applications.

Customs corrigendum narrows listed stainless steel grades, replacing prior grade entries with specified EN duplex and a single ferritic grade.
Corrigendum narrows the exemption notification's listed stainless steel grades by removing Grade 420 and Grade 430 and replacing the prior listing with a revised set: Duplex Stainless Steel grades EN 1.4835, 1.4547, 1.4539, 1.4438, 1.4318 and 1.4833 and Ferritic Grade EN 1.4509, thereby altering the tariff description in the original notification.

Customs exemption for ITER India project imports subject to authorised designation and Project Director certification only.
Inserts S.No.37 into Notification No.39/96 Customs exempting specified machinery, equipment, components, consumables and related items from customs duty when imported for the ITER India project, provided imports are made by authorised ITER India works centres designated by a Department of Atomic Energy officer (not below Deputy Secretary) and accompanied at import by a Project Director certified list confirming the goods are required for and will be used only in the ITER India project.

Annual statement filing for liaison offices mandates electronic submission with digital signature and Chartered Accountant verification.
Rule 114DA requires non-residents with Liaison Offices to furnish an annual statement under section 285 in Form No. 49C, to be submitted electronically with a digital signature and verified by a Chartered Accountant or an Authorised Signatory. The Director General of Income tax (Systems) will specify filing procedures and ensure appropriate security, archival and retrieval policies. Form No. 49C prescribes identification, registration and approval details, India specific financial and operational disclosures, counterparties and group entity information, employee particulars, and a verification clause.

Qualified institutional buyer status extended to registered Alternative Investment Funds for purposes of securitisation law.
The regulator, under clause (u) of sub-section (1) of Section 2 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, specifies that an Alternative Investment Fund which is a body corporate and registered under the Alternative Investment Funds Regulations, 2012, shall be a qualified institutional buyer for the purposes of that Act, thereby aligning registered corporate AIFs with the qualified institutional buyer category under the securitisation and enforcement framework.

Special Economic Zone expansion: government approves additional land inclusion under SEZ Act and Rules, updating notified area.
The Central Government, under the second proviso to sub-section (1) of Section 4 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 and Rule 8 of the SEZ Rules, 2006, notifies inclusion of 0.1467 hectares into the existing IT/ITeS Special Economic Zone at specified survey and killa particulars, thereby revising the SEZ's total notified area; the notification references earlier notifications and records the administrative amendment to the SEZ boundaries.

Assignment of Show Cause Notice transfers adjudication to the designated Common Adjudicating Authority under Customs delegation.
Assignment of a Show Cause Notice issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence is made under Notification No. 15/2002 Customs (N.T.) and the delegation in the Customs Act, transferring adjudication responsibility to the Commissioner of Customs (Import), New Custom House, Mumbai as the Common Adjudicating Authority.

Assignment of Show Cause Notice to Commissioner of Customs for adjudication under the Customs Act directs transfer of adjudicatory responsibility.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs, invoking the Notification under sub section (1) of section 4 of the Customs Act, 1962, assigns the Show Cause Notice issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence to the Commissioner of Customs (Import), New Custom House, Mumbai, directing that office to undertake adjudication and notifying relevant offices for administrative coordination.

Denotification of Special Economic Zone rescinds SEZ status at Sholinganallur after approval, subject to preserved prior actions.
Rescission of a sector-specific Special Economic Zone for information technology and IT-enabled services at Village Sholinganallur withdraws the prior notification of 18.60.4 hectares. The rescission follows the developer's proposal and the Central Government's letter of approval for denotification, and is exercised under the SEZ statutory framework and rules, while preserving actions done or omitted before the rescission.

Fixation of tariff values updates schedules for specified edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds and precious metals.
Amendment to Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) substitutes TABLE-1 and TABLE-2 to fix tariff values: prescribed US dollar per metric tonne values for specified edible oils (crude palm oil, RBD palm oil, palmolein variants, crude soyabean oil), brass scrap (all grades), and poppy seeds; and per-unit values for gold and silver when a separate notification's benefit is availed, effected under sub-section (2) of section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Commencement of Company Secretaries Amendment Act: government appoints date to bring its provisions into force nationwide.
The Central Government, exercising the power under sub section (2) of section I of the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 2011, appoints the 1st day of February, 2012 as the date on which the provisions of that Act shall come into force by formal notification.