Tariff schedule amendment: substituted table sets the customs rates applicable to specified imports from Japan.
Amendment of Notification No.69/2011-Customs by substituting its Table with a new comprehensive tariff Table setting out chapters, headings, sub-headings and tariff items and the corresponding rates to be applied to specified goods imported from Japan, issued under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 and published as Notification No.28/2012-Customs.

Exchange rate determination under Customs Act sets new import and export currency conversion rates for notified currencies.
Determination of rate of exchange for specified foreign currencies under section 14 of the Customs Act, superseding the earlier notification and fixing conversion rates effective 1st May, 2012. Schedule I sets per-unit rupee equivalents for listed currencies with separate rates for imported and export goods; Schedule II sets the rupee equivalent for one hundred units of Japanese Yen, likewise for import and export. The notification records later substitutions affecting certain currency entries and preserves prior actions taken under the superseded instrument.

Public Provident Fund interest rate updated for subscriptions and balances under statutory authority, effective immediately.
Subscriptions to the Public Provident Fund and balances at the credit of subscribers on or after 1 April 2012 shall bear interest at 8.8 per cent per annum, as notified under Section 5 of the Public Provident Fund Act, 1968.

Post Office Time Deposit amendment replaces interest table and adds new rates effective from the specified implementation date.
The Post Office Time Deposit (Amendment) Rules, 2012 amend Rule 7 of the Post Office Time Deposit Rules, 1981 by narrowing the applicability bracket of Table-R to deposits made on or after the earlier specified date but before the first day of April, 2012, and by inserting Table-S to apply to deposits made on or after the first day of April, 2012 setting out the rates of interest per annum for specified deposit periods; the Notes are amended to refer to "Table R or Table S."

Interest rate fixation for Post Office Monthly Income Account revised, applying to deposits made from the start of April.
The Post Office (Monthly Income Account) Amendment Rules, 2012 insert a new clause fixing the interest rate at 8.5 per cent per annum for deposits made on or after the first day of April, 2012. The amendment is notified as effective from that commencement date and is made under the statutory powers conferred on the Central Government, limited to altering the rule governing the scheme's interest provision.

Interest rate for Senior Citizens Savings Scheme updated, applying a fixed annual rate to qualifying new deposits.
Amendment inserts a proviso into Rule 7(1) of the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme Rules, 2004 providing that deposits made under the Scheme on or after 1 April 2012 shall bear interest at the rate of 9.3 per cent per annum from the date of deposit.

Post Office Recurring Deposit Amendment updates payable amounts and adds new tables for accounts opened on or after April 1, 2012.
The Post Office Recurring Deposit Rules, 1981 are amended to substitute updated schedule figures in Rule 9, to expand table cross-references in Rules 10, 11 and 12, and to insert Tables 47-49 which specify amounts payable where accounts opened on or after 1 April 2012 are continued beyond maturity with or without further deposits and amounts payable to legal heirs or nominees; the amendments are deemed to have come into force on 1 April 2012.

Interest accrual rules updated for national savings certificates, changing annual reinvestment treatment and encashment payout schedule.
Amendment treats annual interest for the first four years on certificates purchased on or after the effective date as deemed reinvested and prescribes specific annual interest accruals for a standard denomination with proportionate amounts for other denominations. It also adds an encashment schedule specifying amounts payable inclusive of accrued interest, after discount adjustment, for successive holding period bands for certificates encashed after the minimum holding period, applied proportionately to other denominations.

Amendment to National Savings Certificates updates five-year maturity, annual interest accrual, and staged encashment terms.
The rules amend Certificates to provide a five-year maturity for certificates purchased on or after the effective date, prescribe annual interest accruals for five years with accruals at the end of each year through the fourth year deemed reinvested and aggregated with face value, and add an encashment schedule for certificates encashed after three years with proportionate amounts for other denominations.

Post Office Monthly Income Accounts: 8.5% annual interest for deposits made on or after 1 April 2012.
Amends the Post Office (Monthly Income Account) Rules, 1987 by adding clause (j) to rule 8(1) prescribing 8.5 per cent per annum interest for deposits made on or after 1 April 2012, effected under statutory powers and accompanied by a memorandum certifying no depositor is prejudicially affected by the retrospective operation.

Tax period rules revised: dealers face revised filing frequencies, option to elect monthly filing, and adjusted return deadlines.
These rules amend the Delhi Value Added Tax Rules, 2005 by revising tax period classifications: dealers with turnover at or below five crore rupees shall have a quarterly tax period while dealers exceeding that threshold shall have a one month tax period; quarterly class dealers may opt for monthly filing for a year by furnishing an intimation and that option cannot be changed during that year.

Baggage allowance increase raises duty free value for certain returning passengers by amending Appendix A of the Baggage Rules.
The amendment substitutes a higher monetary limit for the figure specified at item (c) of Appendix A to the Baggage Rules, 1998, increasing the duty free baggage value for passengers returning from countries other than Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar or China; it is made under section 79 of the Customs Act, 1962 as the Baggage (Second Amendment) Rules, 2012, and takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette.

Common adjudicating authority centralises customs adjudication for specified show cause notices against named traders.
A single Common Adjudicating Authority is appointed by the Central Board to centralise and exercise the adjudicatory powers of multiple Joint or Additional Commissioners of Customs at specified ports and customs houses for the sole purpose of adjudicating show cause notices issued to two named traders arising from a revenue intelligence investigation.

Notification amendment: Wardha designated as ICD for unloading imports and loading exports under Customs rules.
Amendment inserts item (xv) in the Table against serial number 9 for Maharashtra in Notification No. 12/97 Customs (N.T.), designating Wardha as an Inland Container Depot authorised for the unloading of imported goods and the loading of export goods under the Customs regulatory framework enacted via section 7(1)(aa) of the Customs Act, 1962.

FDI conditions updated: transfer and issue rules amended to remove certain prior permission provisos and revise sectoral restrictions.
The amendment removes provisos requiring prior Central Government permission for transferees with existing ventures or collaborations, revises Schedule 1 to allow share issuance against SEZ capital goods subject to valuation by a Development Commissioner-Customs Committee, and substitutes paragraph 3 to delineate circumstances requiring FIPB approval for issuance to non-residents, including specified activities, issuance beyond sectoral limits, share swaps, issuance against capital goods or preoperative expenses, and updates the list of sectors prohibited for FDI in Annex A.

Inland container depot amendment expands permitted unloading and loading operations to include new Kalinganagar location.
Amends Notification No.12/97 Customs (N.T.) by adding an entry for Kalinganagar in the Table for the State of Orissa, renumbering the Balasore entry and specifying that Kalinganagar is authorised for the unloading of imported goods and the loading of export goods.

CENVAT credit non-reversal allowed for aluminium foil processing where excise duty is paid on removal; refund claims barred.
CENVAT credit on inputs, capital goods and input services used in cutting, slitting and printing of aluminium foils (heading 7607) shall not be required to be reversed notwithstanding that those processes were held not to amount to manufacture, provided the credit was taken up to 15th March, 2012, excise duty has been paid on removal of the final product, and the assessee does not claim a refund of that excise duty; buyers' CENVAT credit in respect of excise duty paid by the assessee on products made and cleared up to 15th March, 2012 also need not be reversed.

Corrigendum to central excise notification corrects wording to include 'and goods', clarifying the notification's operative scope.
Corrigendum directs that, in the specified Gazette publication of the central excise notification, the word "goods" in the indicated column and line is to be read as "and goods", effecting a textual substitution to correct the published wording of the notification.

Duty-free re-import tolerances for certified diamonds allow limited size and weight variances under amended notification.
The notification amends the Explanation to the duty-free re-import exemption for cut and polished diamonds by expressly permitting small positive or negative variances in height, circumference and weight for stones certified/graded under the Foreign Trade Policy. It also defines "Foreign Trade Policy" as the policy published by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and its subsequent amendments, and substitutes the prior Explanation in notification No.9/2012-Customs.

Customs duty on electrical energy from SEZ to DTA revised; gold and silver allowances per passenger specified.
Substitutes the Table entry for electrical energy removed from SEZs into the Domestic Tariff Area or non processing areas by categorising removals by project capacity and fuel type and prescribing corresponding duty rates; and replaces clause (b) of para 1 in condition no. 35 of the Annexure to limit gold to one kilogram and silver to ten kilograms per eligible passenger.