Presiding Officer remuneration and service terms set pay, allowances, leave, pension and travel entitlements under tribunal rules.
Rules prescribe salary parity for the Presiding Officer with an Additional Secretary subject to reduction by retirement benefits, entitlement to dearness and city compensatory allowances at Group A rates, leave and travel entitlements equivalent to Group A officers of comparable pay, travel and conveyance facilities including staff car and petrol allotment, medical treatment under central schemes, pension and provident fund treatment depending on prior service, and special parity provisions for serving or retired High Court judges; residual matters and relaxations rest with the Central Government.

Salaries and allowances for tribunal officers established, prescribing conditions of service and commencement of rules.
Establishes rules governing salaries and allowances and other conditions of service for officers and employees of the Securities Appellate Tribunal, promulgated by the Central Government under statutory authority, formally titled the Securities Appellate Tribunal (Salaries and allowances and other conditions of service of the officers and employees) Rules, 1997, and brought into force by notification with administrative file identification and signature.

Securities Appellate Tribunal established to hear appeals under section 15T with nationwide jurisdiction.
Central Government notification establishes a Securities Appellate Tribunal at Mumbai under section 15K of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, empowering it to hear appeals under section 15T of the Act; the instrument specifies the Tribunal's subject-matter jurisdiction and declares its territorial jurisdiction to extend to the whole of India.

Appointment of Presiding Officer under SEBI Act establishes a five-year term subject to statutory age limit upon assumption of office.
The Central Government, invoking section 15L read with section 15N of the SEBI Act, appoints a senior central government legal officer as Presiding Officer of the Securities Appellate Tribunal; the appointment is for a five-year term from entry upon office but terminates earlier on attainment of the sixty-five years age limit, with commencement tied to assumption of office.

Exchange rate determination sets prescribed currency conversion rates for export goods effective from the notified date.
The Central Government, under section 14(3)(a)(i) of the Customs Act, determines exchange rates for conversion between specified foreign currencies and Indian rupees for export goods, superseding the earlier notification, and prescribes rates set out in two Schedules (rates per one unit in Schedule I and per one hundred units in Schedule II) effective from the notified commencement date.

Exchange rates for imported goods set as statutory conversion rates for stamp duty and customs purposes under notification.
Statutory conversion rates are prescribed for specified foreign currencies for calculating stamp duty under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and for purposes of section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 in relation to imported goods; the notification supersedes the earlier one and fixes the rates set out in Schedule I (per unit) and Schedule II (per 100 units) with effect from 1 August 1997.

SSI exemption expanded to include specified non-alloy steel ingots, billets and hot re-rolled products subject to section 3A duty.
The amendment adds two categories to the Annexure to item (5): (viii) ingots and billets of non-alloy steel, and (ix) hot re-rolled products of non-alloy steel, each falling under specified tariff sub-headings, where excise duty has been paid under the relevant statutory excise provision. The change is effected under sub-section (1) of section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and includes an effective date for commencement.

SSI exemption expanded to include non-alloy steel ingots, billets and hot re-rolled products where excise duty is paid.
The notification amends the SSI exemption annexure by adding ingots and billets of non-alloy steel and hot re-rolled non-alloy steel products, each falling under specified tariff subheadings, as exempted items provided excise duty has been paid under the central excise law; the amendment takes effect from the notified commencement date.

Excise duty on hot re-rolled non-alloy steel prescribed, calculated per metric tonne tied to annual capacity determination.
The Government, under sub-section (3) of section 3A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, prescribes an excise duty on hot re-rolled products of non-alloy steel falling under specified tariff sub-headings, to be calculated per metric tonne on the basis of annual production capacity determined under the Hot Re-rolling Mills Annual Capacity Determination Rules, 1997. The notification fixes the payable amount per metric tonne and specifies its date of commencement.

Excise duty specification for non-alloy steel ingots and billets: government fixes rate per tonne effective from August.
The Central Government specifies a rate of excise duty on ingots and billets of non-alloy steel classifiable under the relevant tariff subheadings, to be calculated per metric tonne on the basis of annual production capacity determined under the Induction Furnace Annual Capacity Determination Rules, 1997; the specification takes effect on the stated commencement date.

Excise duty compliance: capacity based payment scheme, lapse of specified duty credits and interest on delayed payments.
Amendments impose capacity linked duty debits for non alloy steel ingots, billets and hot re rolled products, restrict utilisation of specified duty credits existing on commencement, and set detailed procedures for computing and paying total duty liabilities, adjustment of earlier payments, interest on defaults, alternative lump sum or monthly discharge options with pro rata adjustments, and abatement reporting requirements for periods of temporary cessation including prescribed notices, electricity meter readings, stock declarations and a mandatory intimation proforma to authorities.

Credit of duty under Modvat expanded to include ingots, billets and hot re-rolled non-alloy steel for input duty credit.
Amendment expands the class of iron and steel goods eligible for credit of duty under Modvat, adding ingots and billets and specified hot re-rolled non-alloy steel products to the notified list, provided excise duty has been paid under the applicable statutory duty provision; the additions are made to the relevant columns of the existing Central Excise notification and brought into force on the stated commencement date.

Annual capacity determination for hot re-rolling mills set by declared mill parameters and a prescribed formula and verification.
The annual capacity of production for non-alloy hot re-rolled steel is determined by a formula that combines declared mill parameters (finishing mill diameter, drive RPM, gearbox reduction ratio), a prescribed efficiency factor based on mill speed, a weight-per-metre factor tied to mill diameter, and utilised hours set by reheating furnace type; manufacturers must declare d, n and i to the Commissioner, who will verify or consult technical authorities and issue (including provisional) orders fixing installed and annual capacity.

Annual capacity determination for induction furnace units prescribes formula, documentation, pro rata calculation and approval.
Prescribes that the Commissioner shall determine total furnace capacity for induction-furnace production of non-alloy steel ingots and billets primarily from authenticated manufacturer or trader invoices, or alternatively from comparable furnaces, other relevant material, or technical consultation; converts total furnace capacity into a deemed Annual Capacity of Production by applying a specified multiplier; requires the Commissioner to notify the manufacturer of the determined capacity, to apply pro rata calculations for part-year operation or capacity changes, and to require written advance notice and approval for proposed increases or reductions in installed furnace capacity.

Notified goods designation for excise duty collection on hot re-rolled non-alloy steel products under Section 3A.
Notification designates hot re-rolled products of non-alloy steel produced in a hot re-rolling steel mill as notified goods, specifying that excise duty shall be levied and collected on those items in accordance with the statutory provision empowering specification of notified goods, with the specified mechanism taking effect from the stated commencement date.

Levy of excise duty on induction-furnace non-alloy steel as notified goods under production-capacity provisions.
Designates non-alloy steel ingots and billets produced in induction furnaces as notified goods for levy and collection of excise duty under Section 3A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, due to the manufacturing process and extent of duty evasion, and excludes induction furnace units ordinarily producing castings or stainless steel products; effective from the stated commencement date in 1997.

EOU/EPZ domestic sale rule permits limited DTA supplies where recipient provides a transferable special import licence and EEFC duty payment.
Amendments permit limited re-export or supply of dead-stock, broken stones and rough diamonds to holders of a REP/Diamond Imprest Licence with Development Commissioner approval; permit EOU/EPZ units to sell a limited portion of prior-year export value into the domestic tariff area where the recipient provides a freely transferable Special Import Licence and applicable duty is paid from the buyer's EEFC account in free foreign exchange, subject to prescribed value addition; and require renewal applications for status certificates within the period prescribed in the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I).

Service tax exemption for rural pandal and shamiana contractors applies where the contractor's place of business is rural.
Full exemption from service tax applies to taxable services provided by a pandal or shamiana contractor, including catering services, where the contractor's place of business is located in a rural area and the contractor operates within that area; "rural areas" include villages and towns with population not exceeding the figure specified by the Central Government; the exemption took effect on 1 August 1997.

Service tax exemption for pandal/shamiana contractors reduces taxable base where catering included, subject to billing requirement.
Exempts service tax for pandal or shamiana contractors by excluding from tax liability the amount in excess of tax calculated on seventy percent of the gross amount charged, provided the contractor also supplies catering and the catering bill expressly indicates charges inclusive of catering; defines "food" as a substantial and satisfying meal.

Service tax exemption for outdoor caterers on railway trains removed the tax on train catering until later rescission.
Full exemption from service tax was granted for taxable services rendered by an outdoor caterer when the catering service is provided on a railway train, relieving the caterer from service tax on the gross amount charged to the client for such train-based catering; the exemption was effected by Notification No. 33/1997 under section 93 of the Finance Act, 1994 and took effect from 1 August 1997, and was subsequently rescinded by Notification No. 05/1999.