Exemption for goods produced in specified industrial areas extended by substituting tariff entries and inserting new goods categories.
Amendment substitutes and inserts entries in paragraph 2A of Notification No. 32/99-Central Excise to specify exempt manufactured goods and corresponding inputs: cement and cement clinker with limestone and gypsum; modified starch or glucose with maize, maize starch or tapioca starch; fatty acids or glycerine with crude palm kernel, coconut, mustard or rapeseed oil; and ferro alloys with chrome ore or manganese ore.

Public Utility Service designation extended for banking services, continuing collective labour regulation under Industrial Disputes Act provisions.
The Central Government declares the banking industry services specified in item two of the First Schedule to be a Public Utility Service under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, by invoking the proviso to the definitional sub clause, and extends that designation for a further six month period commencing mid October 2008.

Commencement of SEZ provisions: central government notification brings specified statutory sections into force under Section 1(3).
The Central Government, relying on sub-section (3) of Section 1 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, appointed 1 October 2008 as the date on which Sections 31 to 41 of the Act shall come into force by notification S.O. 2320(E) issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Department of Commerce).

Research approval for donations enables tax-deduction eligibility subject to audited accounts and use for scientific research.
National Health & Education Society (P.D. Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Centre), Mumbai, is approved as an other Institution partly engaged in research from 1 April 2008. Conditions: donations must be used for scientific research; research performed by faculty or enrolled students; separate books of account for research receipts and expenditures must be maintained and audited by a qualified accountant with the audit report filed by the income-tax return due date; a certified statement of donations and amounts applied to research must accompany the audit report. Approval may be withdrawn for failures in recordkeeping, audit, reporting, genuineness of research or compliance with the governing rules.

Section 35 approval for research institutes: conditions on use of funds, audit, donation records and withdrawal for noncompliance.
Kasturba Health Society, Wardha, is approved under section 35(1)(ii) from 1 April 2005 as an other Institution partly engaged in scientific research, subject to conditions that donations be used for scientific research, research be conducted by faculty or enrolled students, separate books and a certified audit report be maintained and furnished with a certified statement of donations; approval may be withdrawn for failures to maintain accounts, to furnish audit or donation statements, for cessation or non genuineness of research, or for noncompliance with section 35(1)(ii) read with Rules 5C and 5E.

Overseas investment by registered trusts and societies permitted with prior Reserve Bank approval subject to compliance criteria.
Definitions for Trust and Society are inserted and Regulation 9A permits registered trusts and societies in the manufacturing, educational (and entities with hospitals) sectors to invest overseas in joint ventures or wholly owned subsidiaries in the same sector(s) with prior Reserve Bank approval. Schedule III sets criteria: registration, governing instrument and trustee/governing body approval, Authorised Dealer bank confirmation of KYC and bonafide activity, minimum three years' existence, no adverse enforcement notice, and required special licences where applicable. Regulation 11's proviso is amended to refer to the "prescribed period of realization."

Tariff value fixation revised for specified commodities, updating customs valuation for poppy seeds and brass scrap under customs notification.
The Board, exercising powers under sub section (2) of section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962, substitutes the tariff value Table in Notification No.36/2001-Cus (N.T.) with a new Table by Notification No.112/2008-Customs (N.T.), dated October 1, 2008, reproducing tariff values for specified commodities and expressly specifying revised tariff values for brass scrap (all grades) and for poppy seeds within the substituted schedule.

Deeming of SEZ as Inland Container Deport: Gandhinagar IT/ITES SEZ treated as ICD under customs law.
The Central Government appointed 30 September 2008 as the effective date for the sector specific SEZ for information technology and IT enabled services at Gandhinagar proposed by M/s. Tata Consultancy Services Limited, and declared that the SEZ shall be deemed to be Inland Container Deport for the purposes of customs law.

Appointment of Development Commissioner: Director, STPI Gandhinagar designated and subject to Department of Commerce oversight and reporting obligations.
The Central Government appoints the Director, Software Technology Parks of India, Gandhinagar, as Development Commissioner for the Special Economic Zone developed by Tata Consultancy Services Limited at Gandhinagar. The Development Commissioner must follow instructions of the Central Government, Department of Commerce and the Board of Approval on Special Economic Zones, submit periodic reports as prescribed, and is responsible to the Department of Commerce for actions taken; personal service matters remain governed by the Department of Information Technology/Software Technology Parks of India.

Approval Committee for SEZ constituted to oversee IT/ITES Special Economic Zone, defining membership and ex officio representation.
Constitutes an Approval Committee under section 13 of the Special Economic Zones Act for the IT/ITES SEZ at Gandhinagar developed by M/s Tata Consultancy Services Limited, and prescribes the committee's composition: Development Commissioner as Chairperson (ex officio); specified ex officio members from the Department of Commerce, Zonal DGFT, Customs/Central Excise, Income Tax, Ministry of Finance (Banking), two State nominated officers, and the developer's representative as special invitee, with nominee ranks identified.

Special Economic Zone designation for IT and IT enabled services establishes notified SEZ area and plot allocation.
The document notifies a sector specific Special Economic Zone for information technology and information technology enabled services at Gandhinagar, following a proposal by M/s. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and satisfaction of statutory prerequisites under the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 and Rules, 2006; it records grant of a Letter of Approval for development, operation and maintenance and formally designates plot number 41 (10.319 hectares) as the notified SEZ area.

Reverse mortgage enables eligible senior owners to mortgage residential property for periodic or lump sum loan disbursements under conditions.
Scheme regulates reverse mortgage transactions for eligible senior owners, requiring written application and processing by approved lending institutions, which must execute written loan agreements and obtain specified owner, property and heir particulars. Loans may be disbursed periodically or as lump sums (lump sums capped at fifty percent of sanctioned loan), are limited to a maximum twenty-year term, and are repayable by the reverse mortgagor or their legal heirs or estate on foreclosure with interest.

Reporting timelines for mutual funds shortened and abridged scheme-wise annual report format mandated for unitholders.
Amendments shorten mutual fund reporting timelines by substituting "four months" for the prior six-month period in Regulation 56(1) and Regulation 57, and replace the proviso to Regulation 56(2) to require that the abridged scheme-wise Annual Report mailed to unitholders be in the format prescribed by the Board; commencement is upon publication in the Official Gazette under the Board's section 30 powers.

Amendment to Central Excise notification removes the phrase 'from account current' from clause (i), altering operative text.
The Central Government amends Notification No. 17/2006 Central Excise (N.T.) by omitting the words "from account current" in clause (i), exercising powers under the Central Excise Act and the Central Excise Rules, thereby altering the literal operative text of that clause.

CENVAT credit amendment removes the phrase "through account current", narrowing the notification's payment mode wording.
The Central Government amends Notification No. 39/2004 Central Excise (N.T.) by omitting the words "through account current" in clause (i) of that notification, effected under powers conferred by the Central Excise Act and the CENVAT Credit Rules and recorded in the Gazette.

Exemption filing requirement updated; revised declarations and declarant code now required before opting for excise procedure.
The amendment mandates that manufacturers claiming the exemption must file a revised declaration for the preceding financial year by the specified deadline; independent weavers opting for the procedure under rule 8A of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2002 must apply in Annexure IA and obtain a twelve digit declarant code from the Superintendent before issuance of any challan, and the option once exercised during a financial year is irrevocable. The Schedule is replaced to require detailed factory, proprietary interest, business status, PAN and VAT registration, electricity connection particulars, and a table of excisable goods with tariff classification and notification references.

Annual Installed Capacity Declaration requires filing prescribed Form E.R.-7 and timely amendment upon substantial capacity expansion.
Specification of Form E.R.-7 mandates manufacturers to furnish factory identification, indicate annual declaration or amendment, state installed capacity as on a date, provide details of each class of goods with unit of measure and annual production capacity, list main plant and machinery with technical specifications and year of installation, and disclose electricity connection particulars including supplier, meter numbers, sanctioned load and captive power plant capacity; the form requires a signed declaration and acknowledgment and instructions on measurement codes and amendment filing for substantial capacity expansion.

Annual Installed Capacity Statement requirement: assessees must declare factory production capacity annually to tax authorities.
Assessees must submit an Annual Installed Capacity Statement to the Superintendent of Central Excise declaring the factory's annual production capacity in the Board specified form by the 30th of April following the financial year; the Central Government may exempt specified assessees or classes from this requirement by notification and subject such exemptions to conditions or limitations.

Exchange rate determination for customs conversions establishes specified import and export currency rates for valuation.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs determines rates of exchange for specified foreign currencies for conversion into Indian rupees and vice versa for customs purposes, establishing separate rates for imported and export goods in Schedule I (per unit) and Schedule II (per 100 units), effective from 1st October, 2008, and expressly superseding the earlier notification of 26th August, 2008 while noting subsequent substitutions and amendments.

Approval Committee for SEZ ensures regulatory approval and compliance for an IT/ITES zone at Putlampalli.
Constitutes an Approval Committee under the Special Economic Zones Act for the IT/ITES SEZ at Putlampalli, developed by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, to perform statutory approval and regulatory functions. The Committee is chaired by the Development Commissioner (ex officio) and includes ex officio members from the Department of Commerce, Foreign Trade, Customs/Central Excise, Income Tax, and Banking in the Ministry of Finance, two state nominated senior officers, and a developer representative as special invitee.