Import licensing for rough marble: restrictions, entitlement based on processing turnover, floor price endorsement and compliance obligations.
Policy prescribes an import licensing regime for rough marble and travertine blocks for 2012-13: restricted imports under specified ITC HS codes are permitted only via licenses endorsed with a floor price and subject to an overall annual quantitative ceiling. Eligibility requires ownership of a non-leased marble gangsaw by a unit operational for the required period and a minimum cumulative turnover from processed marble slabs/tiles over the prior five years; entitlement is calculated from that turnover but is capped per gangsaw and by the annual ceiling. Licenses are subject to actual user condition, documentary proof, mandatory monthly returns, prescribed application modalities, debarment for misrepresentation, and a stated validity period.

Export Certification of Cut and Polished Diamonds expanded to include additional authorised laboratories for grading, affecting re import procedures.
Amendment expands the list of authorised laboratories under paragraph 4A.2.1 of the Foreign Trade Policy for certification/grading of exported cut and polished diamonds of 0.25 carat and above by adding five specified overseas laboratories, thereby broadening the roster of entities whose certification enables re import under the Policy.

Import duty exemption on specified oil cakes scheduled to commence from the notified commencement date, expanding nil-rate coverage.
Amendment to Notification No.12/2012-Customs inserts serial 104A to grant import duty exemption (nil rate) to specified oil cakes and oil cake meals-de-oiled soya extract, groundnut, sunflower, canola and mustard oil cakes-under their respective tariff headings, and adds proviso (ba) fixing the exemption's commencement on and after the first day of April, 2013.

Establishment of Local SEBI Office expands regulatory oversight and investor protection within Karnataka jurisdiction.
The Board established a Local Office at Bengaluru under sub section (4) of Section 3 of the SEBI Act, 1992, placed under the administrative control of the Southern Regional Office at Chennai; the Local Office will handle regulatory aspects of investor protection and investor education and perform other functions delegated by the Board within the territorial jurisdiction of the State of Karnataka.

Customs tariff amendment: substitution of adjusted rate entries for specified exemption notification items.
Amendment to Notification No.12/2012-Customs directs substitution of the entries in column (5) of the table for specified serial numbers, replacing the previous entries with the newly prescribed rate entry for each listed row; the amendment is limited to these table modifications and is linked to prior amendments to the principal exemption notification.

Exchange of tax information and collection assistance enables mutual assistance between India and Liberia under the notified agreement.
The Central Government, under section 90 of the Income-tax Act, notifies that the Agreement between India and Liberia for the exchange of information and assistance in collection with respect to taxes shall be given effect in India from the Agreement's entry into force. The Agreement requires competent authorities to exchange foreseeably relevant tax information and to lend reciprocal assistance in collection, subject to domestic rights, defined procedural requirements for requests, powers to obtain financial and beneficial ownership information, limited grounds for refusal, and obligations for implementing legislation and mutual agreement on procedures.

Arm's length price deemed where minor variation exists; actual transaction price accepted for assessment purposes.
Notification applies the second proviso to section 92C(2) so that where the variation between the arm's length price determined under section 92C and the actual international transaction price falls within a specified tolerance, the actual transaction price shall be deemed to be the arm's length price for assessment year 2012-13, preventing recharacterisation for minor variances.

Tax rate-wise closing stock reporting required online annually by dealers using Form Stock-I, with an annual filing deadline.
Dealers must submit tax rate-wise details of closing stock as on 31st March annually online using Form Stock-I via departmental login; the usual filing deadline is 30th June each year, with an extended transitional deadline for the 2012 stock return. The measure is issued under statutory powers and is effective immediately, creating an electronic filing obligation and specifying the form and timelines for compliance.

Employee shareholding exclusion extends to staff holding limited company shares under ESOPs, preserving exemption from Central Government approval.
Employees holding company shares acquired under employee allotment schemes, including Employees' Stock Option Plans or by way of qualification shares, and whose holdings remain within the small prescribed proportion of paid up share capital, are to be treated as persons not having any interest in the capital of the company for purposes of the Ministry's notification. Consequently, such employees fall within the category eligible for the exemption from obtaining Central Government approval for payment of managerial remuneration exceeding statutory limits.

Exchange rate determination: notified conversion rates for foreign currencies to apply to import and export valuation and compliance.
Determination of exchange rates for conversion between specified foreign currencies and Indian rupees is notified to apply to import and export goods with effect from 17th August, 2012 under section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962, superseding the earlier notification and prescribing separate import and export rates in Schedule I and the rate for 100 units of Japanese Yen in Schedule II, with corrigenda correcting Kenya Shilling entries.

Tariff valuation update: Government substitutes tariff-value tables for specified imports, revising import valuation and compliance.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs, exercising powers under the Customs Act, substitutes TABLE-1 and TABLE-2 of the principal notification to fix tariff values in US dollars for specified imports, including categories of palm oil and palmolein, crude soyabean oil, brass scrap, poppy seeds, and specified forms of gold and silver when specified notification benefits are availed.

Import threshold for areca nuts revised; imports allowed Free only when CIF value meets the new minimum floor.
Amendment to Schedule I (Imports) of the ITC(HS) Classifications designates Exim codes 0802 80 10, 0802 80 20, 0802 80 30 and 0802 80 90 (whole, split, ground and other areca nuts) as Free for import, conditional on the CIF value meeting or exceeding the revised per kilogram minimum; the amendment raises the prior minimum import price floor to the new specified level under the Foreign Trade Policy.

Regulatory amendment to Company Law Board rules removes specified provisions and updates procedural requirements upon notification.
The regulations amend the Company Law Board Regulations, 1991 by deleting a numeric reference and the first proviso in Regulation 14, altering the wording of the remaining proviso, omitting the proviso in Regulation 29(4), deleting Regulation 36, and removing column entries in Annexure III against serial numbers 1, 2, 3, 13 and 18; the amendments commence on publication in the Official Gazette under the Board's statutory rule making authority.

Common Adjudicating Authority appointed to consolidate customs adjudication for specified show cause notices against named parties.
The Joint Commissioner or Additional Commissioner of Customs (Export) at Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House, Nhava Sheva, is appointed as the Common Adjudicating Authority to exercise and discharge the adjudicatory powers and duties of specified Additional and Assistant/Deputy Commissioners for the limited purpose of adjudicating show cause notices issued in relation to M/s Primera Sulz Pvt. Ltd. and others, thereby consolidating jurisdiction for those proceedings.

Common adjudicating authority appointed to centralize adjudication of a customs show-cause matter involving export officers.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs appoints the Joint Commissioner or Additional Commissioner of Customs (Export), Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House, Nhava Sheva as the Common Adjudicating Authority to exercise the powers and duties of the Additional Commissioner (Export), Nhava Sheva and the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner, Export, ACC Ahmedabad for adjudication of the show-cause notice issued to M/s Ranjan Suitings Pvt. Ltd., thereby effecting a limited reassignment of adjudicatory jurisdiction under the Customs Act.

Common Adjudicating Authority appointed to consolidate adjudication of specified Customs show cause proceedings.
A Common Adjudicating Authority is appointed under sub section (1) of section 4 and sub section (1) of section 5 of the Customs Act, 1962, designating the Joint Commissioner or Additional Commissioner of Customs, ICD (GRFL), Sahnewal, Ludhiana to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of both the Joint Commissioner, ICD (GRFL), Sahnewal and the Additional Commissioner, ICD Tughlaqabad, for adjudicating matters arising from the Show Cause Notice issued to M/s Aggarwal Ispat Udyog and others by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Ludhiana Regional Unit.

Common adjudicating authority appointed to centralize adjudication of show cause notices, streamlining customs adjudication process.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs appoints the Joint Commissioner or Additional Commissioner of Customs, Custom House, Near Akashvani, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, as the Common Adjudicating Authority to exercise the powers and duties of specified Additional Commissioners for adjudicating the show cause notice issued in relation to M/s Kiri Dyes and Chemicals and others under the referenced intelligence file.

Common Adjudicating Authority appointment centralises adjudication of specified customs show cause notices to a designated Commissioner.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs, under sub-section (1) of section 5 of the Customs Act, 1962, designates the Commissioner (Adjudication), New Custom House, New Delhi as the Common Adjudicating Authority to exercise adjudication powers and discharge duties in respect of the specific show cause notices listed in the Table concerning M/s SAP India Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai; the Table identifies each notice and its original issuing authority at CSI Airport, Mumbai.

Exchange of tax information enables cross border assistance for tax administration, subject to confidentiality and procedural safeguards.
The Agreement creates a framework for exchange of information foreseeably relevant to administration, assessment, collection and enforcement of taxes between India and Guernsey. Competent authorities must provide requested information held by financial institutions and persons, use available information gathering measures, and may supply depositions or authenticated records where permitted. Requests must demonstrate foreseeable relevance and follow prescribed content; confidentiality, limits on disclosure, grounds for declining assistance, cost allocation for ordinary and extraordinary expenses, implementing legislation, mutual agreement procedures and entry into force and termination rules are specified.

Appointment of Whole Time Member under SEBI Act sets pay scale and tenure subject to age limit and government orders.
Shri Prashant Saran is appointed Whole Time Member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India pursuant to Section 4(1) of the SEBI Act read with rule 3 of the Terms and Conditions Rules; appointment is effective from assumption of charge and carries the pay scale of an Additional Secretary or a consolidated monthly salary, with tenure for five years or until attaining age sixty five or until further orders, whichever is earlier.