Post Office savings account eligibility updated: NREG wages and government benefits accepted; wage slip requirement removed.
The amendment to the Post Office Savings Account Rules substitutes, for both single and joint accounts, the Table entry in the deposits column with "Wages under NREG Act, Government benefits and deposits under these rules" and omits the words "and Wage Slip" from the documentation column; the rules are titled the Post Office Savings Account (Amendment) Rules, 2012 and commence on publication in the Official Gazette.

Anti-dumping duty on Phthalic Anhydride imposed to offset dumped imports and protect domestic industry.
Definitive anti-dumping duties are imposed on Phthalic Anhydride imports from Korea RP, Taiwan and Israel as per designated authority findings that dumped imports caused material injury; the notification sets producer- and exporter-specific duty rates in US Dollars per metric tonne, prescribes a five-year levy period (subject to earlier change), requires payment in Indian currency, and mandates use of the exchange rate notified under the Customs Act with the bill of entry date as the relevant date for conversion.

Service tax exemption for specified life insurance schemes: Janashree Bima Yojana and Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana now included.
The notification inserts entry 26A to the service tax exemption schedule, expressly exempting services of life insurance business provided under Janashree Bima Yojana (JBY) and Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) from service tax, thereby amending the principal Service Tax notification to include these two schemes.

Companies Law Board amendment updates references by deleting 'Chairman' and adding 'to any Member or', effective immediately.
The Company Law Board, invoking powers under sub-section (4B) and sub-section (6) of section 10(E) of the Companies Act, 1956 and Regulation 4 of the Company Law Board Regulations, 1991, partially modifies Order No. 10/36/2001-CLB dated 7-12-2012 by deleting the word "Chairman" in the third line of the main body and inserting "to any Member or" after "Regional Bench" in the proviso to paragraph 1(ii); the amendments take effect immediately.

Delegation of Regulatory Powers: Central Government delegates Companies Act powers to RBI for banking companies, subject to revocation.
The Central Government, under section 637(1) of the Companies Act, delegates its powers under sections 388B, 388C and 388E in relation to banking companies within the Banking Regulation Act to the Reserve Bank of India, subject to its power to revoke the delegation or to exercise the powers itself if necessary in the public interest; the notification is effective on publication in the Official Gazette.

Recognition of MCX Stock Exchange Limited: inclusion into government notification under Companies Act expands recognized exchanges.
The Central Government, under clause (39) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 1956, has administratively inserted MCX Stock Exchange Limited into the schedule of entities in the principal Gazette notification by adding a new entry after entry 22 (now entry 23), thereby bringing the exchange within the scope of that notified corporate-law framework.

Common Adjudicating Authority assigned for adjudication of a Show Cause Notice, transferring proceedings to the customs preventive commissioner.
The Board assigns a Show Cause Notice issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence to the Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) at New Custom House as the Common Adjudicating Authority under the Notification made under sub section (1) of section 4 of the Customs Act, effecting an administrative transfer of adjudicatory responsibility and notifying concerned offices.

Exemption for LPG transfers: excess LPG returned to the SEZ by DTA polyisobutylene units is excluded from customs duty.
Exemption applies to LPG supplied from an SEZ unit to a DTA unit manufacturing polyisobutylene, where LPG in excess of the quantity consumed - calculated as LPG received minus LPG returned to the SEZ unit - and returned to the originating SEZ unit is excluded from customs duty.

Anti-dumping duty on Choline Chloride imposed to counteract dumped imports, specifying scope, rate and duration.
An anti-dumping duty is imposed on Choline Chloride for animal feed applications linked to the People's Republic of China, applied as a percentage of the CIF value of imports. The duty covers imports originating in, exported from, or transited through the subject country, applies to any producer or exporter, is payable in Indian currency, and is calculated using assessable CIF value and the exchange rate specified by Government notification with the relevant date being bill of entry presentation.

Appointment of Director General (Specific Safeguard) under safeguard duty rules empowers administration to identify and assess safeguards.
The Central Government, under sub-rule (1) of Rule 3 of the Customs Tariff (Identification and Assessment of Safeguard Duty) Rules, 1997, appoints Sh. Bimal Behari Prasad as Director General (Specific Safeguard) to perform the functions of identifying and assessing safeguard duties, and supersedes the earlier notification appointing that office.

Appointment of Director General (Specific Safeguard) under Customs Tariff safeguard rules; formalizes leadership for product-specific safeguard administration.
The Central Government, under sub-rule (1) of Rule 3 of the Customs Tariff (Transitional Product Specific Safeguard Duty) Rules, 2002, appoints Director General (Specific Safeguard) and names Sh. Bimal Behari Prasad to that office to administer product-specific safeguard duties, and expressly supersedes the earlier Notification No. 03/2010-Customs (N.T.).

Common Adjudicating Authority appointment assigns multiple show cause notices to Commissioner of Customs, Bangalore for Volvo India Private Limited.
The Board assigns specified show cause notices issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Bangalore Zonal Unit, in respect of Volvo India Private Limited to the Commissioner of Customs, CR Building, Queens Road, Bangalore, as the Common Adjudicating Authority for adjudication under the delegation established by Notification No. 15/2002-Customs (N.T.).

Exchange Rate Determination: notified conversion rates for foreign currencies into Indian rupees for import and export effective 21 December 2012.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs, under the Customs Act, prescribes distinct exchange rates for conversion between specified foreign currencies and Indian rupees for import and export valuation, effective 21st December, 2012; Schedule I lists unit rates for listed currencies and Schedule II sets the rate per 100 Japanese Yen, and the notification includes corrigenda correcting prior published figures.

Safeguard duty on electrical insulators imposed for imports from China, higher rate initially then reduced in the second year.
The Government imposes a safeguard duty on imports of electrical insulators from the People's Republic of China after the Director General (Safeguard) found that increased imports caused and threatened market disruption and that a causal link exists. Exercising powers under section 8C of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 read with the relevant transitional safeguard rules, the notification prescribes an ad valorem duty on specified sub headings of tariff heading 8546 and on those items if cleared under any other tariff heading including project imports, with a higher rate in the first year and a reduced rate in the second year.

Appointment of cost auditor: new Form 23C prescribes required company, auditor and compliance details for Central Government approval.
Substitution of Form 23C prescribes the eForm and procedural requirements for Central Government approval of a cost auditor appointment, requiring company identifiers, industry/order particulars, proposed auditor's tax and registration details, disclosure of statutory disqualification and conformity with public company appointment limits, specification of audit scope, remuneration and covered financial year, board resolution details, attachments including auditor compliance certificate, and verification with digital signature by an authorised company signatory.

Tariff concessions under CECA: expanded zero and reduced customs duties for specified imports from Singapore, via substituted tariff schedule.
The Central Government amends notification No. 10/2008 Customs by substituting the tariff Table to deepen tariff concessions under the India-Singapore CECA. The new Table enumerates First Schedule tariff items and prescribes concessional customs duty rates (including reduced and zero rates) for goods imported from Singapore, with a specific caveat for upholstery fabrics where the concession is subject to an alternative specified charge.

Specified territory notification: Sint Maarten designated for double taxation agreement purposes under Indian Income-tax law, effective immediately.
Notification designates Sint Maarten as the specified territory for application of double taxation agreement provisions under Explanation 2 to section 90 of the Income Tax Act, and states the declaration takes effect immediately.

Anti-dumping duty on cable ties adjusted; country- and exporter-specific rates prescribed with defined unit and currency.
Imposition and modification of anti-dumping duty on cable ties (sub-heading 3926 90) from the People's Republic of China and Taiwan are prescribed, superseding the prior notification; the measure sets exporter- and producer-specific rates in US dollars per kilogramme for identified origin-export permutations, requires payment in Indian currency, and specifies that exchange rates for calculation follow notifications under section 14 of the Customs Act with the bill-of-entry date as the relevant date.

Anti-dumping duty on sodium hydrosulphite from China extended, imposing a specified per-tonne charge with exchange-rate conversion.
Imposition of anti-dumping duty on Sodium Hydrosulphite under headings 2831 and 2832 from the People's Republic of China is continued and modified after a sunset review that found continued dumping and injury; a specific per-metric-tonne duty expressed in US dollars is prescribed, payable in Indian currency using the exchange rate applicable on the bill of entry, and effective for a period of five years from publication unless earlier revoked or amended.

Rescission of anti-dumping duty notification removes prior Customs directive under statutory tariff powers, subject to prior acts.
Rescinds Notification No.41/2011-Cus relating to anti-dumping duty by exercising powers under the Customs Tariff Act and the Customs Tariff Rules, 1995 for identification, assessment and collection of anti-dumping duty, while preserving validity of actions done or omitted before the rescission.