Appointment of Development Council Members reconstitutes ex officio and industry representation and designates Member Secretary for the printing industry.
The Central Government reconstitutes the Development Council for Printing including Litho Printing Industry under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act and the Development Council (Procedural) Rules, appointing specified ex officio government officials, institutional representatives and industry nominees to serve for a two year term commencing 13th November, 2007, and designates the Director, Central Pulp and Paper Research Institute to perform the functions of Member Secretary under rule 2(c).

Professional services classification: sports persons and support personnel treated as professional service providers for withholding under section 194J.
Specifies that services connected to sporting activities rendered by sports persons, umpires and referees, coaches and trainers, team physicians and physiotherapists, event managers, commentators, anchors, and sports columnists are to be treated as professional services for withholding tax purposes, effective from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

Amendment to income tax industrial park approval updates approval reference and corrects Annexure project date.
Amendment to a notification under the Income Tax Act inserts an additional reference to a subsequently modified Ministry of Commerce & Industry approval letter into the notification text and substitutes an amended project date for a specified serial entry in the Annexure, updating the documentary approval record and the Annexure date associated with the industrial park entry.

Import licensing for marble now requires compliance with specified policy circulars under foreign trade law.
The Import Licensing Note at the end of Chapter 25 of Schedule I (Imports) to the ITC(HS) Classifications is amended to provide that import of marble is subject to the conditions laid down in the specified Policy Circulars, as promulgated under the authority of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act and the Foreign Trade Policy.

Export Policy extension for Muli Bamboo permits continued free export under amended ITC(HS) classification until notified period.
The Export Policy entry for S.No. 66 in Chapter 14 of Schedule 2 of the ITC(HS) classifications is amended to read that the item is Free for export until the subsequently notified terminal date, replacing the earlier terminal date; correspondingly, Note No. 2 in Chapter 44 is amended to state that Muli Bamboo (Melocanna baccifera) is freely exportable up to that extended terminal date and refers to Chapter 14 for details.

Export prohibition on edible oils relaxed; exemptions include castor, coconut via Kochi, minor forest oils and deemed exports for processing.
Notification relaxes the export prohibition on edible oils by substituting Paragraph 1.1 to grant specific exemptions: export of Castor Oil; export of Coconut Oil through Kochi Port; deemed exports to 100% EOUs where the final product is non-edible; export of oils produced from minor forest produce as per listed HS codes; and export from the Domestic Tariff Area to SEZs for consumption in manufacture of processed food products. The substitution is effected under the Foreign Trade Act and Policy and issued in public interest.

Export conditions for seed-quality cereals require trader authorization, chemical-treatment declaration, and mandatory insecticide labeling.
Amendments make seed-quality Non-Basmati rice (HS 10061010) and maize (HS 10051000) freely exportable subject to submission at Customs of (i) evidence of authorised seed-trader status (dealer licence or State Seed certifying agency registration), (ii) a declaration that consignments are chemically treated and not fit for human consumption, and (iii) labeling on export packets stating seeds are treated with chemical insecticides and cannot be used for food or feed.

Benefit allocation under VKGUY FMS FPS: entitlement may be claimed by supporting manufacturer or exporter who realized foreign exchange.
Under VKGUY, FMS and FPS, entitlement to scheme benefits may be claimed either by the supporting manufacturer (with a disclaimer from the company or firm that directly realized the foreign exchange) or by the company or firm that directly realized the foreign exchange, by insertion at the end of paragraph 3.12.8 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009.

Renewal of recognition under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act allows continued exchange authorization subject to regulatory conditions.
SEBI has renewed recognition of the OTC Exchange of India under section 4 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 for a one-year period in respect of contracts in securities, following an application under section 3 and on being satisfied that renewal is in the interest of trade and the public, subject to conditions that may be prescribed or imposed subsequently.

Customs tariff amendment substitutes a tariff classification entry, updating the operative heading for duty assessment.
The Central Government amends Notification No.20/2006 Customs by substituting, in the Table at S.No.56 column (2), the existing entry with a new tariff classification code, thereby updating the operative tariff heading used for duty assessment under the Customs Tariff framework.

Product exclusion: articles of manufacture listed in Schedule I II III are ineligible for location based industrial permission.
The amendment replaces sub paragraph A of paragraph II to provide that the article(s) of manufacture shall not be an article(s) included in Schedule I, Schedule II or Schedule III to the notification, thereby excluding scheduled goods from eligibility under the locational permission framework.

Newsprint control: adds an indigenous mill to the Schedule under the Industries Development and Regulation Act, expanding licensed capacity.
The Newsprint Control (Amendment) Order, 2008, effective on publication under Section 18G of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, inserts into the Schedule of the Newsprint Control Order, 2004 a new entry naming M/s. Malu Paper Mills Limited (Unit-III), MIDC, Saoner Industrial Area, Saoner, Nagpur, Maharashtra, as an indigenous newsprint manufacturer immediately after the entries at S.No. 88.

Exemption for power project equipment permits central excise duty nil where procurement is tariff-based bidding and conditions met.
The notification adds a tariff entry granting nil Central Excise duty for goods required to set up an ultra mega super critical coal thermal power project with power procurement tied through tariff based competitive bidding, subject to Condition No. 26 which requires (a) corresponding customs duty exemptions on import, (b) certification by a Chief Engineer of the Central Electricity Authority specifying quantity and description, and (c) an undertaking by the project CEO that goods will be used only for the project and that duties will be paid on any non compliance.

Tariff value fixation substitutes the import tariff table, updating declared values for edible oils, brass scrap and poppy seeds.
Substitution of the tariff Table prescribes tariff values in US dollars per metric tonne for specified imported goods, principally edible oils and certain commodities; most palm oil and palmolein entries and crude soyabean oil remain unchanged while tariff values for brass scrap (all grades) and poppy seeds are set, thereby establishing the valuation benchmarks to be applied at import.

Duty free tariff preference for least developed countries grants conditional customs relief upon proof of origin.
Notification No. 96/2008-Customs grants reduced or zero customs duty for imports from listed Least Developed Countries by exempting goods under the First Schedule except those in Appendix II and by applying differentiated percentage concessions in Appendix I. Relief is measured against the applied rate of duty (standard rate plus Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess as read with other notifications). Entitlement is conditional on the importer proving origin in accordance with the Rules of Origin, and the notification must be read with contemporaneous section 25(1) notifications.

Cost Inflation Index for financial year 2008-09 was specified for capital gains computation under the Income-tax framework.
Cost Inflation Index for financial year 2008-09 was specified as 582 under the capital gains computation framework. The Central Government amended the existing Cost Inflation Index table under the Explanation to section 48 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, with the specification based on the prescribed measure of Consumer Price Index increase for urban non-manual employees.

Prohibition on rough diamond trade: imports and exports involving Venezuela barred due to withdrawal from the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
The Central Government amends the Foreign Trade Policy to prohibit imports and exports of rough diamonds (HS Codes 7102.10, 7102.21, 7102.31) from and to Venezuela because of Venezuela's voluntary withdrawal from the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, and provides that no Kimberley Process Certificate for such trade shall be accepted, endorsed or issued.

Rules of origin require goods to be wholly produced or meet value added and tariff heading change tests for preferences.
Products from beneficiary least developed countries qualify for duty free preference only if shown at importation to be originating and supported by a designated Certificate of Origin. Origin is satisfied where goods are wholly produced or, if not wholly produced, where they meet all three tests: the local value added content meets the minimum threshold, a change in tariff heading at the HS 4 digit level occurs, and the final manufacturing process is performed in the beneficiary country. Certificates must follow prescribed form, issuance, presentation and verification procedures.

Approval for research institution tax status requires separate accounts, auditor certification, and continued genuine research compliance.
Approval is granted to Sir Ganga Ram Trust Society as an other institution partly engaged in scientific research, subject to conditions: sums paid must be used for scientific research; research must be conducted by faculty or enrolled students; separate books of account for research receipts and disbursements must be maintained and audited by a qualified accountant with the audit report filed by the income-tax return due date; and a separately certified statement of donations received and sums applied to research must accompany the audit report. The Central Government may withdraw approval for specified failures or noncompliance.

Research approval under section 35(1)(ii): tax-exempt status contingent on separate accounts, audited reports and genuine research.
Approval is granted to Tata Memorial Centre as an other institution partly engaged in scientific research from 1 April 2006, subject to conditions: utilization of sums for scientific research; research conducted by faculty or enrolled students; maintenance of separate books of account for research receipts and expenditures with audit by a qualifying accountant and submission of the audit report to the tax authority by the return due date; and a separate auditor-certified statement of donations and amounts applied to research must accompany the audit report.