Customs ICD designation under Section 7(aa): new ICD enables unloading of imports and loading of exports.
The Central Government amends the principal Customs (N.T.) notification to insert an additional item for the State of Haryana, designating Village Panchi Gujaran, District Sonepat, as a location for "Unloading of imported goods and loading of export goods," thereby creating a specified inland container depot/place under the Customs Act; a corrigendum later corrects the village name.

Import threshold for worked stone: free import requires meeting minimum CIF value per square metre.
The amendment to Schedule 1 (Imports) conditions free import of specified worked monumental or building stone and related articles on a per-unit threshold: import is permitted freely provided cif value is US$ 80 & above per square metre for the listed ITC HS codes.

Import licensing for rough marble establishes eligibility, capped entitlements, a mandated floor price and strict reporting requirements.
Importation of rough marble and travertine blocks for 2013-14 is governed by a licensing regime limiting eligibility to units owning non leased marble gangsaw machinery, operating for a prescribed five year period, and demonstrating prescribed cumulative processed slab/tile turnover via certified tax and audit records; entitlements are based on turnover but capped per gangsaw and subject to an overall annual ceiling. Licences must bear an endorsed floor price, carry an actual user condition, have defined validity to the licensing year end, require monthly returns to the Regional Authority, and applications must include specified documentary proof and exclude denied entities.

Import quota allocation for rough marble blocks establishes eligibility, quantity caps, floor-price and procedural compliance.
Policy permits import of rough marble blocks by Indian companies investing abroad through 100% overseas subsidiaries that meet investment, plant-and-machinery, and operating-license criteria. Imports are limited to marble from the subsidiary's own quarries, subject to an aggregate annual quota and per-applicant ceiling; excess demand triggers pro rata allocation based on prior-year sales certified by an independent chartered accountant. Imports must comply with a declared floor price, specified ITC HS codes, an actual user condition, twelve month authorisation validity, and mandatory monthly returns to the Regional DGFT authority.

Entry number correction: the Republic of Gambia's VAT entry is re designated, altering the prior notification listing.
The entry against Republic of Gambia in the earlier VAT notification is to be read as (32C) instead of (32A); all other contents of that notification remain unchanged.

Exchange rate notification updates customs conversion rates for specified foreign currencies, altering import and export valuation effects.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs, under the Customs Act, substitutes specified conversion rates in Schedule-I for listed foreign currencies (with separate import and export rates) and replaces the Schedule-II Japanese Yen 100 unit rate; these substituted rates take effect from 23rd August 2013, and the notification notes corrigenda correcting previously published numeric entries for the Kenya Shilling.

Research exemption under section 35(1)(ii) approved, subject to conditions on utilization, audit, reporting and compliance.
Approval is granted to The Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhi Nagar as an approved institution for scientific research under clause (ii) of sub-section (1) of section 35 of the Income-tax Act from 1-4-2012, subject to conditions requiring utilization of sums for scientific research, conducting research through faculty or enrolled students, maintaining separate books of account for research receipts and expenditures, obtaining an audit by a qualified accountant and furnishing the audit report and a certified departmental statement of donations and applications to the tax authorities by the return due date.

Tax Administration Reform Commission constituted to review tax governance and recommend structural, procedural and compliance reforms.
Constitution of a Tax Administration Reform Commission as an advisory body with a fixed eighteen month tenure, specified membership and Secretariat, tasked to review and recommend reforms in organizational structure, human resources, ICT and business processes, dispute resolution, taxpayer services, compliance enforcement, capacity building, inter agency data sharing, revenue forecasting and predictive analysis, and to provide periodic recommendations to enhance tax governance and administration.

Exchange Rate Amendment updates Pound Sterling conversion rates for import and export under customs notification.
Amendment under Section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 substitutes Serial No. 11 in Schedule I of Notification No. 83/2013 CUSTOMS (N.T.), updating Pound Sterling conversion rates with separate rates for imported goods and export goods, effective from 21st August, 2013, via Notification No. 86/2013.

Tariff value fixation: substitution of tariff value tables for specified commodities preserves existing per-unit values.
Substitution of TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 in the principal non-tariff notification to prescribe specific US dollar tariff values for listed commodities (per metric tonne or per unit as indicated) including edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and per-unit values for gold and silver when certain notification benefits are availed; the schedule notes these tariff values as no change from prior figures.

Warehousing station designation enables setting up of export oriented units under Customs Act provision by delegated authority.
Pet Basheerabad village in Qutubullapur Mandal, Ranga Reddy District, Andhra Pradesh, is declared a Warehousing Station under the Customs Act by a Commissioner's notification for the limited purpose of setting up export oriented units, and the declaration is made using delegated authority conferred on the Commissioner.

Custodian independence: new conditions permit associated custodians to serve sponsor funds subject to governance and independence safeguards.
An asset management company may become a proprietary trading member of a recognised stock exchange to carry out trades in the debt segment on behalf of a mutual fund. A custodian whose sponsor or its associates hold fifty per cent or more of its voting rights may act as custodian for a mutual fund of the same sponsor only if the sponsor maintains a specified net worth, a majority of custodial directors are independent of the sponsor, the custodian and the asset management company are not subsidiaries of each other, they share no directors, and both give undertakings to act independently in dealings with the scheme.

Renewal of recognition under securities law granted for a one-year term, subject to regulatory compliance and prescribed conditions.
Renewal of recognition under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act has been granted to OTC Exchange of India for a one year period from 23 August 2013 to 22 August 2014, conditioned on full compliance with the Securities Contracts (Regulation) (Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations) Regulations and specified SEBI operational circulars, and subject to any additional conditions SEBI may impose.

Online refund procedure for embassies and international organisations requires unique registration numbers on invoices and web filing.
Notification prescribes an online procedure for refund for embassies and international organisations listed in the sixth schedule, requiring each to be allotted a unique registration number and password and to file refund claims through the departmental website; sellers must record purchases on tax invoices showing that unique number and report such sales in Annexure 2B of their returns.

Customs baggage rules amendment adds flat panel televisions to listed baggage items, altering regulatory coverage and treatment.
Amendment inserts Flat Panel (LCD/LED/Plasma) Television into Annex I of the Baggage Rules, 1998 as a new listed item following the existing entry for gold or silver, under the rule making power of section 79 of the Customs Act, 1962, thereby expanding the catalogue of articles governed by the Baggage Rules and specifying an operative commencement date for the amendment.

Tax notification: foreign oil company recognised; permitted income restricted to receipts under the specified India-Iran MOU.
The Central Government notifies the National Iranian Oil Company as the foreign company covered under the specified tax provision and identifies the India-Iran Memorandum of Understanding of 20 January 2013 as the governing agreement, subject to the condition that the company shall not engage in any activity in India other than receipt of income under that agreement, effective from 20 January 2013.

Freezing orders added to money laundering rules, enabling property freezes where seizure is impracticable and updating procedures.
The 2013 amendments add freezing to the 2005 Rules, redefine "authority" as an officer subordinate to the Director authorized under the Act, and expand "material" to include reports or complaints forwarded to Magistrates or submitted to senior officers. They permit freezing where seizure is impracticable, bar transfer of frozen property without prior permission, require service of the freezing order, amend forwarding procedures to the Adjudicating Authority to include freezing, and substitute updated Forms I and II to reflect authorisation, seizure and freezing documentation.

Possession of attached property: rules require authorised officers to secure, deposit, transfer or sell confirmed assets and preserve proceeds.
Rules require the Director or an authorised officer to take possession of property confirmed as attached or frozen by the Adjudicating Authority, prescribing distinct procedures for movable assets (physical deposit, sale with judicial leave, bank deposit or transfers), immovable assets (notice to registrar, eviction, rent collection, acceptance of fixed deposit security for shares, constructive possession of productive assets with deposit of gross income), service by prescribed forms and publication, retention of property in court custody or by financial institutions subject to further orders, and maintenance of registers for recorded custody.

Provisional attachment orders: rules setting issuance, personal and substituted service, publication and corporate service procedures under PMLA.
Procedure requires the Director or authorized officer to make a Provisional Attachment Order when there is material to believe proceeds of crime should be attached; the order must be endorsed to concerned persons and the Adjudicating Authority. Service hierarchy: personal delivery to owner or authorized person, service on an adult family member, affixture on premises witnessed by two persons, newspaper publication if other modes fail, and use of speed post. For corporate entities, service on specified officers or by speed post is sufficient, with affixture and publication as alternatives. Central Government has final interpretive authority.

Warehousing station designation enables establishment of an exclusive Export Oriented Unit on specified land under Customs Act.
The Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, exercising delegated authority, declares 2.4282 hectares at Revenue Survey No. 339/14, Ratadiya village, Taluka Mundra, District Kutch, with specified boundary descriptions, as a warehousing station under Section 9 of the Customs Act, 1962 for the limited purpose of setting up a 100% Export Oriented Unit, by Notification No. 1/2013-Cus. (N.T.) dated 17-8-2013.