Long-term specified assets designation lists qualifying bonds and equity shares and corrects prior notification wording.
Specification designates certain instruments as long-term specified assets: bonds of the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board redeemable only after seven years, and equity shares issued by DMCC Oil Terminals (Navlakhi) Ltd held for at least seven years to qualify. The notification also amends a prior notification to correct the corporate name of DMCC Oil Terminals (Navlakhi) Ltd.

Specified assets under Section 54EA: certain long term bonds and DMCC equity qualify for the section's reinvestment mechanism.
Under section 54EA(1) the Central Board of Direct Taxes designates bonds redeemable after three years of Weizmann Limited, CRB Corporation Limited and Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board, and equity shares of DMCC Oil Terminals (Navlakhi) Limited held for at least three years as specified assets; it also amends a prior notification to replace the company name with DMCC Oil Terminals (Navlakhi) Ltd., Mumbai.

Section 35AC deduction limit revised for a charitable institution, increasing the allowable capital cost deduction.
Amendment to the Explanation to Section 35AC revises the maximum amount of cost allowed as deduction for Maria Seva Sangha, Bangalore by substituting the previously specified figure in the Table of S.O. 469(E) dated 2 July 1996 with a higher specified amount, on the recommendation of the National Committee and by notification dated 27 March 1997.

Customs port appointment: Thirukkadaiyar added as authorised port for unloading imported goods and loading export goods.
The Central Government amends Notification No. 62/94 (N.T.) by inserting item (6) Thirukkadaiyar against serial number 10 for Tamil Nadu, designating Thirukkadaiyar as a port authorised for the unloading of imported goods and the loading of export goods or any class of such goods.

Supersession extension of exchange governing board continued pending reconstitution after regulatory review found improvements and oversight.
SEBI extended the supersession of the Pune Stock Exchange's Governing Board and directed that the prior orders remain operative until a new Governing Board is reconstituted, after noting improvements in the Exchange's regulatory, administrative and developmental functioning and initiating the process for reconstitution in accordance with the Exchange's provisions.

Exemption amendment broadens Central Excise relief to all monochrome television receivers by substituting the prior tariff entry.
An amendment substitutes the entry for S. No. 191 in the Table of Notification No. 4/97-Central Excise so that column (3) reads "All goods (monochrome)", effected under the powers of sub-section (1) of section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, thereby clarifying the scope of the exemption for monochrome television receivers.

Exchange rate determination fixes conversion rates for export goods, superseding prior notification and governing customs conversion.
Determination of exchange rates for export goods under the Customs Act supersedes the earlier notification and prescribes legally binding conversion rates. Two schedules accompany the determination: Schedule I gives rupee equivalents per one unit of specified currencies, and Schedule II gives rupee equivalents per one hundred units for certain currencies. The notification applies to export goods and takes effect from the stated commencement date for use in customs valuation and export formalities.

Exchange rate schedule for imported goods establishes currency conversion rates for stamp duty and customs valuation under applicable statutes.
Prescribes an exchange rate schedule for specified foreign currencies to be used in conversion to Indian rupees for calculating stamp duty under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and for determinations under section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 in respect of imported goods, superseding the earlier notification and making the listed Schedule I (rates per one unit) and Schedule II (rates per one hundred units) operative from the notified commencement date.

Amendment to tariff headings: substituted entries expand classification for semi-automatic glassware, altering excise exemption scope.
Amendment substitutes tariff entries in the exemption table for glassware produced by a semi-automatic process by replacing the entry against the specified serial number in the annexed Table of Notification No. 4/97-Central Excise with a revised list of tariff headings, thereby altering the classificatory description used for the relevant glassware within the exemption framework.

Appointment of customs officers to exercise adjudication and investigative powers in import cases involving a specified company.
Central Government, under Section 4 of the Customs Act, 1962, appoints the Commissioner of Customs, Delhi to act as Commissioner, Chennai for adjudication, and appoints Assistant or Deputy Commissioners, Delhi to act as Assistant or Deputy Commissioners, Chennai for investigation and issuance of show cause notices in cases concerning M/s. Polar Appliances Limited and associated companies relating to imports at Delhi and Chennai.

Deposit acceptance restriction: companies must not accept or renew deposits if in default, and must certify non-default status.
The amendment inserts a provision prohibiting any company from accepting or renewing deposits if it is in default in repayment of any deposit or any interest thereon, and adds a requirement that companies certify they are not in default in repayment of deposits and interest in accordance with deposit terms.

Exemption under section 35AC extended to Alert India health projects for leprosy and TB following recommendation.
The Central Government specified the Alert India scheme as an eligible project under clause (b) of the Explanation to section 35AC for detection, treatment and cure of leprosy and tuberculosis and for an integrated health care project, and, upon the National Committee's recommendation under sub rule (5) of rule 11M that the project was being executed properly, extended that specification for a further three assessment years commencing from assessment year 1998 99.

Section 35AC exemption extended for specified Bombay disability education scheme, making it eligible for additional assessment years.
The Central Government, under the Explanation to section 35AC, specified the furnishing and running of the societies for the education of the Crippled Centre and Antop Hill School in Bombay as an eligible project for tax-exemption purposes for a further three assessment years commencing from assessment year 1998-99, following the National Committee's recommendation that the project is being properly executed and likely to extend beyond its initial period.

Exemption under section 35AC extended for the specified hospital construction project, preserving its tax eligible status for further years.
The Central Government, acting under the clause enabling specification of eligible projects under the Income-tax Act, specifies the construction of an 80 bedded general hospital with equipment and furniture at Talab Tillo Road, Jammu by BEE ENN Charitable Trust as an eligible project for tax relief for a further three assessment years commencing from assessment year 1998-99, following the National Committee's recommendation that the project is being executed properly.

Exemption under section 35AC extended for specified sports infrastructure, maintaining eligibility for additional assessment years.
The Central Government, exercising powers under clause (b) of the Explanation to section 35AC, specified the Corporation (Area) Basketball Trust, Indore project for a basketball complex as an eligible project for a further two assessment years commencing from assessment year 1998 99, following a recommendation by the National Committee under the Income tax Rules and noting the project's estimated cost.

Exemption under section 35AC designates Arpan Eye Bank project as eligible for an extended tax-exemption period.
The Central Government specifies the Arpan Trust scheme for running an eye bank at Ghatkopar as an eligible project for tax-exemption purposes for a further three assessment years commencing from assessment year 1998-99, after the National Committee recommended extension under the Income-tax Rules upon finding the project properly executed; the notification includes the project's estimated cost and formalises continuation of eligibility under the Explanation to the relevant provision.

Exemption under section 35AC: Sahyog Kushthayagna Trust scheme specified eligible for three further assessment years.
Central Government, under clause (b) of the Explanation to section 35AC of the Income tax Act, specified the Sahyog Kushthayagna Trust scheme for leprosy eradication, rehabilitation of leprosy afflicted persons and their children, and rural health as an eligible project or scheme for a further period of three assessment years commencing from the stated assessment year, following a National Committee recommendation that the project be continued and noting the estimated project cost.

Exemption under section 35AC extends eligibility for nurses' hostel and solar heating project for additional assessment years.
The Central Government specified the Construction, furnishing and extension of a Nurses' Hostel and provision of solar heating at K. H. I. Ghataprabha as an eligible project under the Explanation to section 35AC; following the National Committee's recommendation under rule 11M(5) that execution is proper, eligibility is extended for a further three assessment years commencing from assessment year 1998-99, with an estimated project cost recorded in the notification.

Exemption under section 35AC: rural development project specified eligible for an additional assessment year with increased estimated cost.
Central Government specified the Rural Development Project "Palli Unnayan Prakalpa, West Bengal" as an eligible project under the Explanation to section 35AC, comprising primary school construction, drinking water tube wells, and a kachha link road; following a National Committee recommendation the Government extended specification for one further assessment year and revised the project's estimated cost upward.

Eligible project specification under section 35AC extended for Agriculture Development Trust's college construction scheme period.
The Central Government specified the Agriculture Development Trust, Baramati, Pune scheme for construction and furnishing of Shardabai Pawar Mahila Arts, Commerce and Science College at Malegaon, Maharashtra, as an eligible project under the clause (b) of the explanation to section 35AC, on the National Committee's recommendation, extending its specification for a further two assessment years at an estimated cost of rupees seventy lakhs twenty thousand.