Appointment of Development Commissioner under SEZ law establishes administrative oversight and reporting obligations for listed SEZs.
The Director, Software Technology Parks of India, Chennai is appointed as Development Commissioner under Section 11 of the SEZ Act, 2005 for specified SEZs listed by developer, location, permissible activity and area. The appointee must follow directions of the Central Government, Department of Commerce and the Board of Approval on SEZs, submit prescribed periodic reports, and is responsible to the Department of Commerce for actions taken; personal service matters remain governed by the Department of Information Technology or the Software Technology Parks of India.

Appointment of Development Commissioner: Director designated to oversee listed SEZs and comply with central oversight and reporting.
The Director, Software Technology Parks of India, New Delhi, is designated as Development Commissioner for the listed Special Economic Zones and developers; the incumbent must follow central instructions and Board of Approval directions, submit periodic reports as prescribed, and is responsible to the commerce department for actions taken as Development Commissioner, while personal service matters remain governed by the home administrative agencies.

Special Economic Zone expansion includes additional land to hi-tech engineering SEZ in Tamil Nadu under SEZ Act
Notification adds 0.94.3 hectares to the Special Economic Zone for sector specific hi tech engineering at Kittampalayam and Karumathampatti Villages, Palladam Taluk, Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, under the second proviso to sub section (1) of Section 4 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 read with rule 8 of the Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006; the included parcels are specified by survey numbers in the accompanying Table following grant of a letter of approval under sub section (10) of Section 3.

Excise exemption for enriched boron compounds conditioned on production at specified heavy water and atomic facilities.
Inserts a new tariff entry exempting enriched KBF4 (enriched potassium fluoroborate) and enriched elemental boron by prescribing a Nil effective rate of duty for those goods, conditional on their production or processing at specified heavy water plants, atomic research centres, and the public-sector entity supplying the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam.

Refund timeframe for duty drawback and terminal excise duty: 30-day counting from complete application; interest if delayed.
For applications for duty drawback and refund of terminal excise duty submitted on or after 06.08.2008, the 30-day processing period is counted from receipt of a complete application as provided in Paragraph 9.10.1 of HBP Vol I 2004-09, and interest is payable if the case is not settled within 30 days of receipt of the complete application.

Deemed Inland Container Depot status granted to a biotechnology sector Special Economic Zone, invoking Customs Act treatment.
The Central Government, exercising powers under the Special Economic Zones Act, declares that the sector specific Special Economic Zone for the biotechnology sector at Plot No. C 22, MIDC, Shendre Five Star Industrial Area, Aurangabad, proposed to be developed by M/s Ajanta Projects (India) Limited, shall be deemed to be an Inland Container Depot for the purposes of the Customs Act, thereby imparting ICD status and bringing the SEZ within the customs framework applicable to Inland Container Depots.

Approval Committee constitution for biotechnology SEZ under Section 13; specifies ex officio members and developer special invitee.
Constitutes an Approval Committee for the biotechnology Special Economic Zone at Plot No. C-22, MIDC, Shendre Five Star Industrial Area under sub section (1) of Section 13 of the SEZ Act, 2005; identifies the Development Commissioner as Chairperson and lists specified ex officio members from central and state departments, names the developer's representative as Special Invitee, and provides for an officer of not less than Joint Development Commissioner rank to represent in the absence of the Development Commissioner.

Special Economic Zone designation for biotechnology confirms notified SEZ area under the SEZ Act and implementing rules.
Notification designates a sector specific Special Economic Zone for biotechnology at Plot No. C-22 following a proposal by M/s. Ajanta Projects (India) Limited and a prior letter of approval for development, operation and maintenance; the Central Government, exercising statutory powers under the SEZ framework and implementing rules, notifies the specified survey parcels aggregating to 10.00 hectares as the SEZ.

Export exemption for maize permits a specified humanitarian shipment to the UN World Food Programme for relief in affected countries.
The ban on maize exports is amended to exempt a specified consignment to be exported by M/s Emmsons International under the United Nations World Food Programme to Kenya, Somalia and Burundi for United Nations humanitarian relief operations, effective immediately and issued under the powers of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act and the Foreign Trade Policy.

Deemed Inland Container Depot designation enables SEZ for precision engineering to assume customs ICD status under statutory power.
The Central Government notified, under sub section (2) of Section 53 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, that the sector specific SEZ for Precision Engineering Products at Hattargi and Mastiholi Villages developed by M/s. Quest SEZ Development Private Limited shall be deemed an Inland Container Depot under Section 7 of the Customs Act, 1962 from the stated operative date.

Approval committee for sector-specific SEZ established, defining official membership, developer representation, and substitute chair arrangements.
Establishes an Approval Committee for the sector-specific Special Economic Zone for precision engineering products at Hattargi and Masliholi, constituted by M/s. Quest SEZ Development Private Limited under the SEZ Act. The Development Commissioner of the SEZ is Chairperson (ex officio); other members are specified ex officio departmental representatives (Commerce nominee, Joint DGFT Bangalore, territorial Customs/Central Excise and Income Tax Commissioners or nominees, Director Banking in Ministry of Finance, State Development Commissioner (Industries), and Joint Secretary (Industries)). The developer's representative is a special invitee and a Joint Development Commissioner may substitute for the Chair when absent.

Special Economic Zone designation for Precision Engineering Products establishes a sector specific SEZ at Hattargi and Mastiholi, Karnataka.
Notification designates a sector specific Special Economic Zone for Precision Engineering Products at Hattargi and Mastiholi villages in Hukkeri Taluk, Belgaum District, Karnataka, following a proposal by M/s. Quest SEZ Development Private Limited and prior approval under the Special Economic Zones Act; the Central Government, invoking powers under the Act and SEZ Rules, notifies the listed survey numbers and areas as the SEZ, aggregating to the stated total land area.

Customs amendment substitutes listed item to classify Micronised Progesterone or Injection Progesterone, altering tariff applicability.
The Central Government, invoking its statutory power under the Customs Act, substitutes item (58) in List 3 of the Annexure to Notification No. 21/2002-Customs with "Micronised Progesterone or Injection Progesterone," effecting an amendment to the tariff classification and exemption/effective duty regimen set out in the principal notification.

Tariff value fixation updated for select edible oils, brass scrap and poppy seeds under customs valuation framework.
The Board, under section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, amends Notification No. 36/2001-Cus (N.T.) by substituting a new Table setting tariff values in US$ per metric tonne for specified goods. The Table specifies tariff values for crude palm oil, RBD and other palm oil variants, crude palmolein and its variants, crude soyabean oil, brass scrap (all grades) and poppy seeds, indicating unchanged values for several edible oil entries and new values for brass scrap and poppy seeds.

Anti-dumping duty exemption for specified exporter removes duty on certain vitrified and porcelain tile imports.
An amendment exempts imports of vitrified and porcelain tiles produced by M/s Foshan Nanhai Jing Yu Ceramics Ltd. (Bioma Ceramics), PRC and exported by M/s Shye International, Hong Kong from the imposed anti-dumping duty, based on a new shipper review finding a de minimis dumping margin and the designated authority's recommendation; the amendment inserts a proviso to the original notification and is effective from the date of that notification.

Claim for refund of additional customs duty required within one year; file with jurisdictional customs officer.
The amendment to Notification No.102/2007-Customs substitutes paragraph 2(c) to require that an importer seeking refund of additional customs duty paid on imported goods must file a claim with the jurisdictional customs officer before the expiry of one year from the date of payment of that duty.

Scientific research association approval conditional on sole research objective, audited accounts and certified donations statement compliance.
Approval as a scientific research association is conditional on the association's sole objective being scientific research conducted by the association itself, maintenance of books of account, audit by a qualified accountant with the audit report furnished to the tax authority by the return-filing due date, and maintenance of a separate auditor-certified statement of donations and amounts applied to scientific research; approval may be withdrawn for failure to comply with these requirements or if research activities cease or are not genuine.

Export of onions allowed subject to quality, MEP, and uniform NOC service charges by designated trading enterprises.
Conditions for all STEs exporting onions: export allowed without quantitative ceiling subject to NAFED quality requirements; all exports subject to a Minimum Export Price fixed by NAFED; designated STEs may issue NOCs to associate shippers and charge a uniform service fee of 1% of the invoice value for NOC issuance; STEs shall not levy any other charges; agencies must ensure quality and submit weekly permit reports to NAFED and periodic shipment reports to the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Currency futures: residents may trade standardized exchange-traded contracts to hedge foreign exchange exposure subject to reserve bank directions.
The amendment adds a definition of Currency Futures as a standardised foreign exchange derivative contract traded on a recognized stock exchange, excluding forward contracts, and inserts currency futures into the scope of foreign exchange derivative contracts. It further permits persons resident in India to enter into currency futures on recognized stock exchanges to hedge exposures or otherwise, subject to terms and conditions specified in directions issued by the Reserve Bank of India.

Deemed Inland Container Deport status granted to a biotechnology SEZ, effective from the appointed date, altering customs classification.
Notification appoints 31 July 2008 as the date from which the sector specific biotechnology SEZ proposed by M/s. Saloni Business Park Private Limited at Villages Kharivali and Bhopivali, Taluka Wada, District Thane shall be deemed to be Inland Container Deport under Section 7 of the Customs Act, 1962, pursuant to sub section (2) of Section 53 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005.