Liaison Office approvals: insurance companies with IRDA approval are exempt from Reserve Bank approval to set up liaison offices in India.
The Reserve Bank amended FEMA regulations to exempt insurance companies from obtaining Reserve Bank approval for establishing a Liaison Office in India, provided the company has obtained approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority.

Prosecution authorisation under Companies Act: SFIO officers empowered to file and conduct prosecutions on complaint.
The Central Government designated specified Assistant Directors of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to file and conduct prosecutions under the Companies Act, exercising power under section 621(1), and confirmed that offences under the Act are cognizable only upon complaint by the Registrar, a shareholder, or the Government.

Research donation approval under Section 35(1)(ii) subjects donor deductibility to account, audit and reporting compliance.
Hyderabad Eye Research Foundation is approved as an institution eligible under clause (ii) of sub section (1) of section 35 for research donation deductibility, subject to maintaining separate accounts for research; submitting audited Income and Expenditure accounts for each approved year to the Commissioner or Director of Income tax (Exemptions) by the return due date or within ninety days; and providing an auditor's certificate specifying amounts received for research eligible for donor deduction and certifying that the expenditure was for scientific research.

Delegation of refund authority permits Mumbai customs official to dispose refund applications under the Customs Tariff framework.
Appoints the Assistant Commissioner/Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Group 2B-I, in the Commissionerate of Customs (Import), Mumbai, to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of Assistant Commissioner / Deputy Commissioner of Customs (Refund) under sub section (2) of section 9AA of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, for disposing applications filed under that provision within the jurisdiction of the Commissionerate of Customs (Import), Mumbai.

Tariff Schedule Amendments update tariff items and notes, correcting headings, substitutions, and omissions under central excise law.
The notification amends the First and Second Schedules to the Central Excise Tariff Act by substituting specified chapter and subheading references, correcting tariff item numbers in column (1), substituting or omitting words and figures in chapter and sub heading notes (including typographical corrections and omission of a note), and altering a description entry in the Second Schedule; these are editorial and classificatory corrections that take effect on publication in the Official Gazette.

Tax exemption under section 10(23C)(iv) granted for specified years subject to conditions on income use, investments, business and dissolution.
Exemption is granted to Population Foundation of India under Section 10(23C)(iv) for assessment years 2005-06 to 2007-08, conditional on applying its income wholly to charitable objects; restricting investments to modes specified in Section 11(5) (except certain voluntary contributions retained as tangible items); excluding business income unless incidental with separate accounts; regular filing of income tax returns; and transfer of surplus and assets on dissolution to a like minded charitable organisation.

Tax exemption under section 10(23C)(iv) granted subject to application, investment, business accounting, compliance and dissolution conditions.
Notification under section 10(23C)(iv) designates National Federation of the Blind, New Delhi, as a notified institution for assessment years 2003-2004 to 2005-2006, subject to conditions requiring application of income wholly and exclusively to objects, permitted modes of investment under section 11(5) (except certain tangible voluntary contributions), exclusion of business income unless incidental and separately accounted, regular filing of income-tax returns, and transfer of surplus and assets on dissolution to a charitable organisation with similar objectives.

Tax exemption under Section 10(23C)(v) granted with conditions for a religious institution's assessment years specified.
Notification grants tax-exempt status under section 10(23C)(v) to The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Kottayam for assessment years 2002-2003 to 2004-2005, subject to conditions: apply income solely to objects; restrict investments to permitted forms; exclude non-incidental business income unless separately accounted; file returns regularly; and on dissolution transfer surplus and assets to a like charitable organisation.

Taxability of diesel revised: omission from Fourth Schedule reclassifies diesel to unspecified item and alters applicable VAT treatment.
By notification under section 103 of the Delhi Value Added Tax Act the Lt. Governor omitted sub-entry (v) of Sl. No. 1 in the Fourth Schedule with immediate effect, removing diesel (High Speed Diesel, Super Light Diesel Oil, Light Diesel Oil) from that schedule; diesel was therefore subject to the prior specified levy for the initial period and, from the omission date, is classified as an unspecified item and taxed at the rate applicable to unspecified items.

Inclusion of sweetmeat in VAT schedule makes it taxable under Delhi VAT with immediate effect.
The Lt. Governor, under section 103 of the Delhi Value Added Tax Act, 2004, issued a notification inserting Sweetmeat as Sl. No. 85 in the Third Schedule, with immediate effect, thereby subjecting sweetmeat to the VAT treatment applicable to Third Schedule goods under the Delhi VAT framework.

Excise duty waiver for cotton yarn removed for processing, conditional on proper accounting and lawful disposal.
Excise relief is directed for cotton yarn removed between factories for further processing where a prevalent practice led to non levy of duty; under Section 11C the government permits non recovery of that duty for the identified period, provided the processed yarn has been duly accounted for and disposed of in accordance with Central Excise law.

Safeguard duty on Tapioca starch imposes graduated import duties over a three-year period with developing-country exemptions.
Imposition of a safeguard duty on Tapioca Starch (heading 1108) following findings of serious injury to domestic producers: ad valorem rates of 33% for the first year, 23% for the second year, and 13% for the third year, applying to specified twelve-month periods starting 2nd May, 2005. Imports from countries designated as developing under the statute are exempt, except Thailand and Vietnam remain subject to the duty.

Additional duty exemption for mobile handset parts subject to concessional import procedure and specified time-limited notification.
Exempts parts, components and accessories of mobile handsets, including cellular phones, from the whole of the additional duty of customs under the Customs Tariff Act, provided the importer follows the procedure in the Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty for Manufacture of Excisable Goods) Rules, 1996; the exemption was time-limited and later rescinded.

Additional customs duty on computers clarified: separate CPUs and assembled computer sets now attract distinct ad valorem duties.
Amendment revises additional customs duty: CPUs imported separately attract a 6% ad valorem duty, while computers of heading 8471 (including a CPU with monitor, mouse and keyboard cleared together as a set) attract a 7% ad valorem duty; separately imported input/output devices and accessories are excluded from the computer entry. The prior Explanation in the principal Rules is omitted and the rules take effect on publication.

Customs exemption amendment expands LPG subsidy import exemption and adds concessional entry for tuna fishing gear.
The notification substitutes entry 75E to grant nil duty for specified liquefied propane/butane and LPG imported for supply to household domestic consumers under the PDS Kerosene and Domestic LPG Subsidy Scheme, inserts S.No.508 to cover monofilament long line systems for tuna fishing under concessional import treatment, and adds Condition 97 requiring a certificate from a Director-level officer of the Marine Products Export Development Authority confirming the goods are monofilament long line systems intended for tuna fishing; List 26 and List 26A are correspondingly amended.

Drawback Rates: specified ad valorem and unit rates with caps, subject to cenvat status and procedural claim requirements.
Determines customs and central excise drawback rates in the annexed Schedule, aligning tariff items with the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act at the four digit level, and sets rates as ad valorem percentages of f.o.b. value or specific per unit amounts with corresponding caps. Drawback columns distinguish total drawback when cenvat has not been availed and the customs component where cenvat has been availed; entitlement is subject to procedural claim requirements and exclusions for specified licence schemes, bonded manufacture, export oriented units, specified duty rebate schemes, and exports under duty entitlement programmes.

CENVAT Credit amendment includes Liquefied Petroleum Gas tariff items as eligible inputs, expanding input credit scope.
The CENVAT Credit (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2005 amend rule 6(3)(a) by substituting sub-clause (viii) to specify that Liquefied Petroleum Gases (LPG) falling under the stated First Schedule tariff items are eligible for CENVAT credit; the amendment is made under powers in the Central Excise Act and the Finance Act and takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette.

Excise exemption for LPG supplied to household consumers under subsidised public distribution removes central excise duty.
Amendment substitutes a tariff entry to grant an excise exemption and a nil central excise rate for specified LPG products when supplied to household domestic consumers under the Public Distribution System and the Domestic LPG Subsidy Scheme.

Tariff classification amended to include an additional subheading, expanding the central excise exemption's descriptive coverage for specified goods.
A corrigendum to a Central Excise notification amends the tariff classification by replacing the originally cited subheading with language stating the goods are described under the original subheading or an additionally included subheading, thereby expanding the notification's descriptive coverage as published in the official Gazette.

Central Excise Tariff Amendment substitutes entry for textile goods, revising rates for cotton and other fabrics.
The notification substitutes the Table entry at S.No. 10 of the principal Central Excise notification for goods under Chapter 59, distinguishing (i) cotton goods not containing any other textile material and (ii) other textile fabrics with an exception for specified tyre cord fabric; it updates the duty percentages applicable to each category and is issued under the Central Excise Act as a further amendment to Notification No. 29/2004-Central Excise, accompanied by a corrigendum correcting tariff item symbols.