Right to Information exclusion expanded to cover specified central investigative and intelligence agencies, limiting their disclosure obligations.
Amendment expands the Right to Information Act's statutory exclusions by inserting three entries into the Second Schedule to exclude the Central Bureau of Investigation, the National Investigation Agency and the National Intelligence Grid from the Act's application, thereby removing those bodies from the Act's disclosure obligations and clarifying the statutory reach of disclosure vis-a -vis central investigative and intelligence functions.

Export cap on cotton raised; registration of export contracts required prior to shipment under amended foreign trade policy.
Requires prior registration of export contracts for cotton with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade before shipment and conditions Customs clearances on verification of such registration; raises the seasonal export cap to 65 lakh bales for Cotton Season 2010-11 while maintaining existing procedural and classification distinctions, with a separate registration procedure to be notified and no procedural change for cotton waste categories.

Minimum export price for onions set by DGFT, distinguishing Bangalore Rose and Krishnapuram varieties from other onions.
The Government amended prior DGFT notifications to prescribe Minimum Export Price requirements for onions: onions other than Bangalore Rose and Krishnapuram are subject to a lower MEP per metric ton F.O.B., while Bangalore Rose and Krishnapuram onions continue to be subject to a higher MEP per metric ton F.O.B.; the amendment is immediate and replaces earlier notified MEP figures.

Export of river sand permitted to Maldives under bilateral terms subject to annual ceiling and mandatory environmental clearances.
Export Licensing Note 2 permits export of river sand to the Republic of Maldives subject to an annual ceiling and conditional approval. CAPEXIL shall issue No Objection certificates within the ceiling, monitor allocations and submit quarterly reports to the DGFT. Suppliers/extractors must possess appropriate clearances, extraction is prohibited in Coastal Regulation Zone areas, and exporters must obtain environmental clearances or No Objection Certificates from the designated State nodal authority.

Export licensing ceilings for stone aggregate to Maldives permitted under bilateral trade agreement, subject to CAPEXIL clearance and monitoring.
Export of stone aggregate to the Republic of Maldives is authorised under a substituted Export Licensing Note 1 establishing annual quantity ceilings for fiscal years 2011 12 to 2013 14. CAPEXIL is required to issue No Objection certificates within those ceilings, monitor export quantities, submit quarterly reports to the DGFT Export Cell, and ensure that suppliers/extractors have obtained appropriate clearances.

Export exemption for wheat flour permits specified shipments to Maldives under the bilateral trade agreement via designated PSUs.
The Central Government substituted a Foreign Trade Policy provision to grant a limited exemption from the prohibition on wheat product exports, authorising specified annual quantities of wheat flour to be exported to the Republic of Maldives under the bilateral trade agreement and restricting shipments to the designated public sector undertakings identified for each year.

Cost audit reporting rules supersede prior rules and establish a revised companies cost audit report framework and scope.
Central Government enacts the Companies (Cost Audit Report) Rules, 2011 under its Companies Act rulemaking powers, superseding the Cost Audit Report Rules, 2001 and establishing revised procedural and reporting requirements for cost audits, while expressly preserving matters done or omitted before the supersession.

Cost accounting records rules enacted, superseding prior rules and establishing a revised regulatory framework for companies.
Enactment of the Companies (Cost Accounting Records) Rules, 2011 by Central Government under clause (b) of sub section (1) of section 642 read with clause (d) of sub section (1) of section 209 of the Companies Act, 1956, superseding prior cost accounting records rules and establishing a revised regulatory framework for maintenance of companies' cost accounting records, with a saving for acts or omissions before supersession.

Exemption for organic sugar exports: release order requirement waived subject to APEDA certification, contract registration and EDI port shipment.
Export Licensing Note 2 exempts organic sugar exports from the release order requirement by the Chief Director (Sugar) where such exports are within an annual ceiling, are certified by APEDA as organic, have export contracts registered with APEDA prior to shipment, and are exported only through Customs EDI ports; the amendment takes effect immediately and is incorporated into Chapter 17 of Schedule 2 of the ITC(HS) under the Foreign Trade Policy.

Export of organic pulses allowed with annual ceiling, APEDA certification, contract registration and EDI port shipment requirements.
Export of organic pulses and lentils is permitted subject to an annual ceiling of 10,000 MTs, with exports requiring APEDA certification as organic, pre-shipment registration of export contracts with APEDA, and dispatch only from Customs EDI Ports; the amendment revises earlier notifications to give immediate effect to these conditions under the Foreign Trade Policy.

Organic edible oil export exemption permits annual shipments up to a capped quantity subject to certification and pre registration.
The notification carves out an exemption from the edible oils export prohibition to allow export of organic edible oils up to 10,000 MTs per annum, subject to certification by the designated agency, pre shipment registration of export contracts with that agency, and shipment exclusively through Customs EDI Ports; this exemption is additional to earlier relaxations for specified oil categories while the prohibition remains effective until 30.09.2011.

Tax exemption scope expanded to cover annual medical tests for members and their dependents under section ten amendment.
Amendment inserts a new clause in paragraph (1) of notification S.O. 672(E) to permit meeting the cost of annual medical tests or medical checkups of the member, his spouse and dependent children, effected by the tax authority under the statutory exemption provision.

Interest exemption for Post Office Savings Bank accounts updated; revised individual and joint account limits take effect upon publication.
The notification substitutes the prior entry to prescribe exempt limits for interest from Post Office Savings Bank Account, distinguishing individual account and joint account treatment with separate exempt ceilings, and provides that the amendment takes effect from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

Diamond Dollar Account scheme permits eligible exporters to hold non interest US Dollar current accounts under specified credit, debit and reporting rules.
Amendments create a Diamond Dollar Account (DDA) Scheme allowing eligible exporter firms and companies to open US Dollar current accounts with Authorized Dealer Category I banks, non interest bearing and limited to five accounts per exporter; balances are subject to CRR and SLR. Credits are limited to specified export realisations and US Dollar finance, debits cover permitted payments for diamonds, gemstones, specified jewellery, gold imports, loan repayments and transfers to the rupee account, with all transactions governed by the Foreign Trade Policy. Banks must verify eligibility annually and report monthly to the Reserve Bank.

Centralised billing exemption allows recorded smart card manufacturers to register only the billing premises under Central Excise rules.
Manufacturers of recorded smart cards under sub heading 8523 who maintain a centralized billing or accounting system for goods produced by different manufacturing units may opt to register only the premises or office from which such centralized billing or accounting is conducted, and those manufacturing units are exempted from the operation of sub rule (2) of rule 9 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002.

Director Identification Number rules tightened: automated DIN issuance, provisional DINs for duplicates, and stricter identity verification.
Amendments revise allotment and update procedures for the DIN, requiring automated system processing after fee payment, generation of approved DINs absent duplicates, and provisional DINs where potential duplicates are detected for further government examination. Substituted Forms DIN 1 and DIN 4 mandate PAN for Indian nationals, passport for foreign nationals, specified attachments and verifications, and permit digital signatures by specified professionals and company secretaries in whole time employment.

Conferment of powers under section 66 appoints Value Added Tax Officers to assist the Commissioner in VAT administration.
In exercise of powers under section 66 read with rule 47, the Lt. Governor appointed named officers to the office of Value Added Tax Officer, with effect from their assumption of charge, to assist the Commissioner of Value Added Tax in administering the Act; the notification records the statutory basis, appointees' names, and commencement condition.

Customs duty concessions under ASEAN-India FTA apply to specified imports, subject to proof of origin and tariff-wise rates.
Customs duty concessions are granted to specified goods imported into India from ASEAN-India FTA countries, with different concessional rates for goods originating from countries listed in Appendix I and Appendix II. The benefit is available only on proof of origin in accordance with the ASEAN-India rules of origin, and the notification supersedes the earlier customs notification. The Table specifies the eligible tariff entries and rates, subject to special exclusions including the limited application of the Hilsa Fish entry.

Inclusion of beneficiary state: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan added to DFTP scheme beneficiaries under customs amendment.
Amends Notification No. 96/2008-Customs to add Islamic Republic of Afghanistan as a beneficiary under the Duty Free Tariff Preference scheme by inserting a new serial entry in the Schedule, effected by Notification No. 45/2011-Customs under the powers of the Customs Act.

Research expenditure exemption requires approved institutions to apply funds to social science research and comply with audit and reporting conditions.
Exemption under section 35(1) is granted to the American Institute of Indian Studies as an Other Institution partly engaged in research, subject to use of sums for social science research, carrying out research through faculty or students, maintaining separate books for research receipts, obtaining an audit by a qualified accountant and furnishing the audit report and an auditor certified statement of donations and amounts applied for research to the tax authority by the due date.