Rescission of safeguard notification under Customs Tariff Act withdraws earlier safeguard order while preserving prior actions.
The Central Government, exercising powers under the Customs Tariff Act and the Customs Tariff (Identification and Assessment of Safeguard Duty) Rules, rescinds the earlier safeguard notification published in the Gazette on 17 January 2012, while expressly preserving the legal effect of acts done or omissions made before such rescission.

Director identification verification now requires attested photographs, residential status and updated annexure verifications in DIN filings.
The amendment requires that photographs and documents attached to Form DIN-1 and Form DIN-4 belong to the applicant and be duly attested by the applicant or by a Public Notary or a Gazetted Officer; Form DIN-4 is expanded to include a director's/designated partner's photograph, residential status, verification cross-references to Annexures 1 and 2, and a question on residency, while Annexure checklists and attestation declarations are updated to reflect these additions.

Renewal of recognition under securities law granted with conditional compliance required with SEBI circular and further stipulations.
Renewal of recognition to U.P. Stock Exchange Limited is granted under Section 4 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act for a one-year period, subject to the Exchange commencing trading only after complying with SEBI Circular No. MRD/DSA/SE/Cir-12/09 and to any other conditions SEBI may stipulate from time to time.

Safeguard quantitative restrictions: procedure for investigating increased imports and recommending non discriminatory import limits to protect industry.
Imposition of safeguard quantitative restrictions is administered by a designated Authorised Officer who investigates alleged increased imports causing or threatening serious injury, evaluates evidence of increased imports, injury and causation, issues public notices, allows interested party participation subject to confidentiality, and recommends the nature, extent, allocation, duration and progressive liberalisation of quantitative restrictions to the Central Government for non discriminatory imposition.

Drawback rates revised for gold and silver jewellery, substituting tariff entries and specifying purity-based calculation.
Revises the Schedule for Chapter 71 by substituting tariff items under heading 7113 and prescribing drawback specifications: tariff item 711301 for articles of jewellery and parts made of gold, and tariff item 711302 for articles of jewellery and parts made of silver, each with drawback expressed per unit of net metal content tied to defined purity thresholds; tariff item 711399 (others) is nil. The amendment supersedes prior drawback entries in the principal notification.

Exchange rate notification updates foreign currency conversion rates for imports and exports, substituting Schedule I entries.
Amendment substitutes Serial Nos. 5 and 11 in Schedule I to the principal Notification, specifying revised rupee conversion rates for Hong Kong Dollar and US Dollar separately for imported goods and export goods, effective from 25th May, 2012, issued under the powers of Section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Customs exemption scope expanded to include Karaikal alongside Ennore across multiple notifications, extending port-based applicability.
The notification substitutes the words "Ennore (Tamil Nadu)" with "Ennore (Tamil Nadu) and Karaikal (Union territory of Puducherry)" in specified conditions of multiple customs exemption notifications, thereby extending the named territorial port reference to include Karaikal alongside Ennore.

Double taxation agreement amendment: substitution of Japan Bank for International Cooperation updates tax exemption coverage for interest.
Amendment to the India-Japan Convention replaces the listed financial institution in Article 11(4)(a)(ii), substituting "international business unit of Japan Finance Corporation" with Japan Bank for International Cooperation, thereby updating the roster of institutions treated as government owned financial entities for exemption from tax on interest; the Central Government issues the notification under domestic treaty implementation powers and declares the amendment to have retrospective operative effect.

Special Court designation for trial under PMLA of offences linked to an alleged former chief minister corruption case.
The Central Government, under sub section (1) of section 43 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, designates the Court of Special Judge 1, CBI (ACB), Ranchi, as the Special Court to try offences punishable under section 4 of the Act in respect of all cases connected with offences alleged to have been committed by Shri Madhu Koda, former Chief Minister, and others; the notification was later superseded.

Arm's length price determination: other method permits use of comparable uncontrolled transaction prices to fix transfer pricing.
Insertion of an other method for determining the arm's length price permits use of prices charged or that would have been charged in same or similar uncontrolled transactions between non-associated enterprises under similar circumstances, considering all relevant facts, and the existing rules are amended to recognise this method as an additional means to compute arm's length pricing for international transactions.

Special Deposit Scheme interest rate notified to apply from April and continue until further orders.
Deposits under the Special Deposit Scheme for non-government provident, superannuation and gratuity funds shall bear interest at 8.8% per annum with effect from 1 April 2012 and until further orders.

Alternative investment fund regulation establishes registration, governance, disclosure and compliance framework under securities law for fund managers.
Regulation establishes a statutory framework for alternative investment funds, empowering the securities regulator to require registration and authorization, set eligibility and fit and proper criteria for fund managers, and impose governance, disclosure, reporting and compliance obligations to bring such funds within the regulator's supervisory perimeter.

Exchange rate amendment for Japanese yen alters import and export valuation basis, effective as per notification.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs amends Notification No. 38/2012-CUSTOMS (N.T.) by substituting the Serial No. 1 entry in SCHEDULE-II to prescribe the exchange rates for Japanese yen for import and export valuation, effective from 22nd May, 2012, with departmental file reference and administrative authentication.

Anti-dumping duty extension preserves measures on white cement imports from specified countries for an additional year.
The Central Government amends Notification No. 56/2007 Customs to extend the anti dumping duty on imports of White Cement from specified countries for one additional year. The extension is made under the statutory continuation review mechanism initiated by the designated authority and enacted pursuant to the powers under the Customs Tariff Act and rule 23 of the anti dumping rules, by inserting a provision that the notification shall remain in force for the further one year period unless revoked earlier.

Anti-dumping duty continuation on zinc oxide from China PR extended by government under statutory review process.
The Central Government amended the earlier customs notification to continue the anti-dumping duty on imports of Zinc Oxide from China PR, following a statutory review and request for extension, and specified that the notification shall remain in force up to and inclusive of the 6th day of May, 2013 unless revoked earlier.

Common Adjudicating Authority assignment transfers a DRI show cause notice to a Commissioner for adjudication under customs law.
A show cause notice issued by a revenue investigation zonal unit is assigned, pursuant to statutory delegation and notification-based authority under the Customs Act, to the Commissioner of Customs (Port) Kolkata for adjudication, with copies circulated to the originating unit, another customs commissioner and the electronic portal for administrative record-keeping.

Customs cargo-area oversight assigns functions to designated officers and restricts safety-threatening exemptions from operational conditions.
Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas (Amendment) Regulations, 2012 allocate functions under regulation 6(1) to specified levels of Customs officers instead of referring generally to the "proper officer." Depending on the relevant function, authority is assigned to Inspectors, Preventive Officers, Examining Officers, Superintendents, Appraisers, Deputy Commissioners or Assistant Commissioners of Customs. Exemption from conditions under regulation 5 is prohibited where it is likely to affect the overall safety and security of the premises.

Tariff values fixed for specified edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds and precious metals under customs notification.
Substitutes TABLE-1 and TABLE-2 of Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) to prescribe US dollar per metric tonne tariff values for specified edible oils, brass scrap and poppy seeds, and per-unit tariff values for gold and silver where specified notification benefits are availed, under the authority of the Customs Act.

Section 35AC eligible project extension granted for hospital expansion; eligibility continued but no certificate for lapsed financial year.
The Central Government notifies extension of eligibility for the expansion of Khaja Bandanawaz Teaching & General Hospital as an eligible project for a further three-year period commencing 2011-12, maintaining the approved project cost unchanged, following the National Committee's recommendation; however, no certificate shall be issued for the lapsed first year of the extended period.

Section 35AC eligibility extended for Mobility Camp scheme; project period extended and project cost ceiling amended.
The Central Government, following the National Committee's recommendation that the "Mobility Camp for the physically challenged" is being properly executed, notifies extension of the scheme's eligibility under Section 35AC for a further three financial years beginning 2012 13 and amends the earlier notification to increase the maximum project cost allowed for deduction, thereby updating the ceiling applicable to deduction claims for expenditure on the specified charitable project.