Non-recovery of excise duty for agricultural zinc sulphate where general practice omitted levy; credit reversal required for relief.
The Central Government directs that excise duties not levied due to a general practice on Agricultural grade Zinc Sulphate ordinarily used as a micronutrient shall not be required to be paid for the period in question, subject to reversal of any cenvat credit taken in respect of inputs and services used in manufacture; only manufacturers who paid duty may claim refunds, with cash payments refunded in cash and credit-based payments refunded by reinstating cenvat credit.

Permitted credits to deposit accounts limited to inward remittances and visa fee transfers from diplomatic rupee accounts.
Regulation 4(3)(a) is amended to permit credits to the account only by (i) proceeds of inward remittances received from outside India through normal banking channels, and (ii) transfer of funds from the rupee account of the diplomatic mission in India that are collected in India as visa fees and credited to such account.

Large Taxpayer Unit jurisdiction extended to consenting cases meeting high excise, service tax or advance tax payment thresholds.
Jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Large Taxpayer Unit), Chennai is extended to all cases formerly under specified Chennai tax authorities where a consent form opting into the LTU Scheme has been filed and prescribed payments for excise, service tax, or advance tax meet the stated thresholds in financial year 2004-2005 or any subsequent year; the amendment is made under Section 120 of the Income-tax Act and is effective from publication in the Official Gazette.

Customs duty exemption for specified imports from MERCOSUR countries subject to origin proof and quota limits.
Customs duty exemption is granted to specified goods imported into India from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, subject to the tariff concessions set out in the Table and proof of originating status under the applicable preferential trade agreement rules. For the goods at Sl. No. 14, the exemption is limited to imports from Paraguay within a tariff rate quota not exceeding 30,000 metric tonnes per year. The applied rate of duty includes the standard customs duty, Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess, and any other applicable customs notification.

Rules of origin determine when goods qualify for preferential treatment under the India MERCOSUR agreement via value and documentation requirements.
These Rules set the origin criteria for preferential tariff treatment under the India-MERCOSUR Agreement: goods qualify if wholly produced, via cumulation of originating inputs, or by meeting a value content test and specified manufacturing requirements. They identify non qualifying minimal operations, address accessories, fungible and neutral materials, sets, packaging and Special Economic Zones, and require Origin Certificates issued by designated authorities based on sworn producer declarations, with specified issuance, validity and record keeping rules. Verification procedures permit information exchanges, investigations, on site visits, and guarantees, with timelines, confidentiality and dispute referral.

Anti-dumping duty rates updated on cold-rolled stainless steel imports by substituting a producer-specific tariff table.
The notification substitutes the existing table to prescribe anti-dumping duty rates (US$ per MT) on cold-rolled flat products of stainless steel (sub heading 7219) by country of origin/export and by named producers and exporters, limited to products of width 600 mm or more and thickness up to 4 mm, while expressly excluding specified coils, AISI 420 High Carbon grade, and a named Grade 430 BA Silver Ice product.

Tariff value fixation updated for specified edible oils and brass scrap, substituting the prior customs valuation table.
Fixation of tariff values is revised by substituting the Table in Notification No. 36/2001-Cus (N. T.), using powers under sub-section (2) of section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962; the substituted Table lists US$ per metric tonne tariff values for specified palm oil, palmolein, crude soyabean oil, brass scrap (all grades), and poppy seeds, with certain entries marked as unchanged and others newly set for customs valuation purposes.

Special Economic Zone designation for engineering sector: remaining land notified under SEZ Act powers and rules.
The Central Government notifies the remaining area of 4.97.78 hectares at Villages Alwa and Pipalia, Taluka Waghodia, District Vadodara in Gujarat as a sector specific Special Economic Zone for the engineering sector, constituting specified survey parcels, exercising powers under the Special Economic Zones Act and Rules after prior approval for development, operation and maintenance had been granted to M/s. Suzlon Infrastructure Limited.

SEZ consolidation at Mundra re-notifies expanded composite zone under SEZ Act, consolidating prior notifications and additional land.
Central Government, under the Special Economic Zones Act and SEZ Rules, consolidates and re-notifies the Mundra composite Special Economic Zone by superseding earlier SEZ notifications for administrative convenience, confirming statutory compliance, and expressly adding 258.2112 hectares to the composite zone; the re-notification lists the consolidated schedule of survey numbers and village parcels that define the re-notified SEZ and preserves existing rights, obligations and fiscal benefits of developers.

Nomination under Companies Act: substitution of two government nominated members and specification of their office terms.
Central Government amends an earlier Gazette notification under the Companies Act to substitute two nominated members: replacing the clause (b) nominee with Shri Uttam Prakash Agarwal as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India representative, and replacing the clause (c) nominee with Smt. Renuka Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs; both substitutions specify the members' terms of office and are issued pursuant to the Government's power to amend the earlier notification.

Exchange Rate Determination sets official customs conversion rates for specified foreign currencies for import and export, superseding prior notification.
Exchange Rate Determination fixes official rupee conversion rates for specified foreign currencies for customs valuation of imports and exports, effective 1 June 2009, under section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962. It supersedes the prior notification and lists separate import and export rates in Schedule I and a per-100-unit rate for Japanese yen in Schedule II, to be used by customs authorities and traders for statutory valuation purposes.

Anti-dumping duty on imports of compact fluorescent lamps enacted to address dumped imports and protect domestic industry.
Imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty on Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) under heading 8539 originating in or exported from China PR, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, following final findings of dumped imports causing material injury. Duties are set as the difference between specified amounts and the assessable landed value, listed in a detailed table by product specification, wattage bands, producer and exporter combinations, country of origin and export, unit of measurement and currency. Definitions for scope, landed value, applicable exchange rate and effective date are provided.

Newsprint Control Order amendment adds a domestic manufacturer to the Schedule, updating authorized producers under the regulatory regime.
The Central Government, exercising statutory powers, amends the Newsprint Control Order, 2004 by adding item 97 to the Schedule: M/s. Vamshadhara Paper Mills Limited, Madapam Village, Narasannapeta, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, thereby recognising that mill as an indigenous newsprint manufacturer; the Order is titled the Newsprint Control (Amendment) Order, 2009 and comes into force on publication in the Official Gazette.

Investment by Indian Party engaged in financial services sector now permitted to invest abroad subject to Part I regulations.
The Third Amendment clarifies that Regulation 7 applies where an investment is made by an Indian Party engaged in the financial services sector, retitles Regulation 7 to Investment by Indian Party engaged in Financial Services Sector, and substitutes sub regulation (1) to permit such Indian Parties, subject to Part I Regulations, to invest in entities outside India, with retrospective effect from 6 September 2006 and a proviso that no person will be adversely affected by the retrospective application.

Commencement of LLP Rules: specified provisions designated to come into force on a notified date under Section 79.
Under the rulemaking authority of Section 79 of the LLP Act, 2008, the Central Government notified that, pursuant to clause (b) of sub rule (2) of Rule 1 of the LLP Rules, 2009, Rules 32 and 33 and Rules 38 to 40 of the LLP Rules, 2009 shall come into force on 31 May 2009.

Commencement of LLP Act provisions: specified sections and schedules are appointed to come into force by government notification.
The Central Government, exercising powers under sub section (3) of section 1 of the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008, appoints a specific date as the commencement date for specified sections and the Second, Third and Fourth Schedules of the Act, bringing those provisions into force by government notification.

Special Economic Zone designation for a biotechnology park establishes notified area, approval committee and inland container depot status.
Notification designates a sector specific Special Economic Zone for Biotechnology at Village Mann, Taluka Mulshi-Hinjawadi, District Pune, comprising specified survey parcels totaling 12.87 hectares; records prior approval granted to M/s. International Biotech Park Limited for development, operation and maintenance under section 3 of the SEZ Act; constitutes an Approval Committee under section 14 with listed ex officio members and the developer as special invitee; and declares the date of notification as the date from which the SEZ shall be deemed an Inland Container Depot under the Customs Act, 1962.

Rule Commencement: specified provisions of the Limited Liability Partnership Rules take effect on the appointed date.
The Central Government designates 31 May 2009 as the date on which Rules 32 and 33 and Rules 38 to 40 of the Limited Liability Partnership Rules, 2009 shall come into force, invoking the Rule 1(2)(b) commencement mechanism under the Rules made pursuant to the enabling Act.

Commencement of LLP Act provisions: central government appoints effective date for specified sections and schedules.
The Central Government, under the power conferred by sub section (3) of section 1 of the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008, appoints the 31st day of May, 2009 as the date on which sections 55 to 58 and the Second, Third and Fourth Schedules of the Act shall come into force by formal notification of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Foreign exchange limits revised to regulate remittances for private visits, gifts, donations, consultancy fees and reimbursements.
Amendments to Schedule III revise thresholds for private visit exchange, gift remittances, donations and consultancy fee remittances, subsume resident gifts and donations under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, define higher consultancy ceilings for specified infrastructure projects, and introduce limits on reimbursement of pre incorporation expenses by Indian entities linked to investment brought into India; certain amendments are retrospective with a non adverse effect clarification.