Exemption under Post Export EPCG duty credit scrip permits duty-free clearance subject to Customs registration, debiting, and validation.
Exemption covers Fourth Schedule goods cleared against a Post Export EPCG duty credit scrip, exempting them from whole excise and specified additional duties, subject to conditions: Customs registration of the scrip, presentation with supplier details and jurisdictional Central Excise Officer, Customs debit of duties on the reverse of the scrip with written advice to the Officer, eighteen month validity, holder's undertaking to pay short debits with interest, Officer's endorsement and validation, manufacturer retention of attested debited/endorsed scrip, exclusions under Appendix 37B and non permissible imports, and entitlement to drawback or CENVAT credit against the debited scrip.

Service tax exemption for services against VKGUY duty credit scrips, subject to scrip registration and specified procedural conditions.
Exemption of service tax is granted for taxable services provided against a Vishesh Krishi and Gram Udyog Yojana duty credit scrip issued under the Foreign Trade Policy, subject to specified excluded export categories and conditions. Conditions include registration of the scrip with the Customs Authority, presentation of the scrip with an invoice issued under rule 4A, Customs debit recording the service tax that would have been leviable, written advice to the jurisdictional Central Excise Officer, treatment of the debit date as date of payment, obligations to pay any short-paid tax and interest, verification and validation by the Officer, retention of debited/validated scrip copies by the service provider, and entitlement to drawback or CENVAT credit against the debited service tax.

Anti-dumping duty on soda ash imports imposed; differential rates apply by origin, producer and exporter, payable in domestic currency.
Definitive anti-dumping duty is imposed on disodium carbonate (soda ash) imports from Russia and Turkey after findings of dumping and material injury, with specified differential duty rates tied to origin, export country, producer and exporter combinations. Duties are listed in the schedule in US dollars per metric ton but are payable in Indian currency; the applicable exchange rate is the rate notified under the Customs Act on the bill of entry presentation date. The notification includes an effectivity period subject to revocation and references a sunset-review and administrative abeyance.

Anti-dumping duty amendment substitutes the named exporter in the notification, updating the roster of affected entities.
The Central Government amends the earlier anti-dumping notification by substituting the Table entry at S. No. 5, column (7) with the exporter name M/s Guangzhou Chemicals Import and Export Co. Ltd, People's Republic of China, thereby updating the list of named exporters subject to the notification while leaving the underlying anti-dumping regulatory framework intact.

Service tax exemption for services against Focus Product Scheme scrips, subject to registration, debiting and validation procedures.
Exemption from service tax is provided for taxable services supplied against a Focus Product Scheme duty credit scrip, subject to conditions: scrip issuance for listed products, exclusion of specified export categories, registration of the scrip with the Customs Authority, presentation with invoice or challan identifying the jurisdictional Central Excise Officer, Customs debiting of the notional service tax on the scrip (treated as payment date), presentation of the debited scrip to the Officer within thirty days with an undertaking for any short debit, Officer validation and recordal, and entitlement to drawback or CENVAT credit against the debited and validated service tax.

EPCG scheme restriction: imports of capital goods for production, supply or transmission of electrical energy are disallowed under the policy.
Amendment inserts Para 5.1(g) prohibiting EPCG authorizations for import of any Capital Goods, including captive plants and power generator sets, when intended for export of electrical energy, supply under deemed exports, internal use of power in the unit, or supply/export of electricity transmission services.

Service tax exemption for Focus Market Scheme scrips: allowed subject to scrip registration, Customs debiting and officer validation.
Service tax exemption is provided for taxable services against Focus Market Scheme duty credit scrips issued for exports to notified countries, subject to exclusions. The scrip must be registered with Customs; Customs will debit the service tax on the scrip, notify the Central Excise Officer and the debit date is treated as date of payment. Short payments or tax timing differentials attract interest and must be remedied by the scrip holder. The debited and validated service tax may be used for drawback or CENVAT credit, and any amounts due are recoverable under the Finance Act.

Import of new vehicles now authorised through additional designated customs ports expanding permitted entry points.
The Central Government amends Policy Condition 2 of Chapter 87 in ITC (HS) Schedule 1 (Import Policy) to add ICD Faridabad and Ennore Port to the enumerated list of customs ports through which import of new vehicles is permitted, stating that importation of new vehicles is allowed only through the specified ports including Nhava Sheva, Kolkata, Chennai, Chennai Airport, Cochin, ICD Tughlakabad, Delhi Air Cargo, Mumbai Port, Mumbai Air Cargo Complex, ICD Talegaon Pune, ICD Faridabad and Ennore Port.

Import policy for pre-war vintage cars now free for actual users, subject to motor vehicle regulatory compliance.
Import policy for cars manufactured prior to 1st January, 1950 is revised from restricted to free for import by Actual Users; a new paragraph (III) under Policy Condition 1 excludes Policy Conditions (I) and (II) for these cars, while vehicles plying on public roads remain subject to the Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Rules, 1989, with immediate effect.

Deemed exports terminal excise duty treatment: ab initio exemptions bar TED refunds, with refunds limited where no exemption exists.
The amendments clarify that refund of terminal excise duty is available only if exemption is not available, and that exemption ab initio applies to supplies against ICB, intermediate supplies between Advance Authorisation holders made against an invalidation letter, and supplies from DTA units to EOU/EHTP/STP/BTP units; supplies exempt ab initio will not be eligible for TED refund. The amended table in paragraph 8.4 specifies which deemed export sub categories attract exemption or refund under paragraphs 8.3(a)-(c).

Incremental exports incentivisation: duty credit scrip for year on year export growth, transferable and usable for domestic sourcing and service tax.
A new Incremental Exports Incentivisation Scheme (IEIS) (para 3.14.5) grants a duty credit scrip on an IEC holder's incremental FOB export growth year on year, personal to the IEC holder and excluding group aggregation. The scheme lists specific exclusions from export performance, is region specific, operates alongside other Chapter 3 benefits, and allows freely transferable duty credit scrips usable for domestic sourcing and Service Tax payment under FTP rules.

Antidumping duty exemption removed when DFIA is made transferable; bonded warehouse value addition requirement limited to DTA units.
Exemption from Antidumping Duty and Safeguard Duty is limited to actual users and is disallowed once a DFIA is made transferable; imports against transferred DFIAs will attract antidumping and safeguard levies. The word "energy" is deleted from the cited provision, removing advance authorisations for energy. The minimum value addition requirement for Private/Public Bonded Warehouses applies only to DTA units, not SEZ units, with SEZ value addition to follow the SEZ Act.

EPCG Scheme harmonized to permit zero duty capital goods imports subject to export obligations and eligibility conditions.
Notification harmonizes Chapter 5 of the Foreign Trade Policy to consolidate EPCG Scheme variants. The Zero Duty EPCG permits import of capital goods at zero basic customs duty subject to an export obligation calculated as a multiple of duty saved, to be fulfilled within a prescribed period. The chapter prescribes exclusions (Status Holder Incentive interaction, prohibition on second hand goods), computation rules for duty saved, treatment of spares and tooling, project and retail sector coverage, eligibility including CSPs, Actual User condition, EO calculation and discharge mechanisms, technological upgradation rules, post export duty credit scrips, and reduced EO for specified regions and green technology products.

Establishment of Local Office expands regional regulatory presence to handle investor protection and grievance redressal.
Establishment of a Local Office at Lucknow under the administrative control of the Northern Regional Office to exercise statutory regulatory functions within the territorial jurisdiction of Uttar Pradesh, tasked with investor protection, facilitating redressal of investor grievances, promoting financial and investor education, and performing other assigned functions.

Appointment of Competition Commission member under Competition Act: fixed-term start upon assuming office with an age-based limit.
Appointment of Shri S.L.Bunker as Member of the Competition Commission of India under the Competition Act, 2002, for a period of five years from the date he enters upon office, subject to earlier cessation on attaining the age of sixty-five years, issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Tariff value fixation: substituted tariff values for specified oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds, gold and silver.
The notification substitutes TABLE-1 and TABLE-2 in the existing Customs non-tariff notification to set tariff values for specified imports: TABLE-1 fixes US$ per metric tonne values for listed oils, brass scrap and poppy seeds (most unchanged), while TABLE-2 fixes US$ unit values for gold and silver in forms eligible for benefits under specified entries; issued under section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962.

Infrastructure debt fund regulations allow private placements with placement memorandum filing and investment and approval safeguards.
Amendments permit infrastructure debt fund schemes to raise funds by private placement subject to trustee and board approval, filing of a placement memorandum and payment of a filing fee; they fix offering and transaction period limits, allow tenure extension with two thirds unitholder approval, expand eligible investor categories, require reinvestment of principal receipts into prescribed instruments or specified bonds, and set portfolio concentration and sponsor participation conditions with disclosure and approval safeguards.

Security exemption for online VAT registration: online applicants exempted from security; manual applicants must provide prescribed security.
No security is required from dealers who apply for registration online up to the 30th of June, 2013, while dealers applying manually must furnish the prescribed security in the usual manner; this direction by the Commissioner under section 19(1) of the Value Added Tax Act takes immediate effect.

Common Adjudicating Authority assignment: show cause notice transferred to Commissioner for adjudication under the Customs Act.
The Board assigns the Common Adjudicating Authority role for the Show Cause Notice issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (Chennai Zonal Unit) in respect of M/s Itspossible Marketing Limited to the Commissioner of Customs (Seaport-Imports), Custom House, Chennai, for the purpose of adjudication, and circulates copies to the issuing DRI unit and various Commissioners of Customs and the Board webmaster for administrative coordination.

Tariff valuation update under Customs Act replaces tariff values for specified imported goods, fixing new unit values.
Amendment substitutes the prior TABLE-1 and TABLE-2 to set fixed tariff values in US dollars per metric tonne for listed commodities (various palm oils, palmolein, crude soybean oil, brass scrap, poppy seeds) and unit values for gold and silver when specified notification benefits are availed, exercising the Board's power under section 14(2) of the Customs Act to prescribe determinative import values for customs valuation purposes.