Patent fees revised: physical filings attract 10% extra; new small entity definition requires Form 28 for fee concessions.
The amendments define "small entity" linked to MSME investment thresholds, require submission of Form 28 with fee bearing documents to claim small entity status, and insert Form 7A for oppositions. They replace the First and Fourth Schedules with revised, itemised fee tables distinguishing e filing and physical filing (physical filings attract a ten percent additional fee), separate rates for natural persons, persons other than natural persons, small entities and others, and require payment of any fee differential when ownership transfers from a small entity to a non small entity.

Online T-2 reporting for goods entering Delhi requires dealers above turnover threshold to submit vehicle and invoice details.
Dealers exceeding the turnover threshold must submit Form T-2 online, using dealer login, with invoice and Goods Receipt details for each vehicle before goods enter Delhi; summary mobile/SMS submission is allowed with full Form T-2 uploaded within 24 hours, GR numbers may be updated within 24 hours, and Delhi purchasers must not dispose of goods until T-2 details are completed.

Fixation of tariff values: notification updates tariff valuation benchmarks for specified imported goods under customs law.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs, under section 14(2) of the Customs Act, substitutes new TABLE 1, TABLE 2 and TABLE 3 in Notification No. 36/2001 Customs (N.T.) to prescribe revised tariff values in US dollars for specified imported goods. The substituted tables set tariff values per metric tonne for listed edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds and areca nuts, and specify tariff values for gold and silver when certain notification benefits are availed, thereby fixing valuation benchmarks for customs assessment.

Quarterly return substitution updates CENVAT reporting by prescribing detailed invoice and credit documentation for dealers and importers.
Prescribes a substituted Quarterly Return Form under sub rule (8) of rule 9 of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 for first stage dealers, second stage dealers and registered importers, requiring name, excise registration number, address and detailed schedules of invoices and source documents showing invoice/bill of entry details, supplier identification, description of goods, Central Excise Tariff Heading, quantity and amount of duty; directs reporting of the item with maximum duty and allows registered importers to indicate 'Self' as source, and requires authorized signatory details and seal.

Registration form amendment: importer added as identified business category, affecting central excise registration procedures and compliance.
Amendment to Form A-1 inserts importer into Part I under "Identification of business requiring Registration" and adds "Importer" at the end of serial No. 3 under "Category," thereby updating the prescribed entries on the central excise registration application and altering the registration options to explicitly include importers.

CENVAT Credit amendment expands eligible recipients to include registered importers, extending applicable rule eligibility and proviso.
The amendment to the CENVAT Credit Rules inserts the phrase "or a registered importer" after "second stage dealer" in rule 9(8) and in its proviso, thereby extending the provision's applicability to registered importers; the amendment comes into force on the first day of April, 2014.

CENVAT credit inclusion: importers issuing invoices now treated as covered under rule 9(1), expanding regulatory coverage from commencement.
The Central Excise Rules are amended to include an importer who issues an invoice on which CENVAT credit can be taken in the class of persons treated as using excisable goods; the amendment is effected under the enabling power of the Central Government and comes into force on the stated commencement date.

Corporate social responsibility activities now enumerate social, environmental and development projects specified by recent amendment to the Act.
The amendment to Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 substitutes items (i)-(x) to set out categories of qualifying corporate social responsibility activities, including poverty and malnutrition eradication, health and sanitation, safe drinking water, education and vocational training, gender equality and care for vulnerable groups, environmental sustainability, cultural preservation, veterans' welfare, sports promotion, specified government relief funds, approved technology incubators and rural development projects; the amendment takes effect from 1 April 2014.

Market Linked Focus Products incentive grants FOB export benefits to specified linked markets and adds additional appendix benefits.
The amendment creates Market Linked Focus Products Scrip (MLFPS) to incentivize exports of high export-intensity/employment-potential products to linked markets not in the FMS list, by granting an export incentive on FOB value and listing such items in Table 2 or the newly added Table 3 of Appendix 37D; Table 3 benefits are additional to any entitlement under Table 1 or Table 2.

Corporate Social Responsibility rules require eligible companies to adopt policies, committees, compliant projects, and annual reporting.
Companies meeting the Act's eligibility must adopt a CSR Policy and constitute a CSR Committee to oversee projects and programs aligned with Schedule VII; net profit for CSR excludes overseas branch profits and specified dividends. CSR may be executed directly, through qualifying trusts/societies/section 8 companies or in collaboration, subject to track record and monitoring requirements. CSR expenditure must conform to Schedule VII, exclude political contributions and employee-only benefits, and be reported annually in the Board's Report with project-level details and a responsibility statement.

Corporate social responsibility commencement set to take effect on appointed date under section 135 and Schedule VII.
The Central Government, under sub-section (3) of section 1 of the Companies Act, 2013, appoints the 1st day of April, 2014 as the date on which the provisions of section 135 and Schedule VII of the Act shall come into force, by Gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Special Economic Zone expansion: notification adds additional land to an IT/ITES SEZ, increasing the total notified area.
Notification expands a sector specific Special Economic Zone for IT/ITES at Kakkanad by adding 40.7356 hectares of land proposed by M/s. Smart City (Kochi) Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd.; the Central Government, under the second proviso to sub section (1) of Section 4 of the SEZ Act, 2005 read with rule 8 of the SEZ Rules, 2006, incorporates detailed survey parcels into the SEZ schedule, bringing the total notified SEZ area to 93.9165 hectares.

Special Economic Zone notification: IT/ITES SEZ at Imphal notified with land area specified and Approval Committee constituted.
Notification establishes a sector specific Special Economic Zone for Information Technology and IT Enabled Services at Imphal, Manipur, notifying land parcels totaling 10.85 hectares by village and survey numbers. It records prior approval under the SEZ Act, constitutes an Approval Committee with specified ex officio members and a developer representative, and declares 26 February 2014 as the date from which the SEZ shall be deemed an Inland Container Depot under the Customs Act.

Amendment to Newsprint Control Order adds an indigenous newsprint mill to the Schedule, expanding authorised manufacturers list.
The Newsprint Control (Amendment) Order, 2014 amends the Schedule to the Newsprint Control Order, 2004 by adding entry No. 119: M/s. Venkatachalapathi Paper Mills Pvt. Ltd., Anna Nagar, East Chennai, thereby expanding the list of indigenous newsprint manufacturers; the Order takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette.

Rescission of notification: executive authority revokes a prior central excise notification, citing statutory powers and Gazette publication.
The Central Government, invoking authority under the Central Excise Act and the Finance Act, rescinds Notification No. 18/2013-Central Excise (NT) dated 31st December, 2013, identifying the prior Gazette publication and recording the Department of Revenue's formal exercise of executive power to annul that earlier notification.

Rescission of notification under section 37 withdraws the earlier Central Excise notification and removes its legal effect.
The Central Government, invoking its statutory rescission power under the Central Excise Act, rescinds Notification No. 17/2013 - Central Excise (N.T.), dated 31 December 2013, thereby withdrawing that notification and removing its operative effect; the rescission is formalised by a Gazette notification with administrative reference and signature of an Under Secretary in the Department of Revenue.

Safeguard duty on sodium nitrite imports enacted with higher initial rate, reduced later, and limited country exemptions.
Imposes a safeguard duty on Sodium Nitrite (tariff item 2834 10 10) following the Director General (Safeguard)'s finding of injury to domestic producers: thirty per cent ad valorem minus any anti dumping duty for imports from 26th February, 2014 to 25th February, 2015; and twenty eight per cent ad valorem minus any anti dumping duty for imports from 26th February, 2015 to 25th May, 2015. Excludes imports from countries notified as developing countries under section 8B(6)(a) except the People's Republic of China.

Common Adjudicating Authority appointment assigns DRI show cause notice to Commissioner ICD Tughlakabad for adjudication and processing.
The Board, under Notification No.15/2002 Customs (N.T.) made pursuant to section 4(1) of the Customs Act, assigns the Show Cause Notice issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in the matter of M/s P.G. Industry Ltd., M/s Priceless Overseas Ltd., and others to the Commissioner of Customs, Inland Container Depot, Tughlakabad, New Delhi, for adjudication, with copies of the order circulated to relevant Commissioners and the DRI office.

Common Adjudicating Authority assignment transfers a DRI show cause notice to the Commissioner of Customs for adjudication.
The Board assigns the Show Cause Notice issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in respect of M/s Continental Automotive (India) Pvt. Ltd. to the Commissioner of Customs, Bangalore, designating that Commissioner as the Common Adjudicating Authority to adjudicate the matter under the statutory notification issued under the Customs Act.

Common Adjudicating Authority assignment directs adjudication of a customs show cause notice to designated Commissioner.
The Central Board assigns a Show Cause Notice issued under the customs non-tariff framework to the Commissioner of Customs (Seaport-Import) at the designated Custom House for adjudication, making that Commissioner the Common Adjudicating Authority responsible for processing, hearing, and deciding the matter under applicable customs adjudication procedures.