Tariff value fixation sets prescribed import valuation rates for specified edible oils, metals, seeds and areca nut.
Notification No. 142/2015 substitutes TABLE 1, TABLE 2 and TABLE 3 of Notification No. 36/2001 Customs (N.T.), prescribing specific tariff values for listed imports. The substituted tables set US dollar tariff values per metric tonne for edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds and areca nuts, and per unit tariff values for gold and silver when concession entries are availed, thereby providing fixed benchmarks for customs import valuation.

Omnibus approval for related party transactions: Audit Committee may grant annual approvals subject to prescribed criteria and safeguards.
The amendment allows the Audit Committee, with Board approval, to grant annual omnibus approval for related party transactions subject to specified criteria: aggregate and per transaction value limits, disclosure requirements, periodic review, excluded transaction categories, consideration of repetitiveness and justification, and a one year validity; omnibus approvals must specify related parties, transaction nature and duration, maximum amounts, indicative pricing and variation formulae, and other material information, and cannot apply to sale or disposal of the company's undertaking.

Electronic filing requirement for foreign contributions mandates online registration, disclosure of accounts, and prompt bank transaction reporting.
The Rules mandate electronic submission of applications for registration, prior permission and renewal in Form FC-3 with signed or digitally signed uploads and scanned documents, substitute and standardise Forms FC-1 to FC-10, require online payment gateway options, and oblige registered recipients to publish audited statements of receipts and utilisation on their official or Government specified website within nine months of year end. Banks must report any receipt or utilisation transaction of foreign contribution to the Central Government within forty eight hours. Changes to account, name, aims or key members must be intimated online in Form FC-6 within fifteen days.

Commencement of Companies Amendment provisions activated; sections 13 and 14 brought into force on appointed date.
The Central Government, exercising the power conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Companies (Amendment) Act, designates the 14th day of December, 2015 as the date on which the provisions of section 13 and section 14 of the Amendment Act shall come into force, by official notification.

Reporting of frauds by auditor: auditors must notify Board/Audit Committee promptly and escalate significant frauds to the Central Government.
Statutory auditors, and likewise cost and secretarial auditors, must report suspected significant frauds to the Board or Audit Committee within two days, obtain observations within forty five days, and forward their report plus the Board's/Audit Committee's reply and the auditor's comments to the Central Government within fifteen days; absent a reply, the auditor forwards the report with a note. Reports must be sent to the Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs in a sealed posted cover followed by email, on auditor letterhead, signed, sealed, showing contact details and membership number, and in Form ADT 4. Lesser frauds must be reported to the Board or Audit Committee and disclosed in the Board's Report with specified particulars.

Anti-dumping duty on Albendazole imposed to counter dumped imports and protect the domestic industry for a specified period.
The Central Government has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty on Albendazole (tariff item 2933 29 50) after findings that exports were made below normal value, causing material injury to domestic industry. The notification prescribes differentiated duties in US dollars per kg by origin/export combinations and specific producer/exporter entries, is effective for five years from publication, and requires payment in Indian currency using the exchange rate notified by the Finance Ministry on the bill of entry date.

Concessional basic customs duty under IJCEPA extended to specified motor vehicle engines and gearbox parts by tariff entry substitutions.
Amends Notification No. 69/2011-Customs to substitute the table entries at two serial numbers, providing concessional basic customs duty rates for specified motor vehicle engines (cylinder capacity exceeding 250 cc) and for gear boxes and parts when imported under the India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement; action taken under the Customs Act on public interest grounds and given an appointed effective date.

Warehousing station designation enables establishment of an Export Oriented Undertaking subject to Development Commissioner approval.
Arackappady Village in Kunnathunadu Taluk, Ernakulam District is declared a warehousing station under the Customs Act exclusively for establishing an Export Oriented Undertaking, subject to approval by the Development Commissioner, Cochin Special Economic Zone, and issued by the Commissioner of Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax, Cochin Commissionerate.

Special Economic Zone designation at Mundra grants SEZ status and deems the zone an Inland Container Depot.
Designation of a Multi Product Special Economic Zone at Mundra Taluka, Kutch, Gujarat is notified under the SEZ Act, 2005 with specified delineated area; an Approval Committee comprising designated ex officio officials and a developer representative is constituted; and the zone is declared to be deemed an Inland Container Depot under the Customs Act, with later de-notification of certain areas recorded by subsequent notification.

Safeguard investigation corrects tariff classification codes in initiation notice to fix typographical error, clarifying affected HS lines.
The corrigendum corrects a typographical error in the Notice of Initiation for a safeguard investigation into hot rolled flat sheets and plates, specifying that the eighth line of paragraph 3 should read "7225 (72254013, 72254019, 72254020, 72254030 and 72259900)" instead of the previously published sequence, limiting the amendment to tariff classification references without altering the substantive scope of the safeguard proceeding.

Statement of income distribution requires investment funds to report unit-holder allocations and file a verified electronic return.
Investment funds and persons responsible for payments must provide a statement of income distributed or credited to unit holders in Form No.64C to each unit holder and file a consolidated Form No.64D electronically with the tax authority, both by prescribed deadlines, with Form No.64C verified by the payer and Form No.64D verified by an accountant. Form No.64D requires fund identification, SEBI registration details if applicable, total income, specified loss adjustments, an allocation schedule of income components and an annexed unit-holder list with PANs, supported by audited accounts and registration certificates; the tax systems wing will prescribe the electronic filing procedure and security policies.

Anti-dumping duty on cold-rolled stainless steel imports enforces targeted tariffs to address continued dumped imports.
Imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty on cold-rolled flat products of stainless steel under tariff heading 7219 from specified countries, with product specifications and exclusions; producer- and exporter-specific percentage rates on landed value; measure grounded on review findings of continued dumping, injury to domestic industry and likelihood of recurrence; duties levied for five years from notification and "landed value" defined by assessable value under the Customs Act excluding specified tariff duties.

Customs amendment removes an Explanation from an exemption entry, modifying the scope of that tariff notification.
The Central Government, invoking sub-section (1) of section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 and acting in public interest, amends Notification No.39/96-Customs by omitting the Explanation against S.No.13 in column (3) of the TABLE by Notification No.56/2015-Customs dated 11th December 2015.

Minimum Export Price for onions imposed; exports permitted only against Letter of Credit subject to revised MEP and conditions.
Export of onions at the ITC (HS) item descriptions in Serial Numbers 51 and 52 of Chapter 7, Schedule 2 is permitted only on Letter of Credit and is subject to a Minimum Export Price of US$ 850 F.O.B. per metric ton until further orders.

Provisional anti-dumping duty on purified terephthalic acid imposed to counter dumping and protect domestic industry.
Provisional anti-dumping duty is imposed on Purified Terephthalic Acid (including Medium Quality and Qualified variants) from China, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan based on preliminary findings of dumping, material injury to domestic industry, and causation; specified per metric ton duties in US dollars apply by origin/export scenarios under tariff item 2917 36 00, payable in Indian currency, effective for up to six months, with exchange rate determined by Government notification and the bill of entry date.

Common Adjudicating Authority appointed to adjudicate DRI show cause notices relating to M/s Suresh Productions.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs appoints the Commissioner of Customs, Hyderabad Custom Commissionerate as the Common Adjudicating Authority to exercise powers and discharge duties formerly vested in three specified Commissioners for adjudicating the show cause notice issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (Zonal Unit, Chennai) in respect of M/s. Suresh Productions Pvt. Ltd. and others.

Common Adjudicating Authority appointed under Customs Act to adjudicate a show cause notice against a company.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs, invoking sections 4(1) and 5(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, appoints the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Customs, Chennai III, as the Common Adjudicating Authority to exercise and discharge the powers and duties of the relevant customs commissioners for adjudicating the specified show cause notice issued in April 2015.

Common Adjudicating Authority appointed to adjudicate a specific customs show cause notice under statutory powers.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs appoints the Joint/Additional Commissioner of Customs, Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House, Nhava Sheva III, Raigad, as a Common Adjudicating Authority under section 4(1) and section 5(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of two specified Joint/Additional Commissioners of Customs for the purpose of adjudicating the show cause notice issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence dated 8 June 2015 concerning M/s. Sunrise Chemicals and others.

Common Adjudicating Authority appointed to consolidate and adjudicate customs show cause proceedings arising from specified import notices.
Appoints the Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Nhava Sheva-V, Mumbai as a Common Adjudicating Authority empowered to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of specified Deputy/Assistant Commissioners of Customs at Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House (Port-Import) and the Office of the Commissioner of Customs (Import), Air Cargo Complex, Sahar, Mumbai, for the purpose of adjudicating matters arising from a show cause notice concerning M/s Larsen and Tubro Ltd., Scomi Engg. Bhd. Consortium.

Pension Fund recognition: HDFC Retirement Savings Fund designated under income-tax deduction provision for assessment years onward.
The Central Government specifies the HDFC Retirement Savings Fund, established by HDFC Mutual Fund and registered under SEBI Mutual Fund regulations, as a Pension Fund for the purposes of the income-tax deduction provision in clause (xiv) of sub-section (2) of section eighty-C, applying to the assessment year beginning 2016-17 and subsequent assessment years; the notification takes effect upon publication in the Official Gazette and was corrected by a pre-publication corrigendum.