Exchange rate notification: Government adds euro as recognized foreign currency for import valuation under customs rules.
Amendment to customs exchange-rate schedule inserts a new Schedule I entry designating the Euro as a foreign currency with a prescribed rate of exchange for valuation of imported goods, and specifies the date from which that rate is effective, effected under the statutory powers conferred by section 20 of the Indian Stamp Act and section 14(3)(a)(i) of the Customs Act.

Counter receipt prohibition: amendment bars issuance of counter receipts after the prescribed cut off, affecting share certificate procedures.
A proviso is inserted into rule 4(4) of the Companies (Issue of Share Certificates) Rules, 1960, prohibiting the issuance of counter receipts after a prescribed cut off, effected by the Companies (Issue of Share Certificates) Amendment Rules, 1999, which commence on publication in the Official Gazette under powers conferred by the Companies Act.

Renewal of recognition granted with condition requiring members to establish online trading connectivity within six months.
Renewal of recognition is granted to The Jaipur Stock Exchange Limited under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act for a one-year period, conditional on at least one hundred active members establishing on-line electronic connectivity for trading with the exchange within six months from the date of renewal.

Foreign contribution rules replace Forms FC-1A, FC-3, FC-8, tightening application, registration, disclosure and audit requirements.
The amendment substitutes Forms FC-1A, FC-3 and FC-8: FC-1A for prior permission applications requiring association identity, executive member particulars, donor and project details, designated bank account, audited accounts and declaration; FC-3 as the annual account return with purposewise, donorwise and countrywise receipts, designated bank details and a Chartered Accountant certificate; FC-8 for registration applications with programme details, audited accounts, undertakings on notification of changes, and restrictions on accepting foreign contribution without registration or prior permission.

Customs duty adjustment increases gold import per-weight charge under amended exemption notifications, becoming effective in early January.
Amendment directs substitution of per-weight entries in Notifications 117/94-Cus., 171/94-Cus. and 80/97-Cus. so that each specified entry is replaced to reflect a customs duty of "Rs. 400 per 10 grams" on gold, and states that the revised rate shall come into force on 5 January 1999.

Central Excise tariff amendment substitutes a table entry in the notification and takes effect on 5 January 1999.
Amendment to the Central Excise tariff notification substitutes the entry in column (3) against serial No.1 of Notification No. 20/97-Central Excise by replacing the prior entry with the newly specified monetary value, enacted under the authority of sub-section (1) of section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, and brought into force on 5 January 1999.

National Savings Certificates: amended encashment value and annual interest accrual with reinvestment through the fifth year.
The amendment inserts sub rule (2) to provide that certificates purchased on or after 1 January 1999 shall pay Rs. 195.60 on encashment for a Rs. 100 denomination (proportionate for other denominations) after maturity, prescribes specified annual interest amounts for years one through six on a Rs. 100 certificate, and deems interest accrued at each year end up to the end of the fifth year to be reinvested and aggregated with the certificate's face value.

Post Office Monthly Income Account deposits from 1 Jan 1999 earn 12% per annum interest.
The Central Government amends the Post Office (Monthly Income Account) Rules, 1987 by inserting into rule 8(1) that deposits made on or after 1 January 1999 shall bear interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum; the amendment takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette and modifies the rates previously applicable to deposits after 2 September 1993.

Value addition relaxed for specified textile and clothing imports, permitting any positive value to meet export jobbing condition.
The amendment to Notification No. 32/97-Cus adds a proviso to condition (iv) allowing that where resultant products are textile and clothing goods (chapters 50-63), the required value addition may be any positive value, and substitutes "semi-finished goods" into clause (ii) of the Explanations, thereby explicitly including semi finished goods among permissible inputs for imports executed under export orders for jobbing.