Customs notification amendment expands condition to include central excise debits alongside exemption-related debits in eligibility.
The amendment replaces the words "already made under this exemption" in paragraph 2, condition (16) of Notifications 05/2013-Customs and 06/2013-Customs with wording that includes "the debits made under the notification No. 02 of 2013-Central Excise" and "the debits made under the notification No. 03 of 2013-Central Excise" respectively, thereby extending the referenced debits to include specified Central Excise debits within the Post Export EPCG Duty Credit Scrip Scheme.

Foreign exchange hedging expanded: QFIs recognized and non-residents permitted rupee denominated ECB forward, option and swap hedges.
A definition for Qualified Foreign Investor is added; Regulation 6 is amended to omit and renumber specified authorisation provisions; Regulation 6A cross references are updated. Schedule I removes a provision on cancellation and rebooking of resident hedge contracts and inserts a reference to foreign currency loans against FCNR(B) deposits. Schedule II inserts QFIs into participant listings and adds a provision permitting non residents to enter forward, foreign currency rupee option or foreign currency rupee swap contracts with an Authorised Dealer to hedge rupee denominated external commercial borrowings subject to stipulated terms and conditions.

Post Export EPCG duty credit scrip enables duty-free import tied to proportionate fulfillment of export obligation.
Exemption for imports against a Post Export EPCG duty credit scrip (3% variant) allows remission of basic customs duty and specified additional duty subject to conditions: imports must be on payment of duties in cash where basic duty exceeds the threshold, registered at the stated port, installed and put to use with prescribed certification, and retained until export obligations are fulfilled. Export obligation is calculated as a defined proportion of duties and assessable value with specified reductions for green technologies, special regions and sectors; duty remission in the scrip is proportionate to export fulfillment and interacts with Cenvat and drawback rules.

EPCG duty credit scrip grants customs and additional duty exemption for imports subject to authorisation, registration and export obligation conditions.
The notification exempts imports made against a Post Export EPCG duty credit scrip (0% EPCG variant) from basic customs duty and specified additional duty, subject to conditions including issuance of the scrip against a qualifying authorisation, non conflict with specified benefit schemes, import on payment of duties in cash and registration at the nominated port, installation and use certification, fulfilment of a calculated export obligation (with specified reductions and deemed export inclusions), prescribed documentation for registration, and operational rules on re export, transferability, validity and permitted ports.

Post-export EPCG duty scrip exemption permits excise remission on specified goods subject to procedural validation and safeguards.
Exemption permits remission of central excise and specified additional duties on goods cleared against a Post Export EPCG duty credit scrip, conditional on Customs registration and debit on the scrip, written advice to the jurisdictional Central Excise Officer, endorsement and validation of clearances by that Officer based on an undertaking by the scrip-holder, retention of debited and endorsed scrip copies by the manufacturer, exclusion of specified items, eighteen-month scrip validity, and entitlement of the scrip-holder to avail drawback or CENVAT credit against the debited and validated amount.

Post Export EPCG duty credit scrip exemption permits excise-free clearance of specified goods subject to registration, debiting, validation and compliance.
Goods specified in the Central Excise schedules are exempt from excise and additional duties when cleared against a registered Post Export EPCG duty credit scrip (0% variant) issued under paragraph 5.11 of the Foreign Trade Policy, provided Customs debits the scrip, updates records and advises the jurisdictional Central Excise Officer, the holder presents a debited scrip with an undertaking, the Officer validates and endorses clearance particulars, the manufacturer retains an attested copy, the scrip is within its eighteen-month validity, exclusions in Appendix 37B and prohibited imports apply, and the holder may claim drawback or CENVAT credit against the debited amount.

Recognition of Nidhis: three companies formally notified and added to the scheduled list, updating statutory registry.
The Central Government declares three named companies to be Nidhis and orders insertion of their names and registered addresses into Schedule I of the principal GSR 978 of 1963, adding them after serial number 382 as new entries. The notification thereby effects formal recognition of those entities as Nidhis and amends the consolidated schedule of notified Nidhi companies.

Guarantee limits for service imports set, with stricter prior approval requirements for public sector importers.
Guarantees may be issued in favour of a non-resident service provider on behalf of a resident service importer, subject to Reserve Bank terms and conditions. Monetary ceilings apply and where the service importer is a public sector company or government department/undertaking, prior approval of the Ministry of Finance is required for guarantees exceeding the lower ceiling. "Public Sector Company" is defined by reference to the Companies Act. The amendment is given retrospective effect with a clarification that no person will be adversely affected.

Currency carriage limits increased under amendment to export/import rules, raising the permissible cash travellers may carry across borders.
The amendment revises the monetary threshold for carrying currency on export and import by substituting the earlier figures in two operative clauses of the relevant regulation with a higher specified amount, thereby increasing the permissible cash threshold for persons moving currency across the border; the change is effected under the Reserve Bank's powers in the Foreign Exchange Management Act and commences on publication in the Official Gazette.

Manner of receipt and payment rules expanded to include new country groups and payment mechanisms, altering permitted currency flows.
Amendments adjust country groupings and table entries governing the manner of receipt and payment of foreign exchange, add Group 1A for Nepal and Bhutan and Group 1B for the Islamic Republic of Iran with specified payment rules, substitute country lists in the principal Regulation, include the Asian Clearing Union euro account alongside the dollar account, allow payments for Iran in any permitted currency subject to authorised dealers' directions for current transactions, and give specified retrospective effect without adversely affecting persons.

Tariff value fixation: tables substitute revised import tariff values for specified commodities under Customs notification.
Amendment substitutes TABLE-1 and TABLE-2 of Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) to fix tariff values in US dollars for specified imported commodities. TABLE-1 sets per metric ton values for edible oils, brass scrap (all grades) and poppy seeds. TABLE-2 sets unit tariff values for gold and silver where the benefit of specified notification entries is availed. The amendment is made under sub-section (2) of section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 by the Central Board of Excise & Customs.

Inclusion of Visakhapatnam Airport expands permitted export-import ports under existing Customs export promotion notifications.
Amendment to multiple Customs notifications adds Visakhapatnam Airport to lists of permitted ports for exports and imports under Export Promotion Schemes by substituting existing port phrases (commonly "Indore and Dabolim (Goa)" or "Trivandrum and Varanasi") with expanded phrases including Visakhapatnam in specified conditions or opening paragraphs, without altering other substantive eligibility criteria of the principal notifications.

Special Economic Zone designation confers inland container depot status and establishes an approval committee for the IT/ITES zone.
Notification declares a sector-specific Special Economic Zone for IT/ITES at identified survey parcels in Pallippuram and Veiloor, Thiruvananthapuram, specifying land particulars totaling 39.37.19 hectares and confirming development, operation and maintenance by the approved developer following grant of approval under the SEZ Act and Rules. The notification constituting the Approval Committee names the Development Commissioner as Chairperson and specifies ex officio members and state nominees, plus a developer representative as special invitee. It also declares the SEZ to be deemed an Inland Container Depot under the Customs Act from the appointed date.

EPCG catalyst import permitted under the original authorization, with exception for separate Regional Authority authorization.
The amendments allow import of a catalyst for one subsequent charge under the same EPCG authorization used to import plant, machinery or equipment and the initial-charge catalyst, while preserving the Regional Authority's discretion to issue a separate authorization for a subsequent-charge catalyst after the initial imports.

Common Adjudicating Authority: show-cause notice reassigned to designated Customs Commissioner for adjudication under Customs Act.
The Board, under Notification No. 15/2002-Cus(NT) read with Section 4(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, assigns the Show Cause Notice dated 20.09.2012 concerning M/s. Questnet Enterprises (India) Pvt. Ltd., issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Mumbai Zonal Unit, to the Commissioner of Customs (Administration & Airport), Kolkata as the Common Adjudicating Authority for adjudication and directs communication of the order to relevant Customs formations.

Assignment of Show Cause Notice under Customs Act transfers adjudication responsibility to the designated customs adjudicating authority.
In exercise of authority under the Notification made under sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Customs Act, the Board assigns the Show Cause Notice issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in the matter of M/s Emars Mining & Construction Pvt. Ltd. and others to the designated customs adjudicating office for the purpose of adjudication, effecting an administrative transfer of adjudicatory responsibility.

Delhi VAT audit reports: Form AR-1 mandatory for eligible dealers; auditors must certify, attach enclosures and report deficiencies.
Notification requires dealers above the prescribed turnover threshold to file the audit report in Form AR-1 in duplicate within seven and a half months from year end, with exemptions for dealers exclusively in First Schedule goods and wholly export turnovers. Form AR-1 is mandatory for auditors and is divided into multiple parts covering certification, verification of returns, computation of DVAT and CST turnovers and taxes, purchases, sales against declaration forms, TDS, financial analysis, questionnaires and annexures; auditors must certify all parts, attach specified enclosures, report deficiencies, and compute any differential tax liability where documents are incomplete.

Special Economic Zone amendment corrects survey numbers for a biotechnology SEZ, revising parcel identifiers accordingly.
Amendment corrects land parcel identifiers in the SEZ notification for the biotechnology SEZ at Manjari Budruk under powers of Section 4 of the Special Economic Zone Act, 2005 and rule 8 of the SEZ Rules: Serial No. 25 Survey No. "107/5A/1" is read as "107/5A" and Serial No. 40 Survey No. "110A/A/IA/1B' I" is read as "110A/1A/l/2", effecting rectification of survey numbers for the notified SEZ promoted by M/s. SEZ Bio Tech Services Private Limited.

Livestock import permits: processed products valid one year; unprocessed items valid six months, extendable six months.
Amendment replaces clause (vi) in paragraph (3) of the Schedule to the principal notification to set permit validity: processed livestock products (listed categories) - valid for one year; unprocessed livestock products - valid for six months and may be extended by the Central Government for a further six months on importer request and for reasons recorded in writing.

Commencement of Prevention of Money-Laundering Amendment Act provisions appointed, bringing amended statutory framework into force.
The Central Government, exercising the power conferred by sub section (2) of section 1 of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act, 2012, has appointed a date in February 2013 as the day on which the provisions of the Amendment shall come into force by notification, thereby bringing the amended statutory framework for prevention of money laundering into effect.