Large taxpayer unit eligibility expanded to include Chennai income tax commissioners alongside Bangalore commissioners.
The Central Government amends Notification No.20/2006 Central Excise (N.T.) by substituting, after item (iii) of paragraph 2, the previous reference to two Bangalore Chief Commissioners (with exclusions) with a revised list naming Chief Commissioner of Income tax Bangalore I (other than revenue district of Tumkur), Chief Commissioner of Income tax Bangalore II (other than district of Kolar), and additionally Chief Commissioner of Income tax Chennai I and Chief Commissioner of Income tax Chennai II, under the authority of sub rule (ea) of rule 2 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 and sub rule (cccc) of rule 2 of the Service Tax Rules, 1994.

Public Financial Institution designation under Section 4A adds Kerala State Power and Infrastructure Finance Corporation Limited to specified institutions.
The Central Government, under sub section (2) of Section 4A of the Companies Act, has amended the principal notification to replace serial number 51 with Kerala State Power and Infrastructure Finance Corporation Limited, thereby designating that entity as a Specified Institution and updating the Gazette list of public financial institutions.

Exemption for exhibition services: refund mechanism allows exporters to recover service tax paid on organisers' exhibition services.
Services by organisers for business exhibitions to manufacturers of goods under Chapters 57, 61, 62 and 63 are exempt from service tax provided the manufacturer exported such goods and is registered with an enumerated export council, actually paid the service tax, did not take CENVAT credit, and claims the exemption by refund. The liable service provider must pay the tax; the manufacturer files a quarterly refund claim within sixty days with the relevant Assistant/Deputy Commissioner, supplying proof of payment, and the officer refunds the tax after verifying actual use of the service for exhibition of the specified goods.

Customs duty amendment: specified tariff entries adjusted and polyester and petrochemical inputs now subject to a specified duty rate.
Amendment to the customs tariff notification substitutes and inserts specified tariff entries: it replaces certain column entries with Nil or revised entries excluding nylon for headings 5401-5406 and 5501-5510, and inserts new entries for mono ethylene glycol, pure terephthalic acid, dimethyl terephthalate and polyester chips (heading 3907), each assigned the stated duty rate.

Export-related service exemption: specialized container cleaning and approved storage exempt when contractual and accreditation conditions are met.
Amendment adds exemptions for export-related services: specialized cleaning of export containers is exempt if the exporter supplies a copy of the written agreement with the buyer requiring such cleaning and the service provider is accredited by the competent statutory authority; storage and warehousing services are exempt when goods are stored in a storage or warehouse approved by the competent authority and the facility is used exclusively for export goods. The notification is effective on publication in the Official Gazette.

Special Economic Zone designation for stainless steel at Kalinganagar establishes a sector specific industrial zone under the SEZ framework.
Notification designates a sector specific Special Economic Zone for stainless steel and ancillary/downstream industry at Kalinganagar, Orissa, pursuant to approval under the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 and rule 8 of the SEZ Rules, 2006, and lists the constituent villages, survey numbers and parcel areas comprising the notified zone.

Special Economic Zone expansion approved for hi tech engineering, authorising inclusion of additional contiguous land for development and operation.
Notification declares inclusion of additional land into an existing Special Economic Zone for hi tech engineering proposed by M/s. Suzlon Infrastructure Limited at Kittampalayam and Karumathampatti Villages, Palladam Taluk, Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, by specifying the survey parcels and corresponding areas to be added and confirming that the Central Government granted a letter of approval for development and operation under the SEZ statutory framework.

Special Economic Zone notification for IT and ITES at Rajarhat enables development and operation under the SEZ regulatory framework.
Notification declares a sector-specific Special Economic Zone for information technology and information technology enabled services at Rajarhat, Kolkata, noting that M/s. Unitech Hi-tech Structures Ltd. applied under the SEZ Act, the Central Government granted a letter of approval after satisfying statutory prerequisites, and the Government, exercising powers under the Act and SEZ Rules, notifies specified plots and areas as the SEZ for development and operation.

Tax residency redefined and limitation of benefits added to the amended UAE-India double tax protocol affecting treaty relief.
The Protocol revises the Agreement by redefining resident status-India by liability to tax and exclusion of persons taxable only on source income; UAE by physical presence and corporate incorporation with management and control-and recognises specified government institutions. It permits deductions for permanent establishment expenses under the taxing State's laws, allows source State taxation of dividends subject to a cap for the beneficial owner, reallocates capital gains taxing rights for shares deriving value from immovable property, exempts government income from tax in the other State, revises nondiscrimination for permanent establishments, and adds a Limitation of Benefits clause denying benefits to entities formed to obtain treaty advantages.

Provisional assessment of imports by a specific exporter imposed pending new shipper review; security and retrospective duty liability possible.
Provisional assessment is imposed on imports of Nylon Tyre Cord Fabrics exported by M/s Qingdao Lian Chuang Stock Company Ltd., pending a new shipper review under rule 22. The proper officer may require security or guarantee to cover any deficiency if a definitive anti-dumping duty is imposed retrospectively. If the review recommends anti-dumping duty, the importer must pay the duty on all imports by the named exporter from the date the review was initiated.

Special Economic Zone designation authorises developer to establish and operate a sector-specific leather SEZ within specified notified area.
Pursuant to statutory approval, the developer is authorised to develop and operate a sector-specific leather Special Economic Zone, and the notification designates the specified survey-numbered land parcels at Ranipet Phase-III as the notified area, with the total area stated in hectares, thereby formally establishing the SEZ and defining the land subject to the SEZ regulatory regime.

Deduction eligibility for convention centres: prescribed facilities and an audit in Form 10CCBBA are required for compliance.
Rule 18DE prescribes eligibility and operational requirements for claiming deduction under section 80 ID for convention centres: specified minimum covered plinth area, seating capacity and number of halls; mandatory hall equipment (public address, projection, LCD/video); documentation centre with computing and communication facilities and trained operators; central air conditioning; compliance with parking, local building, fire and safety regulations; optional amphitheatre and catering limited to event support. An audit report must be furnished in Form No. 10CCBBA, which records technical particulars, computation details and an auditor's declaration. The amendment takes effect from 1 April 2008.

Approval under section 35 research exemption: organization approved subject to audit, donation statements and genuine research requirements.
Approval is granted to the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi, under clause (iii) of sub section (1) of section 35 read with rules 5C and 5E, effective from 1 4 2005, as an institution partly engaged in research. Conditions require use of sums for social science research, research through faculty or enrolled students, maintenance of books, audit by a qualified accountant with submission of the audit report to the tax authority by the return due date, and an auditor certified statement of donations and amounts applied to research to accompany the audit report. The Central Government may withdraw approval for specified failures or non compliance.

Research institution approval under income-tax rules requires audited accounts, certified donation statements and genuine research activity compliance.
Santhigiri Ashramam is approved as an other institution partly engaged in research activities effective 12-12-2006, subject to conditions: sums received must be used for social science research; research must be conducted by faculty or enrolled students; books of account must be maintained and audited by a qualified accountant with the audit report filed by the income-tax return due date; and a separate auditor-certified statement of donations received and amounts applied for research must accompany the audit report. Approval may be withdrawn for failures in accounting, audit, reporting, cessation or lack of genuine research activities, or noncompliance with the governing provisions.

Research approval requires donor sums used for scientific research, audited accounts, and certified donation statements.
Santhigiri Ashramam is approved as an other institution partly engaged in research effective 12-12-2006, subject to conditions: donations must be used for scientific research; research must be conducted through faculty or enrolled students; books of account must be maintained and audited by a defined accountant with the audit report furnished to the tax authorities by the return due date; and a separate auditor certified statement of donations received and amounts applied for scientific research must accompany the audit report.

Double taxation avoidance: treaty allocates taxing rights and limits source withholding on dividends, interest and royalties.
The Agreement allocates taxing rights by category of income, designating permanent establishment as the principal nexus for business profits and providing arm's length attribution rules; immovable property income is taxable where located; shipping and air transport profits are taxable only in the enterprise's residence State. Dividends, interest and royalties may be taxed in the source State but withholding is limited where the recipient is the beneficial owner and special rules exclude amounts effectively connected with a PE or fixed base. The treaty also prescribes elimination of double taxation by credit, non discrimination, mutual agreement and exchange of information, and an anti abuse limitation of benefits clause.

Exchange rate determination for customs: prescribed foreign-currency conversion rates for import and export valuation take effect immediately.
Central Board of Excise and Customs prescribes fixed exchange rates for conversion between specified foreign currencies and Indian rupees for valuing imported and exported goods, with separate rates for import and export goods effective from 1 December 2007; rates are listed in Schedule I by currency per unit and in Schedule II for one currency per one hundred units, and the notification supersedes the earlier instrument.

Corrigendum to SEZ notification correcting village delimitations and substituting a plot identifier in the notification table.
Corrigendum to a Special Economic Zone notification replaces a joint village description with wording that separately identifies each village and its taluka within the district, and substitutes a specified plot identifier in the notification table; the amendment is administrative and confined to correcting descriptive and tabular errors in the published Gazette notification.

Special Economic Zone designation authorises a sector-specific SEZ for electronic hardware, software and IT-enabled services under SEZ law.
Notification designates a sector-specific Special Economic Zone for electronic hardware, software and IT-enabled services at Khushkera Industrial Area, following Central Government approval under the Special Economic Zones Act and in exercise of notification powers under the Act and the SEZ Rules; it lists specific survey numbers and parcel parts with corresponding areas, thereby fixing the territorial extent of the SEZ.

Export prohibition exception for non-basmati rice allows a specified consignment to Mauritius via the State Trading Concern.
The amendment inserts a limited exemption to the prohibition on export of non-basmati rice: the prohibition shall not apply to a specified consignment of rice exported to the Republic of Mauritius through the State Trading Concern (STC). The change is effected under Section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act and relevant Foreign Trade Policy provisions, released as an immediate, public-interest notification.