Customs exemption for imported gold and silver limits duty payable by authorised agencies to notified rates and waives additional duty.
The notification exempts imports of gold and silver by specified trading agencies for domestic sale from customs duty in excess of rates notified and from the whole of the additional duty under the Customs Tariff Act; it includes medallions and coins within the scope of gold and silver but excludes jewellery and foreign currency coins, and was later superseded by a subsequent notification.

Customs exemption amendment: deletion of proviso modifies the governing notification on gold and silver import treatment.
Amendment deletes the proviso to Notification No. 117/94-Customs concerning customs treatment of gold and silver. The Central Government, exercising statutory power under the Customs Act and citing public interest, issues Notification No. 79/97-Cus to make this sole textual change to the prior exemption/ tariff notification.

Customs exemption expanded for solvent-soluble dyes in the leather industry, adding and revising specified hue designations.
The amendment revises List 3(A) of Notification No. 11/97-Customs to expand and alter the hue designations of solvent-soluble dyes eligible for customs exemption for the leather industry. It substitutes the entries for items 44 and 45, adds hue numbers to items 46-53, replaces item 48 with an expanded Acid Red list, and adds items 54-58 covering specified Direct dyes, thereby defining which dye hues qualify for exemption.

Anti-dumping duty on imported graphite electrodes varies by grade, country, exporter and size, altering tariff liability.
Imposition of anti-dumping duty under section 9A and rule 13 establishes product , country , exporter and size specific rates for graphite electrodes under Chapter 85 based on preliminary dumping findings; the notification prescribes per metric ton duties in a table that differentiates Normal Power and Ultra High Power grades, lists particular exporters with distinct rates (including nil for some entries), and applies the specified duties when the goods are exported to and imported into India.

Excise notification amendment adds new tariff entries, updating classification and specifying an excise rate for listed goods.
The notification amends Notification No. 4/97-Central Excise by inserting two new Table entries: serial 43A for tariff heading 3201.00 and serial 51A for tariff heading 3824.20, each classified as "All goods" with an excise rate of 8% and no additional condition; effected under section 5A(1) of the Central Excise Act by Notification No. 65/97-C.E.

Exemption for motor vehicle parts: intra manufacturer transfers capped at duty on sixty percent of spare sale value, subject to procedure.
Exempts motor vehicle parts under Chapters 84 and 87 manufactured in one factory and used in another factory of the same manufacturer for manufacture of goods under specified sub headings, by capping excise liability to the amount calculated on sixty percent of the value of such parts as determined under section 4 when sold as spares; exemption subject to procedures the Commissioner of Central Excise may specify.

Nidhi membership requirement increased with transitional period for existing societies to meet the new threshold under amended notifications.
The Central Government amends prior notifications under its authority to set conditions and fees, increasing the minimum membership threshold for nidhi entities and granting existing Nidhis and Mutual Benefit Societies a one-year transitional period to meet the new membership requirement; additionally, a specified sub-item in GSR 773(E) is omitted from the date of publication.

Regulation of Nidhi and Mutual Benefit Societies: restrict pledge and lending, require minimum capital and RBI aligned interest controls.
Companies declared as Nidhi or Mutual Benefit Societies are prohibited from pledging member lodged securities and from giving loans or advances exceeding the lower of a fixed loan ceiling and a specified proportion of total deposits. They must ensure that the total of their net owned fund and preference share capital meets a prescribed minimum, subject to revision by the Central Government in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, with transitional time allowed for existing societies; interest rates on deposits and loans must conform to Reserve Bank regulations.

Housing finance company approval under section 36(1)(viii) granted; subject to compliance with statutory provisions.
Approval granted to M/s. Happy Home profin Ltd. as a housing finance company for purposes of section 36(1)(viii) of the Income tax Act for the specified assessment years, subject to the condition that the company will conform to and comply with the provisions of section 36(1)(viii) of the Income tax Act.

Auditor appointment powers: Board may appoint auditors with inspecting powers and recover inspection expenses from custodians or applicants.
SEBI inserts Regulation 25A permitting the Board to appoint an auditor with the same powers as an inspecting officer under Regulation 21 and imposing on applicants, custodians and their personnel the obligations set out in Regulation 23. Regulation 25B entitles the Board to recover from the custodian or applicant the expenses of such inspections or investigations, including auditor fees.

Drawback rate revision updates export drawback percentages and allocations for specified textile and made up goods, effective in September.
The notification substitutes specified tariff entries in the Drawback Table to set revised drawback rates and per piece ceilings for certain textile and made up goods, allocating drawback between Customs and Central Excise and distinguishing cases where Modvat has not been availed or exports fall under quantity based advance licences or duty exemption schemes; the substitutions take effect from the stated operative date.

Clearance of plain jewellery into domestic tariff area allowed with special import licence and EEFC-based duty payment conditions.
Amendments authorize clearance of plain jewellery into the Domestic Tariff Area up to ten percent of the preceding year's export value where the recipient furnishes a freely transferable Special Import Licence and pays applicable duties from an EEFC account of the recipient or the EOU/EPZ unit; they also permit re-export of imported goods and export of domestically procured goods including items from partial processing, and permit supply of unsuitable rough diamonds and precious stones up to five percent of value to REP/Diamond Imprest Licence holders on payment of appropriate duty.

Commercial samples exemption requires IEC, marking, proper importation, declaration and undertaking to pay duty if false.
Exemption for commercial samples is conditional on import as personal baggage or by post/air, production of Import Export Code at importation, goods being clearly marked as samples, adherence to prescribed value and unit limits within a twelve month period, a declaration that the samples are imported solely to be shown in India for guidance of exporters or to secure or execute export orders and an undertaking to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs to pay duty if the declaration is found false.

Double taxation avoidance agreement: residence-based scope and specified tax coverage with mutual notification of tax law changes.
The corrigendum provides that the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement applies to persons resident in one or both Contracting States, lists covered taxes including the domestic income tax in one State and Company Income Tax and Profit Tax in the other, and extends to identical or substantially similar taxes enacted later, with competent authorities required to notify each other of substantial taxation law changes.

SSI exemption amendment adds tariff classification 7407.12 to the eligible items list under existing notifications.
The Central Government amends Notification Nos. 16/97 C.E. and 38/97 C.E. by substituting the figures and word in the ANNEXURE, para (5), sub para (iii) so that the list of tariff classifications now includes 7407.12 alongside the previously listed items, thereby expanding the category of goods falling within the SSI exemption specified in those notifications; no other changes to the notifications are made.

Customs amendment permits loading of imported machinery and equipment for export when imported for a port project.
Amendment substitutes item (b) in the notification for Dabhol Port to permit loading of imported machinery and equipment for export when such goods were imported for the Dabhol Project, as exercised under clause (a) of section 7 of the Customs Act.

Exemption for castings and forgings used in sewing machine or chaff cutter manufacture requires intended-use verification by officials.
An exemption was added for castings and forgings cleared for manufacture of sewing machines or chaff cutters, granting nil duty where the castings or forgings are used in the producing factory or supplied directly from the factory of manufacture to the manufacturer's factory; entitlement is subject to the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise being satisfied that the items are intended for use in such manufacture.

Customs exemption for airport navigation equipment requires Chairman and Joint Secretary countersigned certification for clearance.
The amended Condition No. 30 requires the importer at customs clearance to produce a certificate from the Chairman of the Airports Authority of India, countersigned by a Joint Secretary rank officer in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, confirming that navigational, communication, air traffic control and landing equipment and spares are required for airport modernisation and recommending grant of the exemption.

Industrial backward district classification establishes Category A and B lists, determining eligible areas for section 80-IA tax incentives.
Central Government, under section 80-IA of the Income-tax Act, specifies and lists districts as industrially backward in two classes, Category A and Category B, for determining eligibility for the section's tax provisions. The notification supersedes an earlier notification, treats reorganised districts according to the Census boundaries used by the study group, and declares retrospective commencement from 1st October, 1994.

Foreign company liaison office compliance: submit RBI approval, certified receipts/payments, assets/liabilities and inactivity certificate.
Foreign companies maintaining only liaison offices in India, with RBI approval valid for the accounting year and no commercial activity, may comply with clause (a) of sub section (1) of section 594 by submitting in triplicate to the Registrar: the RBI approval letter; a receipts and payments statement for Indian branches certified by the authorised agent for service of process in India and a practising Chartered Accountant; a similarly certified statement of assets and liabilities in India; and a jointly certified certificate that no trading, manufacturing, commercial activity or invoicing occurred in India.