Special Additional Duty of Customs exemption applies to merchant exporters who declare goods for sale, sparing SAD debit in Passbooks.
Merchant exporters importing goods "for sale as such" who make the prescribed declaration in the Bill of Entry are exempt from Special Additional Duty of Customs; they may still debit other authorised duties in a valid Passbook, but SAD need not be debited when the Notification exemption applies.

Duty concession eligibility for Network Interface Unit confirmed, restoring concessional import treatment under WLL provisions.
The Network Interface Unit (NIU) is an integral part of the Wireless in Local Loop system and is not a terminal equipment; following the Department of Telecommunications' clarification, NIU qualifies for concessional import duty under the WLL notification, and the earlier circular excluding NIU as terminal equipment is superseded.

DEPB import facility: portability of DEPB scrips across specified ports enabled, conditioned on TRA and reporting requirements.
DEPB scrip holders registered at specified sea-ports, airports or ICDs may import at any other station within the same enumerated list; Coimbatore-area stations form a separate list. The facility is import-only; excluded ports require import at the registration port. Imports under the facility require a Telegraphic Release Advice (TRA) from the port of registration to the importing Custom House with DEPB serial number, date, entitlement and cargo details, and the receiving Custom House must report imports back to the issuing Custom House for register maintenance.

Modvat credit entitlement clarified: duplicate EDI bill of entry with appraiser countersignature suffices; verification available from EDI customs.
Duplicate copy of an EDI bill of entry, generated after assessment and payment and signed by the CHA/importer and countersigned by the Customs Appraiser with his name stamp, is the proper document for claiming modvat credit under rule 57 G/57 T. Central Excise officers should accept this duplicate in lieu of a separate modvat certificate, though they may request verification from the Customs EDI system which can confirm countervailing duty details.

Self certification for exporters allows sealed shipments to bypass routine port examination, subject to randomized checks and sampling.
The circular permits eligible exporters and certain 100% EOU/EPZ/EHTP units to move export goods on the basis of self certification with mandatory tamper proof sealing and documentary endorsement accepting responsibility. At gateway ports routine opening is dispensed with for self certified consignments, with a risk based random inspection of a selected proportion of containers and sampling limits for packages; departmental sealing at factories or warehouses is treated as equivalent to sealed cargo and need not be re examined unless seals are tampered with or specific intelligence exists.

Import General Manifest submission requirement tightened; air cargo clearance and selective examination procedures streamlined for quicker processing.
All airlines must submit the Import General Manifest promptly on arrival within a shortened timeframe, with Commissioners issuing standing orders for compliance; computerized selection shall identify export packages for examination while remaining packages move directly to bonded or palletisation areas, retained packages being examined and later transferred to bonded areas. Perishable export consignments are excluded from routine examination and Customs must provide an officer to supervise night-time import segregation.

Abolition of physical customs supervision: EOUs may self manage movements subject to strict recordkeeping and monthly audits.
Amendments remove mandatory physical customs controls for 100% EOUs, allowing EOUs to self manage movements of inputs and outputs provided each transaction is recorded in prescribed or Commissioner approved records. Designated officers must scrutinise accounts at least monthly; transfers of non duty paid goods require rewarehousing certificates and crosschecks, with duty demanded if proof of transfer or export is not produced within the prescribed period. Chief Commissioners may order special audits by nominated cost accountants, and cost recovery officers retain monthly audit responsibilities.

Misuse of CT-3 facility: require AR-3A and rewarehousing certificates to be exchanged by registered post to prevent duty evasion.
Certain 100% EOUs misused the CT-3 facility by diverting deemed export consignments into the domestic market and producing forged AR-3A rewarehousing certificates; hand-delivery of sealed AR-3As facilitated forgery. Range officers must send AR-3A copies by registered post and receive rewarehousing certificates by post, verify actual supply and rewarehousing, and scrupulously follow prescribed AR-3A movement procedures to prevent duty evasion.

Sale of software through data communication permitted for EPZ/FTZ units into domestic market subject to valuation certification.
EPZ/FTZ units may sell computer software into the domestic tariff area via data communication/tele-communication links, on the basis that the EPZ/FTZ regime is analogous to EOUs and does not prohibit such transfers; this facility is extended subject to the condition that the Director of the Software Technology Park certify the valuation for the sale.

Courier clearance: expanded procedures impose stricter registration, security obligations and reinforced enforcement for misdeclaration.
Assessment and clearance of goods through courier mode provide procedures for imports and exports by passenger or cargo flights, permit courier companies or the aircraft person in charge to perform import functions and sign the Courier Import Manifest (with responsibility for mis declaration), require registration with bonds and security per Customs House, allow Commissioner suspension of registration pending enquiry with appeal to the Chief Commissioner, and mandate selective scrutiny and random examination with strict action for mis declaration.

Re-export authorisation for bonded warehouse diamond consignments permitted where competent administrative approval exists and customs rules are followed.
Re-export of rough diamonds from Private Bonded Warehouses in EPZ or DTA is permitted under an Exim Policy exception notwithstanding restrictive provisions, subject to applicable customs warehousing procedures and the condition that the Development Commissioner or Board of Approval has authorised the re-export.

Container re-export obligations: stricter monitoring, bond enforcement, and tightly limited extensions to prevent domestic diversion.
Imported durable freight containers are exempt from customs duty if re-exported within six months under a bond; extensions should not be routine. Separate accounts and bonds must be kept for loaded and empty containers, re-export bonds monitored, and demands under bonds issued on expiry. Assistant Commissioners may grant a written-record extension beyond six months up to three months; extensions beyond nine months are generally precluded, though the Commissioner may grant further time for genuine difficulty for limited periods. If goods require detailed examination they should be destuffed and stored while containers are released for re-export.

Condonation of delay in brand-rate applications permits limited extensions where sufficient cause prevents timely filing.
Fixation of brand and special brand rates allows the Central Government to relax filing time limits where exporters were prevented by sufficient cause. The Ministry will consider condonation for specified categories of delay listed in the Annexure, subject to the exporter stating specific reasons with supporting documents and ensuring verification of input data has been or can be completed. The Annexure links particular causes of delay to corresponding additional condonation periods and identifies triggering dates for counting the permissible extended period.

Special Advance Licensing Scheme permits duty-free import of inputs for manufacture of exported electronics subject to certified export obligation.
Special Advance Licensing Scheme allows manufacturer-exporters of electronics to import specified inputs duty-free for manufacture of export goods, subject to DEEC-quantified descriptions, pre-export importation, normal Customs checks, prohibition on transfer except for prescribed waste, and discharge of export obligation only upon certification by a designated officer of actual utilisation; licences may be issued against LUT/Bond or Bank Guarantee, require port registration and DEEC debiting, and non-fulfilment attracts Customs duty recovery with interest and record-keeping contraventions.

Prohibition on direct policy correspondence: Customs and Central Excise formations must route policy references through the Board.
Commissionerates must not correspond directly with other Ministries on policy matters; reports and information should be sent to the Board for formulation of a uniform response, and Ministries may be informed that the information has been forwarded to the Board for onward transmission.

Computerized customs EDI processing governs electronic filing, verification, assessment, payment and release of import Bills of Entry.
Computerised processing of Bills of Entry at the Air Cargo Complex will be introduced in phases under the EDI system, with specified Service Centre procedures for submission, verification, data entry charges, format requirements and generation of computerised Bill of Entry numbers. Certain categories remain manually processed. IGMs with full MAWB/HAWB details enable cross verification and acceptance of corresponding Bills of Entry only where particulars match. Assessment, first/second check examination, system appraisal, payment through a designated bank, Green Channel requests, and Advance Customs Clearance workflows are prescribed. Annexure II details mandatory field formats and documentary requirements for filings.

PMV verification period extended for DEPB exports to permit additional market inquiries and evidence collection.
When the Commissioner of Customs is satisfied that additional time is necessary to collect further information or evidence for determination of the Present Market Value (PMV) under the DEPB scheme, he may extend the inquiry period beyond thirty days for a period not exceeding ninety days from the date of the Shipping Bill, and the show cause notice must be issued within that extended period.

Disposal of unclaimed cargo extended to wholly owned central and state government undertakings, expanding custodial procedure.
The circular extends the existing custodial disposal procedure for unclaimed/un-cleared cargo to include wholly owned undertakings of both the Central Government and State Governments, directing custodians to apply the same disposal framework previously applicable to specified Central Government undertakings.

DEPB scrip use allows clearing imports under other schemes with applicable SAD exemption and concessional duty debit adjustments.
Goods imported against a DEPB scrip may be cleared when imported under other schemes and remain eligible for the Special Additional Duty exemption applicable to DEPB imports. When Notification No. 34/97 exempts DEPB imports by debiting duty in the scrip, any other applicable partial exemption shall reduce the duty debitable in the DEPB scrip to the concessional rate permitted by that partial exemption, rather than the tariff rate.

Cess on imported rubber clarified: levy applies only to domestic production, imports not subject to cess.
The levy under the Rubber Act applies only to rubber produced domestically and does not cover imported rubber; customs and port authorities are to be instructed not to demand the cess at clearance of imported natural rubber. Administrative correspondence notes that an earlier Board circular on the subject has been withdrawn, reaffirming that imported rubber is not subject to the cess.