Duty-free import by post for 100% EOUs: ad-hoc exemptions possible on detailed advance requests.
Imports by post by approved 100% EOUs are not normally eligible for the referenced duty exemption, but the Ministry of Finance may grant discretionary ad-hoc exemptions where genuine difficulties prevent sea/air import. EOUs must submit advance requests with full description, quantity and value for individual consideration.

Delegation of powers to collectors sets criteria for declaring warehousing stations and restrains extensions of warehousing periods.
The delegation authorises Principal Collectors to declare warehousing stations and grant warehousing-period extensions subject to criteria: declaration depends on local industrial development, warehousing need, availability of public bonded warehouse facilities (with relaxation for certain export units), and adequate Customs staffing and training; cases outside criteria go to the Board. Extensions require assurance goods will not deteriorate, testing if necessary, valid grounds (lack of funds alone insufficient), shortest practicable duration with limits, liberal treatment for specified categories after condition checks, and monthly reporting to the Board for interest-waiver consideration.

Mis-handled baggage: airlines may forward baggage to other customs airports for clearance upon production of proof of bona fides.
Airlines are authorised to forward mis-handled baggage to customs airports other than Delhi, Madras, Calcutta and Bombay for clearance, provided they arrange forwarding and produce proof to customs of the bona fides of the baggage.

Perishable goods warehousing: reduced initial storage period for listed deteriorable imports under customs law.
Specification of particular imported commodities as perishable goods activates a reduced initial warehousing term under the Customs Act provision for items likely to deteriorate. The circular lists specified examples (including fresh produce, meat, seafood, hygroscopic substances not in sealed containers, medicinal herbs, confectionary, tobacco products, certain aromatics, batteries, grocery items, pen refills, non-refillable lighter fuel, molasses and beer) and directs collectors to publish public notices and consider suggestions for adding further items.

Advance Licensing Scheme misuse prompts stricter examination of provisional exports to prevent misdeclaration and duty evasion.
Misuse of the Advance Licensing Scheme occurred when an exporter provisionally exported consignments declared as 100% mulberry silk scarfs but the goods proved to be cut pieces of old and used sarees; officers handling DEEC cases are instructed to take special care in examination of goods exported in advance discharge of export obligations and verify declared descriptions against actual consignments.

Countersignature requirement for warehouse clearances strengthens scrutiny of high-risk bills and mandates immediate post-audit.
Instructions require countersignature by the Assistant Collector for bills of entry in defined risk categories-high-value consignments, first-time products, and bills reassessed by the Superintendent-and mandate immediate post-audit of all ex-bond bills after clearance to strengthen supervisory scrutiny and protect revenue.

Public bonded warehouse policy: state warehousing corporations may operate only where central warehouse is absent, subject to no-objection.
State Warehousing Corporations may be appointed as public bonded warehouses only where the Central Warehousing Corporation does not operate at that station, and applications must include a no-objection certificate from the CWC. Appointments are to be made under the statutory provisions for public bonded warehouses, restricted to industrial areas where justified. The Board's earlier instructions are modified accordingly, and a monthly report of appointments in favour of CWC and SWCs must be sent to the Board.

Board's Circular not to supersede judicial pronouncements; administrative directives must yield to judicial decisions and be implemented accordingly.
Board's Circular No. 8 (F. No. 390/93/88-AU) does not supersede judicial pronouncements; administrative instructions must be applied consistently with court decisions addressing fortuitous benefits and undue enrichment where assessee cannot refund amounts. Collectors must note the cited case law, implement orders of CEGAT and Collector (Appeals) in light of judicial decisions, and acknowledge receipt.

Foreign employees with TR benefits may travel within the first year against employer plain paper standing guarantees instead of bank guarantees.
Foreign employees who availed Transfer of Residence concessions may be allowed short visits abroad within their first year of residence against a plain paper guarantee from their employing firm covering the duty concession; a standing guarantee may be accepted. Customs must monitor the relaxation, send six monthly reports to the Board, and promptly report any instances where such firm guarantees are not honoured.

Uniform reporting of import entries: include only into-bond Bills of Entry at port of importation; exclude ex-bond clearances.
Prescribes that DTR entries must record only into-bond Bills of Entry at the port of importation and that particulars of ex-bond clearances must not be entered, to prevent duplication and distortion of import figures; all Customs Houses/Collectorates must adopt this uniform procedure and acknowledge receipt and report compliance.

Extension of warehousing period: applications must be filed before expiry or, absent genuine unavoidable circumstances, face rejection.
Extension requests for customs warehousing periods must be filed sufficiently before the expiry of the original period or any previous extension; late applications received many months after expiry will, except in very genuine and unavoidable circumstances, be liable to straightaway rejection. Trade should be informed that extensions will be considered only in narrowly justified cases.

Monitoring of bonded goods: immediate stock-taking and prompt auction or recovery measures to secure unpaid import duties and interest.
Mandated stock-taking and immediate initiation of assessment and recovery proceedings for consignments whose warehousing period (including extensions) has expired; if importers fail to pay, goods may be detained and auctioned under Section 72(2), with increased auction frequency and dedicated supervisory officers. Collectorates must submit quarterly returns detailing number of consignments, value of goods and duty involved, and include recovery progress in monthly administration reports; special reporting on time-expired machinery consignments is required to inform warehousing policy.

Expeditious disposal of seized goods - directives to accelerate sales, invoke coercive customs measures and report monthly.
Collectors are directed to organise a special drive for disposal of seized, confiscated and time expired bonded goods: identify items ripe for disposal, expedite disposal orders, invoke coercive withholding of subsequent consignments against defaulters, increase auctions, align interest to market rates, restrict bonding of machinery, and send monthly progress reports to the Directorate of Preventive Operations and the Ministry. For revenue blocked in litigation, collectors should be empowered to appoint and pay counsel to reduce injunctions and accelerate recovery.

Extension of warehousing requests must be filed before expiry or face rejection; vintage car exports before 1940 are prohibited.
Extension of warehousing periods must be considered with caution and only in genuine, unavoidable circumstances; requests for extensions must be received sufficiently before expiry of the original or last extended period and may be rejected if received after expiry. Exports of motor cars and parts built before 1940 are prohibited under the Export (Control) Seventh Amendment Order, 1972, and a trade association has offered assistance in dating vehicles for enforcement.

Job-work restriction: transferring duty-free raw materials to DTA for conversion is not permitted under subcontracting rules.
The policy permits 100% EOUs to sub-contract part of their production for job work to DTA units subject to case-by-case approval and safeguards (bonding, identification on return, input/output norms, undertakings) and envisages transfer of part-finished goods after some manufacturing. Transferring duty-free raw materials to DTA units for conversion into briquettes, with subsequent further manufacture in the EOU, does not constitute job-work under the Public Notice and is outside its dispensation; such transfers raise accountability and leakage risks.

Currency declaration procedures require handwritten forms, full currency names, retained duplicates, and senior review for sizeable declarations.
The circular mandates procedural safeguards for the Currency Declaration Form: passenger handwriting where possible, amounts in figures and words, duplicate carbon copies retained flight-wise, full spelling of currency names (no abbreviations), and the countersigning officer's name in block capitals. At exit ports, sizeable declarations must be reported to senior officers and suspicious passengers-especially those re-exporting declared currency shortly after arrival-should be interrogated to prevent manipulation and smuggling.

Waiver of physical warehousing allowed in defined constructive warehousing situations with supervisory approval enabling immediate import clearance.
Assistant Collectors of Customs may grant waivers of the requirement for physical warehousing at the port, with Collector approval where necessary, but only in specified constructive warehousing cases: merchanting trade and imports treated as stores with no duty collection; and, under the alternate constructive warehousing provision, urgent equipment and raw materials for export units outside the port city, manufacture-in-bond companies, bulky/heavy/dangerous/delicate items needing special handling, and goods of reputed companies requiring immediate clearance.

Return of seized documents: require prompt scrutiny and release of non-incriminating records to parties with departmental oversight.
Investigating officers must promptly scrutinise seized records, segregate documents not relied upon for departmental adjudication or prosecution, and return such non-incriminating documents to the parties; a six-month period from the date of search/seizure is prescribed for completing this exercise.

Loan of confiscated non-prohibited firearms - officers must return items on leaving service and accept liability for loss or damage.
Confiscated non-prohibited bore firearms may be loaned to Customs and Central Excise officers for self protection on the condition they are returned when no longer required or on leaving service; the Government retains ownership. Officers must execute a prescribed undertaking accepting return obligations and liability for loss or damage, calculated on CIF value plus applicable customs duty. Service book entries, custody of the undertaking by the controlling head, a copy to the Directorate of Preventive Operations, maintenance of a register, semiannual reviews, cancellation on return, and Directorate inspections and transfer procedures are mandatory.

Domestic sale entitlement for export oriented units governed by indigenous content, licence conditions, and certified authorisation.
Approved 100% Export Oriented Units and Export Processing/Free Trade Zone units may sell a limited portion of production into the Domestic Tariff Area under specified Open General Licences, subject to customs duties, exclusion of specified items, measurement by ex factory value excluding approved rejects, and entitlement determined by the value of indigenous constituents; applications require certified production and cost statements, endorsement by Customs/Central Excise, and authorisation by the Export or Development Commissioner permitting removal to the DTA.