Advance licence transferability allowed despite expired validity where export obligations were completed, subject to required DEEC logging and submission.
Advance licences under Exim Policy 1992-97 whose export obligations were completed by the cutoff date but lacked endorsement of transferability solely due to DEEC Book logging and procedural delays are eligible for transferability endorsement even if licence validity has expired, provided exporters complete logging and submit requests to the Licensing Authority within the prescribed filing period; Licensing Authorities must complete endorsement formalities by the prescribed completion deadline under the Handbook of Procedure.

DEPB scheme amendments: revised export credit rates and updated product descriptions plus inclusion of two airport/ICD locations.
Amendments to the DEPB schedule revise product descriptions and DEPB rates and add Bangalore and Hyderabad airports/ICDs; textile categories, selected engineering, electronics, chemical and plastic export entries are redefined or deleted and specified DEPB percentages are adjusted.

Pass Book Scheme credit eligibility tied to later of mate receipt or bill of lading, affecting credit grant and utilisation.
Exports qualify for Pass Book Scheme credit only when the later of the mate receipt or bill of lading is dated on or before the scheme cutoff; if that later document is dated after the cutoff, no credit is available. Credits may be utilised for imports within one year from the date of grant, and renewal of the Pass Book is not necessary to enter or use credits, subject to the Handbook of Procedures provision on date of shipment/dispatch.

Transferable advance licence grace period applies, so transferred licences follow handbook validity and grace period rules.
The Directorate confirms that the Handbook of Procedures general provision on the grace period for licence validity applies equally to duty free Advance Licences endorsed as transferable, meaning the transferred licence is entitled to the same post expiry grace period treatment as set out in the Handbook.

Drawback conversion procedures require standardized factual reports and specified verifications for shipping bill conversions, prompting Standing Orders.
Conversion of 'free goods' shipping bills to drawback or DEEC cum Drawback shipping bills is permitted only after Commissionerates furnish standardized factual reports verifying correlation with DEEC/Advance Licence or application, existence of DGFT cancellation/rejection where relevant, supporting manufacturer compliance regarding credits or rebates and identity on shipping bills, presence of customs or agency examination and test reports, treatment of scaled down licences, DEEC examination under drawback rules, use of inputs imported on payment of duty, and documentary proof of extenuating circumstances; Standing Orders should enforce these requirements.

FOB value for DEPB credit: use bank certificate FOB unless customs formally reduces shipping bill FOB for stated reasons.
The FOB value for DEPB credit must be the FOB stated in the bank certificate of export for post export issuance and pre export offsetting, except where customs have reduced the Shipping Bill FOB on account of Present Market Value or other specified reasons recorded in writing; the Shipping Bill FOB is endorsed on the DEPB only for customs verification and release of Bond/Bank Guarantee.

Director General (Service Tax) jurisdiction enables escalation of unresolved commissionerate service tax matters to the DG for supervision.
The Director General (Service Tax), Mumbai, has jurisdiction and supervisory authority over the Nagpur Commissionerate's Service Tax matters and will receive Service Tax problems unresolved at the Commissionerate level. The notice notes Shri Govindan S. Tampi's assumption of charge as Director General (Service Tax) and supplies his office address and telephone contacts for escalation and correspondence.

Export ceiling for wheat products: allocation by APEDA on first-come-first-served basis with 30-day registration certificates.
A ceiling on exports of wheat products for the licensing year is allocated to APEDA, which will register contracts on a first-come, first-served basis and issue Registration cum Allocation Certificates (RCACs). RCACs have a strict limited validity with no extensions; unconfirmed allocations will be cancelled and reallocated in chronological order. APEDA must ensure the ceiling is not exceeded, report exhaustion of the ceiling to the Ministry of Commerce and the issuing office, issue a trade notice for the trade, and furnish monthly statements with exporter, quantity, FOB value and destination details.

Excise exemption misuse prompts enforcement directive to prevent duty evasion by exporters and strengthen field vigilance.
Misuse of Notification No. 8/97-CE occurred when a 100% Export Oriented Unit cleared cotton yarn to the Domestic Tariff Area while claiming exemption for goods allegedly produced from wholly indigenous raw materials, notwithstanding the use of imported Poly Vinyl Acetate; the Department directs field formations to be vigilant to prevent such misuse and to ensure compliance with the notification's eligibility conditions.

Insurance requirement: re-warehousing transfers must be secured by insurance alongside transit bond to protect customs duty.
The circular amends prior instructions so that movements of imported goods for re-warehousing from a major port to an inland warehousing station must be secured by a transit bond together with an insurance policy to ensure adequate security for customs duty; other provisions of the earlier circular remain unchanged.

Conversion of passbook shipping bills allowed where shipping bill filed before expiry but bill of lading issued after; exporters may apply.
Conversion of passbook shipping bills to drawback shipping bills is permitted where the shipping bill was filed before the passbook scheme expired but the bill of lading or mate receipt was dated on or after expiry. This is a relaxation of Rule 13 under the powers of Rule 17. Exporters must apply individually to the Directorate of Drawback and supply a factual report from the port of shipment in accordance with Ministry instructions.

Cess payment timing revised to after checklist generation and before inspection, altering export authentication and examination steps.
Amendments revise export procedures: cess payment is required after checklist generation and before examination; the second copy of the Shipping Bill is authenticated only after export and return of the Export General Manifest from the airline; the second copy of GR 1 is authenticated at the LET EXPORT ORDER; goods may be presented at the export shed for examination and LET EXPORT without requiring the DEEC Book; and the phrase "House Airway Bill wise" is deleted.

Measurement of petroleum products at 15 C required for calculating transit and storage losses, replacing natural atmospheric temperature.
Computation of transit and storage losses for mineral oil products must be done at 15 degree centigrade rather than at Natural Atmospheric Temperature, following consultation with the Chief Chemist and in line with international practice to standardise weight and volume measurements; pending cases should be decided accordingly.

Classification of imported components as finished goods can trigger higher duty, show cause notices, and value re examination.
Where imported parts, though disassembled, possess the essential characteristics of the finished article when assembled, they must be classified as the finished article; absent demonstrable indigenisation of major components, Central Excise should issue show cause notices to the Commissioner of Customs of the port of import, forward copies to the concerned Customs House, re examine assessable value for Central Excise, and report detected cases to the Board with intimation to the Director General (Anti Evasion).

Registration form amendments: Form ST-1 requires additional registration and office details; stock broker fields apply only to brokers.
Form ST-1 is amended to add two new fields requiring particulars of any other registrations with local, state, central or other authorities and their validity, and the name and address of registered/head/branch offices; these revisions apply to all services and the stock broker-specific item remains applicable only to stock brokers.

Re-export procedural parity: Assistant Commissioner may allow re-exports and permit re-engineering of reimported goods under aligned EHTP/EPZ rules.
Notification alignment standardises EHTP/EPZ procedural provisions: the Assistant Commissioner may allow re-export; goods used for training and production remnants destroyed with Assistant Commissioner permission are exempt from duty; re-imported goods for repairs, reconditioning or re-engineering may be re-engineered; re-import due to buyer failure is permitted within one year of export; goods imported for repairs/reconditioning/re-engineering may be exported within three years. The parity with EPZ/FTZ provisions is noted and requires issuance of a public notice.

Attachment and sale of defaulter property to recover excise dues, with prescribed notice, auction and distribution procedures.
Central Excise Officers are empowered to recover unpaid excise dues by applying the Customs Attachment Rules: an Assistant Commissioner issues a certificate of dues to the Commissioner with jurisdiction; the authorised officer serves a seven day demand notice and, on default, effects attachment and sale of movable or immovable property using prescribed forms and procedures. The Circular prescribes proclamation, auction, valuation, deposit and confirmation procedures, priority distribution of sale proceeds (costs, certified dues with interest, other recoverable amounts, surplus to the owner), prohibition on departmental bidding, and administrative requirements including a Recovery Cell and record keeping.

Appeals against CEGAT orders require High Court route or CEGAT clearance; avoid Board appeals except on rate or value.
Appeals against CEGAT orders should not be proposed to the Board except where the question relates to the rate of duty or value of goods; matters requiring Supreme Court review must follow the High Court route or obtain CEGAT clearance rather than direct Board appeal.

Indigenisation requirement conditions import licences for CKD/SKD kits and ties export obligations to imports under joint ventures.
Imports of CKD/SKD kits/components SHALL be allowed only against DGFT import licences issued to joint venture automobile manufacturers that sign an MOU with the Government. The MOU mandates establishment of actual manufacturing facilities, staged indigenisation targets leading to cessation of licence requirement once the highest indigenisation level is reached, and an export obligation to neutralise CIF imports with FOB exports of cars and auto components commencing after a moratorium from the deemed production start. Compliance is monitored by annual reports and DGFT licence renewal.

Duty free licence issuance on production programme basis is additional to, not a substitute for, order-specific entitlements.
Issuance of Duty Free Licences under Paragraph 7.13 of Exim Policy 1997-2002 on a production programme or export performance basis is additional to, and not in lieu of, entitlement against specific export orders; this contrasts with the earlier policy provision which expressly operated in lieu of specific-order entitlements.