Tariff classification changes preserve existing customs duty rates on reclassified goods, with limited specified reductions.
HSN 1996 reclassification effective 1 January 1996 reallocates items across chapters/headings. Three consequential exemption notifications were issued to maintain existing effective basic customs duty rates despite classification changes, and customs officers are instructed not to alter duty in assessment on the basis of reclassification alone. Three items-dairy spreads, certain frozen roots and tubers, and oaknut/chestnut extracts-will attract reduced duties or preferential rates on reclassification where specified preferential territories apply. Any unforeseen changes in effective duty must be reported immediately to the Board for remedial action.

Customs area designation streamlines establishment and notification of ICDs/CFSs with simplified selection and verification procedures.
Commissioners of Customs are authorised to declare CFSs as Customs areas under Section 8, after assessing need, security, suitability and credibility, inviting public proposals where appropriate, and consulting regional committees or trade; private and public sector applicants may be considered, financial standing must be verified per existing Board guidance, selection made by the Commissioner in consultation with the regional investigative office and a constituted committee, and application format follows the Board's earlier letter, with these instructions superseding inconsistent prior guidance.

In-bond manufacture facility: delegation to commissioners with export-orientation, customs supervision, security and compliance required.
Commissioners are authorised to grant in-bond Manufacture facility under section 65, assessing export-orientation by comparing manufactured, exported, and domestically retained values; operations must remain under customs supervision on a cost-recovery basis. Grants require financial security, applicant credibility, suitable and secured premises, absence of recent duty evasion, and compliance with the Manufacture and Other Operations in Warehouse Regulations, 1966.

Interest recovery on duty default now chargeable from clearance until payment; exporters must satisfy customs with documentary evidence.
Notifications amend Duty Exemption and EPCG procedures by removing bond and licensing authority certificate requirements; interest on duty becomes recoverable from the date of clearance until payment where conditions are not met. Exporters must directly satisfy the Assistant Commissioner of Customs with specified documentary evidence: for Duty Exemption Scheme, Part F DEEC endorsement and DEEC triplicate with Shipping Bills and Bills of Lading; for EPCG, a CA certified exporter statement with export promotion Shipping Bills, Bills of Lading, and a declaration that exports used the imported capital goods. Changes must be publicised by notice and departmental orders.

Drawback entitlement: ad valorem rate governs claims, with per-piece cap limiting payable amount.
Where a Drawback Table entry prescribes an ad valorem rate subject to a maximum per-piece limit, the ad valorem percentage is the operative rate of drawback and the per-piece figure is a ceiling. Exporters may claim drawback computed at the ad valorem rate, and if that computation exceeds the per-piece ceiling, the payable amount must be limited to the per-piece maximum. The shipment minimum threshold that previously barred payment where total drawback fell below the floor does not apply where the ad valorem rate is specified.

Ad valorem drawback entitlement: exporters may claim the prescribed ad valorem rate, capped by per-piece maximum, unaffected by per shipment minimum.
Where the Drawback Table sets an ad valorem rate subject to a per-piece maximum, the ad valorem rate is the operative legal rate; drawback is calculated at that ad valorem rate but limited by the per-piece ceiling, and the per-shipment minimum threshold does not defeat eligibility where the ad valorem rate has been determined.

Countersignature requirement removed for poultry health certificates by designated agencies, simplifying export documentation and compliance procedures.
The requirement that Health Certificates for poultry and poultry products issued by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection, the Export Inspection Agency and the Animal Husbandry Department of the State be countersigned by the Quarantine Officer has been dispensed with; customs and concerned offices are to be informed and suitable Public Notices/Trade Notices issued to implement the change.

Custodian obligations require secure expandable facilities, insurance, bonds and liability for lost or transshipped goods.
Custodians must provide secure, expandable premises and essential amenities, insure goods, arrange approved security, bear costs for Customs staff, and execute bonds supported by bank guarantees or equivalent to cover goods' value and duty exposure; they are liable for loss, pilferage and transshipment losses, must obtain Commissioner concurrence for structural alterations and subletting, and appointments are for a fixed initial term subject to review and termination by the Commissioner.

Customs exemption for re-imported Indian-origin goods allows duty-free processing subject to identity, bond and re-export conditions.
Notification 158/95-Customs provides a duty exemption for Indian-origin goods re-imported for repair, reconditioning, reprocessing, refining, remaking or similar processes, subject to time limits for re-importation and re-export, identity verification by Customs, and execution of bonds (with specified bank guarantee support) securing export and payment of any duty differential on non-compliance; processing must occur under Central Excise control or customs bond, waste/scrap must be destroyed or duty-paid, and loss in quantity during specified processes is exempt from customs duty.

Administrative control of export oriented units assigned to jurisdictional customs or central excise authorities with port exceptions.
Administrative control of export oriented units and export processing zones is to be exercised by the jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Central Excise based on territorial Commissionerates. In port towns with overlapping jurisdiction, the Commissioner of Customs will normally handle both Customs and Central Excise functions for EOUs/EPZs via delegated powers. Existing Board assignments for particular EPZs remain unchanged, and where concurrent jurisdiction exists the Central Excise Commissionerate may exercise control to allow Customs Preventive to focus on preventive work, with Chief Commissioners to readjust staff as necessary.

SAPTA duty concession requires proof of origin under customs rules to access preferential tariff treatment on imports.
Operationalisation of the SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement establishes percentage concessions on the applied rate of basic customs duty for goods from SAARC countries, with greater concessions for Least Developed SAARC members. Concessions apply only upon receipt of proof of origin under the Customs Tariff (Determination of Origin of Goods under SAPTA) Rules, 1995. Consequential amendments exclude certain prior notifications from the determination of the standard rate, and authorities are directed to ensure smooth implementation and compliance with the procedural requirements for claiming concessions.

Exemption from additional customs duty limited to manufacturer-exporters for quantity-based advance licences, altering licence eligibility and obligation discharge.
Exemption from additional Customs duty on imports against Quantity Based Advance Licences is limited to licences issued to manufacturer-exporters on applications made on or after 1 December 1995, must be recorded on the Advance Licence and DEEC Book, and excludes merchant-exporters; exports tied to applications made prior to that date do not qualify. The actual user condition and non-transferability of licences and imported materials continue to apply, and other existing notification conditions and circular instructions remain in force.

Joint bond facility: parent company jointly guarantees subsidiary export obligations, accepting liability for customs duty and interest.
A joint bond/bank guarantee may be executed jointly by a parent company and its subsidiary license-holder where the parent holds more than fifty percent of shares and both companies have common boards of directors, verifiable from their constitutional documents; execution must follow existing circular criteria. The parent will stand as surety and be jointly and severally liable to make good customs duty and interest if the subsidiary defaults on export obligations. The same conditions apply to the Duty Exemption Scheme and the EPCG Scheme.

High seas sale declarations by canalising agencies allow Import Department to process amendment applications upon specified certifications.
High Seas sales by canalising agencies (public sector undertakings like MMTC and STC) will be processed by the Import Department without reference to other Customs sections where the agency furnishes an authorised declaration confirming no pending Custom House charges, absence of the item from the negative list, and genuineness of original overseas supplier invoices, together with disclosure of the commission in a stamped contract and a certified copy of the High Seas sales contract.

Referral of interpretive issues to the central board required before issuing show cause notices to prevent unsustainable allegations.
Interpretive disputes about duty free import eligibility, scope of exemption notifications, or other statutory or policy questions affecting EOU/EPZ units must be referred demi officially to the Board with supporting documents and examined; show cause notices on such issues should be issued only after the Board settles the legal position to avoid unsustainable allegations.

Modvat entitlement on additional customs duty enabled; licences and imported inputs become transferable after supply obligations met.
Inputs imported under Value Based Advance Intermediate Licences will attract additional customs duty, and that additional duty may be claimed as Modvat credit on any inputs used in the manufacture of iron and steel intermediates. Spares for maintenance of capital goods may be imported up to five percent of the licence value subject to actual-use conditions. Licences and imported inputs (except spares and consumables) are transferable once supply obligations are met and the licence is endorsed; supplies to engineering exporters attract normal excise duty.

Third party exports can satisfy export obligations where contractual terms, clear shipping documentation and joint liability are established.
Third party exports by Advance Licence and EPCG holders can be counted towards export obligations because singular terms in the Customs Act may include the plural. Such exports qualify only where there is a contractual agreement with the export order holder; Shipping Bills and export documents state third party export; Shipping Bills are jointly signed by licence-holder and export order holder; and both make a declaration accepting joint and several liability for defaults or fraud. Past cases may be accepted on satisfactory proof.

Delegation of licensing power to Assistant Commissioner expedites private bonded warehouse approvals with post-facto Commissioner oversight.
The Central Board directed that requests for grant of a private bonded warehouse licence in SEEPZ be decided by the Assistant Commissioner of Customs at SEEPZ to expedite bonding for units, subject to post-facto information being furnished to the Commissioner of Customs; local officers are to implement the Board's policy and take necessary action accordingly.

Relaxation of filing period for drawback claims - Assistant Commissioners to allow extensions where delay arises from ignorance or sufficient cause.
Assistant Commissioners are instructed to liberally exercise the proviso power under rule 13(1) of the Customs and Central Excise Duties Drawback Rules, 1995 to permit late filing of drawback claims where exporters were prevented by sufficient cause, with ignorance of the new prescribed time limit to be accepted as a valid reason for delay and extensions granted accordingly, alongside mandated publicity to Export Promotion Councils, Trade Associations and commercial interests.

Telegraphic Release Advice: air imports may receive TRA on proforma invoice, avoiding bill of lading insistence.
Customs may require production of the advance licence duly registered for debit, DEEC book Part I for correlation, and the commercial invoice for verification; insistence on Bill of Lading/Air Freight Bill at TRA stage is unnecessary because licence verification can be completed at the port/ICD of import. For air consignments, TRA may be issued on the basis of a proforma invoice, with debit effected at the port of registration of the licence/DEEC book; Customs Houses must issue public notices and standing orders accordingly.