Import of cars: short absences during two year stay abroad may be condoned for Transfer of Residence eligibility.
DGFT advised that short visits during the two year continuous residence abroad required for car import eligibility should be condoned per the Baggage Rules, and that import entitlement must be linked to the Transfer of Residence concession for persons coming to India for permanent settlement.

Recovery of customs duty on cars sold to State Trading Corporation must be actively pursued by Customs Houses to prevent delays.
Where motor vehicles imported by foreign privileged persons are bought by the State Trading Corporation within the prescribed period, duty is leviable and payable by the State Trading Corporation; Customs Houses must maintain registers recording MEA sale permissions, vehicle and payment particulars, pursue duty recovery until payment, prepare monthly lists of unpaid cases for regional STC offices, and ensure adherence to the prescribed procedure, while MEA will allot running serial numbers to permissions to permit Customs verification.

Drawback thresholds clarified: alternative FOB-percentage and shipment-amount rules govern eligibility for payment.
Clarifies that under the Drawback Rules the Rs. 5000 per-shipment limit does not apply when drawback exceeds 2% of the FOB value, and that conversely the 2% FOB limit does not apply where drawback per shipment is Rs. 5000 or more; in all cases payment remains subject to the statutory minimum under Section 76.

Import treatment of air conditioned cars: value ceiling and convertible currency duty requirement removed; tourism authorisation deemed a licence.
Air conditioned cars imported by State tourism corporations and tour operators are to be treated as normal imports without the earlier value ceiling or obligation to pay duty in convertible foreign exchange; an authorisation from the national tourism authority will be deemed a licence and no separate import licence from the foreign trade licensing authority is required. Administrative orders are to substitute Collector titles with Commissioner titles to reflect reassigned jurisdiction under the Finance Act.

Relaxation of bank guarantee requirements for EOUs and EPZ units permits transfer of imported goods to inland warehouses; notice mandated.
Relaxation in furnishing Bank Guarantee has been directed for 100% Export Oriented Units and EPZ units when transferring imported goods from major ports to inland warehousing stations for re-warehousing; the Board requires wide publicity by issuing a Public Notice so trade and the public are informed and hardship is avoided.

Drawback eligibility for exports under advance licences clarified; customs must allow filing and payment without insisting prior duty payment.
Exports made in discharge of export obligations under VABAL or QABAL applied for before 1.4.1995 but issued on or after that date remain eligible for drawback despite imports attracting additional customs duties; customs must allow filing and payment of drawback shipping bills under Drawback Public Notice No. Drawback/PN-4/95 and the first proviso to Note 2(b) of Drawback/PN-5/95 for exports on or after 2 May 1995. Free shipping bills dated on or before 31 May 1995 may be converted to drawback shipping bills by deemed relaxation of rule 11 under rule 15 (1971 Rules) or rule 17 (1995 Rules).

Consolidation of export cargo: common user consolidation permission withdrawn; prior authorisations required strict facility and operator safeguards.
Consolidation of export cargo by freight forwarders or steamer agents was permissible only at common user facilities authorised by the Collector on a case by case, time limited basis, subject to viability, infrastructure, Customs staffing and cost arrangements, operator credibility, safeguards against revenue loss and quarterly reporting; this permission applied solely to export cargo and was later withdrawn by subsequent instruction.

Cash security requirement for project imports reduced, with remaining liability secured by bank guarantee until contract completion.
Cash security for project import registrations shall be reduced to 2% of CIF value (subject to an overall cap), with the balance secured by a bank guarantee supported by an undertaking to renew until contract finalisation; government departments and public sector undertakings are exempt, and fertilizer projects liable to zero duty are to provide only a nominal cash security based on duty foregone subject to a separate cap.

Duty-free import conditions require joint filing and bond execution; warehouse DTA clearances must comply with Exim policy and duties.
Where capital goods for EOU/EPZ units are imported via a domestic leasing company, the leasing company and the EOU/EPZ unit must jointly file import documents and jointly execute the bond securing the exemption; private bonded warehouse clearances to the DTA require Exim Policy compliance and recovery of applicable customs duty at ex-bonding; conversion of DTA units with EPCG obligations to EOUs carries forward export obligations and precludes any refund of customs duty paid under the EPCG scheme, while EPCG benefits on debonding of 100% EOU/EPZ units apply to capital goods subject to duty payment and non-capital goods attract normal duties.

Technical-feature classification: refer imports to technical agencies for expert views before final customs classification and assessment.
Where classification depends on technical features, refer the matter to appropriate technical authorities for their views and decide classification after receipt of those views so that imported goods of a technical nature are correctly assessed.

Concessional duty eligibility for compressor parts hinges on both power rating and interchangeability with motor vehicles.
The amendment denies the concessional rate to compressor parts only where both conditions coexist: the part is below the prescribed power rating and is interchangeable for use with motor vehicles; the two criteria are conjunctive and must be read together, so parts meeting only one criterion remain eligible for the concessional rate.

Concessional duty for DTA clearances requires goods be identical to exported items to qualify when duly certified.
Concessional duty for 100% EOU/EPZ/EHTP/STP clearances into the DTA is available irrespective of the EXIM Policy negative list, limited to goods identical or of the same class as exported items (broad 1:1 correlation) with specified exceptions for software, rejects, scrap and waste. Percentage ceilings on value of production eligible for concession apply (e.g., software up to 25%), and eligibility must be certified by the Development Commissioner or designated officer and produced at clearance. Commissioners must issue standing orders and notices; these instructions supersede Circular No. 39/95.

Detention of imported cargo: cargo may be moved to customs warehouse and containers released pending investigation.
Detention for enquiry may require removal of imported cargo to a customs warehouse, with cargo unload allowed so containers can be released for use by container agents or other importers; customs and enforcement authorities must adopt this procedure immediately and monitor detained containers to avoid unnecessary prolonged retention.

Drawback sanctioning power delegated to appraisers in major customs houses, subject to percentage checks and pre-audit.
Appraisers in Major Customs Houses are authorised to sanction drawback claims up to an enhanced ceiling, while appraisers at other customs stations retain a lower limit. Assistant Commissioners must perform random percentage test checks of sanctioned cases to ensure conformity with sanctioning instructions. All drawback claims remain subject to 100% pre-audit by the Internal Audit Department, and standing orders and public notices are to be issued and forwarded to central oversight offices.

Drawal of samples required: export consignments of suspected goods must undergo chemical testing and be reported to Board.
The Board directed that samples should be drawn in each and every case of export of Zinc Oxide for chemical test. Customs formations must ensure sample drawal where the nature of goods or exporter is doubtful, report detected irregularities immediately to the Board, and alert major Customs Houses so that the Board can issue further remedial instructions to prevent fraudulent drawback claims.

Import restriction for arecanut requires an import licence and forbids treating it as dry fruit for customs clearance.
Arecanut (supari) is a consumer good and not a dry fruit; its import is not permissible without an import licence under the Exim Policy. Customs formations must stop permitting imports under the dry-fruits classification, require the statutory import licence for clearance, review prior clearances treated as dry fruits, and report the review findings to the Board.

Tamper proof seals required for containerised cargo to ensure security and enable detection of tampering, with officers to implement.
Directive requiring that containerised cargo be sealed with tamper proof 'bottle' seals because they provide necessary security and make tampering readily detectable; concerned officers must be instructed to implement this sealing requirement henceforth as a compliance obligation.

United Nations duty exemption limited to imports made by the UN entity for its official use; customs must verify eligibility.
Duty exemption under the UN (Privileges and Immunities) Act is limited to goods imported by the UN and its agencies in their own name and for official use; imports by third parties for UN-funded projects do not qualify. Customs must verify eligibility under section 7(b) and grant exemptions only where the UN agency is the importer and goods are for official use, notwithstanding any exemption certificate, with the Ministry of External Affairs issuing certificates only for eligible imports.

Duty on DTA sales from export units now follows excise classification or customs treatment for non excisable goods.
The special exemption for certain 100% EOU clearances to the domestic tariff area has been rescinded and EOUs and EPZ units are placed at parity: duty on DTA sales will be determined by excisability-excisable goods under Central Excise notifications attract excise duty, and non excisable goods attract full customs duty as if imported; departmental officers must review prior clearances and reassess in accordance with the amendment.

Movement of cargo by road or rail permitted for ICDs/CFSs, subject to custodian bond and section 8 notifications.
Custodians of ICDs and CFSs may move export cargo by road or rail at their discretion, provided the custodian executes a bond with the Assistant Collector of Customs in charge of the ICD to serve as a revenue safeguard against loss in transit; Commissioners should issue section 8 notifications specifying exact facility locations where not already done and circulate trade/public notices informing stakeholders of the facilities and the permitted movement policy.