Concessional duty exclusion for CRGO and CRNGO coils: coated sheets are treated as further worked, disqualifying the concession.
CRGO and CRNGO steel sheets and strips in coil are coated non alloy steel products that have been worked further than cold rolling; coated sheets and unworked cold rolled sheets are distinct for classification and notification purposes, and coated CRGO/CRNGO coils do not qualify for the concessional duty available to cold rolled coils under the relevant tariff notification.

Non availment of Modvat certificates: guidelines limit drawback entitlement and treat open market purchases as Modvat availed for merchant exporters.
The circular directs that Assistant Commissioners of Customs may require manufacturers to produce a Central Excise certificate confirming non availment of Modvat on inputs for exported goods; exports under rebate or bond follow existing General Note 11 provisions. For merchant exporters, a supporting manufacturer's Central Excise Superintendent certificate suffices; open market purchases are treated as Modvat availed limiting drawback to Customs allocation. Where goods are unconditionally excise exempt and manufacturers unregistered, drawback may be allowed without a non availment certificate, subject to the Assistant Commissioner's satisfaction.

Charitable goods duty exemption: District Magistrates and equivalent authorised to certify organisations and distributions.
The Central Board specifies District Magistrates/Dy. Commissioners/District Collectors where the importer's registered office is located as the authorised persons to certify that an importing organisation is a bona fide charitable distributor; distribution certificates issued by those officers or by an Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise are acceptable evidence for the duty exemption conditions.

Present Market Value verification requires customs to check PMV and FOB declarations to limit DEPB credit entitlement.
Exporters under the DEPB scheme must declare the Present Market Value (PMV) in the Shipping Bill, inclusive of excise, sales tax and other local taxes and above the FOB/AR-4 price. Customs shall verify description, quantity, FOB value and the declared PMV against AR-4, excise or dealer invoices, known market prices or enquiries. If PMV or FOB appears prima facie excessive, the examining officer may refer the matter with samples to the Assistant Commissioner (Export), who may order market enquiries to determine PMV so that credit entitlement does not exceed fifty percent of actual PMV; provisional clearance and one month enquiry timelines apply.

Re-export time limit: six-month period measured from actual customs clearance, not bill of entry filing.
The six-month period for re-imported Indian goods to qualify for customs duty exemption for repairs, reconditioning, reprocessing, remaking or similar processes is to be calculated from the date of actual clearance of the goods and not from the date of filing the Bill of Entry, to avoid defeating the purpose of the beneficial notification when identity-establishment is delayed.

All Industry Rates of Drawback harmonisation aligns drawback classifications with tariff headings, requiring monitoring and reporting.
Notification implements revised All Industry Rates of Drawback effective 1 June 1997, harmonising the Drawback Table with the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 by aligning export entries to Chapter Headings and adding corresponding Headings/Sub headings in Column No. 2; General Note No. 10 has been restructured for correlation. Commissioners must monitor payments, report excessive variations or classification errors to the directorate, ensure staff familiarisation, submit lists of export products exempt from Central Excise, and notify implementation difficulties with the revised Drawback Rules, 1995.

Ad-hoc exemption under Section 25(2) can operate retrospectively, enabling duty refunds when conditions are satisfied.
Ad-hoc exemption orders under Section 25(2) of the Customs Act may be granted even after goods have been imported or after duty has been paid; where duty has been paid the duty must be refunded. Commissioners are directed to ensure that benefits of such ad-hoc exemption orders are not denied merely because the order was issued subsequent to arrival, filing of bill of entry, or clearance of goods.

Customs exemption certificate: Missionaries of Charity authorised to issue distribution certificates for duty free charitable imports under notification conditions.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs has specified Missionaries of Charity, 54 A Lower Circular Road, Calcutta, as an institution authorised to issue the distribution certificate required by the condition for customs duty exemption on certain charitable imports; Missionaries of Charity must nominate persons who will issue such certificates and inform the relevant Customs House(s).

Duty Entitlement Pass-book Scheme: exporters earn pre-notified duty credits usable to offset customs duties on eligible imports.
The DEPB Scheme issues exporters duty-free entitlement credits in a pass-book at pre-determined ad valorem rates usable to offset basic and additional customs duties on imports except negative-list items. Pre-export DEPBs may carry provisional entitlement based on past performance, requiring set-off by subsequent exports or security (bond/bank guarantee) and recovery if entitlement is not earned within the DEPB validity. DEPBs are port-specific unless exceptional permission is granted; exports must use blue duty-free shipping bills with declared DGFT serial and claimed rate, and Customs must verify FOB values and maintain DEPB-wise ledgers and monthly duty-forgone reporting.

Exemption for damaged gifted food consignments permitted when certified converted to animal feed, enabling customs exemption.
Damaged consignments of gifted food declared unfit for human consumption but fit for animal feed are eligible for the benefit of General Exemption Notification when converted for animal consumption; this applies irrespective of whether damage occurred before or after customs clearance, subject to a certificate from the concerned State government confirming conversion into animal feed.

Higher depreciation rate for computers allowed on debonding from EHTP/STP/EOUs under accelerated quarterly schedule, subject to overall cap
Allowance of accelerated depreciation on computers at debonding from EHTP/STP/EOU/EPZ units: 7% per quarter in the first year (total 28%), 7% per quarter in the second year (total 28%) and 5% per quarter in the third year (total 20%), subject to a maximum of 70%; other capital equipment continues to receive normal depreciation rates.

Adjudication authority for under-valuation: Commissioner-level jurisdiction persists when final valuation is reduced after investigation.
Where an importer declares a higher value but investigation or expert advice leads the adjudicating authority to lower the value below the threshold, adjudication remains with the Commissioner of Customs because the lowering is effected when the final order is passed after satisfaction of the adjudicating authority. Jurisdiction is therefore determined by the value as finally adjudicated, not merely by the initial declared value.

Interpretative Rule amendment: exclude assembly-method complexities when applying tariff classification under the Harmonised System update.
Amendment to the explanatory note of Interpretative Rule 2(a): deletion of the word "simple" and addition of a paragraph specifying that complexities of the assembly method are not to be taken into account when applying the rule for tariff classification. The Harmonised System Committee's classification decisions and opinions are enclosed and directed for circulation to assessing officers for use in customs classification.

EPCG scheme monitoring strengthened requiring uniform licence registers, bond interest on defaults, and regular supervisory checks.
Customs must adopt uniform registers and monitoring formats for the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme, record bond and bank guarantee details on Release Advices, use prescribed time-diary and show-cause templates to track defaults, and amend bond language to make licence-holders liable for bond sums plus interest under relevant notifications; standing orders implementing these measures must be issued and registers supervised monthly and quarterly by designated officers.

Acceptance of Chartered Engineer certification as proof of installation allows service providers to substitute Central Excise certificates under EPCG.
Acceptance of a Chartered Engineer's Certificate is authorised as proof of installation of imported capital goods under the EPCG scheme in place of a certificate from the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise for service providers, including hotels. This substitution is conditional on the importer furnishing a certificate from the Licensing Authority confirming fulfilment of export obligations. Manufacturer-exporters must still produce a certificate from the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise or from the supporting manufacturer declared by the merchant exporter. Administrative public notices and standing orders are to be issued and copies forwarded to the Directorate of Drawback and related directorates.

Drawback recovery procedure: customs must use RBI XO.S. export non-realisation data to initiate recovery and monthly reporting.
Customs must collect and correlate Reserve Bank XO.S. statements-now including Shipping Bill numbers and Port of Shipment-with their records to identify exports whose proceeds were not realised and initiate recovery of drawback under Rule 16A, while furnishing a monthly consolidated proforma to the Ministry tracking cases, amounts demanded, amounts realised and outstanding balances.

Customs duty exemption for inputs linked to diamond exports enables duty-free import of specified adhesives and powders under the pass book scheme.
Notification No. 79/96-Cus dated 8.10.96 exempts imports of special industrial adhesives, gums and solutions, and synthetic diamond powder up to 1% of the FOB value of cut and polished diamond exports from whole of basic customs duty, the special duty under the Finance Act provision cited, and the additional duty under the customs tariff Act, when imported by exporters operating under the Diamond Credit Pass Book Scheme.

Discharge of export obligation: licensing certificate plus endorsed DEEC Part II suffices for bond waiver under EPCG.
Production of a certificate from the Licensing Authority together with DEEC Part II duly endorsed by the proper officer of Customs at the port of export is sufficient evidence to consider discharge or waiver of the export obligation bond; DEEC/Export Promotion copies of Shipping Bills should no longer be insisted upon.