PPFA compliance for imported food consignments: Port Health Office No Objection Certificate required before customs clearance to prevent adulterated imports.
Import consignments of food articles must not be cleared for home consumption without sample analysis and a NO OBJECTION CERTIFICATE from Port Health Offices under the PPFA Act; customs must report any delays to the Board and issue standing instructions to officers to ensure compliance.

Pre-shipment inspection of silk goods centralized at Customs Points to streamline CSB checks and Customs endorsement procedures.
Revised procedure places CSB inspectors at Customs Points to permit single-site pre-shipment inspection of most silk exports; exporters present duplicate CSB applications, invoices, packing lists and 6" x 6" sample swatches. CSB will verify HS codes, perform visual and physical checks on consignments selected by Customs' random process and endorse conforming invoices; mismatches and post-clearance laboratory-detected composition variations are reported in writing to Customs for appropriate action, and DEEC entries follow CSB's detailed endorsement. Exclusions (silk waste not carded/combed, carpets, hand-woven fabrics to EEC) retain prior CSB pre-inspection.

Drawback entry clarification: wording error does not change coverage; original "All Other Made Ups when Modvat not availed" remains operative.
The entry SS No. 63.061 for All Other Made Ups when Modvat facility has not been availed remains unchanged in the 1999-2000 Drawback Table; Notification 14/99's truncated wording was inadvertent and a Public Notice may be issued to clarify that the original formulation continues to apply.

Duty drawback rate revisions introduce new items, caps, and procedural changes affecting claims processing nationwide.
Notification revises the All Industry Rates of Drawback effective from 1.6.99, fixing rates for new items (including tea for indigenous proportion, naphtha, fancy leather gloves, carding machines, and gasket with cork), increasing some rates to offset surcharges, maintaining others, and reducing many following excise rationalisation. Maximum value caps have been imposed on selected products and each rate is assigned a distinct serial/sub serial number for EDI processing. Commissioners must monitor payments and report anomalies; staff must publicise the changes and report implementation difficulties. Drawback Rules, 1995 updated, with Rule 13(4) time limit revised in line with Section 75A.

Drawback claim clearance requires expedited finalisation and reporting of pending and disposed cases within the designated month.
Designation of June 1999 as an Arrear clearance month requires all pending customs drawback claims to be finalised expeditiously to avoid statutory interest; cases requiring reconstruction of old files must be disposed within the month and a report on disposed and pending cases submitted to the Board by 7th July, 1999.

DEPB scheme import permissions extended to ICD Varanasi and Air Cargo Complex Varanasi under TRA procedure.
The Board amends its earlier Circular to insert a new paragraph adding ICD Varanasi and Air Cargo Complex Varanasi as customs stations permitted to handle imports under the DEPB Scheme through the TRA procedure, with all other provisions of the earlier Circular remaining unchanged.

Extension of market-value inquiry allows prolonged provisional clearance and suspension of DEPB benefits pending completion.
Commissioner of Customs may extend the PMV inquiry period when satisfied of fraud, collusion, wilful mis-statement, or suppression of facts, recording reasons in writing; consignments may receive provisional clearance and provisional assessment of shipping bills, which shall not be entitled to DEPB scrip until the market inquiry is completed and assessments finalised, and a show cause notice shall be issued if the declared PMV is not accepted.

Import of currency by post permitted under general permission subject to conditions; customs may release low value consignments without RBI referral.
Customs may release imported Indian and foreign currency received by post without prior reference to the central bank for low value consignments, provided approval is given by an officer not below Additional Commissioner/Deputy Commissioner, a detailed record of exemptions is maintained, remitter and addressee details are logged, and any unusual increase in such receipts is reported to the central bank's regional office; dissemination and reporting requirements to the Board apply.

Clearance of uncleared cargo instructs disposal where no court impediment and prompt reporting of action
Directive requires clearance and disposal of unclaimed and uncleared cargo at ports and air cargo complexes landed up to 31.12.1998, provided there are no court cases preventing disposal; customs formations are to take expeditious action and report results, and similar action may be taken in future on field initiative.

Mis-declaration of goods: seizure under customs law after phones and batteries were cleared as plastic buttons-vigilance advised.
Consignments falsely declared as plastic buttons showed EDI records of examination despite remaining intact; X ray screening revealed high density electronic items. On inspection, numerous cellular telephones and battery cells were found and seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962, and the inspecting officer was suspended. Officers are directed to note this modus operandi, use appropriate screening, and issue standing orders to prevent such mis declaration and concealment.

Import entitlements for gem and jewellery allow duty free inputs and polished stone imports for export linked manufacture.
Amendments permit import of old plain gold, silver or platinum jewellery for repair/remaking for export, reclassify certain mangal sutra and mechanised bangles as plain gold jewellery, and allow exports via authorised couriers and personal carriage from EOUs subject to assessment and sealing at the zone. Dust and sweepings may be cleared into DTA on duty payment with assaying; imports for manufacture for export are to be assessed at the effective customs duty rate of Notification No. 80/97, with penalties for clandestine removal. Duty free replenishment consumables and limited duty free import entitlement for cut and polished stones are allowed on actual user and certification conditions.

Personal carriage of gem and jewellery permitted with courier export options and limited weight variation on re-imported repairs.
The revised EXIM Policy and Handbook align customs provisions to permit export of specified samples under intimation without counting their value towards export obligation; operationalise personal carriage and courier export of gem and jewellery from EOUs, EPZs and certain DTA units via appraised sealed parcels or deputed customs processing; allow a limited weight variation on re-imported jewellery re-exported after repair or remaking; and confirm raw material utilisation periods with liberal customs extensions where no mala fides is suspected.

Exemption under Customs Tariff Act exempts cess on imported sugar, so separate sugar cess exemption is unnecessary.
The Board concluded that an exemption issued in respect of Additional Customs duty under the Customs Tariff framework operates to exempt imported sugar both from Central Excise duty and from the cess, so no separate exemption under the Sugar Cess Act is necessary; pending cases should be finalised accordingly.

DEPB scheme warehouse clearance: duty adjustment via TRA permits bonded-warehouse imports under specified customs jurisdictions.
Under the DEPB Scheme, imports in customs bonded warehouses may be cleared by adjusting customs duty against DEPB scrips through issuance of a Telegraphic Release Advice (TRA) from the port of DEPB registration to the Commissioner having jurisdiction over the warehouse; the TRA must specify description, value, quantity, DEPB scrip details and extent of duty entitlement and identify checks for customs staff, and the receiving Commissioner will forward import details to the issuing station for register maintenance.

Carriage of domestic cargo on international flights requires segregation, customs supervision, and separate handling and delivery.
Permits carriage of domestic cargo on the domestic legs of Air-India's international flights subject to controls: clear physical segregation with distinct appearance and colour-coded tags; loading and unloading under customs supervision; acceptance and holding in a designated cargo unit area and processing through the Export General Warehouse within prescribed hours; loading in a separate aircraft hold without mixing with international cargo; separate delivery at the domestic destination; and issuance of standing orders with reporting of implementation difficulties to the Board.

DEPB verification procedure tightened: standardised receipt, examiner checks, countersignature, computer registration and controlled distribution enforced.
A tightened verification regime requires Custom Houses to adopt Mumbai's procedure for DEPB scrips: prescribed receipt hours, register logging and acknowledgements, alphabet-wise distribution, examiner verification of shipping particulars against computer/EGM data, defacement and signature on DEPBs, appraiser and Assistant Commissioner countersignature by the next day, computerised registration and embossing, controlled third-day distribution to submitters, secure custody of uncollected scrips, computerised debits by registration number, direct-transfer restriction for duty exemption under Notification No. 34/97-Cus, and reinstated Release Advice requirements.

DEPB Scheme port designation expanded; specified ICDs added and Nagpur locations treated as a single port for TRA imports.
The Circular amends customs guidance to extend DEPB Scheme import facilities under the TRA procedure to include ICDs at Varanasi, Jaipur and Jodhpur, and to treat ICD Nagpur, CFS Nagpur and Nagpur Airport collectively as a single port, with all other provisions of the earlier Circular remaining unchanged.

Exemption from customs duties for donated secondhand computer equipment to government schools subject to use and disposal restrictions.
Exemption from customs duties applies to imported secondhand computer equipment donated to government-run schools, subject to an undertaking by the Head Master/Principal to notify customs of receipt and installation within three months and to refrain from commercial use or disposition without permission for five years; donations may be received directly or via NGOs or government departments, valuation should approximate resale value, the superintendent of central excise will verify receipt and report to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, and no bank guarantee is required at the port.

DEPB scrip validity must subsist on the date customs duty is actually debited to permit duty credit utilisation.
A DEPB scrip is a duty credit entitlement and must be valid on the date on which the actual debit of customs duty is effected in the scrip; validity at the time of actual debit determines permissibility of debiting customs duty against the scrip.

DEPB eligibility for processed cotton made-ups affirmed when yarn-dyed fabric underwent post weaving processing; HEPC certification required.
DEPB rates for processed cotton made-ups other than grey apply where made-ups are from yarn-dyed fabric that underwent specified post-weaving processes. For handloom exports, exporters must state the post-weaving process on the shipping bill, which must be certified by the export promotion council before submission to the Custom House. The Custom House should accept such certified shipping bills for DEPB eligibility but may challenge the declaration if it holds documentary evidence disputing it.