DEPB rate amendments update export entitlements and impose certification or AR 4 documentation for certain electronic exports.
Amendments to Appendix 28A revise DEPB rates, add and correct product entries, adjust value caps, and impose a documentation rule for certain electronic exports requiring a Department of Electronics or Central Excise certificate, or alternatively an AR 4 form; specific electronic and engineering items receive revised DEPB rates, a single phase motor entry is added, a chemical product value cap is corrected, a food product serial number is renumbered, and a miscellaneous product description is amended to "Black/ Red Iron oxide pigments."

Export Processing Zone private development permitted; EPZ units entitled to EOU/EPZ benefits subject to prescribed compliance.
Amendments permit DTA sale of instant tea up to 20% of FOB exports, limit levy exemptions for EOU/EPZ rice mills to exported quantities, and correct cross references and terminology across appendices. Private/joint sector EPZs are authorised under published guidelines with EPZ policy benefits for units, leasing and transfer conditions for infrastructure, and promoter compliance obligations. DEPB imports are limited to the FOB value of the issuing export, licensing endorsements must record FOB in domestic currency, and export obligation extensions are allowable in limited circumstances subject to a maximum one year extension and prescribed terms.

Declaration filing for excisable goods required; retail sale price, abatement and assessable value must be declared and verified.
Manufacturers of excisable goods notified under the excise notification must file a prescribed triplicate Declaration stating retail sale price, rate and basis of any abatement claimed, and resulting assessable value; the Declaration must be filed with the Range Superintendent, updated on change, and use the highest regional retail sale price where applicable. Range and Divisional officers will verify abatement and assessable value against declared retail sale price, forward copies to valuation and divisional offices within the prescribed short periods, and pursue corrections, recovery of duty shortfalls, and other actions including confiscation where discrepancies are found.

Inter-corporate investments must match available financial resources and specify target securities in resolutions.
Companies must ensure inter corporate investments, loans, and guarantees are calibrated to available financial resources and avoid resolutions authorising amounts materially beyond net worth. Explanatory statements must specifically identify securities proposed for investment rather than seeking en bloc approvals, except that en bloc authorisation may be acceptable for guarantees if an annual aggregate amount is specified. Non compliance may invite government action.

Service tax on international roaming applies to gross subscriber bills including foreign usage and roaming surcharge.
The service tax is chargeable on the gross total amount billed by the Home Network operator to subscribers, inclusive of foreign usage bills forwarded by visited networks and any roaming surcharge; Board's Circular No. 22/2/97 applies mutatis mutandis to international automatic and plastic roaming facilities provided by cellular operators.

Export ceiling for value-added sugar in consumer packs triggers APEDA allocation and mandatory reporting to Commerce and statistics.
A ceiling of 25,000 metric tonnes for export of value-added sugar in consumer packs up to 2 kg for the licensing year 1999-2000 is placed at the disposal of APEDA for allocation; APEDA must allocate per its procedures, ensure the ceiling is not exceeded, report exhaustion to the Ministry of Commerce EP(Agri.II) Section and DGFT, issue a Trade Notice for trade, and furnish monthly statements with exporter name, quantity allowed, FOB value and destination to the Ministry and Director of Statistics.

Export ceiling for wheat established with allocation by APEDA; wheat products allowed without quantitative limit.
A quantitative export ceiling on wheat for the 1999-2000 licensing year is placed at APEDA's disposal for allocation; wheat products may be exported without quantitative limits. APEDA must ensure total allocations do not exceed the ceiling and must report exhaustion to the Ministry of Commerce and this office. APEDA must submit monthly statements with exporter name, quantity allowed, FOB value and destination to the Ministry (EP(Agri.II) Section) and the Director of Statistics, and a trade notice must be issued with copies sent to the issuing office.

Handicraft classification requires predominant manual production and substantial ornamentation to meet customs criteria for handicraft status.
An item qualifies as a handicraft for customs classification only if it is predominantly made by hand (use of some machinery permitted) and it possesses substantial ornamentation, inlay or similar artistic work that gives genuine artistic improvement rather than mere pretence.

Import clearance of mulberry raw silk: pre-notification shipments with foreign grade certificates cleared without CSB reference.
Consignments of mulberry raw silk shipped prior to 19 May 1999 that are accompanied by a grade certificate from any foreign certifying agency may be cleared on the basis of those certificates without reference to the Central Silk Board; as a one time measure such consignments shall be cleared even if samples had been drawn or the Central Silk Board has disputed the foreign gradation.

Consignment exports to Russia: RBI permits eligible exporters to ship, store in bonded warehouses and seek reimbursement under State credit.
RBI permits exports to the Russian Federation on consignment basis against repayment of State Credits to specified export houses subject to prior RBI approval and routing through a designated branch of a nominated bank; exporters must submit status proof and an auditor's certificate, ship goods to Customs Bonded Warehouses in Russia with insurance and ECGC cover as applicable, secure an L/C from BFEA calling for three delivery orders and two invoices, have the designated bank forward documents to BFEA and lodge a claim with RBI quoting permission, observe a maximum proceeds realisation period, and limit local expense remittances to five percent of F.O.B. value.

Monthly excise payment for small scale industries allows deferred monthly settlement with recordkeeping and penalties for default.
Rule 173GG permits SSI manufacturers to pay central excise duty monthly from 1 June 1999; eligibility follows value based SSI exemption notifications and a manufacturer already enjoying exemption in the current year retains the monthly facility even if current year clearances exceed the limit. Manufacturers must notify the jurisdictional officer, assess duty consignment wise and record duty payable in RG 1; invoices must state "WORKING UNDER RULE 173GG" and show total duty payable. Monthly duty is summed and paid by the 15th of the next month from RG 23A/23C or PLA. Interest and daily penalty apply for delays with an overall cap tied to value of clearances; two defaults in a year disqualify continued use. Quarterly returns and a deeming provision preserve modvat credit for downstream users.

Deemed export obligation compliance: exports completed before the notice are regularised without penalty, but prior payments are nonrefundable.
Where exports under advance licences were completed prior to the Public Notice date but outside the prescribed export obligation period, those exports are deemed to have been made within the prescribed export obligation period and no penalty is to be charged for regularisation or extension; however, any penalties already paid shall not be refunded.

Classification of textile products: hemmed garments treated as madeups while unhemmed items treated as fabrics under DEPB.
Under the DEPB scheme, unhemmed or unstiched sarees, dhoties and lungies are classed as fabrics while hemmed or stitched items are classed as madeups. The confirmed irrevocable Letter of Credit requirement for newcomer duty free licences is waived for domestic supplies under Advance Intermediate Licence or Special Imprest Licence when payment is through normal banking channels or project authorities. Licences for goods from private bonded warehouses must be valid on the date of clearance, and golden status follows the last status in three successive terms.

Transhipment procedures: gateway-port transhipment allowed with bonding, manifesting and strict proof-of-export and endorsement rules.
Transhipment through gateway ports is authorised with conditions: imports under the Goods Imported (Conditions of Transhipment) Regulations, 1995 upon application and manifestation; exports permitted after shipping bills are passed at origin subject to execution of a bond under Regulation 4 and manifestation to final destination via the gateway port. Drawback may be paid when shipping bills are passed and goods shipped at origin provided the steamer agent executes a bond to submit proof of export within ninety days and EP/AR4 endorsement procedures are followed. Operational steps, registers and endorsement practices are specified in the Kandla Public Notices, with limited procedural relaxations.

Surrender of Special Import License required for imports under SIL; consignments shipped before the Handbook cut-off are exempt.
Surrender of a Special Import License equivalent to three times the c.i.f. value is required for imports under SIL, but that surrender requirement does not apply to consignments shipped or despatched before the Handbook cut-off (para 15.14, Vol. I), which are exempt from the three-times surrender provision.

Deemed public company status: revised turnover threshold prevents conversion during transitional period for companies within the window.
The turnover ceiling for deeming a private company as public was raised by rule amendment effective on the notification date; the material date for conversion is three months before that effective date, and a private company whose three-month expiry date fell within that transitional period and whose average turnover was at or above the old ceiling but below the new ceiling shall not become a deemed public company under the deeming provision.

DTA sale entitlement cap limits domestic disposals relative to prior exports; duty recovery and compliance conditions clarified.
Amendments impose a uniform cap on DTA sale entitlement for EOUs and EPZ/FTZ units measured against prior year FOB exports, retain concessional duty eligibility where policy conditions are met, and maintain scrap clearance limits. Duty and interest may be demanded where units fail to meet export or utilisation timelines for inputs and capital goods, subject to administrative extension mechanisms and exceptions for mala fide diversion. Additional measures recognise services as exportable, permit exports of processed agricultural products, allow sourcing from bonded warehouses, enable duty free clearance to specified warehouses or licensees for most EOUs, permit exports from registered jobworkers with safeguards, and set approval requirements for duty free procurement of fuel and consumables.

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.

Preferential white sugar quota allocation assigns freesale sugar to a designated exporter subject to pre shipment certification.
A quantity of 10,200 MT of Free Sale sugar from the 1998-99 season is allocated for export under the 1999-2000 preferential white sugar quota to the EEC, placed with APEDA for issuance of the Registration cum allocation Certificate to the nominated exporter; M/S Indian Sugar and General Industry Export Import Corporation Ltd. is the sole authorised exporter and shipments are subject to prescribed pre shipment certification.

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.