Line of Credit for export financing to Government of Angola with operational reporting, deadline and commission conditions.
Exim Bank has provided a Line of Credit to the Government of Angola to finance export of goods and services under India's Exim Policy, effective June 2004; letters of credit and disbursement are subject to specified deadlines, shipments must be declared on GR/SDF forms, and agency commission for after sales service may be permitted by Reserve Bank subject to approval and deduction from invoices with corresponding reduction in reimbursable amounts.

Cost recovery charges applicability clarified: applies from 2004-2005 for EOUs, EHTPs and STPs, governing posting of Cost Recovery Officer.
The corrigendum corrects a typographical error in the Board's circular on posting of the Cost Recovery Officer for EOUs, EHTPs and STPs, substituting "from the year 2004-2005" for "for the year 2004-2005" to clarify that the referenced cost recovery charges are payable commencing from that year onward.

Electronic customs filing under the EDI system streamlines shipping bill processing and integrates scheme registrations and checks.
Computerised processing of export Shipping Bills at Custom House, Kandla will be conducted under the Indian Customs EDI System (ICES). Exporters and CHAs must register identifiers and bank details, submit prescribed Annexure declarations at the Service Centre, and confirm printed checklists before submission. Physical arrival, registration, examination and issuance of Let Export Order are recorded in the system; scheme specific registrations and appendices are required for incentive schemes, and drawback/DEPB claims are processed electronically subject to statutory conditions.

Input-output norms modification clarifies SIONs and prescribes precise input lists and conditional allowances for export-linked imports.
The Director General of Foreign Trade amends the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. II under Paragraph 2.4 of the Export and Import Policy 2002-2007 to modify Standard Input Output Norms (SION). The Public Notice substitutes, deletes and corrects SION entries and descriptions, adds new entries across Chemicals, Engineering, Food and Textile sectors via Annexures A-E, and prescribes precise input-component lists, allowed quantities, alternate inputs and footnotes governing import entitlement against specified exports.

Sole agency for imports: STC authorised to import vegetable fats under annual quota; other conditions unchanged.
Amendment designates State Trading Corporation (STC) as the exclusive agency authorised to import vegetable fats (Vanaspati) up to the specified annual quota, correcting Point No. 2 of Public Notice No. 68/2002-07; all other conditions of Public Notice No. 9/2002-07 remain unchanged, issued under Paragraph 2.4 of the Export and Import Policy 2002-07.

Unjust enrichment doctrine applies to provisional duty payments made under protest; earlier conflicting precedents set aside.
The doctrine of unjust enrichment applies to provisional assessments where duty was paid under protest; earlier conflicting decisions were held to be per incuriam and a controlling precedent was affirmed. The Board directs field formations to note the clarified position, dispose of pending cases in accordance with the affirmed ruling, and acknowledge receipt of the Circular.

Import quota for vegetable fats extended and limited to STC as sole importing agency under the trade treaty.
Extension of the import window and allocation conditions for vegetable fats (Vanaspati) from Nepal: unutilised quota for the prior year is preserved until the extended cut off; an annual quota for the subsequent financial year is authorised for imports within a specified window, after which imports under that quota are not permitted. State Trading Corporation (STC) is appointed the sole agency to import vegetable fats from Nepal up to the annual quota and other conditions of the earlier public notice continue to apply.

Centralisation of customs case management to the Board's Legal Section, with communications directed to designated legal officers.
All Supreme Court matters relating to customs, central excise and service tax (other than those arising from CESTAT orders) previously handled by Customs VI and Anti Smuggling Sections are transferred to the Legal Section of the Board, effective 15th July 2004; the specified Annexure entry is deleted while clause (d) of the other Annexure provision remains unchanged. Communications should be addressed to the Joint Secretary (Legal) or the Director (Legal) of the Board.

Heritage preservation: administrative units must identify and report historical customs and excise artifacts for museum collection.
Administrative units must submit to the Director, National Customs and Central Excise Museum, Goa a formatted inventory for potential exhibits, listing name, reference details, age, physical condition, origin/source, content, reasons as to historical or potential historical value, present custody and other remarks; offices must also factor historical value into indexing and weeding of records to support collection and preservation.

DEPB schedule amendment: revisions and insertions altering export benefit rates and value caps across specified product groups.
Amendments to the Schedule of DEPB rates revise and insert specific entries across product groups, imposing and revising value caps, amending export-item descriptions, deleting indicated entries, and adding new tariff lines with specified DEPB rates; the changes are issued under powers conferred by the Export and Import Policy and Handbook of Procedures and update the operative DEPB schedule for assessing entitlement.

Foreign exchange regulation amendments notified; authorised dealers must inform constituents and provide enclosed FEMA notifications.
Amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management Regulations, 2000 have been notified and are annexed; the circular enumerates A.P.(DIR Series) circulars with corresponding FEMA notifications amending rules on foreign investment, transfer/issuance of securities by non residents, export of goods and services, disposal of duplicate export declaration forms, portfolio investment by registered FIIs, permissible capital account transactions, and foreign currency accounts, and instructs Authorised Dealers to notify their constituents and customers. The directions are issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Temporary removal for testing and repairs permitted without duty; EOUs may use unit-wise annual blanket permission instead of transaction approvals.
Goods other than capital goods, including partially processed items, may be removed from an EOU without payment of duty for test, repair, replacement, calibration, refining, processing, display or job-work under bond; the listed activities are to be treated as equivalent to job-work and the unit-wise annual blanket permission procedure for sub-contracting will apply, eliminating the need for transaction-wise permissions from the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner, subject to stated conditions.

Tariff classification affirmed for specific phthalate esters; they must not be cleared as phthalate plasticisers under alternative codes.
Di Butyl Phthalate and Di Octyl Phthalate imports are classified under Exim Code 29.17 and shall not be cleared as phthalate plasticisers under Exim Code 3812.20 of the ITC(HS) 2002 07; this clarification follows consultation with the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals and is issued for import clearance application.

EEFC account liberalisation permits eligible exporters and professionals to retain full foreign receipts, enabling use for foreign exchange needs.
Liberalisation of the Exchange Earners' Foreign Currency (EEFC) Account Scheme permits individual professionals to retain up to 100 percent of foreign earnings in EEFC accounts and classifies exporters into two tiers allowing either full or half retention of foreign receipts; Authorised Dealers may open and maintain EEFC accounts for eligible residents without referring applications to the Reserve Bank, and banks may operate customary facilities such as cheques, all under amendments to FEMA notifications and an administrative corrigendum.

100% sampling of high-risk food imports mandated under PFA for listed categories, enforcing full testing at import.
Condition 8 mandates 100% sampling under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act for specified high-risk imported food categories-including edible oils and fats; pulses and pulses products; cereals and cereal products; milk powders; condensed milks; infant milk and weaning foods; infant formulae; food colours and additives; natural mineral water and packaged drinking water; tea and coffee; and cocoa butter equivalents-per Policy Circular No. 25 (RE-2003)/2002-07, issued with the approval of the Director General of Foreign Trade.

Straight Through Processing mandates standardized electronic contract notes and messaging formats, making IFN formats compulsory for institutional trades.
The circular mandates Straight Through Processing for institutional equity trades, requiring brokers to issue electronic contract notes in IFN 515 and obliging institutional investors or custodians to confirm acceptance or rejection using IFN 598 or IFN 548. Settlement instructions must use IFN 540-543 with confirmations in IFN 544-547; messages routed via the STP centralised hub require hub-based confirmations. It standardises identification codes, adjusts IFN 515 fields for auditability, prescribes handling of non ISIN securities, and requires contract terms and stamp duty arrangements to be set out in client or tripartite agreements.

Customs House Agents licensing clarifications: Board issues guidance, directs publication of Annexure I clarifications, Hindi version pending.
The Board reviewed queries on the Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004 and issued operative clarifications in Annexure I; field formations are directed to circulate these clarifications through appropriate public notices, and a Hindi version will follow.

Line of credit availability for exports to CIS countries under FEMA requires authorised dealers to notify constituents.
Exim Bank extended a Line of Credit of USD 10 million to Bank TuranAlem, Kazakhstan, available to finance exports from India to all twelve CIS countries identified in the circular. All other terms and conditions of the earlier notification remain unchanged. Authorised Dealers are instructed to notify constituents and advise exporters to obtain full facility details from Exim Bank. The directions are issued under FEMA sections 10(4) and 11(1).

EEFC account trade loans liberalised; larger foreign-bank-guaranteed advances allowed with existing reporting obligations.
Exporters may grant trade-related loans/advances from their EEFC Account to overseas importers without any overall ceiling, subject to FEMA regulation compliance; a guarantee of a bank of international repute situated outside India is required where the amount of the trade-related loan/advance by exporter out of his EEFC Account exceeds a higher prescribed threshold. Reporting continues as per A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No.78 and the change follows amendment to the FEMA (Borrowing or Lending in Foreign Exchange) Regulations, 2000.

National Calamity Contingent Duty: imported specified goods face both CVD collection and a separate customs duty liability.
Levy of National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) applies to specified goods and, for imports, operates through two separate charges: NCCD recovered as Countervailing Duty and NCCD charged as a Customs duty on import. A notification exempts NCCD when collected as CVD for certain imported specified goods, but no exemption exists for the separate NCCD liability charged as Customs duty on imported goods; field formations are to finalize assessments accordingly.