Stay applications: no coercive recovery while stay is pending; Commissioner (Appeal) must dispose promptly.
No coercive measures shall be taken to realise adjudicated central excise dues while a stay application is pending before the Commissioner (Appeal); the Commissioner (Appeal) must dispose of stay applications within a short specified timeframe, and if a stay is rejected prior to that lapse recovery proceedings may be initiated immediately.

Audit frequency: selective audits of small and medium units limited to biennial inspections; prior notice required.
Selective audit procedures limit audits of small scale and medium scale units to once in two years, while large scale units continue to be audited annually; audits must be preceded by one week's prior notice. Selection focuses on evasion prone commodities, costly raw materials usage, and negative revenue growth, with visits to SSI units requiring written permission of an officer not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner and Chief Commissioners empowered to order industry wise audits based on sensitive commodities identified by the Director General, Anti Evasion.

Change to longstanding assessment practice requires prior Commissioner approval to ensure administrative stability and proper scrutiny.
Any alteration to an established assessment practice that has prevailed for more than one year requires the Commissioner's prior permission. Under the self-assessment system, assessees file returns and declarations subject to departmental scrutiny, and where no enquiries or change actions were taken for a year from adoption of a practice, Commissioner authorization is necessary before implementing any change.

Responsive tax administration: mandate electronic acceptance of communications and time bound replies to trade queries for improved public engagement.
Mandate requiring field formations to accept declarations, intimations and queries by fax, e mail, post or courier, permit appointments and exchanges by e mail, and respond to all trade queries within four weeks; require e mail connectivity and publicity at all field offices. Senior officers must be accessible through Open Houses and meetings, and jurisdictional Commissioners must monitor and ensure compliance with these communication and responsiveness measures.

Export ceiling for peacock tail feathers limited; licensing allocated by port offices with priority to higher FOB realizations.
Export of peacock tail feathers and related handicraft articles for 1998-99 is permitted under a national ceiling of 20 lakh pieces allocated among four licensing offices. Applications must use Appendix 18A, be submitted in sealed cover with quantity and unit price, be backed by 100% FOB Irrevocable Letter of Credit/Advance Payment receipt, and be accompanied by a declaration of single application. Allocation prioritises higher per unit FOB realisation (with a minimum 5% increase over the prior year), reserves 25% quota for Cooperative Societies of Weaker Sections, bans crest feathers, limits licence validity to 31.3.1999, and imposes surrender and reporting obligations.

Export licensing for shed antler products under ceiling allocations with mandatory permits, inspections and surrender obligations.
Export of manufactured articles and shavings of Sambhar and Chital is permitted subject to port-wise ceilings administered by regional licensing offices. Applicants must submit sealed applications within 30 days on the prescribed form; allocations normally capped at 10% of available ceiling; exporters must provide a Legal Procurement Certificate, submit to pre-shipment inspection and obtain CITES permits where applicable, and declare articles derive from shed antlers only. Allocated quantities should be exported in full or surrendered, failing which debarment may follow. Licences are valid until 31.03.1999 and regional offices must report quarterly and when ceilings are exhausted.

NFE calculation requires deduction of CIF imports made under licences from FOB export value for recognition.
Calculation of Net Foreign Exchange (NFE) for recognition as Export House requires deduction of the cif value of imports effected by 100% EOUs and EPZ units against a Letter of Permission/Letter of Intent, which are to be treated as imports against a licence; such cif import values must be deducted from the f.o.b. export value for NFE computation in terms of the EXIM Policy.

Export obligation monitoring under EPCG scheme requires valuation at licence-issue exchange rate to determine fulfillment.
Export obligations under the EPCG scheme shall be denominated in US dollars at the exchange rate prevailing on the date of issuance of the licence; the licensing authority shall endorse that exchange rate on the reverse of the licence. Export proceeds in any currency shall be converted into US dollars at the endorsed licence-issue rate to determine fulfillment, except where all imports and exports under the licence are in a single foreign currency, in which case that currency will be used. Existing licences must be examined under these parameters.

Registration requirement: Exporters of gold, silver and platinum must register with the appropriate Customs or Central Excise commissioner.
The circular mandates registration for all exporters receiving gold, silver or platinum from nominated agencies to ensure bona fides and contactability for penalty recovery. Port-town units under the Commissioner of Customs must register with that Commissioner, with the Commissioner-in-Charge of nominated-agency bonded warehouses handling registrations where multiple Customs Commissioners exist. Units outside port-town Customs jurisdiction must register with their territorial Commissioner of Central Excise, while specified hinterland Customs commissionerates require registration with the relevant Commissioner of Customs. Circular No. 24/98 is modified accordingly.

Private Bonded Warehouses: import licences not required for warehousing, licences needed only at domestic clearance and duty treatments specified.
Private bonded warehouses are to be licensed through the Assistant Commissioner of Customs; they may import and warehouse goods without import licences (except prohibited items, arms and ammunition, and hazardous waste and chemicals). Import licences become necessary only when goods are cleared for home consumption-items on the Negative List require presentation of the appropriate licence at clearance. Supplies to Advance Licence holders are allowed duty-free subject to requisite legal undertaking or bank guarantee; goods may alternatively be cleared on payment of duty against specific licences or with DEPB adjustments, and no further endorsements on import licences are required for warehouse supplies.

Remittance to non-resident: undertaking plus accountant's certificate enables remittance without tax department NOC, with delegated dealer forwarding.
Confirms remittances to non-residents may be made without an Income-tax Department no objection certificate if the remitter furnishes an undertaking in duplicate and a certificate from an independent accountant; authorised dealers must forward copies to the Assessing Officer. The undertaking may be signed by the person authorised to sign the income-tax return or by a person authorised in writing by them. The procedure applies where RBI requires production of a no objection certificate but does not apply where a withholding tax order has been obtained.

Security requirement for re-warehousing changed: transit bond or insurance policy suffices; prior amendment withdrawn, original instructions reinstated.
Transferred imported goods for re-warehousing must be secured by either a transit Bond or an insurance policy; the amendment withdraws the prior requirement that both instruments be furnished and reinstates the original Circular's procedure for transfers to inland warehousing stations.

DEPB exclusion for EOU/EPZ exports: such exports cannot be used for duty credit or for advance licence discharge, triggering enforcement.
Exports by 100% Export Oriented Units and Export Processing Zone units, direct or via third party, are not entitled to DEPB benefits or to discharge export obligation under advance licences; shipping bills for third party exports must name both manufacturer and third party and state the manufacturer's EOU/EPZ status; Regional Licensing Authorities must initiate enforcement proceedings if such double claims are detected.

Exchange rate for FOB valuation must follow the Handbook of Procedures, affecting DEPB entitlement calculations.
Relevant exchange rate for determining FOB value of exports is specified for calculating DEPB entitlement and must be the rate laid down in paragraph 7.38 of the Handbook of Procedures, Volume I, as amended to the stated cut off; this binds customs valuation practice and requires application of the Handbook's exchange rate methodology when computing FOB-based DEPB percentages.

Drawback eligibility for goods exported as tourist baggage requires currency declaration, encashment, and a shipping bill.
Drawback and related export benefits apply to goods purchased by foreign visitors and exported as tourist baggage where there is a clear linkage: an appropriate shipping bill filed under section 50 of the Customs Act for the relevant DBK/DEPB scheme, declaration of convertible foreign currency on a Currency Declaration Form on arrival, and encashment of that currency by an authorised dealer; exporters must produce the encashment document and the Currency Declaration Form at clearance or cargo examination.

Classification of micronutrients: chemically defined compounds fall outside fertilizer tariff heading; otherwise treat as fertilizers.
Classification of micronutrients depends on chemical character: a separate chemically defined compound is excluded from the "Other Fertilizer" tariff heading and must be classified under chemically defined compound chapters; if not chemically defined, and if it contains primary nutrients such as N, P or K or otherwise fits fertilizer descriptions, it is classifiable as an "Other Fertilizer." Administrative notifications under fertiliser control do not determine tariff classification.

Export quota amendment: description of white sugar export to EEC revised; prior policy conditions continue unchanged.
The policy circular amends the export description by deleting the year qualifier so that the entry reads "10,200 MTs of white sugar for export to EEC." All other conditions of Policy Circular No. 2 (RE-98)/98-99 dated 24.4.98 remain unchanged and continue to apply to customs, licensing authorities and exporters.

Depreciation norms for computer peripherals now follow computer rates for debonding capital goods from export oriented units.
The circular modifies the earlier instruction by extending the rate of depreciation specified for computers to include computer peripherals for the purpose of debonding capital goods from EOU, EPZ, EHTP and STP units, without otherwise changing existing debonding provisions.

Non availment of input credit: self declaration ok for exempt exports; merchant exporters may rely on manufacturer certificate.
Where exported goods are unconditionally exempt from Central Excise duty, a self declaration of non availment of Modvat may be accepted; for merchant exporters of non exempt goods, if the Shipping Bill discloses the supporting manufacturer's name and address and a certificate in favour of that manufacturer states it did not avail Modvat on inputs used, the merchant exporter need not produce a separate certificate of non availment.

Gratuity liability required in company books under accrual accounting consistent with Accounting Standard on retirement benefits.
Provision for Gratuity Liability is mandatory in company books and must be recognised on an accrual basis and maintained under double entry accounting, with measurement and disclosure consistent with the accounting standard on retirement benefits applicable to employer financial statements.