Import of secondhand capital goods: allowed to actual users subject to age based import and EPCG debonding conditions.
Import of second hand capital goods is freely allowed to an actual user only if the goods are not more than ten years old at import; EPCG debonding is restricted, permitting debonding for second hand goods under the ten year threshold after a holding period on payment of duties, while goods older than ten years may be debonded only against an import licence and duty payment. Additional amendments reclassify service provider export house nomenclature, permit SEZ DTA sales subject to duties and tariff change rules, require jewellery exports to reflect wastage norms and to compute CIF from FOB per Handbook value addition, and adjust depreciation and various appendix entries.

DTA sale entitlement updated: revised eligibility, certification and monitoring rules for export oriented units.
Amendments revise operational, entitlement and monitoring rules for EOU/EPZ/SEZ units: clarify accounting for duty free imports and intra unit transfers, restrict DTA clearances to goods similar to exports with BOA referral for disputes, and correct appendix cross references. DTA sale entitlement procedures, certification, advance sale conditions and sectoral exceptions are defined. Monitoring obligations require Development Commissioners to conduct periodic joint reviews, apply NFEP/NFE calculation and amortisation rules, initiate show cause and penal action for persistent shortfalls, and submit prescribed proformas to the Ministry.

Special currency basket valuation changed; rupee value fixed and authorised dealers instructed to notify constituents under FEMA authority.
A change in the valuation of the special currency basket was effected on 6 May 2002, and the rupee value of that basket was fixed with effect from 9 May 2002. Authorised dealers are directed to notify their constituents of this revised rupee valuation. The directions are issued under the issuer's statutory exchange-control powers to fix valuation and prescribe compliance instructions for foreign exchange dealings.

Input-output norms updated to amend standard SION entries, adding and correcting import allowances for specified export items.
The public notice amends the Handbook of Procedures, Vol.2 by fixing and modifying Standard Input Output Norms, adding, substituting and deleting sectoral SION entries. It prescribes precise import items and allowable quantities tied to listed export items across Chemicals, Engineering, Food, Plastic, Textile and Miscellaneous categories, introduces conditional component substitutions and CIF-value caps for minor inputs, and adds a testing/certification compliance note for certain textile exports.

Prohibition on remittances for lottery participation: residents and intermediaries face liability; authorised dealers must publicise restrictions.
Payments toward lotteries, money circulation schemes or prize/award payments are prohibited under foreign exchange rules whether made by residents by any mode or by non residents on residents' behalf; residents effecting or causing such remittances, directly or indirectly, may be proceeded against, and authorised dealers must widely publicise and enforce the prohibition.

Letter of Credit refinancing enables exporters to secure full contract-value financing in US dollar contracts with specified bank procedures.
Exim Bank's US dollar Letter of Credit Refinancing Facility with Bank Markazi allows refinancing of letters of credit for eligible exports to Iran, requires contracts in US dollars and a minimum LC size, prescribes designated issuing and advising/negotiating banks and a documentary flow where advising banks forward non-negotiable conforming documents to Exim Bank for reimbursement, mandates a specified LC clause and refinancing tenor, requires GR/SDF/SOFTEX declarations with a prescribed superscription, limits agency commission except in specified after-sales-service cases subject to prior approval, and is issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

Review procedure for Orders in Revision: Chief Commissioners must examine and forward review proposals and draft orders within prescribed timeframe.
The Board, under the amended provision of subsection (2) of Section 86 of the Finance Act, 1994, may direct Commissioners to appeal Orders-in-Revision in Service Tax matters; the review procedure used under section 35E Central Excise and section 129D Customs shall govern Service Tax reviews. Jurisdictional Chief Commissioners must examine Orders-in-Revision for legality and propriety and, where appropriate, send a review proposal with a Draft Review Order and case records to the Board within forty-five days of the Order-in-Revision, and Commissioners must endorse a copy of their Order-in-Revision to the Chief Commissioner.

Exemption from Special Additional Duty for DEPB exports allows pre-policy-change shipments to be treated under prior handbook rules.
Exemption from Special Additional Duty is allowed for DEPB shipments where the date of order of "Let Export" is prior to the policy change; DEPB entitlement must use the rate and exchange rate applicable on the date of the "Let Export" order and DEPBs must be endorsed to show issuance under Customs notification 34/97 read with paragraph 7.43 of the Handbook of Procedure (Vol.1), 1997-2002. Procedures are prescribed for filing separate DEPB applications, surrendering and reissuing DEPBs for mixed-date shipments without additional application or TR, endorsement of partly utilised DEPBs, and use of counter assistance and licensing authority processing.

Amendments to companies fee rules circulated; Schedule VI alterations notified affecting company filing and fee procedures.
Amendments to the Companies (Fees on Applications) Rules, 1999 (GSR 365(E) dated 14.5.2002) and alterations to Schedule VI of the Companies Act, 1956 (GSR 376(E) dated 22.5.2002) were circulated by the Department of Company Affairs to all Regional Directors and Registrars of Companies with a direction to acknowledge receipt and to implement the changes in respect of company filings and fee assessments.

Automation of IGM submissions: prescribed floppy-based ICES format enforces structured Vessel, Cargo and Container messaging and acknowledgements.
The notice mandates submission of IGM messages to ICES via prescribed floppy file format with a three-part structure-Vessel, Cargo and Container-using defined field delimiters and a naming convention; files are validated by the Message Exchange Server, populated into the database only on acceptable format, and Customs issues .ack or .nak acknowledgements. It prescribes message types (prior, post-arrival, final, supplementary, amendment, deletion), mandatory fields, restrictions on amendment of key vessel parameters, procedural rules for line numbering, empty-container handling, and container-number amendment by delete-and-refile.

Indian Customs EDI requires electronic three part IGM filing, system approval, and Dy. Commissioner authorised amendments.
The ICES pilot at Mumbai mandates electronic filing of the Import General Manifest (IGM) in three parts (vessel, cargo, container) as prior or final IGM; system generates IGM numbers after checklist confirmation. Arrival entry inwards are recorded by Preventive Officers, after which supplementary additions, amendments or deletions require written requests to and approval by the Dy. Commissioner (Imports) and are processed in the service centre and ICES. Immutable fields, deletion/addition procedures, amendment numbering, cancellation rules and restrictions once a Bill of Entry is filed are specified.

DEPB endorsement amendment permitted for exports prior to notification application, enabling re endorsement under prior EXIM provisions.
Authorization to amend DEPB endorsements where Customs Notification No.45 was applied to pre cut off exports; DGFT to issue instructions and update software. Exporters may submit affected DEPBs for amendment and re endorsement under the prior EXIM Policy and Customs Notification No.34 of 1997, with expedited processing at the original collection counters.

Duty Drawback Rates updated: new Drawback Table introduces entries and ties eligibility to CENVAT facility for certain products.
All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback for 2002-2003 are reissued as a Drawback Table effective 1-6-2002, introducing chapter-specific Explanatory Notes, new and regrouped tariff entries (including dye intermediates, leather articles, footwear, writing instruments, and specified metal products), recast definitions (e.g., gaskets), and separate entries for exporters based on availment of CENVAT facility. Drawback entitlement for items newly brought under Central Excise is made contingent on availment of the CENVAT facility. The Directorate asks field staff to review the Table and directs wide publicity and issuance of Standing Orders and Public Notices.

Shipment certificate replacement for E.P. copies authorized, permitting exporters to obtain certified shipping documentation upon request.
Deputy/Assistant Commissioner (Docks-Export) are authorized to issue Shipment Certificates in lieu of E.P. copies of Shipping Bills that cannot be generated; such certificates must bear the issuing officer's signature and seal and display his name and designation in block letters, be issued following departmental procedure, and be provided to exporters or their representatives/CHAs within a reasonable timeframe of the request.

Provisional shipment endorsement required on shipping bills to record sample drawal and consignment examination until system update.
Until software is updated, proper officers must manually endorse all copies of shipping bills to record provisional shipment, drawal of samples, and examination of the consignment, and must sign, date, seal and print their name and designation in block letters beneath the signature so these facts appear on the shipping documents for later verification.

Advance license restrictions: only declared manufacturing inputs allowed; finished goods and mere packaging operations excluded.
Advance license issuance for deemed exports is limited to inputs required for manufacture as specified in the Legal Undertaking/Letter of Permission/Letter of Intent; applicants must submit that instrument and licenses shall not cover fully finished goods or supplies to units engaged only in packaging, labeling, segregation, or refrigeration.

Multiple declared MRPs: the highest listed price governs even if a higher MRP is crossed out.
Where more than one retail sale price is declared on a package, the highest declared price prevails for excise purposes even if a higher MRP has been visibly crossed out; administrative steps require informing field formations, issuing a trade notice for trade benefit, and obtaining acknowledgment of receipt.

SPS quota allocation for raw cane sugar to the EU prescribes certification endorsements and designates a sole authorised exporter.
An SPS quota for export of raw cane sugar to the EU for 2002-2003 is allocated with a required certification endorsement referencing the applicable European Commission regulation and the common code for sugar. The Indian Sugar Exim Corporation Ltd. is appointed as the sole agency authorised to export under this quota, pursuant to the Handbook of Procedures and with DGFT approval; Customs and port offices are directed to implement the measure.

Effective date of cheque payment: bank clearance determines when government dues are treated as paid under CGA rules.
Cheques for collection of tax revenues are governed by the Central Government Accounts (Receipt & Payment) Rules, 1983, and under rule 20 government dues paid by cheque are deemed paid on the date the cheque is cleared/realized by the bank and entered into the receipts scroll, rather than on the date the cheque is tendered; CTRs now apply only to limited categories after departmentalisation.

State of Origin requirement: exporters must show state code in shipping bills to protect export benefit eligibility.
Exporters must indicate the State of Origin using the prescribed state code in Shipping Bills per ITC (HS) classifications; failure to do so may lead to rejection of applications for export benefits. An annexed list of state names and corresponding codes is provided, and exporters and CHAs are advised to verify the correct state code before presentation to Customs.