Automatic route restriction for foreign collaborators with prior local ventures: must obtain government approval and justify non prejudice to existing partners.
Automatic approval is unavailable to foreign collaborators who have or had prior joint ventures or technology/trade-mark arrangements in the same or allied field; a regulatory declaration is required and such cases must seek prior government approval for new joint ventures or technology transfers, providing detailed circumstances and justification. The investor must prove the proposal will not prejudice existing partners or stakeholders, and the approval authority has discretion to approve with or without conditions or to reject while recording reasons.

Export exemption for garnet sands and natural abrasives affirmed; such minerals are freely exportable under current rules.
The DGFT circular clarifies that natural garnets, natural abrasives, garnet sands and other minerals and mineral products are outside the scope of the export ban on sands and soils and are freely exportable.

Modvat credit entitlement clarified: duplicate EDI bill of entry with appraiser countersignature suffices; verification available from EDI customs.
Duplicate copy of an EDI bill of entry, generated after assessment and payment and signed by the CHA/importer and countersigned by the Customs Appraiser with his name stamp, is the proper document for claiming modvat credit under rule 57 G/57 T. Central Excise officers should accept this duplicate in lieu of a separate modvat certificate, though they may request verification from the Customs EDI system which can confirm countervailing duty details.

Import of metallic waste: amendment limits permissible imports, excluding hazardous and radioactive contaminated material rules.
The Director General of Foreign Trade substitutes sub paragraph (i) of paragraph 5.3(a) in the Handbook of Procedures (Vol.1) to permit import of metallic waste, scrap, seconds and defectives except where items are below a value specified by notification and excluding hazardous, toxic, or radioactive contaminated waste/scrap containing radioactive material.

Inclusion of foreign agents' commission in FOB value affects DEPB entitlement calculation, subject to the RBI-prescribed limit.
Exporters' DEPB credit shall be calculated on the FOB value inclusive of foreign agents' commission, up to the specified limit prescribed by the RBI, aligning DEPB valuation with the practice applied for drawback entitlement.

Self certification for exporters allows sealed shipments to bypass routine port examination, subject to randomized checks and sampling.
The circular permits eligible exporters and certain 100% EOU/EPZ/EHTP units to move export goods on the basis of self certification with mandatory tamper proof sealing and documentary endorsement accepting responsibility. At gateway ports routine opening is dispensed with for self certified consignments, with a risk based random inspection of a selected proportion of containers and sampling limits for packages; departmental sealing at factories or warehouses is treated as equivalent to sealed cargo and need not be re examined unless seals are tampered with or specific intelligence exists.

Import General Manifest submission requirement tightened; air cargo clearance and selective examination procedures streamlined for quicker processing.
All airlines must submit the Import General Manifest promptly on arrival within a shortened timeframe, with Commissioners issuing standing orders for compliance; computerized selection shall identify export packages for examination while remaining packages move directly to bonded or palletisation areas, retained packages being examined and later transferred to bonded areas. Perishable export consignments are excluded from routine examination and Customs must provide an officer to supervise night-time import segregation.

Abolition of physical customs supervision: EOUs may self manage movements subject to strict recordkeeping and monthly audits.
Amendments remove mandatory physical customs controls for 100% EOUs, allowing EOUs to self manage movements of inputs and outputs provided each transaction is recorded in prescribed or Commissioner approved records. Designated officers must scrutinise accounts at least monthly; transfers of non duty paid goods require rewarehousing certificates and crosschecks, with duty demanded if proof of transfer or export is not produced within the prescribed period. Chief Commissioners may order special audits by nominated cost accountants, and cost recovery officers retain monthly audit responsibilities.

EPCG eligibility: processed and frozen meat qualifies under zero duty, and export obligation calculation excludes prior EPCG exports.
Processed and frozen meat products are covered under the Food Processing Sector and thus eligible for the Zero Duty EPCG Scheme subject to the EXIM Policy value threshold. The Notification No.17 amendment provides that, for calculation of average export obligation under EPCG, exports effected to fulfil obligations against any EPCG licence shall be excluded; that exclusion applies to licences redeemed or to be redeemed on or after the amendment.

Marketable commodity status of intermediary friction cloth determines whether it is subject to excise when it is sold in the market.
Whether friction cloth arising during manufacture of T.R. beltings, V belts and conveyor belts is a marketable commodity determines its excisability. The department treats friction cloth as marketable and excisable if it is shown to have a market or be capable of sale. The High Court proceeded on an erroneous assumption that the intermediary product was not sold; the Supreme Court found no clear finding on marketability and directed that marketability is the operative criterion for assessing excise liability.

Tariff classification affirmed: fusible interlining cloth remains classifiable as thermoplastic-spattered textile under applicable coating heading.
The Board clarifies that omission of the explicit chapter note was not intended to change classification: fusible interlining cloth, being textile fabric spattered with visible thermoplastic particles capable of bonding with heat and pressure, is properly classifiable under the textile coating chapter pursuant to HSN Explanatory Notes and as an exception to the exclusion for partially coated fabrics bearing design effects.

Allocation of sugar quota for government donation placed with APEDA to facilitate export to Jakarta under MEA direction.
Allocation of 60 MT of sugar from the 1997-98 free sale quota is authorised as a government donation for export to Jakarta and placed at the disposal of APEDA for issuance of Registration Cum Allocation Certificate (RCAC) in the name of the mill or intending exporters, to be implemented under APEDA-specified procedure.

Retail sale price not sole consideration triggers specific excise duty on colour TVs when extra charges are collected.
Where extra amounts are recovered from ultimate consumers beyond the price printed on colour TV packages, the printed price cannot be treated as the Retail Sale Price that is the sole consideration. The manufacturer must determine RSP inclusive of manufacture cost, distribution, taxes, freight, dealer commission and warranty charges. If consumers pay more than the declared package price because of transportation, local taxes, octroi or similar add ons, duty must be computed at the specific rates of excise duty prescribed for such cases.

Exemption for precious metal catalysts retained when remade or refurbished, preventing excise duty on reworked catalyst articles.
The circular clarifies that the exemption from excise duty for articles and unfinished or semi-finished forms of precious metals under Chapter 71 is unconditional and applies irrespective of whether those goods are manufactured first time or re-made, re-conditioned, refabricated or recovered from used or spent catalysts, and therefore such goods should not be charged duty under the separate manufacture entry for added material or processing.

Option to declare lower presumptive profits removed, assessments may be kept pending and enforcement of related demands temporarily stayed.
Amendments removed the statutory option to offer a lower profit than presumptive profits for the assessment year 1997-98, creating an anomaly; the Board will consider remedial measures. Meanwhile, assessments for that year may be kept pending and any additional demand arising solely from denial of that option should not be enforced until 31.3.1999.

Determination of export date under Passbook Scheme - adverse policy changes not applied to consignments handed to Customs; credit deadline extended.
Where EXIM Policy amendments disadvantage exporters, those changes shall not apply to consignments already handed over to Customs for examination and export up to the date of the public notice; designated authorities and the Commissioner of Customs are directed to finalise and grant all admissible credits under the Passbook Scheme within the extended cut-off timeframe.

Misuse of CT-3 facility: require AR-3A and rewarehousing certificates to be exchanged by registered post to prevent duty evasion.
Certain 100% EOUs misused the CT-3 facility by diverting deemed export consignments into the domestic market and producing forged AR-3A rewarehousing certificates; hand-delivery of sealed AR-3As facilitated forgery. Range officers must send AR-3A copies by registered post and receive rewarehousing certificates by post, verify actual supply and rewarehousing, and scrupulously follow prescribed AR-3A movement procedures to prevent duty evasion.

Madeups classification: handbags must be treated as textile madeups; silk garments must be placed under the specified textile serial.
Handbags composed of textile materials are to be classified as madeups and placed in the relevant DEPB rate-list serial for the product group "Textile" according to their material; all garments made of silk must be classified under S.No. 74 of the "Textile" product group and not under other garment serial numbers.

Leviability of cess on natural gas: no cess collectible where no government rate has been notified.
Leviability of cess on natural gas depends on a government notification fixing a cess rate; because no rate has been notified, no cess is leviable and any protective demands should be finalised accordingly, with corresponding amendments to the petroleum products manual.

Sale of software through data communication permitted for EPZ/FTZ units into domestic market subject to valuation certification.
EPZ/FTZ units may sell computer software into the domestic tariff area via data communication/tele-communication links, on the basis that the EPZ/FTZ regime is analogous to EOUs and does not prohibit such transfers; this facility is extended subject to the condition that the Director of the Software Technology Park certify the valuation for the sale.