Cargo reception hours extended at air terminals, allowing export acceptance until 10 p.m. and import delivery until 8 p.m.
The circular substitutes paragraph 2(C) of earlier Board circulars to provide that export cargo will be received in all cargo terminals from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and delivery of import cargo will be allowed up to 8 p.m.; officers are to issue standing orders to implement the revised hours and report any difficulties to the Board.

DEPB scrip transferability confirmed: restriction on single transfer removed, transfers freely permitted under Exim Policy.
Paragraph 7 of the Standing Order annexed to Circular No. 14/99-Cus., which limited a DEPB scrip transfer to a single transfer from the original allottee to the importer, is deleted. The Department, after consultation with DGFT and reference to Exim Policy and customs notifications, determined that DEPB scrips are freely transferable and that the remaining provisions of the Standing Order and Circular continue to apply.

Restriction on Modvat credit for capital goods clarified: limitation applies only to capital goods; inputs receive full credit.
Restriction on Modvat credit for goods imported under the project import classification applies only to items in the nature of capital goods. Raw materials, inputs and components imported under the same classification are eligible for full input credit if they qualify under input credit provisions, because the provisions governing input credit and capital good credit are distinct and mutually exclusive.

Retrospective amendment to proviso to section 36(1)(vii) requires review of past assessments and remedial action.
Amendment to the proviso to section 36(1)(vii) is retrospective from 1 April 1992 and applies to entities covered by clause (viia), including public financial institutions, state financial corporations and state industrial investment corporations, restricting deductions for bad debts by reference to excess credit balances in the provision for bad and doubtful debts. Assessing Officers must review assessments for AY 1992-93 and subsequent years where the amended proviso was not applied and take remedial action as required by law.

DEPB credit calculation: use reduced bulk drug rates and non specified rates averaged, subject to minimum composition weight thresholds.
DEPB for formulations of bulk drugs is determined by taking seventy five percent of constituent bulk drug DEPB rates and, for multi constituent formulations, averaging those adjusted rates. If a constituent lacks a notified rate, use the Serial Number 40 (non specified bulk drug) rate and average it with seventy five percent of the notified bulk drug rate. The Serial Number 40 averaging method applies only where the non specified constituent comprises at least twenty percent by weight; constituents under the weight threshold are treated as zero contribution.

Endorsement of 'not ready' on receipts required when licence documents are unavailable, with counter officer signature and date.
When an applicant presents the receipt and valid identity card and requests confirmation, the person in charge of the counter must endorse the back of the receipt with the notation "not ready" and add his or her signature and date to record that the licence/documents/deficiency letter are not available at the counter.

Preferential tariff treatment under GSP clarified; authorised agencies for Certificates of Origin and procedural amendments specified.
Paragraph 4.25 is amended to describe the GSP as unilateral preferential tariff schemes and to note India's participation in GSTP, BA and SAPTA subject to rules of origin. The amendment designates authorised agencies to issue Certificates of Origin, names the Export Inspection Council as sole issuer under GSTP and sole printer of blank certificates, permits authorised agencies to charge approved fees, adds Appendix-51 listing agencies authorised to issue GSP Certificates of Origin, redefines Appendix-51B to cover only non-preferential Certificates of Origin, and includes administrative amendments to Appendices 42, 32B and related corrigenda on NFEP for the STP scheme.

DEPB rate amendments update: corrected export product descriptions, revised entitlement rates and adjusted value caps affecting multiple product groups.
Appendix 28A of the Handbook of Procedures is amended to correct export product descriptions across engineering, chemicals, plastics, textiles and miscellaneous groups, to revise DEPB rates for specified items, to add new entries (including automotive oil filters, aluminium alloy billets, empty hard gelatin capsules and ethambutol HCL) with assigned DEPB rates, and to amend value caps for specified textile and miscellaneous products, the notice directing replacement of the existing Appendix 28A entries with the corrected descriptions, rates and caps.

Rebate of excise duty on exported tea: procedure permits merchant exporters to claim rebate despite open market procurement.
The Board confirms rebate entitlement under Rule 12 for merchant exporters exporting blended or packaged tea purchased from open market or auction, treating blending and packaging as manufacture for export benefits. The notification requirement of direct factory procurement is relaxed under Rule 12(1) proviso where authorities verify export and duty payment through export endorsed AR forms with bill of lading and shipping bill, auction broker catalogues/contracts or invoices evidencing duty payment; Commissioners may relax other conditions on merits and simultaneous drawback and rebate claims are prohibited.

Attested shipping bill copy accepted as substitute drawback proof when the triplicate is reserved as the EP copy.
Where a DEPB shipping bill's triplicate is the EP copy required in original by the licensing authority and thus unavailable for drawback claim, a photocopy of the shipping bill duly attested by the relevant licensing office officer may be accepted by the Custom House as the drawback copy for claims under the DEPB-cum-Drawback Scheme.

Civil appeal filing procedures: refer only unacceptable CEGAT orders and ensure complete, attested proposals to prevent filing delays.
Filing of civil appeals against CEGAT orders is confined to orders adverse to the Department and unacceptable on scrutiny, with all adverse Larger Bench orders to be sent to the Board. Commissioners may accept legally proper orders without referral; doubtful single/two-member Bench orders should be referred to Chief Commissioners who may forward cases to the Board with justification. All appeal proposals must be complete, with filled format columns and attested legible annexures; unexplained delays require a day-by-day time chart explaining reasons so delays can be justified when appeals are filed.

Export policy change for niger seeds: designated agencies may export to the US, TRIFED excluded, no sharing permitted.
The export policy for niger seeds removes TRIFED as a canalising agency for exports to the United States and specifies that NAFED, NDDB, the named State cooperative oilseeds federation, the named state agricultural processing and export corporation and nominated state agencies may export to the United States directly or register qualified exporters for permit-based exports; exports to the United States will not be subject to sharing arrangements and the previously stated commission rate in the earlier circular is amended upward, with all other terms unchanged.

Exclusion of sheep and goat from cattle classification permits live export subject to standard export conditions and approvals.
The term cattle in the ITC(HS) export classification excludes sheep and goat; accordingly live sheep and live goats are treated separately and are freely exportable under the export policy, subject to the usual export conditions and regulatory requirements applicable to live animal shipments.

Classification under ITC(HS) clarified: product-specific Exim Codes assigned with conditional import treatment noted.
Clarifications on the ITC(HS) classification of specified export and import items were issued, advising applicants of the appropriate Exim Codes based on committee decisions and the Directorate's clarification procedure. A consolidated list of products with assigned Exim Codes and remarks is provided, including conditional treatment notes where classification depends on composition, intended use, import context, or requires specific approvals.

DEPB Scheme TRA procedure extended to additional bonded warehouses and customs stations, expanding import facilitation.
Amendment extends import permissions under the DEPB Scheme via the TRA procedure to all Customs bonded warehouses within the jurisdiction of Commissioners who have been granted full TRA privileges at additional customs stations, and specifically adds sea-ports at Paradeep, Sikka, Pipavav and Magdalla; Airport at Coimbatore; and ICDs at Coimbatore, Singanallur, Salem and Tirupur.

Bonded trucking transhipment allowed between airports and inland customs subject to custodial bonds, seals, and documentation.
Bonded trucking transhipment between airports/ACCs and ICDs/CFSs/airports is authorized subject to Chapter VIII and transhipment regulations, requiring appointment of a duty approved custodian, execution of a running bond with bank guarantee, full insurance and custodian liability for shortages, secured vehicles with Customs "Bottle Seals", a transhipment warehouse or supervised make up area with double locks, prescribed transhipment application and stamping, customs sealing and endorsement upon loading, and verification and handover at destination with documentation to close the originating register.

Product classification: Orimulsion treated as natural bitumen dispersed in water and classed under the bitumen tariff heading.
Orimulsion, consisting of dehydrated pulverised natural bitumen dispersed in water with a small amount of emulsifier to aid handling and transport, does not change the product's character by the mere addition of water and emulsifier. The HS Committee amended Explanatory Notes to include such dispersed bitumen within the natural bitumen tariff heading, and the Board has accepted that classification, excluding mixtures with added substances other than water or necessary emulsifiers which rank under the separate bitumen-mixture heading.

Exemption for infrastructure investment income applies to net income, requires yearly approval and TDS may still apply.
Exemption under section 10(23G) covers dividend, interest and long term capital gains from investments in infrastructure enterprises and applies to the net income as computed under the Income tax Act, not gross receipts. Approval under clause (23G) is required for each assessment year during repayment of long term finance for interest to be exempt in the hands of the infrastructure capital company or fund. Tax must be deducted at source on interest payments, though recipients may seek a lower/non deduction certificate from the assessing officer.

Visits to assessees' premises now require prior written notice and Commissioner approval, except on credible evasion intelligence.
Routine visits by Central Excise officers to service tax assessees must be preceded by a written notice stating purpose and required documents, given at least fifteen days in advance, and conducted only with the prior approval of the Commissioner; the restriction does not apply where specific information or intelligence of evasion or contravention exists and exigent action is warranted.

Debonding under EPCG scheme: export-obligation and bonding rules apply; additional obligation based on depreciated value may be imposed.
Debonding under the EPCG scheme requires the debonding unit to submit a BG/LUT with the licensing authority when applying. For firms with multiple units, the average export obligation for remaining units remains unchanged, while the debonding unit's obligation is fixed by excluding its exports from the firm's total concurrent exports; an additional export obligation calculated as a multiple of the depreciated value may be imposed depending on the scheme. Standalone EOU/EPZ units that debond are not subject to average-maintenance obligations but are subject to the additional depreciated-value based obligation.