Gold and silver coin imports by passengers allowed, subject to notification conditions; jewellery studded with stones excluded.
Eligible passengers may import gold and silver in any form, including coins (current, non-current or commemorative), but excluding jewellery studded with stones or pearls, subject to fulfilment of the other conditions set out in Notification Nos. 171/94-Cus. or 172/94-Cus. The Reserve Bank of India advised that there is no restriction under FERA on import of foreign coins made of gold or other metals.

Deduction under section 80Q: publishers may claim a specified percentage allowance on book publishing profits for limited assessment years.
The Finance (No. 2) Act, 1991 introduced a temporary deduction for profits from printing and publication of books, effective from 1 April 1992; an allowance equal to a specified percentage of such profits is deductible subject to the section's other conditions. The concession applies for the five assessment years beginning with assessment year 1992-93 and is to be allowed only if statutory eligibility requirements are met.

Unauthorized imports by airline crew expose consumer goods to confiscation under customs law and licensing requirements.
Imports of consumer goods by operating airlines crew are not covered by passenger baggage exemptions and, being on the Negative List, require an import licence or specific Exim Policy/DGFT permission; absent such authorization these imports are unauthorised and goods are liable to confiscation under Section 111(d) of the Customs Act, 1962.

Multi-modal transport operators lack automatic Customs House Agent status; they must satisfy Customs House Agents Regulations to act.
Multi-modal Transport Operators appointed under the Multi-modal Transportation of Goods Act, 1993 do not obtain automatic status as Customs House Agents or Steamer Agents under the Customs Act, 1962; permission to stuff or de-stuff containers rests with port custodians, and customs may verify security or credibility but cannot confer CHA privileges absent compliance with Customs House Agents Regulations.

Denomination of export values must be in both rupees and convertible foreign exchange for DEEC shipping bill acceptance.
Customs must accept DEEC shipping bills for exports tied to state credit repayment and debt liquidation only where export values are denominated both in Indian rupees and in freely convertible foreign exchange, and Advance Licences for such exports must follow the RBI guidelines as clarified by the DGFT.

Deduction under section 80RRA requires approval; applications must include signature, full address, PAN and employer certificate.
Tax deduction for foreign currency remuneration by technicians is contingent on prior administrative approval; approvals are delegated to the Joint Secretary (F.T. & T.R.) and multi year approvals are used for merchant navy personnel. Applications must be signed, filed in duplicate with the applicant's full postal address, state the income tax assessing authority and PAN (or PAN application evidence), include the employer's original signed certificate detailing total and foreign remuneration for relevant years, and, if filed through a representative, include a letter of authority.

Customs duty responsibility clarified: sponsoring agencies must bear import duties on experts' eligible personal and professional items.
The Department of Economic Affairs authorised a list of personal and professional articles for duty free import by foreign experts subject to the execution of the usual certificate of undertaking, including vehicles, audiovisual equipment, one personal computer, refrigerators, and air conditioners. The Central Board of Excise & Customs subsequently stated that such imports are not exempt from customs duty and that the customs duty on those items must be borne by the Ministry/Department/agency sponsoring the expert.

DEEC Scheme misuse: fraudulent export misdeclarations flagged, field formations urged to detect, verify and report similar abuses.
Misuse of the DEEC Scheme was evidenced by repeated fraudulent export and import declarations-including deliberate misdescription, falsified packing and markings, misuse of seals, and fabricated manufacturing links-resulting in understated customs value. Field formations are instructed to use these patterns as indicators of fraud, to increase physical examination and verification, document market-value discrepancies for revenue-loss assessment, and report similar attempts or additional information promptly to central enforcement channels.

Bonded warehouse liberalisation allows private custodians and broader private licensing subject to security and financial safeguards.
Policy now permits private operators as custodians of public bonded warehouses subject to Commissioner scrutiny of financial viability, credibility, past compliance, expertise, premises suitability and security, and acceptance of customs officer cost-recovery or MOT/supervision charges. Private bonded warehouse licences are to be decided by Commissioners without Board reference, with no restriction on types of goods; licences should be granted where applicants are financially sound, credible, free of recent customs or excise evasion, and premises are suitable and secure. Pending applications will be processed accordingly and implementation difficulties reported to the Board.

Drawback harmonisation with tariff headings mandates claims under revised sub headings and monitoring of anomalous payments.
All Industry duty drawback rates effective 16.6.1995 are harmonised with Customs Tariff chapter headings; exporters must file claims using revised sub heading numbers. Composite entries were split to align products with tariff chapters while retaining existing descriptions and prescribing common drawback rates. Commissioners must monitor payments for distortions and report errors; required certifications should be incorporated into all copies of AR 4. Staff must note the revised Drawback Rules and issue Trade Notices and standing orders to ensure correct implementation.

Exemption condition change restores in factory processing requirement; authorities must intensify controls and report regularly to prevent evasion.
The amendment restores the prior eligibility rule that fabrics must not be subjected to processes other than the specified processes within the same factory, replacing the requirement to have bleaching, printing and dyeing facilities. Removal of the facility-based restriction raises the risk of excise duty evasion; authorities are instructed to intensify surveillance, apply strict physical controls where needed, and send consolidated monthly reports through Principal Collectors to the Board for a limited period to detect and prevent evasion.

Export obligation compliance requires bonds with bank guarantees and monitoring, with duty recovery for periodic shortfalls.
Importers under the EPCG Scheme must execute bonds with bank guarantees and meet prescribed export obligations year wise or block wise; failure to meet periodic minima results in recovery of proportionate duty foregone or, upon continued shortfall, liability for the entire duty foregone. The Commissioner of Customs where the licence is registered is responsible for monitoring compliance, maintaining registers and records, verifying that imported assemblies constitute complete capital goods, and ensuring exporters produce licencing authority certificates evidencing discharge of obligations.

Value Based Advance Licensing enables back-to-back import LCs with strict trimmings limits and actual user conditions for garment exports.
Revisions create Scheme 'A' and Scheme 'B' under the Special Value Based Advance Licensing for ready made garments. Scheme 'A' permits Brand Rate drawback, caps trimmings and embellishments at 20% of licence CIF value, enforces actual user use of inputs in exported garments, and requires bonds with bank guarantees. Scheme 'B' ties licence entitlement to the buyer's irrevocable letter of credit, allows back to back overseas LCs up to 50% of that LC, restricts trimmings and sample yardage to 3% of the back to back LC, mandates physical import before export, and applies drawback, bond and non transfer conditions.

Nullification of export not prerequisite for import adjudication; fraudulent exports admissible as evidence in import proceedings.
Initiation of proceedings for import violations under the Duty Exemption Scheme does not require prior separate adjudication to nullify exports; evidence of fraudulent or procedurally defective exports may be adduced and relied upon by the authority adjudicating the import offence, and departments should issue instructions to field formations to proceed accordingly.

Modvat credit verification: reconcile RG 23A entries with original duty documents promptly to ensure genuineness of credit.
Range Superintendents must compare all relevant entries in RG 23A Part I and II with duty amounts and particulars on original duty-paying documents (duplicate copies issued under the applicable rules) before defacement, to ascertain correctness and genuineness of Modvat credit claimed; this reconciliation must be completed promptly within the prescribed short period after receipt of records.

Transfer of Residence form: remove restrictive resale clause; one firearm allowed but must remain non-transferable during owner's lifetime.
Customs Transfer of Residence forms must have the clause banning sale or display of baggage until market price falls below 50% removed because the Baggage (Conditions of Exemption) Rules, 1975 were rescinded; action and intimation to the Board are required. One firearm of permissible bore may be imported under Chapter IV of the Baggage Rules, 1994, but the firearm must not be sold, transferred, loaned or otherwise parted with during the lifetime of the importer, and customs shall endorse this restriction in the arms licence and passport at clearance.

Pass Book Scheme credits basic customs duty on inputs for exports, usable against import duties after official verification.
Pass Book Scheme allows crediting of basic customs duty on inputs used in export production into a pass book held by a designated authority; exports must be on Shipping Bills declaring scheme use, applicable Standard Input Output Norms, and a waiver of drawback or advance licence benefits. Credits require verification by the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, are limited to basic duty, and are valid for specified periods. Imports against pass book credits require Bills of Entry to show duties leviable but for exemption so designated authority can debit the pass book and endorse the Bill of Entry.

Re-import duty liability: re-imported goods are generally liable to customs duty like first imports, subject to limited exemptions.
An amendment makes re-imported goods liable to customs duty as on first import, with two notifications limiting or specifying levy: drawback/rebate-claimed or bonded exports must pay duty equal to drawback or unpaid excise; goods returned after repair are dutiable on the fair cost of repairs including materials, insurance and freight; other goods not claiming benefits at export may be re-imported duty-free subject to identity and time conditions, but exemptions exclude certain export-oriented units and goods exported under export obligation schemes or from bonded warehouses.

Concessional customs duty on Ovaprim upheld despite tariff chapter omission, requiring grant of the specified concession.
Concessional customs duty for Ovaprim applies even though it is classifiable under Chapter 38 which was not mentioned in the earlier notification; the Board relies on the Supreme Court principle that benefit of a notification cannot be denied to an item specifically mentioned merely because the correct chapter heading was omitted, and pending cases should be disposed of accordingly.

Interest on delayed customs refunds begins from receipt of a complete claim; timely filing avoids departmental interest liability.
Interest is payable on delayed refunds of customs duties, calculated from the date of receipt of a complete refund application; incomplete applications must be returned within ten working days and complete applications acknowledged within the same period, with an initial interest-free processing window starting on receipt of the complete claim.