Customs work allocation in Export Processing Zones vests routine authority in Assistant Commissioners while limiting referrals to Commissioners.
Day-to-day operational customs authority in Export Processing Zones is vested in the Assistant Commissioner of Customs posted in the zone, who handles routine matters (re-reporting, temporary clearances, intra- and inter-zone transfers) under the overall supervision of the Development Commissioner. The Commissioner of Customs retains powers for adjudication beyond the Assistant Commissioner's competence, search/seizure/arrest for clandestine removals, and prescribing procedures for new facilities, with implementation left to the Assistant Commissioner; referrals are to be strictly limited to these categories.

Section 3A application to re rolling mills and induction furnaces updated; coverage, capacity rules and compliance modified.
Application of section 3A to induction furnaces and hot re rolling mills is postponed to 1 September 1997; August clearances are charged per Notification No.50/97 CE. Amendments redefine 'd' and 'i' factors, revise 'w' slabs limiting coverage to mills with nominal centre distance up to 410 mm (larger mills to pay ad valorem duty), add a rule deeming annual capacity to be the higher of formula result or 1996-97 production, allow duty abatement for prolonged closures with verification, permit two instalment payments, extend concessional per tonne duty to mills below 161 mm, grant deemed modvat credit of 12% to direct downstream purchasers paid by cheque, and disallow job work and captive exemption for section 3A units.

Service tax on tour operators: tour operators raising bills are liable for service tax under amended Service Tax Rules.
The Service Tax (Seventh Amendment) Rules, 1997 amend the Service Tax Rules to provide that every tour operator who raises the bill for services rendered to any person is the person chargeable with service tax, making billing the operative criterion for determining taxable liability for tour operator services.

Service tax on tour operators applies to gross tour charges, with abatements where accommodation costs are clearly billed.
Service tax applies to persons who hold a tourist permit and provide services in relation to a tour; the taxable base is the gross amount charged to the client and includes accommodation, food and other facilities. For package tours that mandatorily include accommodation, a 60% abatement is available (tax on 40% of gross) where the bill clearly indicates included charges; a 90% abatement applies where the operator solely books or arranges accommodation and the bill includes accommodation cost. Tax covers domestic and inbound tours; registration, payment, quarterly returns, provisional assessment and assessment powers are prescribed.

Tour operator exemption limited where bills omit or fail to show accommodation cost; service tax applies otherwise.
The Central Government exempts from service tax the portion of a tour operator's taxable service that solely arranges or books accommodation when the bill expressly indicates the charge is for accommodation; no exemption applies if the bill records only service charges for arranging accommodation and omits the cost of the accommodation.

Service tax exemption for tour operators applies where package tour bills are inclusive, limiting taxable liability accordingly.
Exempts from service tax that portion of tax on tour operators which exceeds the amount calculated on forty per cent of the gross amount charged for a tour, where the operator provides a package tour (transportation and accommodation) and the bill indicates the charge is inclusive of such tour components.

Special Currency Basket valuation revised, affecting rupee denominated deferred payment contracts under Indo USSR protocols for repayment of commercial credits.
The Reserve Bank of India revised the Indian Rupee value of the Special Currency Basket governing repayment of rupee denominated commercial credits under the Deferred Payment Protocols dated 30 April 1981 and 23 December 1985; the revision is effective from the stated date and applies to all deferred payment contracts concluded under both Protocols.

Interest on tax withholding defaults: primary interest for non-deduction and additional interest if unpaid within prescribed time.
Interest for failure to deduct tax at source or for non-payment after deduction is chargeable as the initial obligation; if the tax and/or that interest is not paid within the stipulated time, additional interest for delayed payment becomes chargeable.

Service tax liability for air travel agents clarified: commission-earning agents must register and collect tax, non-commissioned subagents exempt.
Clarification specifies that the person obliged to collect service tax and obtain registration is the air travel agent who receives commission from an airline for booking travel after taking ticket receipts and accounting sales to the airline. GSAs/IATA agents who directly issue tickets, collect fare and receive commission must collect service tax and register; sub-agents who do not issue tickets or receive commission are not required to collect service tax or register. Free tickets with no fare or commission are not taxable. Centralised registration at the Delhi Service Tax Cell may cover branches in Haryana.

DTA sale entitlement expanded with revised delegation, forms, and compliance for export oriented units under amended procedures.
Public Notice No.36 amends the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) to extend EOU/EPZ provisions to STP/EHTP units, delegate approvals for EHTP/STP to Department of Electronics designees and to the Inter Ministerial Standing Committee, prescribe new and corrected annexures and application forms (including conversion fact sheet, debonding undertaking and SIL application), fix a minimum exports turnover threshold in conversion guidelines, and substitute Appendix 42 with detailed DTA sale entitlement rules linking domestic sale permissions to approved LOI/LOP items, documentation, certification and Net Foreign Exchange requirements.

Appointment of Central Excise officers clarified by excluding specified service categories from the residual assessee class for assessment.
Amendment revising the Schedule under the Service Tax Rules to redefine the residual category "Any other assessee" for appointment of Central Excise officers by excluding a specified list of service sectors (including advertising, courier, radio paging, custom house agents, steamer agents, air travel agents, mandap keepers, consulting engineers, manpower recruitment agents, clearing and forwarding agents, rent a cab operators, outdoor caterers, pandal or shamiana contractors and tour operators) from that category for purposes of assessment and collection.

Service tax on tour operators now taxes gross tour charges with abatements for package and accommodation only services.
Service tax applies to services provided by a tour operator holding a tourist permit, with taxable value as the gross amount charged to the client including accommodation, food and other facilities. Abatements apply: 60% abatement (taxable at 40%) where a package tour mandatorily includes accommodation and the bill is inclusive; 90% abatement where the service is solely booking/arranging accommodation and the bill includes accommodation cost. Tax applies to domestic and inbound tours; outbound tours are excluded. The operator who raises the bill is responsible for registration, collection and remittance under prescribed forms and challans.

Standard Input Output Norms updated: corrections, new chemical/engineering/textile entries and licence rules for alternative inputs.
Amendments to Handbook of Procedures Vol.2 revise Standard Input-Output Norms by correcting existing entries, substituting input lists for specified export items, and adding new SION entries in Chemical, Engineering, Textile and Miscellaneous product groups with detailed import-item compositions and input quantities. The notice authorises licences to permit alternative inputs in the same prescribed ratios and allows licences for galvanised export products to be granted for ungalvanised export by excluding zinc.

CIB data processing centralises source information and triggers statutory inquiry notices for assessment verification and investigation.
Revised procedure confines the Central Information Branch to computerised collection, collation and annual dissemination of current, source coded information to jurisdictional assessing ranges, without issuing query letters. Assessing officers must verify CIB records using statutory inquiry powers, call for returns and select cases for scrutiny as warranted, while the Investigation Wing may use stored CIB data for developing investigative cases. The DGIT(Investigation) must ensure processing, oversight and quarterly reporting of utilisation and outcomes to the Board.

Transaction Value principle accepted for DTA clearances of EOU scrap and waste under customs valuation rules.
Assessing officers must accept invoice value for assessment of goods, including scrap and waste, cleared into the Domestic Tariff Area by 100% EOUs and units in EPZ, STP and EHTP when that invoice value conforms to the Transaction Value principle under the Customs Valuation Rules; this Board instruction reiterates existing guidance and applies equally to scrap and waste.

DEPB credit rate notification updates eligible export items and amends handbook appendix under export import policy framework.
Notification of credit rates under the DEPB Scheme adds specific export items to eligibility lists and prescribes corresponding tariff credit rates; the Annexure is incorporated into the Handbook of Procedures (Vol.1) as an amendment to the Appendix governing DEPB credits.

Committee on Disputes clearance required before filing appeals against public sector undertakings; commissioners must refer cases promptly.
Prior Committee on Disputes clearance is required before filing appeals in disputes involving government departments and public enterprises; Commissioners must personally review and immediately forward self-contained proposals with supporting documents (SCN, order-in-original, appeal order, memorandum of appeal) to the Board and ensure prompt future referrals for COD clearance.

Duty calculation for warehoused goods: rate fixed as of warehousing period expiry, not the payment date.
Goods not removed within the permissible or extended warehousing period are deemed improperly removed on the date of expiry of that period; the applicable customs duty rate for such goods is the rate prevailing on that expiry date, and the importer must pay full duty together with interest, penalties, rent and other charges.

Special Import Licence entitlement for khadi manufacturers linked to FOB export value with biannual application windows.
Eligible khadi manufacturing units registered with KVIC or KVIBs are granted a Special Import Licence equal to 6% of the FOB value of exports directly made by them effective 15 August 1997. Applications must be filed in Appendix 20B against export proceeds realised on six monthly bases (April-September and October-March) within six months from the end of the relevant period; the first claim covers proceeds from 15 August 1997 to 31 March 1998.

Adjudication powers expanded to delegate higher-value Central Excise cases to subordinate officers, easing Commissioners' caseload.
Modification of adjudicatory authority reallocates competence by increasing monetary thresholds for subordinate Central Excise officers: Addl. Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners are authorised to adjudicate higher-value evasion and suppression cases, and a graduated scale of authority is prescribed for other cases across Assistant Commissioner, Deputy/Additional Commissioner and Commissioner to reduce Commissioners' caseload and expedite finalisation.