Proper authorisation for departmental appeals required; unauthorized filings can be rejected and further appeals discouraged.
Tribunal requires clear, contemporaneous proper authorisation showing the sanctioning officer applied independent mind to the impugned order before authorising filing; presenting draft appeal materials and an authorisation letter without the officer's evident consideration is defective and can lead to dismissal. The Board declined a Commissioner's proposal for a special leave petition where a Reference Application existed and the filing lacked proper authorisation, instructing adherence to prior guidelines and preventing unauthorised appeal filings.

Industrial licence requirement: non-SSI units expanding reserved-item capacity must undertake export obligations subject to monitoring.
Non-SSI units may expand or create capacity in respect of items reserved for the SSI sector only upon obtaining an Industrial licence under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act; the licence requires the manufacturer to undertake an export obligation as specified by the Ministry and to furnish a Legal Undertaking to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, which will monitor the export obligation.

Compulsory licensing requirement for cigarette manufacture remains; foreign investment may be approved subject to that licensing and guidelines.
Manufacture of cigarettes requires a compulsory licensing regime under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act; foreign investment proposals for cigarette manufacture are to be considered under the prescribed investment parameters and may be approved subject to that compulsory-licence requirement and existing investment guidelines incorporated by this Press Note.

Prior environmental clearance for wood based projects must be obtained before seeking government approvals, including foreign collaboration.
Prior environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment & Forests is mandatory before applying for Government approvals for wood based projects; applicants must enclose the Ministry's in principle clearance. Delicensing of many wood products remains subject to locational conditions and policy directions, while wood items reserved for the small scale sector set up in the organised sector or involving locational angles still require compulsory licensing under the Industries(Development & Regulation) Act. Approvals for 100% EOUs, foreign collaboration and project import certification are considered in consultation with the Ministry.

Pollution control recovery: permit manufacture of small scale reserved chemicals without mandatory export obligation after licence endorsement.
Industries recovering chemicals through pollution control processes may be authorised, by endorsement on industrial licences or new licences, to manufacture items reserved for the small scale sector without the mandatory export obligation; applicants must file the prescribed industrial licence form with full details of processes and recovered items, and the licensing secretariat will seek prior written comments from the small scale development authority before deciding.

Drawback eligibility for tourist purchases affirmed where declared foreign exchange is encashed and exporter files appropriate shipping bill.
Drawback under DBK/DEPB is allowable where goods bought by visiting tourists are exported with verified linkage to declared and encashed foreign exchange; the shipping bill must be filed by the Indian exporter or authorised representative, the visitor must produce the Currency Declaration Form and encashment documents with matching signatures, and export benefits are restricted to bona fide exporters with provisional export permitted pending verification.

Export obligation extension permitted with penalty; longer extensions require consideration by a DGFT headed committee for imports.
The Licensing Authority may grant an extension in export obligation period for a limited period against one or more consignments on payment of a penalty on the unfulfilled FOB value of the export obligation with reference to the CIF value of the imports for which extension is sought. Any request for extension beyond the specified limited period can be considered only by a Committee headed by the Director General of Foreign Trade.

DEPB rate amendments update export entitlement rates and product descriptions, and set differing effective shipment periods.
Amendment revises Duty Entitlement Passbook (DEPB) rates, value caps and product descriptions in the Handbook of Procedures (Vol.1) (RE-98). Annexure A rates apply to shipments from 1 April 1997 to 14 April 1998; Annexure B rates form part of Appendix 28A and apply from 15 April 1998. The notice modifies specific DEPB entries across Chemical, Plastic and Engineering product groups-changing rates, deleting specified engineering entries, correcting chemical and plastic product descriptions, adding textile-product designations, and correcting sewing machine descriptions-thereby updating operational export entitlement provisions.

Irrevocable letter of credit: export realisation not required where bank certifies shipment, enabling DEPB transferability.
Transfers of post export DEPB and non insistence on realisation of export proceeds are allowed where shipments are made against an irrevocable letter of credit and the bank certifies this in column 14/15 of Appendix 25; Appendix 25 may omit FOB value and realisation date in such cases if the bank endorses the shipment certification.

Duty exemption compliance: missing logged DEEC book not automatic default when export evidence proves fulfilment.
Where a Duty Free License holder submits shipping bill and bank realisation certificate demonstrating 100% fulfilment, absence of a logged DEEC book alone should not lead to defaulter status. Supplementary DEPB claims are allowed for exports made anticipating later-notified DEPB rates if filed within the prescribed time, and such DEPBs must carry an endorsement noting the original DEPB, shipping bill, FOB values and balance value. For EPCG export-obligation calculations, the average of the preceding three licensing years is to be taken including the licensing year in which the EPCG application is filed.

Deemed exports benefits for goods in turn key civil construction projects apply, while construction services remain excluded.
Where a turn key civil construction project contract expressly includes supply of goods within its scope, those goods qualify for deemed exports benefits under the Exim Policy (para 10.2(d)) if otherwise admissible; the services component of civil construction work, even in a turn key project, is not eligible for deemed export benefits.

Export inspection agency recognition: agencies listed for import certificates are not authorised for export inspections; trade must exercise caution.
Agencies listed in the Handbook of Procedures are recognised to issue inspection and certification certificates solely for specified import purposes-including metal scrap, second-hand capital goods and EPCG imports-and are not authorised as export inspection agencies; trade is cautioned to confirm an agency's authorisation before obtaining export certificates.

Jurisdiction of Commissioner revision barred where appeal is pending even if filed by the Department.
The instruction holds that the jurisdiction of the Commissioner in revision is barred where an appeal against the order has been preferred before the Tribunal, whether that appeal is filed by the assessee or by the Department. The Ministry of Law endorsed that an appellate determination merges with the lower order so that revision becomes unavailable; the earlier Board instruction limiting the bar to appeals by assessees is superseded.

Refunds: require prompt payment with interest, written intimation for adjustments, limits on withholding, prioritise senior citizens.
Refund vouchers must be despatched by registered post with acknowledgment within fifteen days of computation/recomputation and must include correct interest. Officers must ensure accuracy of voucher entries and Chief Commissioners must expedite correct payment. Withholding refunds requires a deliberate Commissioner-level decision and written intimation to the assessee; refunds may not be withheld solely to offset future demands and set-off is limited to tax remaining payable. Senior citizen refund claims should be settled on the spot or within three months of filing.

Private bonded warehouse: licensing authorities must not endorse licences to take supplies from them under existing policy.
Licensing authorities are ordered not to endorse licences to take supplies from Private Bonded Warehouses, as such endorsements are not required under paragraph (vii) of the referenced policy circular; additionally, the circular corrects a cross-reference by replacing the earlier chapter citation with Chapter IX.

Export Processing Zone designation: Kayfoam EPZ added as an eighth multi-product zone under existing EPZ notifications.
Notification amends prior EPZ notifications to designate Kayfoam Export Processing Zone, Kandivli, as the eighth EPZ and to include it within the existing EPZ regulatory framework; the zone is approved as a multi-product EPZ and authorities are directed to publicise its creation by issuing a Public Notice.

Sub-contracting permissions for EOU units allow removal of moulds and tools for job work, subject to return and customs norms.
Permission for 100% EOU/EPZ/EHTP units to remove moulds, jigs, tools and related items to subcontractor premises for job work is granted provided those items are returned to the unit on completion within a stipulated period. Notifications have been amended to reflect this. Subcontracting is also permitted where raw materials lose identity or substantial manufacture does not occur in the parent unit, subject to input/output norms set by the Assistant Commissioner of Customs; subcontracting limited to predominantly indigenous raw material use was not allowed to avoid conversion to trading activity.

Passbook scheme credit validity: credits expire after one year or by scheme end; authorities must finalise claims.
Credits under the Pass Book Scheme are valid for one year from the date of grant or until 31 March 1999, whichever is earlier. Designated Authorities and Commissioners of Customs are directed to finalise claims and grant admissible credits without delay and to report pending Pass Books where credits remain unallowed, in accordance with the DGFT policy circular.

Duty free licences may be issued on adhoc input-output norms, and DEPB post-export allowances and certification rules clarified.
Certification agencies are added to Appendices 32-A and 32-B, including recognition of Export Inspection Agencies/Councils for HACCP. Licensing authorities may issue duty free licences on adhoc input-output norms recommended by RALC/ZALC until SALC standardises norms, subject to repeat licence value limits. Paragraphs expand DEPB coverage to all notified airports, seaports and ICDs in a district; allow post-export DEPB for shipments prior to pre-export DEPB issuance and for exports from ports other than the port of registration; add the term Advance licence; and allocate Export House and TH/STH/SSTH certificate applications to specified offices.

Inspection agency listing removed from Appendix-32A by amendment, affecting certification eligibility under Export Import Policy handbook in public interest.
The Director General of Foreign Trade amends the Handbook of Procedures under Export and Import Policy authority to delete the entry at serial number 17 in Appendix-32A, thereby removing SGS India Limited from the official list of inspection and certification agencies as published in the Handbook, Vol. I.