Wheat import permission through designated state trading agencies subject to APEDA registration and actual-user sale conditions.
Permission is granted for wheat import by designated state trading agencies on behalf of roller flour mills, limited to meeting mills' own milling requirements for domestic sale. Imports must be registered with APEDA and the imported wheat must be sold to individual roller flour mills on an actual user basis.

Recovery of drawback when export proceeds not realised requires customs action triggered by XOS statements sent to nodal customs.
Recovery of drawback under Rule 16A applies when export sale proceeds have not been realised; XOS Statements, containing shipping bill and port details, are to be supplied by Regional Offices to designated nodal Customs Houses, which must forward instances of non repatriation to Port of Export Customs to initiate recovery. Nodal Customs Houses must disseminate RBI XOS information to port authorities within fifteen days.

Present Market Value limit under DEPB: earlier shipments allowed DEPB benefit if exporter gives declaration and indemnity.
Export entitlement under the DEPB scheme is limited so that, for export products attracting higher credit rates, the DEPB credit shall not exceed fifty percent of the Present Market Value (PMV) of the product, and exporters were required to declare this limitation on the shipping bill. For shipments before the declaration requirement took effect, DEPB benefits may still be granted if the exporter files a self declaration to the licensing authority that credit does not exceed the PMV cap and provides a notarised indemnity bond to refund any excess credit within thirty days of demand.

Service tax applies to outdoor catering and pandal contractors, with abatements, exemptions and specific registration and compliance duties.
Imposition of service tax on outdoor caterers and pandal or shamiana contractors prescribes definitions, taxable value and rate, specified abatements where catering is included, and exemptions for certain institutional or rural services. The provider who raises the bill is the person responsible for collecting tax. Compliance obligations include registration in Form ST-1, payment via TR-6 at authorised banks, quarterly returns in Form ST-3 and provisional assessment procedures, with assessment, interest and appellate mechanisms outlined under the applicable Central Excise framework.

Export ceiling allocation for coarse grains set; APEDA to allocate and monitor, with allocation split and timelines enforced.
A fixed export ceiling for coarse grains (Barley, Maize, Bajra, Ragi and Jowar excluding hybrid Kharif Jowar) for the 1997-98 licensing year is placed with APEDA for allocation, split between private exporters and PSUs with specified sub-allocations and RCAC revalidations. No minimum export price applies; contract registration and authorised exports are barred after the licensing year cutoff. APEDA must ensure the ceiling is not exceeded, report exhaustion to the Ministry of Commerce, and submit monthly statements with exporter, quantity, FOB value and destination details.

Export ceiling for powder milk set with earmarked allocation for EPCG licence holders and APEDA administration.
A policy circular sets an export ceiling for powdered milk for the licensing year and earmarks a portion for issuance of Registration cum Allocation Certificates (RCACs) to exporters holding EPCG licences, who must meet Export Obligations by exporting powdered milk. APEDA is authorised to issue RCACs, ensure the overall ceiling is not exceeded, report exhaustion of the ceiling to the Ministry of Commerce and DGFT, and furnish monthly statements with exporter details, quantities, FOB value and destinations.

Application of section 3A excise scheme to re-rolling mills and induction furnaces revised; parameters and exclusions updated.
The circular implements new notifications effective 1 August 1997 revising the section 3A scheme for re-rolling mills and induction furnaces: parameter e is fixed at 0.30 for low speed and 0.75 for high speed mills with a speed cutoff of 8.5 metres per second; w is restructured with new nominal diameter slabs and nominal diameter is defined as the distance between pinion centers on the last rolling stand. New tariff sub-headings and transitional specific duty rates apply to stocks held on 1 August 1997; waste and scrap held on that date remain subject to ad valorem duty. Certain integrated and composite plants are excluded from the scheme, waste and scrap in manufacture are exempted, and concessional duty is prescribed for mills below 200 mm nominal diameter.

Service tax on event catering and pandal services enforces gross-basis taxation with specified abatements and registration obligations.
Service tax is levied on services by outdoor caterers and pandal or shamiana contractors at a five percent rate on the gross amount charged, with specified abatements: fifty percent where food is supplied by outdoor caterers and thirty percent where pandal contractors charge lump-sum including catering. Persons issuing bills are responsible for collection and must register using Form ST-1, obtain Form ST-2 registration, deposit tax under the prescribed head, file quarterly returns in Form ST-3, may seek provisional assessment, and follow the modified Central Excise assessment, refund, appeal and enforcement procedures.

Vegetable oils of edible grade includes oils made fit after processing, securing concessional duty when used for edible purposes.
The term vegetable oils of edible grade includes oils that become fit for human consumption after further processing; the concessional duty applies where the imported oil is used for edible purposes even after refining, and pending assessments may be finalised on this basis.

Customs area designation at Petrapole enables loading and unloading of import and export goods under Customs Act authority.
Petrapole Land Customs Station is designated as a customs area under Section 8(a) of the Customs Act, 1962 for loading and unloading of export and import goods, subject to compliance with the Customs Act and government instructions; the notice defines the station's boundaries by reference to specified local land parcels and a section of the adjacent national highway, establishing the limits of customs jurisdiction for handling consignments.

Export ceilings for manufactured articles from shed antlers set with licensing, documentation and pre-shipment inspection requirements.
Export of manufactured articles and shavings from shed antlers of Sambhar and Chital is authorised for 1997-98 under specified port-wise ceilings. Regional licensing offices will notify available ceilings and accept single applications per exporter; allocations are normally capped at ten percent of the available ceiling. Licences require a Legal Procurement Certificate from the Chief Wild Life Warden or authorised officer, CITES certification where applicable, a declaration against use of poached material, and are subject to pre-shipment inspection. Allocated quantities must be exported or surrendered, with licences valid until the end of the licensing year.

Export licensing change: Sesame seeds allowed free export; licences required for sunflower, safflower, rapeseed and mustard.
HPS groundnut and Sesamum (sesame seeds) are authorised for free export without quantitative restrictions or export licences; exporters must submit, within 30 days of export, a statement with a copy of the Shipping Bill indicating quantities exported. Sunflower Seeds, Safflower Seeds, Rapeseeds and Mustard Seeds require export licences procured under the procedure in Paragraph 11.2 of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I), 1997-2002.

Service tax on outdoor catering and pandal services introduces valuation rules and targeted sectoral exemptions.
Imposition of Service Tax applies to outdoor caterers and pandal/shamiana contractors who bill clients, with the tax computed on prescribed proportions of the gross amount for catering where food is supplied and on the gross charges for pandal erection including furniture, fixtures, lighting, floor covering and other articles. Specific abatements limit taxable value in premises-based catering and where contractors also provide catering; targeted exemptions cover certain institutions, railway catering, and rural-based pandal contractors operating within rural areas.

Deemed export benefits for oil and gas and refinery supplies limited by customs coverage and capped excise refund.
Supplies to oil and gas projects and to new refineries qualify for deemed export benefits when covered by the applicable customs notifications and supplied under International Competitive Bidding or Limited Global Tender. Domestic suppliers to the oil and gas sector may claim benefits under Paragraph 10.3(c) and (d), with the Terminal Excise Duty refund limited to the amount equal to Excise at three percent. Domestic suppliers to new refineries may claim only the benefits in Paragraph 10.3(a), (b) and (d).

DEPB scheme amendments: corrected credit rates, product-description adjustments and substituted claim forms for export entitlement.
Notification revising DEPB Scheme credit rates and correcting, deleting or substituting specific Annexure entries for engineering, chemical, electronic and textile export products; and substituting Appendix-11C, 11D and 11E forms while retaining existing declaration and document enclosure requirements. The annexures are incorporated into Appendix-28A of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) 1997-2002 and the corrections adjust product descriptions and credit-entitlement rates for DEPB claims.

Export conditions for bone and horn products under the notice exclude finished handicrafts from further processing certificate requirements.
The Public Notice applies to exports of bones, horn and hoof products destined for further processing not intended for human or animal consumption, requiring a production-process certificate from the Chemicals and Allied Products Export Promotion Council; finished handicrafts made of bone or horn are consumer products exported as final goods and therefore the Public Notice and its certification requirement do not apply to such handicraft exports.

Rate of exchange determination under Customs Act directing conversion into Indian rupees for customs valuation and processing.
Circular forwarding Ministry of Finance / Central Board of Excise and Customs notifications that fix the rate of exchange for conversion of foreign currency into Indian rupees for the purposes of Section 14(3) of the Customs Act, 1962, applicable from 21 May 1997, for information and necessary action in customs valuation and related processing.

Port flexibility for DEPB imports permits clearance at designated registered ports via Telegraphic Release Advice for specified shipments.
DEPB holders registered at Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, or Chennai may import at any of those four ports under the DEPB Scheme; the facility covers imports (including repeat imports) but not exports. The mechanism requires a Telegraphic Release Advice from the port of registration to the Customs House of import specifying description, value, quantity, DEPB serial number, date of issue and entitlement, and the receiving Customs House will record the import details in its register.

Restriction on endorsing tribunal orders: Commissioners must cease routine forwarding and obtain commissioner approval for referrals.
Commissioners must stop routinely endorsing copies of CEGAT orders, Orders-in-Original, Reference Applications, Applications for Rectification of Mistake and Appeal Memos to the Board; only where escalation is contemplated should detailed proposals be submitted, and no reference should be made without the knowledge and approval of the Commissioner in charge, with deviations to be viewed seriously.

Appointment of Central Excise Officers updates assessee scope, excluding specified services from assessment and collection.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs, exercising powers under Rule 3 of the Service Tax Rules, 1994, amends Order No. 3/3/94 by substituting the sub clauses for specified serial entries so that the assessee description reads: "Any other assessee (other than those relating advertising services, courier services, radio paging services, custom house agents' services, steamer agents' services, air travel agents' services, mandap keepers' services, consulting engineers' services, manpower recruitment agents' services, clearing and forwarding agents' services, rent-a-cab scheme operators services, outdoor caterers' services and pandal or shamiana contractors' services)".