Tax deducted at source under section 195: refund can be adjusted against liabilities and returned to the deductor.
Refunds for excess or erroneous tax deducted under section 195 may be made to the person who deducted the tax, with prior approval of the Chief Commissioner, independent of statutory refund provisions. Excess is the difference between tax deducted and tax deductible; it must be adjusted against existing liabilities under the Direct Tax Acts and any remaining balance refunded. Branches are treated as separate units for adjustment and refund. The Income-tax Officer shall prepare refund vouchers, send them with the appropriate challan, and record the adjustment/refund in the quarterly TDS/annual return under the officer's signature.

Proper authorisation for appeals: Commissioners must form and record opinion before issuing authorisation to avoid dismissal.
Appeals to CEGAT require a proper authorisation from the concerned Commissioner as a prerequisite; Commissioners must personally examine and ensure authorisation letters are correct and that an opinion has been formed and recorded that the order is not proper or legal before issuing authorisation, failing which appeals risk dismissal on technical grounds and revenue interests may be jeopardised.

Decentralised import licence issuance: RLAs must issue SLC approved licences promptly subject to SIL surrender and actual user conditions.
Licences approved by the Special Licensing Committee will be communicated to port RLAs for issuance: original applications are filed at port offices, SLC minutes sent to ports within 72 hours, and RLAs shall issue licences promptly (generally within three working days) subject to surrender, cancellation or debit of existing SILs except where SIL is waived; all licences/CCPs must carry value and quantity restrictions, the Actual User condition and other SLC stipulated conditions on the licence body.

Special Currency Basket valuation revised, altering rupee conversion for deferred payment contracts under Indo USSR protocols.
The Reserve Bank of India revised the rupee value of the Special Currency Basket for calculating payments under deferred payment contracts entered under the Indo USSR deferred payments protocols of 1981 and 1985; the revised valuation is effective as indicated in the notice and applies to all deferred payment contracts concluded under both protocols for deliveries of machinery and equipment from the erstwhile USSR.

MODVAT credit on original invoice allowed where duplicate lost; requests must be disposed within one month.
Requests to claim MODVAT credit on the basis of the original invoice where the duplicate copy has been lost in transit are allowable if the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise is satisfied the duplicate was lost; such requests must be disposed of within one month of submission.

Export licence requirement for exotic bird exports: captive-bred certification and compliance with licensing conditions ensure controlled export.
Exports of specified exotic bird species are permitted only under an Export Licence issued by the Director General of Foreign Trade, with applications filed on the Handbook of Procedure form and accompanied by an export order or irrevocable letter of credit, RCMC, I.E.Code Number and a Chief Wildlife Warden certificate certifying the birds as captive bred; licences may be subject to conditions including quantitative ceilings, pre shipment inspection and CITES certificates and will be issued only on production of the original Warden certificate for endorsement.

Selection for scrutiny restored only with written Chief Commissioner approval for Central Circle pending cases.
The Board directed that cases pending in Central Circles be excluded from existing selection parameters and be scrutinised during the year regardless of earlier limitations, and added that selection for scrutiny of those types of cases may be restored only with the express and written approval of the Chief Commissioner.

Export cargo movement by sealed trucks enables transfer from hinterland to gateway airports with custodian accountability and seal verification.
Goods may be stuffed and sealed under Customs/Central Excise supervision at factories or ICDs/CFSs, with tamper proof seals and documentary endorsements on Shipping Bills and AR4 controlling transit. Custodians or factory owners are accountable for shortages and may execute continuity and transport bonds; assessment, examination and retention of original/duplicate Shipping Bills and GR forms occur at ICD/CFS, transference copies accompany sealed trucks/containers to gateways, where Customs verify seals and endorse shipment without repeat assessment if seals are intact.

Fast Track Clearance eligibility expanded: manufacturer-importers of electronic goods with required investment now admitted to streamlined import procedure.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs amended clause A(vii) of the earlier circular to provide that a manufacturer importer of electronic goods with an investment of Rs. 3 crores and above is eligible to use the Fast Track Clearance procedure, enabling such manufacturer importers to avail themselves of the captioned fast track import clearance process under the existing circular framework.

Duty-free clearance conditions: re-export bond required and a bank guarantee to secure the duty obligation on display imports.
Duty-free clearance for goods imported for approved fairs and exhibitions is allowed under Notification 3/89-Cus. only upon furnishing a re-export bond for 150% of the value of the goods, backed by a Bank Guarantee for 100% of the duty amount, and applies solely to events certified by the Ministry of Commerce or authorised ITPO officers. Imports intended for private sales promotion are not covered and must pay full customs duty, with drawback available under section 74 on re-export.

Preferential import liberalisation from SAARC: broad list of goods freely importable subject to origin and new/prime condition.
Notification under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 declares an extensive list of EXIM/ITC(HS) classified goods freely importable from SAARC countries from 1.8.1998, conditional on items being in new/prime condition and of origin in the stated SAARC country in accordance with the Customs Tariff (Determination of Origin under the SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement) Rules, 1995, as amended.

MRP-based excise treatment: only statutorily required MRP triggers duty under Section 4A; voluntary MRP excluded.
Section 4A's MRP-based excise charging applies only where MRP is statutorily required under the Standards Weights and Measures Act or other law; voluntary affixing of MRP does not invoke Section 4A and such packings must be assessed under the general valuation provision of Section 4. Commissioners may require manufacturers to declare details of non-statutory MRP packings, and Assistant Commissioners should verify applicable exemptions under the Standards Weights and Measures Act.

DTA sale of software via data links permitted, subject to valuation certification by the Director of STP.
EOUs operating under the standalone EOU scheme are permitted to sell software to the domestic tariff area through data communication or telecommunication links, on the condition that the valuation of such sales is certified by the Director of the Software Technology Park (STP). This follows an amendment allowing DTA sale of software by electronic transmission where earlier provisions had limited sales to physical media.

Disposal of detained passenger baggage: sale proceeds used to recover customs dues, balance refunded to passenger or authorised representative.
Goods detained at international airports may be sold after the detention period if unclaimed; sale proceeds must first satisfy customs duty and related charges, and the balance remitted to the passenger or, for non-residents, to an authorised representative. Detention Receipts must record the passenger's full Indian address or the authorised representative's details to facilitate refund of the net proceeds.

Import of second-hand spares allowed without residual-life rule, and revalidation of advance licences without bank realisation certificates.
Import of second-hand spares with second-hand capital goods is permitted under the Actual User condition without the five-year residual life requirement; additional SIL benefits in Handbook paragraphs (a)-(e) apply to exports on or after 1.4.97 while paragraph (f) applies only to exports on or after 1.4.98; Bank Realisation Certificates must not be insisted upon for revalidation of Advance licences.

Modification of standard input-output norms updates import inputs and adds product entries, altering trade procedural requirements.
The Director General of Foreign Trade amends Handbook of Procedures Vol.2 by correcting and substituting entries in the Standard Input Output Norms and adding new product entries across Chemicals, Electronics, Engineering, Sports Goods, Textiles and Miscellaneous categories; each amendment specifies export items, corresponding import inputs, permissible quantities, alternative inputs and conditional notes (including percentage caps and net to net treatment) as set out in Annexures A-G for incorporation into the Handbook.

Bonded warehouse controls require strengthened inspection, tallying and audits to prevent unlawful removal and ensure compliance.
Storage in bonded warehouses must follow physical examination and documentary verification so that the Bill of Entry and its reverse confirm declared descriptions and identification marks; at removal the Warehousing Bill of Entry must be tallied with the ex-bond (Green) Bill of Entry. Periodic and surprise audits by senior officers and Custom House audit parties, computerisation of records, mandatory status reports from warehouses for consignments held a year or more, and initiation of action under section 72 of the Customs Act, 1962 on expiry of warehousing period are required to prevent unlawful removal.

Export authorization under Oil for Food programme enables APEDA to issue RCAC for wheat exports to Iraq.
Authorization is granted for export of Hard Milling Wheat to Iraq under the United Nations Oil for Food programme with an allocated ceiling placed at the disposal of the designated agricultural export promotion authority to enable issuance of RCAC to the named exporter; the authority must report issuance actions to the EP(Agri.II) Section and notify the statistical division.

Export ceiling allocation for wheat products to Maldives set; APEDA to allocate and report exhaustion.
A fixed export ceiling for wheat products to Maldives is placed at APEDA's disposal for allocation; APEDA must allocate quantities under its procedures, ensure the overall ceiling is not exceeded, report exhaustion to the Ministry of Commerce and DGFT, issue a Trade Notice to inform the trade, and furnish monthly statements with exporter name, quantity, FOB value and destination to Ministry EP(Agri.II) and DGFT statistics.

Export ceiling for coarse grains requires APEDA allocation and mandatory monthly exporter reporting to authorities.
A fixed export ceiling for coarse grains for the 1998-99 licensing year is placed at APEDA's disposal, with specified quantities earmarked for private exporters and PSUs. APEDA will allocate under its procedure, ensure the overall ceiling is not exceeded, report exhaustion to the Ministry of Commerce, and furnish monthly statements showing exporter name, quantity allowed, FOB value and destination.