Goods imported into an SEZ for authorised operations remain...

Goods imported into an SEZ for authorised operations remain exempt from customs duty until their removal to the Domestic Tariff Area. The statutory fiction for SEZ-to-DTA removals applies duty treatment equivalent to comparable imports only at the stage of DTA clearance and does not create an earlier liability. Where imported fabric was still to undergo authorised operations in an FTWZ, differential duty on the imported goods could not support a bank-guarantee condition for provisional release. Release may be secured by a bond equal to the goods' value, restricted to authorised FTWZ use, with duty payable when the resultant manufactured goods enter the DTA.