Extension of adjudication period under Customs Act permits additional time for CAA to adjudicate a specified show-cause notice.
The Principal Director General, Revenue Intelligence extends, under the first proviso to section 28(9) of the Customs Act, 1962, the period for determination of duty or interest under section 28(8) by a further period of one year from the expiry of the initial SCN dated 05.03.2020 in respect of M/s. M. Tech Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. and Sh. Bhavin Bhatt (SCN No. DRI/BZU/03/2020); the extension applies where a Common Adjudicating Authority was appointed by Notification No. 35/2020-Customs (N.T./CAA/DRI).

Exemption of Social Welfare Surcharge on AIDC for imported gold and silver removes surcharge liability on those imports.
Exempts the Social Welfare Surcharge on the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess for imports of goods classified under the customs tariff headings covering gold and silver, relieving such imports from the whole of that surcharge; the notification specifies an effective commencement date and was subsequently rescinded, with a prior substitution to the cited Finance Act provision noted in the accompanying annotation.

Rescission of customs notification removes a prior exemption instrument with a commencement date and preservation of prior actions.
The Central Government rescinds the earlier miscellaneous exemption notification issued in February 2018, exercising statutory powers on public interest grounds; the rescission takes effect in February 2021 and expressly preserves actions done or omitted to be done under the rescinded notification prior to its commencement.

Tariff rate quota rules broaden safeguard measures to include quota allocation, carry forward, and developing country carve outs.
Rules replace "duty" with "measure" and define safeguard measure to include safeguard duty, tariff rate quota and other measures; the Director General must determine serious injury based on objective, quantifiable factors and causal link to increased imports, and recommend the extent of measures. Tariff rate quota provisions require preserving traditional trade flows, allow global or country-specific quotas with allocations for substantially interested countries and a residual quota, permit carry-forward of unused quota, include a developing-country import-share carve-out, provide refund where final measure is lower than provisional duty, and mandate WTO notification and consultations.

Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess rates are prescribed for specified imports with concessional and nil treatment for listed goods.
Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess is exempted, for the specified goods listed in the Table, from so much of the cess leviable under the Finance Act, 2021 as exceeds the prescribed rate for each tariff entry. The notification sets chapter-wise and product-wise cess rates, including nil and concessional rates for certain goods, and extends nil treatment to goods imported under specified customs exemptions, advance authorisation, and other listed notifications, subject in some cases to end-use, shipment, certification, and procedural conditions. It comes into force on 2 February 2021.

Provisional assessment in anti circumvention investigations allows guarantees from importers pending government decision on duty applicability.
The rules authorize provisional assessment and the requirement of a guarantee in anti circumvention investigations to secure duties pending the Central Government's decision; they replace references to Collector of Customs with Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Customs and allow the term "domestic industry" to be interpreted as referring to the rest of the producers. The amendments also mandate that specified reviews be completed at least three months prior to expiry of the duty under review and make procedural rules applicable mutatis mutandis to such reviews.

Provisional assessment in anti-circumvention investigations enabled with importer guarantees; investigation periods and review timelines tightened.
Amendments limit initiation to investigations not more than six months old and set normal inquiry duration at twelve months, permitting a recorded discretion for shorter or longer periods; they replace "Collector of Customs" with "Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs," omit an explanation in rule 22, require reviews to be completed at least three months before duty expiry and make specified rules applicable mutatis mutandis to reviews; and authorize provisional assessment of imports alleged to circumvent an antidumping duty with a power to demand importer guarantees pending final decision.

High Speed Rail Projects added to Project Imports regulations with a designated sponsoring authority effective 2 February 2021.
The Project Imports (Amendment) Regulations, 2021 insert entry 3FFF into the Project Imports Regulations, 1986 to add High Speed Rail Projects with the sponsoring authority designated as National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited; the amendment is made under the Customs Act and comes into force on 2 February 2021.

Importer compliance obligations require prior notice, detailed records, quarterly returns and controls on job work and capital goods clearance.
The amendment revises definitions and imposes procedural and record keeping obligations on importers and job workers for concessional imports used in manufacture or output services. Importers must give prior information, notify receipt within two days, maintain detailed accounts of imports, consumption, job work movements and stock linked to bills of entry, and file a prescribed quarterly return by the tenth day of the following quarter. The rules set job work procedures with challan formalities and time limits, allow clearance of capital goods on duty and interest computed on depreciated value, and provide penalty and enforcement provisions for misuse.

High Speed Rail Projects added to specified projects list under heading 9801, enabling customs concession for those projects.
The Government has amended Notification No. 42/96 Customs to insert a new serial entry expressly naming High Speed Rail Projects among the specified projects eligible for concessional customs treatment under the item associated with heading 9801; the amendment is undertaken under the powers conferred by the relevant sub-item of the First Schedule and is declared to come into force on 2nd February, 2021.

Temporary import exemption for costumes and props added, expanding exempted goods under customs notification effective immediately.
Amends Notification No. 153/94-Customs by substituting the TABLE entry against Sl. No. 4 to add "costumes and props" alongside sound-recording tapes, thereby extending temporary import exemptions to film-making costumes and props; the amendment is made under Customs Act powers on public interest grounds and specifies an operative commencement date.

Rescission of customs exemption notifications withdraws specified tariff exemptions while preserving prior acts and omissions.
The Central Government, invoking powers under the Customs Act and the Customs Tariff Act, rescinds three specified miscellaneous exemption notifications-1/2011-Customs, 34/2017-Customs and 75/2017-Customs-thereby withdrawing the tariff exemptions granted by those instruments, with effect from the stated commencement date and preserving acts done or omitted before rescission.

Additional duty of excise (AIDC) incorporated into central excise notifications, aligning notification language with new cess.
Amendment incorporates the additional duty of excise (Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess) from clause 116 of the Finance Bill, 2021 into Notifications Nos. 10/2018, 11/2018, 12/2018 and 13/2018 by substituting preamble wording and adding an entry in the table of 10/2018, and substituting corresponding words in 11/2018, 12/2018 and 13/2018 so that references to special additional excise duty under section 147 of the Finance Act, 2002 expressly include the new cess; effective 2 February 2021.

Anti-dumping duty suspension: ADD on flat-rolled aluminium zinc coated steel imports paused for a specified period under Customs rules.
The amendment inserts a proviso in paragraph 2 of Notification No. 16/2020 Customs (ADD) specifying that the anti dumping duty on imports of flat rolled product of steel plated or coated with alloy of aluminium and zinc, originating in or exported from the subject countries, shall not be levied for the period commencing 2nd February, 2021 to 30th September, 2021, thereby temporarily revoking the operation of the principal notification for that period.

Temporary suspension of anti-dumping duty on high-speed non-cobalt steel creates a non-levy period for affected imports.
The Central Government temporarily suspends the levy of definitive anti-dumping duty on High-Speed Steel of Non-Cobalt Grade imported from Brazil, the People's Republic of China and Germany by inserting a proviso in the operative paragraph of the principal notification, creating a non-levy period under the Customs Tariff anti-dumping rules.

Road and Infrastructure Cess exemption for ethanol-blended petrol permitted when composition, standards and tax payments comply.
Exempts 20% ethanol blended petrol from the additional duty of excise (Road and Infrastructure Cess) where the blend conforms to Bureau of Indian Standards specification 17021 and the appropriate excise duties and applicable central, state, union territory or integrated taxes have been paid; clarifies that appropriate duties include specified excise duties and cess provisions subject to existing exemption notifications and defines applicable indirect taxes under GST law. The notification takes effect on 2 February 2021.

Health Cess exemption for medical devices imported by international organizations and diplomatic missions comes into effect.
Amendment adds two notifications as items (vii) and (viii) to the table entry against Sl. No. 2, column (2) of Notification No. 08/2020-Customs, thereby extending exemption from Health Cess to medical devices imported by international organizations and diplomatic missions; made under Customs Act and Finance Act powers and effective from the commencement date specified in the notification.

Customs exemption scope clarified to include MIMO and LTE products under the specified notification entry, altering eligible items.
The Central Government substitutes the existing item (i) in the TABLE opposite the relevant notification entry with two specified items: MIMO products and LTE products, thereby clarifying that those product categories fall within the exemption entry's coverage under Notification No. 24/2005-Customs.

Exemption of Road and Infrastructure Cess for M-15 methanol blended petrol where excise and GST taxes are paid.
Exempts 15% methanol blended petrol (M-15) from the Road and Infrastructure Cess under section 112 of the Finance Act, 2018 where constituent motor spirit and methanol/co-solvents have had applicable excise and GST taxes paid and the blend conforms to BIS specification 17076; defines appropriate duties of excise and relevant Central/State/UT/Integrated taxes by reference to specified statutes and exemption notifications.

Anti-dumping duty suspension temporarily revokes levy on alloy steel bars from specified country, restoring duty-free imports for a limited period.
The Central Government amends the earlier notification imposing definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of Straight Length Bars and Rods of Alloy Steel from the specified country by inserting a proviso that the anti-dumping duty shall not be levied for the period commencing from the 2nd day of February, 2021 to the 30th day of September, 2021, thereby temporarily suspending the levy while retaining the remainder of the original notification.