Customs amendment alters official designation and adds Nonferrous Materials Technology Development Centre to exemption schedule.
The Government, exercising sub-section (1) of section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962, amends Notification No. 128/93-Cus by substituting the designation "Under Secretary to the Government of India" for "Deputy Secretary to the Government of India" in the proviso to paragraph 1, clause (ii), and by inserting a new Table entry after serial number 50 for the Nonferrous Materials Technology Development Centre, Hyderabad.

Exchange rate determination fixes conversion rates for export goods under the Customs Act, effective January ninety-four.
Central Government determines the rate of exchange for specified foreign currencies for the purposes of the Customs Act in relation to export goods, effective 1 January 1994, superseding an earlier notification; conversion between listed foreign currencies and Indian currency for export transactions shall be at the rates set out in Schedule I (per one unit) and Schedule II (per 100 units) appended to the notification.

Exchange rate notification fixes official currency conversion rates for customs and stamp duty, effective from 1 January 1994.
Prescribes official exchange rates for conversion between specified foreign currencies and the Indian rupee for purposes of stamp duty under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and for section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 relating to imported goods, superseding the prior notification, and declaring the rates in the appended Schedules I and II as the operative rates for conversion into Indian currency or vice versa from the stated commencement date.

Exemption to aeroplane spare parts: customs duty above a minimal ad valorem rate exempt; servicing spares also free of additional duty.
The Central Government exempts aeroplane parts (excluding rubber tyres and tubes), aeroplane engines, aeroplane engine parts, and rubber tyres and tubes used exclusively for aeroplanes, when imported into India, from that portion of customs duty specified in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 which is in excess of 3% ad valorem; items (a), (b) and (c) imported as spare parts for servicing are further exempt from the whole of the additional duty leviable under section 3 of the said Act.

Customs warehousing amendment includes goods for supply to export units and domestic users when stored at approved ports.
Exercising the powers under section 61, the Government substitutes item 7 of Notification No.10/92-Cus. (N.T.) and omits the terminal 'and' in item 6, adding: (a) goods imported and stored in private or public bonded warehouses in an Export Processing Zone for supply to EPZ units or export oriented undertakings; and (b) raw materials, components and spare parts, excluding those in the Import Policy Negative List, imported for stock and subsequent sale to actual users in India when warehoused in Customs-approved warehouses at specified ports.

Customs exemption amendments: duty equalisation for scrap and domestic sale subject to bonds and export policy compliance.
Amendments clarify that waste and scrap from zone manufacture cleared to other parts of India are chargeable to excise or, if not excisable, to customs duty equal to import duty; require importers to execute bonds to secure export obligations and duty on goods not used in export manufacture; permit domestic sale of articles (including rejects, waste and scrap) from approved hundred percent export units and of electronics hardware or software made within units subject to Export and Import Policy conditions and payment of excise or equalised customs duty; and exclude goods imported by aquaculture units from the notification.

Customs exemption for aquaculture inputs permits duty-free import for integrated farms, subject to export obligations and bond conditions.
Exemption from customs and related additional duties is provided for specified goods imported for use in an integrated aquaculture farm by approved 100% Export Oriented Undertakings, covering capital goods, material handling equipment, spares, office equipment, captive power plants and production tools. The exemption requires prior approval, execution of a bond and a Development Commissioner's certificate, observance of export obligations for ten years or as extended, payment of customs duty on depreciated value if the unit ceases to be an approved EOU, permission for limited domestic sale under the Export and Import Policy subject to excise duty, and may be subject to re-export conditions imposed by the Collector of Customs.

Exemption to imported goods for earthquake victims extended, prolonging the application deadline under the cited customs notification.
The Central Government amends Notification No. 175/93-Cus by substituting the expiry date in paragraph (2), extending the period during which imported goods for earthquake victims qualify for the customs exemption; the amendment is limited to the change of the terminal date and does not modify other substantive conditions of the original notification.

Coastal ports declaration amended: specified schedule entries omitted, removing certain ports from the coastal ports list under customs rules.
The Central Government, exercising powers under the Customs Act, amends Notification No. 75/73 Customs by omitting the entries against Serial Numbers 6, 7, 8 and 12 in the Schedule, thereby removing those ports from the list of ports declared as coastal ports for customs purposes.

Customs port designation enables Ennore Port to receive and unload ammonia under statutory authority for import operations.
Appointment of Ennore Port as a Customs port authorizes the port to receive and unload ammonia under the Central Government's powers under clause (a) of section 7 of the Customs Act, 1962, designating Ennore in Chengalpattu MGR District, Tamil Nadu, for the specific operational function of unloading ammonia consignments and subjecting those operations to customs control and procedures.

Customs airport designation: Hyderabad Airport authorized for import unloading and export loading under customs powers.
The Central Government designates Hyderabad Airport as a Customs airport for unloading imported goods and loading export goods under section 7(a) of the Customs Act, 1962, superseding the earlier notification and authorizing customs procedures for specified classes of goods at the airport.

Customs exemption for testing imports: duty and additional duty waived where head certifies goods are only for testing.
Exempts all goods within the Customs Tariff Schedule when imported solely for testing into specified or Ministry-approved laboratories from the whole of customs duty and the whole of additional duty, conditional on certification by the head of the importing organisation that the goods are imported only for testing and will not be used or sold after testing.

Customs tariff amendment adds specified power transmission and cable projects to an exemption notification for economic development purposes.
The Central Government, invoking the power under the relevant sub item of Heading No. 98.01A to promote economic development, amends Notification No. 110/86 Customs by inserting two new serial entries: transmission projects of the Power Grid Corporation Limited and a high voltage XLPE cable with associated gas insulated switchgear project of the Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking.

Exemption for exporters: duty-free tags, labels and packaging allowed only where per-case value remains under a prescribed cap.
Amendment substitutes the prior conditional clause in the customs notification with an express value-based ceiling for the exemption: bona fide exporters may obtain duty-free tags, labels, printed bags and stickers only where the per-case value of those items does not exceed the prescribed value cap.

Appointment of Customs Officers amends district allocations and designates Collectors and Assistant Collectors under customs administration.
Amendment substitutes item 2, sub-items (a) and (b) to reallocate specified districts and to designate the Collector of Customs (Preventive), Patna as responsible for the listed Uttar Pradesh districts, with an Additional Collector of Customs, Muzaffarpur, and Deputy and Assistant Collectors working under the Collector's control; and to identify the Additional Collector of Customs, Lucknow in respect of the Bihar districts shown in the table.

Waiver of interest on customs duty: Principal collectors empowered to consider relief for small warehoused-goods liabilities.
The amendment grants Principal Collectors of Customs the power to consider waiver of interest on the customs duty in respect of any warehoused goods in cases in which the amount of interest does not exceed fifteen lakhs, thereby delegating a specified Board function to Principal Collectors under the existing notification framework.

Exchange rate determination for export goods establishes prescribed currency conversion rates to govern export-related customs conversions.
The Central Government prescribes specific conversion rates for listed foreign currencies for export goods under the Customs Act, effective from the stated commencement date, and supersedes the earlier notification; two Schedules set rates per unit or per 100 units to be used for conversion between foreign currency and Indian Rupees in export-related customs procedures.

Exchange rate determination sets official currency conversion rates for customs and stamp duty on imported goods.
Prescribes official exchange rates to be used for calculating stamp duty and for determinations under the Customs Act in relation to imported goods, superseding the earlier notification and fixing operative conversion rates effective from the stated date. Schedule I provides rates per one unit of specified foreign currencies; Schedule II provides rates per one hundred units of specified foreign currencies. The rates listed in these schedules are to be applied for conversion into Indian currency or vice versa for customs and stamp duty purposes.

Exclusion of Acetic Anhydride from customs exemptions: imports of the substance are expressly removed from earlier notification benefits.
The Government amends five prior customs exemption notifications by adding an identical proviso in each notification's Explanation that expressly excludes import of Acetic Anhydride from the benefit of those notifications, thereby removing that substance from exemption coverage as a matter of public interest.

Amendment to customs exemption replaces the specified entry for wind generator components, altering tariff description and coverage.
The Central Government, invoking sub section (1) of section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962, amends Notification No. 89/91 Customs by substituting in the annexed Table the entry in column (2) against S. No. 2 with the description "Gear box and parts thereof", thereby altering the tariff description of goods linked to wind operated electricity generators for the purposes of the exemption.