Commencement amendment to concessional import rules removes security requirement and aligns references to updated rules.
Amends the Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty for Manufacture of Excisable Goods) Rules, 2016 by fixing commencement as the 16th day of March, 2016, omitting the words "or security" from rule 5(2) thereby removing the security submission requirement for concessional import benefits, and inserting rule 9 to direct that references to the 1996 rules in existing instruments shall be construed as references to the 2016 Rules and corresponding provisions.

Tariff value fixation updated for specified commodities, replacing prior tables and setting unit values in US dollars.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs amends the principal customs notification by substituting TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 to fix tariff values in US dollars as import valuation benchmarks. The substituted tables prescribe per-metric-tonne values for edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds and areca nut, and unit values for gold (per ten grams) and silver (per kilogram).

Anti-dumping duty on imported plastic processing machines imposed to counter dumped imports from specified Asian countries.
Anti-dumping duties are imposed on injection moulding machines (clamping force 40-3200 tonnes) under tariff item 8477 10 00 originating in or exported from Chinese Taipei, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. The duties-specified as ad valorem percentages of the landed value defined by assessable value under the Customs Act-are allocated by country, exporter and producer; certain named exporters and producers have distinct rates or nil duty. Specified machinery types are excluded and the levy applies for five years, payable in Indian currency.

Anti-dumping duty amendment substitutes specified table entries to designate Taiwan and People's Republic of China as exporting origins.
Notification No. 8/2016-Customs (ADD) amends Notification No. 27/2014-Customs (ADD) by substituting entries in the Table: column (5) for serial numbers 3, 4 and 5 is replaced with "Taiwan" and column (5) for serial number 12 is replaced with "People's Republic of China", effected under the Customs Tariff Act and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-dumping Duty) Rules.

Anti-dumping duty on polypropylene from Singapore: specified exporter-based rates imposed, payable in domestic currency.
Imposition of anti-dumping duty on Polypropylene from or exported from Singapore with specified US dollar-per-metric-tonne rates applied differently to identified producers and exporters (including nil rates for certain producer-exporter pairings); effective for five years and payable in Indian currency, with exchange rate for conversion determined by the notification under section 14 of the Customs Act and the relevant date as the bill of entry presentation date.

Anti-dumping duty on phenol: exporter- and producer-specific duties imposed to counter dumping and protect domestic industry.
Definitive anti-dumping duty is imposed on imports of Phenol (tariff item 2907 11 10) from the European Union, Singapore and Korea RP following findings of dumping and material injury; the notification prescribes exporter and producer specific duty rates per metric tonne in US dollars, includes nil-duty exceptions for certain named producers/exporters, and applies for five years from Gazette publication with duties payable in Indian currency using the government-specified exchange rate.

Safeguard measures to address serious injury from tariff driven import surges enable provisional and final remedial duties and review.
These Rules establish procedures for investigating and recommending safeguard measures where increased imports from ASEAN, linked significantly to tariff concessions under the India ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, cause or threaten to cause serious injury to the domestic industry. The Director General (Safeguard) must assess objective, quantifiable factors, verify evidentiary sufficiency before initiating investigations, publish notices, allow participation by interested parties, treat confidential information appropriately, and recommend provisional or definitive measures, their duration, progressive liberalisation and reviews to the Central Government.

Exchange rate determination fixes official import and export conversion rates for specified foreign currencies for customs valuation.
Determination of official exchange rates under the Customs Act authority fixing distinct conversion rates for imported and export goods; Schedule I lists per unit rates for specified currencies and Schedule II lists per hundred unit rates for other currencies. The notification is effective from the stated date and supersedes the prior notification except as to actions already done or omitted.

Rate of interest under Customs Act set for statutory interest provision, superseding prior notification and taking effect thereafter.
Fixes the rate of interest applicable under the Customs Act interest provision, superseding the earlier notification and preserving prior actions; declares the notification to come into force from the stated commencement date and reflects the Department of Revenue's exercise of statutory rate-setting authority.

Concessional import rules require manufacturers to notify intent, furnish bonds and maintain records to secure duty exemptions.
Rules set the framework for manufacturers to claim customs duty exemptions under an exemption notification by providing prescribed information to Central Excise and Customs, obtaining registration where required, furnishing a continuity bond to cover the duty differential and interest, maintaining bill of entry wise accounts, submitting quarterly returns, and obtaining permission for re export or domestic clearance of unutilised or defective imported goods; non compliance permits invocation of the bond and recovery of duty differential with interest.

Customs duty free allowance revised, adds drone declaration and specifies eligibility, prohibited and dutiable goods rules.
Amends the Customs Baggage Declaration Regulations, 2013 by requiring all passengers who have anything to declare or are carrying dutiable or prohibited goods to declare; inserts a drone declaration in Form 1; and substitutes the duty free allowance Table to differentiate passenger categories and origins, specifying separate allowances and specific entries for gold jewellery, alcohol, tobacco products, and one laptop exemption.

Duty-free baggage allowances and exclusions for travellers, transfers of residence, and crew baggage concessions clarified under new rules.
Prescribes baggage rules setting duty-free allowances and exclusions for various traveller categories, including residents, tourists, infants and persons transferring residence; specifies jewellery limits for returning residents; conditions and aggregate value caps for household and personal effects tied to duration abroad; lists excluded items in annexures; addresses unaccompanied baggage timeframes and crew baggage concessions; and confirms currency movements remain subject to foreign exchange regulations.

Standard Exchange Scheme exemption shields aviation parts from excess customs duty when valued at agreed standard exchange cost.
Exempts aircraft parts imported under the Standard Exchange Scheme from customs duty to the extent that duty exceeds what would be leviable if value were the Standard Exchange Cost plus insurance and freight both ways, subject to conditions: parts not new and being repaired or overhauled; a Standard Exchange Agreement between importer and exporter; importer registration with the Director General of Civil Aviation; finality of Standard Exchange Cost; prohibition on drawback claims; and production of exporter's certificate at clearance.

Customs exemption for waste-based power projects: valid ten-year municipal solid waste processing agreement must be proved to customs.
The amendment provides that condition (ii) shall not apply to power generation projects based on municipal and urban waste if the importer proves to the satisfaction of the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or the Assistant Commissioner of Customs that there is a valid agreement between the importer and urban local body for processing of municipal solid waste for not less than ten years from the date of commissioning of project.

Customs tariff amendment expands specified cold storage projects to include cold chain, pre-cooling units, packhouses, sorting and ripening chambers.
Amendment expands the entry for serial number 41 under heading 9801 by substituting "Cold storage, cold room (including for farm level pre-cooling)" with "Cold storage, cold room (including for farm level pre-cooling), cold chain including pre-cooling unit, packhouses, sorting and grading lines and ripening chambers", thereby broadening the projects covered under the tariff notification.

Project imports amended to include cold chain, pre cooling units, packhouses, sorting and ripening chambers in customs list.
The Project Imports (Amendment) Regulations, 2016, effective 1 March 2016, substitute the entry at serial number 3H in the Project Imports Regulations, 1986 to expand "Cold storage, cold room (including for farm level pre-cooling)" to explicitly include "cold chain including pre-cooling unit, packhouses, sorting and grading lines and ripening chambers," thereby bringing these facilities within the specified project imports description under section 157 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Customs exemption amendment excludes chargers, batteries, wired headsets, speakers and specified solar tempered glass from blanket 'All goods' relief.
Notification No. 19/2016-Customs amends Notification No. 24/2005-Customs by inserting, against serial number 39, an exception to the words "All goods": excluding charger or adapter, battery, wired headsets and speakers of mobile handsets including cellular phones, and solar tempered glass or solar tempered (anti-reflective coated) glass from the scope of that phrase.

Customs tariff amendment substitutes tariff description to include specified types of fuses, altering exemption notification scope.
The Central Government, under sub section (1) of section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962, substitutes the column (3) entries at serial number 64 of Notification No. 25/2002 Customs to read: "Glass and ceramic cartridge fuses, blade fuses, automotive fuses, surface mount fuses, sub miniature fuses, micro fuses, resettable fuses and thermal fuses".

Customs exemption amendment inserts sub miniature, micro, resettable and thermal fuses into listed tariff entries.
The Central Government, invoking powers under section 25 of the Customs Act, amends the principal customs exemption notification by inserting "sub miniature fuses, micro fuses, resettable fuses and thermal fuses" into the description columns of specified List A tariff entries, thereby expanding the listed electrical protection components eligible for exemption.

Additional duty of customs specified for certain electronic components; populated PCBs partly excluded and concessional import procedures set.
Amendment to Notification No. 21/2012-Customs specifies the additional duty of customs for listed goods, carving out populated Printed Circuit Boards of mobile phones and tablet computers from a general goods entry, omitting and substituting certain entries to except specific mobile handset components and populated PCBs, inserting a concessional entry for o-xylene for manufacture of phthalic anhydride with an additional duty rate, creating nil-duty concessional entries for machinery and parts (excluding populated PCBs) used in semiconductor and LCD fabrication and chip assembly processes, and adding an additional duty entry for populated PCBs used in tablet and mobile handset manufacture, all subject to the Customs concessional import procedure.