Export duty amendment revises a customs notification: specified tariff lines exempted and chromium ores added as exempt.
The government amends Notification No.27/2011-Customs to revise Table entries: specified tariff lines under 2601 11 are substituted to record those goods as duty exempt; the duty column entries for two existing serials are replaced to reflect a substituted preferential rate; and a new entry for tariff heading 2610 inserts chromium ores and concentrates as duty exempt, thereby modifying the schedule of exemptions and rates in the principal notification.

Withdrawal of customs exemptions narrows tariff relief by omitting specified entries from the principal notification, altering exemption scope.
Amendment withdraws selected customs exemptions by omitting serial entries 9, 9A, 10 and 10A from the TABLE of Notification No. 39/96 Customs and deleting the corresponding references in paragraph 2 item (ix), exercising powers under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, and taking effect on the notified commencement date, thereby narrowing the goods eligible for exempt treatment under the principal notification.

Value limit for bona fide gifts imported by post or air freight increased, expanding duty-free eligibility under customs rules.
Amendment increases the value limit for bona fide gifts imported by post or as air freight by substituting the words "rupees ten thousand" with "rupees twenty thousand" in both the proviso and the Explanation to Notification No.171/93-Customs; enacted under the Central Government's powers under the Customs Act, 1962.

Customs tariff amendments expand and refine import exemptions for manufacturing, petroleum operations, and specified industrial inputs.
Further amendment to Notification No. 12/2012-Customs substitutes and inserts multiple Table entries specifying tariff headings, descriptions and concessional basic customs duty rates, omits certain serials, and adjusts column entries; it also revises the proviso and Annexure by omitting clauses, inserting new conditions (including textile manufacturer/importer certification and petroleum/coal bed methane importer conditions), and adds a new List (List 34) enumerating petroleum and CBM related equipment eligible under specified exemptions.

Exemption of additional duty on imported media with recorded IT software allowed to extent of service tax leviable software value.
Exemption permits relief from additional duty on imported media with recorded Information Technology Software to the extent equal to the duty attributable to the value of the recorded software leviable to service tax; importers must submit the prescribed Annexure I declaration specifying the software value, and the person liable for service tax must be registered or undertake to pay the service tax as required.

Tariff value fixation for specified imports updates valuation basis affecting edible oils, metals, seeds and nuts.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs, under section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, amends Notification No. 36/2001 Customs (N.T.) by substituting TABLE 1, TABLE 2 and TABLE 3 to fix tariff values for specified imports. New tariff values are prescribed in US dollars per metric tonne (or per unit where indicated) for edible oils (various palm and soybean oils), brass scrap (all grades), poppy seeds, areca nuts, and separate unit values for gold and silver where benefits under certain entries of Notification No. 12/2012 Customs are claimed.

Anti-dumping duty amendment substitutes tariff classification entry 5402 with 5402 47, narrowing coverage of affected imports.
The Central Government, exercising powers under the Customs Tariff Act and relevant Customs Tariff Rules, amends the principal anti-dumping notification by substituting the tariff entry "5402" with "5402 47" in column (2) of the Table, thereby modifying the tariff classification of the articles subject to anti-dumping duty.

Exchange rate determination fixes foreign-to-rupee rates for import and export purposes effective from specified date.
Determination fixes the rate of exchange for conversion between specified foreign currencies and Indian rupees for customs valuation of imported and export goods, effective from 19th February, 2016, superseding the earlier board notification dated 4th February, 2016. Schedule I provides per unit rupee equivalents with separate columns for imported and export goods; Schedule II provides rates per one hundred units where applicable. The notification prescribes the exchange rates to be applied in customs transactions until superseded.

Land Customs Station designation: Sikta added as a notified LCS with the Sikta-Bhiswabazar road as the cross-border entry route.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs amends the notification under the Customs Act, 1962 by inserting Sikta in West Champaran District, Bihar as a Land Customs Station and specifying the road connecting Sikta (India) with Bhiswabazar (Nepal) as the cross-border entry route, thereby adding Sikta-Bhiswabazar to the list of notified land frontier points for customs operations.

Customs amendment expands authorised ICD/LCS locations by adding Village Jattipur near Samalkha for import unloading and export loading.
Amendment inserts item (ix) against serial number 5 for Haryana in Notification No.12/97 CUSTOMS (N.T.), designating "Village Jattipur, near Samalkha, Panipat" as an authorised location for unloading of imported goods and loading of export goods, under the powers conferred by clause (aa) of sub section (1) of section 7 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Customs exemption amendment: adds Octreotide, Somatropin and Anti Haemophilic Factor Concentrate to exemption lists, effective immediately.
The Central Government amends Notification No. 12/2012 Customs by inserting Octreotide and Somatropin into List 3 and inserting Anti Haemophilic Factor Concentrate (VIII and IX) into List 4, expanding the enumerated categories of goods under the existing customs exemption framework as effected by the cited government notification.

Customs duty on electricity: revised per unit rates for SEZ to DTA supply and a certificate requirement limiting prior tax benefits.
The notification amends exemption entries to set distinct customs duty rates for electrical energy supplied from SEZs to the DTA-differentiated by origin, SEZ area (Processing/Non Processing), plant capacity and fuel type-and inserts Condition 103 requiring a Development Commissioner certificate that no customs, excise or fuel transportation service tax benefits were availed for raw materials and consumables used in plant operation and maintenance.

Appointment of Common Adjudicating Authority designates officers to adjudicate listed show cause notices across multiple customs cases.
Officers are appointed to act as Common Adjudicating Authority under sub section (1) of section 4 and sub section (1) of section 5 of the Customs Act to exercise powers and discharge duties for adjudication of the listed show cause notices. A table maps each show cause notice and noticee to the originally designated adjudicating authority and to the officer appointed as Common Adjudicating Authority, thereby reallocating adjudicatory responsibility for those proceedings; a later substitution to the appointment text is recorded.

Tariff value fixation for imports sets administrative reference prices to guide customs valuation and clearance procedures.
Fixation of tariff values for specified imported goods is effected under Section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, by substituting revised TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 into the principal non-tariff notification. The amendment lists commodities (various palm and soybean oils, palmolein, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and specified gold and silver entries) with corresponding unit tariff values in US dollars to serve as administrative reference benchmarks for customs valuation at import clearance.

Exchange rate amendment updates the rupee equivalents for the Japanese Yen, effective from mid-February.
The Central Board, under the powers conferred by Section 14 of the Customs Act, substitutes serial number 1 in Schedule II of Notification No.18/2016-CUSTOMS (N.T.), replacing that entry with a line identifying the Japanese Yen and the accompanying rupee conversion figures, with effect from 13th February, 2016.

Tariff value fixation for specified imports maintains declared reference values, affecting customs valuation and import assessment.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs, under section 14(2) of the Customs Act, substitutes TABLE 1, TABLE 2 and TABLE 3 of the principal notification to fix tariff reference values in US dollars for specified imports. The amendment lists edible oils (various palm and soybean oils), brass scrap, poppy seeds and areca nuts with unchanged per metric tonne values, and records per unit tariff values for gold and silver where concessional entries are availed, thereby updating the statutory schedule for customs valuation and import assessment.

Duty drawback rates revised: amendment updates tariff-specific All Industry Rates, units and entries, altering drawback eligibility and calculation.
Revision of All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback by amending Notification No. 110/2015 Customs (N.T.), effecting chapter wise substitutions, insertions and deletions of tariff items and entries; changes include revised drawback percentages, units of measurement and numeric rates for specified goods across multiple chapters, and the notification prescribes these Schedule amendments to take effect on the stated effective date.

Customs notification amendment adds Commissioner of Customs, Air Cargo Complex Chennai as a designated proper officer under Customs Act.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs has amended Notification No.35/2007-CUSTOMS (N.T.) to insert the Commissioner of Customs, Air Cargo Complex, Chennai as a specified proper officer, thereby adding that office to the list of designated authorities under the principal notification pursuant to the powers conferred by the Customs Act.

Common Adjudicating Authority appointed to centralize adjudication of specified customs show cause cases under the Customs Act.
Appoints the Additional Director General (Adjudication), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Mumbai as the Common Adjudicating Authority to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the adjudicating authorities listed in the Table in respect of the specified show cause notices, pursuant to the enabling provisions of the Customs Act.

Developing country notification updates the roster recognised for tariff treatment under Section 8B(6)(a) of the Customs Tariff Act.
The Central Government, exercising power under Section 8B(6)(a) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, notifies a named list of foreign states as developing countries, superseding the prior 1998 notification except as to past actions, thereby establishing the roster to be applied for tariff and regulatory treatment tied to that statutory provision.