Customs exemption for imported gold and silver limits duty payable by authorised agencies to notified rates and waives additional duty.
The notification exempts imports of gold and silver by specified trading agencies for domestic sale from customs duty in excess of rates notified and from the whole of the additional duty under the Customs Tariff Act; it includes medallions and coins within the scope of gold and silver but excludes jewellery and foreign currency coins, and was later superseded by a subsequent notification.

Customs exemption amendment: deletion of proviso modifies the governing notification on gold and silver import treatment.
Amendment deletes the proviso to Notification No. 117/94-Customs concerning customs treatment of gold and silver. The Central Government, exercising statutory power under the Customs Act and citing public interest, issues Notification No. 79/97-Cus to make this sole textual change to the prior exemption/ tariff notification.

Customs exemption expanded for solvent-soluble dyes in the leather industry, adding and revising specified hue designations.
The amendment revises List 3(A) of Notification No. 11/97-Customs to expand and alter the hue designations of solvent-soluble dyes eligible for customs exemption for the leather industry. It substitutes the entries for items 44 and 45, adds hue numbers to items 46-53, replaces item 48 with an expanded Acid Red list, and adds items 54-58 covering specified Direct dyes, thereby defining which dye hues qualify for exemption.

Anti-dumping duty on imported graphite electrodes varies by grade, country, exporter and size, altering tariff liability.
Imposition of anti-dumping duty under section 9A and rule 13 establishes product , country , exporter and size specific rates for graphite electrodes under Chapter 85 based on preliminary dumping findings; the notification prescribes per metric ton duties in a table that differentiates Normal Power and Ultra High Power grades, lists particular exporters with distinct rates (including nil for some entries), and applies the specified duties when the goods are exported to and imported into India.

Drawback rate revision updates export drawback percentages and allocations for specified textile and made up goods, effective in September.
The notification substitutes specified tariff entries in the Drawback Table to set revised drawback rates and per piece ceilings for certain textile and made up goods, allocating drawback between Customs and Central Excise and distinguishing cases where Modvat has not been availed or exports fall under quantity based advance licences or duty exemption schemes; the substitutions take effect from the stated operative date.

Clearance of plain jewellery into domestic tariff area allowed with special import licence and EEFC-based duty payment conditions.
Amendments authorize clearance of plain jewellery into the Domestic Tariff Area up to ten percent of the preceding year's export value where the recipient furnishes a freely transferable Special Import Licence and pays applicable duties from an EEFC account of the recipient or the EOU/EPZ unit; they also permit re-export of imported goods and export of domestically procured goods including items from partial processing, and permit supply of unsuitable rough diamonds and precious stones up to five percent of value to REP/Diamond Imprest Licence holders on payment of appropriate duty.

Commercial samples exemption requires IEC, marking, proper importation, declaration and undertaking to pay duty if false.
Exemption for commercial samples is conditional on import as personal baggage or by post/air, production of Import Export Code at importation, goods being clearly marked as samples, adherence to prescribed value and unit limits within a twelve month period, a declaration that the samples are imported solely to be shown in India for guidance of exporters or to secure or execute export orders and an undertaking to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs to pay duty if the declaration is found false.

Customs amendment permits loading of imported machinery and equipment for export when imported for a port project.
Amendment substitutes item (b) in the notification for Dabhol Port to permit loading of imported machinery and equipment for export when such goods were imported for the Dabhol Project, as exercised under clause (a) of section 7 of the Customs Act.

Customs exemption for airport navigation equipment requires Chairman and Joint Secretary countersigned certification for clearance.
The amended Condition No. 30 requires the importer at customs clearance to produce a certificate from the Chairman of the Airports Authority of India, countersigned by a Joint Secretary rank officer in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, confirming that navigational, communication, air traffic control and landing equipment and spares are required for airport modernisation and recommending grant of the exemption.

Anti-dumping investigation into hot rolled steel imports alleges dumping and invites submissions; prima facie injury asserted.
The Authority initiates an anti-dumping investigation into hot rolled coils/sheets/plates/strips from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan after a petition by domestic producers representing about 78% of production. Petitioners claim normal values for Russia based on local prices and for Ukraine and Kazakhstan on cost-of-production estimates, and assert export prices from customs data, yielding prima facie dumping margins. They allege material injury through increased imports, profit decline, rising inventories and price depression. The investigation covers a specified twelve-month period; interested parties must submit information within forty days and non-cooperation may lead to facts-available findings.

Import exemption for highway construction: conditional duty waiver for listed equipment subject to five-year non-sale undertaking.
Nil duty is granted for goods in the newly inserted List 8A when imported for national highways construction by a contractor awarded a contract by the National Highways Authority of India, provided the importer furnishes an undertaking to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs not to sell or dispose of the goods for five years; additionally, imports of items at serial numbers 12 and 13 require a certificate from an officer not below Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Surface Transport (Roads Wing) confirming their requirement for national highway construction.

Appointment of customs port designation allows Vadinar to handle unloading and loading for refinery project under statutory power.
The amendment designates Vadinar Port to unload crude petroleum and to unload and load machinery and equipment (including project imports) specifically imported for the Essar Oil Refinery Project, effected by substitution under powers conferred by Section 7(a) of the Customs Act, 1962.

Customs port designation limits Ranpar Port to unloading specified chemicals and loading PVC resin for export.
The amendment authorizes Ranpar Port, under powers granted by the Customs Act, to perform only two specified customs-enabled activities: unloading of ethylene, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomer, and loading of PVC resin for export, by substituting the relevant entry in the notification's table to limit the port's designated functions.

Exchange rate determination for exports sets prescribed currency conversion rates and supersedes the prior notification effective early October.
Determination of exchange rates for export goods under the Customs Act: the Central Government supersedes Notification No. 37/97 and prescribes revised conversion rates for specified foreign currencies into Indian rupees, effective from the first day of October, 1997. Schedule I lists rates per one unit of currency; Schedule II lists rates per one hundred units, establishing official conversion rates for customs valuation and export procedures.

Exchange rate determination prescribed for import valuation and stamp duty, effective and superseding the prior notification.
Prescribes exchange rates for conversion between specified foreign currencies and Indian currency to be used for calculating stamp duty under the Indian Stamp Act and for the purposes of section 14 of the Customs Act insofar as they relate to imported goods, effective from 1st October 1997, superseding Notification No. 36/97-Cus. (N.T.), and sets out those rates in two appended schedules (rates per unit in Schedule I and rates per 100 units in Schedule II).

Adjudicatory jurisdiction: Commissioners appointed with nationwide authority to adjudicate customs cases assigned by the central board.
The Central Government, under sub section (1) of section 4 of the Customs Act, appointed the Commissioners of Customs (Adjudications) at Bombay, Delhi and Chennai as Commissioners of Customs each having jurisdiction over the whole of India to adjudicate cases assigned to them by the Central Board of Excise and Customs.

Special duty exemption caps additional customs levy on specified imported goods by reference to a fixed ad valorem rate.
The Central Government limits the special duty of customs on specified imported goods by exempting any portion of that duty exceeding an amount calculated at a fixed ad valorem rate; the exemption applies only to goods expressly listed by tariff sub-heading in the First Schedule, encompassing specified food and beverage preparations, telecommunication components, storage units, magnetic media, and digital still image video cameras.

Additional duty exemption under EPCG scheme narrowed; excess duty remains payable, while certain garment and agro inputs remain fully exempt.
Amendment substitutes the exemption wording to limit relief to so much of the additional duty as is in excess of an amount calculated at a fixed proportion of value, thereby narrowing the blanket exemption; specified inputs for manufacture of leather garments, textile garments (including knitwear), agro products and products of horticulture and floriculture remain fully exempt, subject to stated conditions.

Customs additional duty exemption limited to duty above a standard threshold, with full relief for garment and agro inputs.
The amendment narrows the opening exemption in Notification No.111/95-Cus so that additional duty relief for goods imported under the EPCG scheme applies only to the portion of additional duty exceeding an amount calculated at a prescribed rate of value, while providing full exemption where the goods are required for manufacture of leather garments, textile garments (including knitwear), agro products and products of horticulture and floriculture; this exemption remains subject to the conditions in paragraph 2.

Customs airport importation: rules amended to permit unloading of specified imported goods and passenger baggage at designated airport.
The Central Government, under section 7(a) of the Customs Act, 1962, substitutes the entry in the notification table so that the authorised activity at the specified customs airport expressly includes unloading of imported goods from Sri Lanka, Sharjah and Kuwait and baggage, thereby defining the scope of import unloading authorised under Notification No. 61/94 (N.T.).