Drawback rules amendment narrows eligible tariff headings and reduces claim period to one month from publication.
Amendment to the Drawback Rules 1995 substitutes the tariff headings listed in rule 3(1) proviso (v), rule 6(4) and rule 7(5), limiting them to headings 0401-0406, 1006 and 3501, and replaces the period "two months" with "one month" in rule 13(4); the rules are effective from publication in the Official Gazette.

Drawback rates for exports prescribed; schedule, Cenvat distinctions and exclusions, effective 1 Oct 2011, superseding prior rates.
Central Government determines rates of duty drawback as specified in the annexed Schedule, with rates expressed ad valorem or per unit and caps, applicable subject to classification aligned to the Customs Tariff First Schedule, procedural compliance under the Drawback Rules, distinctions for Cenvat availed or not, exclusions for goods from warehouses, duty free schemes, EOUs and SEZs, inclusions for packing, composite article treatment by net content, and provision for individual fixation where goods are not covered.

Resident public limited company specified as class under section 28E, with definitions of public company and resident clarified.
Specification of resident public limited company as a class of persons for the purposes of clause (c)(iii) of section 28E of the Customs Act, 1962. The notification clarifies that "public limited company" uses the Companies Act definition and includes a private company becoming public by statutory conversion, and that "resident" uses the Income-tax Act definition insofar as it applies to a company.

Anti-dumping duty amendment removes specified table entries, narrowing scope of duties on rubber chemicals from China.
Amendment to Notification No. 133/2008 omits S. No. 4, S. No. 5 and S. No. 6 and their corresponding Table entries that applied anti dumping duties on certain rubber chemicals from China, effected under section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act and rules 18 and 20 of the Anti dumping Rules; the amendment is prospective and does not disturb prior actions or omissions.

Anti dumping duty continuation on Rubber Chemical PX 13: modified import duties applied to goods from Korea RP.
The Central Government, following a mid term review finding continued dumping and likely recurrence of injury, imposes anti dumping duty on Rubber Chemical PX 13 (6PPD) from Korea RP at specified INR per kilogram rates, differentiated by producer/exporter combinations (including a specific rate for Kumho Petrochemicals Company Ltd.), effective from publication until 4 May 2013; exchange rate for calculations to follow notifications under the Customs Act with the bill of entry date as the relevant date.

Anti dumping duty imposed on Morpholine imports from specified countries, with provisional, differentiated rates and a six month term.
Imposition of anti-dumping duty on Morpholine (sub heading 29333917) from China PR, the European Union and the United States follows preliminary findings of dumped exports causing material injury. The Central Government prescribes provisional, differentiated duties per kilogram in US dollars for named producers/exporters and residual categories, payable in Indian currency; exchange rate conversion follows Government notifications under section 14 of the Customs Act, and the duty is effective for up to six months from Gazette publication.

Deeming provision in Customs law confirms preexisting assessment powers for customs officers, validating past assessments.
The Act inserts a deeming provision declaring that persons appointed as officers of Customs before 6 July 2011 are deemed to have and always have had the power of assessment and to have been the proper officers for the purposes of the statutory assessment provision, notwithstanding any contrary court, tribunal or authority orders, thereby validating their prior assessment acts.

DFTP concessions expanded, increasing duty-free benefit levels for Least Developed Countries under amended customs notification.
Amendment revises concession rates under the DFTP scheme for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) by substituting the opening clause percentage from forty percent to twenty percent and replacing multiple percentage entries in Appendix I, Table column (4) with higher specified figures, thereby altering the tariff concession levels applicable to eligible LDCs under the existing notification.

Customs exchange rate update: Swiss franc conversion rates amended for import and export, effective from the notified amendment.
Substitutes the Schedule-I entry for Swiss franc to prescribe distinct rates of exchange for one unit of Swiss franc for imported goods and for exported goods, replacing the earlier Serial No.9 entries in Schedule-I; the amendment is made under statutory authority and is effective from the notified date for application in customs transactions.

Common adjudicating authority assignment: show cause notice reassigned for adjudication by Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) Amritsar
The Board assigns Show Cause Notice DRI F.No.856(30)Ldh/2007/Pt-V dated 22.09.2010 concerning M/s Raghu Exports (India) Pvt. Ltd. and others to the Commissioner of Customs, Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Amritsar, for the purpose of adjudication, effectuating an administrative transfer under the notification framework of the Customs Act and providing a distribution list for notice and service.

Tariff value fixation sets US dollar per tonne benchmarks for palm oils, soybean oil, brass scrap and poppy seeds.
Fixation of tariff values under section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962 by substituting the Table in Notification No. 36/2001-Cus (N.T.) to specify tariff values in US dollars per metric tonne for listed goods including Crude Palm Oil, RBD Palm Oil, Palmolein variants, Crude Soyabean Oil, Brass Scrap (all grades) and Poppy seeds, with several palm oil entries noted as unchanged.

Common Adjudicating Authority assignment transfers a DRI show cause notice to the port customs commissioner for adjudication.
The Board assigns a DRI-issued show cause notice concerning specified importers to the Commissioner of Customs at the port of import, transferring jurisdiction to that commissioner for formal adjudication under the customs adjudication framework.

Assignment of Show Cause Notice: transfer of adjudication to Commissioner of Customs for processing under Customs Act.
The Board assigns the Show Cause Notice issued by a revenue intelligence unit to the Commissioner of Customs (Port Import), New Custom House, Mumbai for the purpose of adjudication, transferring the case file against M/s Alpine Samsung HCC JV and directing the receiving Commissioner to undertake statutory adjudicatory proceedings under the notification-authorised framework.

Customs exemption scope expanded to include paramilitary forces and Home Affairs oversight for security-related imports.
Amendments broaden beneficiaries and certifying authorities in the TABLE of the principal notification by substituting references to Central Para Military Forces for prior force-specific terms, adding the Ministry of Home Affairs alongside the Ministry of Defence, and permitting certification by an Under Secretary in the Ministry of Defence or a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs; permitted uses are expanded from anti-smuggling operations to include coastal security and internal security operations.

Anti-dumping duty on imports of para nitroaniline imposed with producer-specific per-unit rates and a defined effective period.
Imposition of anti-dumping duty on Para Nitroaniline (sub-heading 29214226) from the People's Republic of China based on findings of dumped imports causing material injury; the notification sets producer- and exporter-specific per-kilogram duties in USD, requires payment in Indian currency with conversion at government-specified exchange rates on the bill of entry date, and remains in force for the specified statutory period unless earlier revoked or amended.

Exemption from special countervailing duty: CRGO silicon electrical steel now exempt under amended customs notification for manufacture of transformers.
The Central Government amends Notification No. 20/2006 Customs under section 25(1) of the Customs Act to add a table entry exempting cold rolled grain oriented silicon electrical steel for transformer manufacture (specified tariff headings) from the special countervailing duty by prescribing Nil duty for those goods.

Anti dumping tolerance: amended width tolerances for mill edged and trim edged cold rolled stainless steel govern duty application.
Amendment to Notification No.14/2010 Customs adds width tolerances for cold rolled flat stainless steel: +30 mm for mill edged products with specified width of 1000 mm or more up to 1250 mm, and +4 mm for trim edged products with specified width exceeding 1000 mm up to 1250 mm; incorporated pursuant to the Designated Authority's mid term review and applied under the Customs Tariff framework.

SAFTA origin exemption: customs duty relief for qualifying goods from least developed SAARC members when origin is proven.
The notification exempts goods listed by tariff classification when imported into India from specified Least Developed SAARC member countries from customs duty, provided the importer proves to the satisfaction of the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner of Customs that the goods originate in the listed country in accordance with the Rules of Origin under SAFTA; entitlement requires both tariff-line coverage as described in the Table and certified origin under the SAFTA Rules of Determination of Origin.

Land frontier amendment: new Sabroom-Anandpara/Ramgarh land crossing via River Feni added to customs notification schedule.
Amendment to the central customs notification inserts a new land frontier entry adding Sabroom in South Tripura District opposite Anandpara (India)-Ramgarh (Bangladesh) via the River Feni into the table of designated land frontier points, effected under the powers granted by the Customs Act to modify the schedule of recognized crossings for customs administration.

Customs duty exemption extension: terminal date for sugar exemption extended by amendment to Notification No.21/2002.
Amendment to Notification No.21/2002 Customs substitutes the earlier terminal date in clause (m) of the proviso to the preamble with a later terminal date, thereby extending the period of basic customs duty exemption for imports of raw sugar and white/refined sugar under that notification.