Specific safeguard appointment: Director General designated to administer transitional product-specific safeguard duties under customs rules.
The Central Government, exercising powers under the Customs Tariff (Transitional Product Specific Safeguard Duty) Rules, 2002, appoints Shri Lakhinder Singh, Director General (Safeguard), as Director General (Specific Safeguard) to administer the product-specific safeguard mechanism, and supersedes the earlier notification appointing the relevant officer, without affecting prior actions or omissions.

Appointment of Adjudicating Officer under Customs Act empowers adjudication of specified Show Cause Notices relating to two exporters.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs, under sub section (1) of section 4 of the Customs Act, 1962, appoints the Commissioner of Customs, Inland Container Depot, Tughlakabad, New Delhi to act as Commissioner of Customs, Air Cargo (Exports), New Delhi for the sole purpose of adjudicating specified Show Cause Notices issued to two exporters, thereby transferring adjudicatory authority and jurisdiction over those notices to the appointed officer.

Foreign Trade Policy redefinition replaces Export and Import Policy in SEZ Rules, aligning SEZ regime with updated trade policy.
The amendment substitutes clause (e) of the Special Economic Zone Rules to define "Foreign Trade Policy" as the Foreign Trade Policy published for the specified policy period and directs that every instance of the phrase "Export and Import Policy" in the SEZ Rules be replaced by "Foreign Trade Policy," thereby aligning SEZ Rule terminology with the updated national trade policy; the amendment is effected by notification under the rulemaking power of the Customs Act and takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette.

Foreign Trade Policy alignment alters customs exemptions, importer status conditions, and depreciation and clearance rules.
Amendments align multiple Customs exemption notifications with the Foreign Trade Policy (1 September 2004-31 March 2009), substituting prior policy references, updating definitions and Handbook cross references, and revising operative provisions: customs and additional duty exemptions for specified jewellery and cut and polished diamonds tied to Replenishment Licences and exporter/manufacturer status; importer eligibility conditioned on star export house recognition and actual user status; debonding on depreciated value using a prescribed straight line schedule; limited textile leftover clearance into Domestic Tariff Area; and adjustments to entitlement and explanatory clauses.

Customs duty exemption for coir fibre introduced, creating a tariff entry exempting its import duty under amended notification.
Amendment to Notification No. 21/2002 Cus inserts S.No.170A in the Table to exempt coir fibre (tariff headings 5305 11 or 5305 19 00) from Customs duty with Nil duties; the proviso refers to application on or after the 4th September, 2005, and the notification states it shall come into force on the 4th September, 2004.

Rules of origin determine when India-Thailand goods qualify for preferential tariff treatment under the Early Harvest Scheme.
Interim Rules of Origin set criteria and procedures for goods traded between India and Thailand to qualify for preferential tariff concessions under the Early Harvest Scheme. Goods qualify as originating if wholly produced in the exporting Party or, if not wholly produced, if they meet product specific rules or general tests-either a local value added content threshold or a change in tariff classification-subject to final processing in the exporting territory and exclusions for minimal operations. Certification requires a Government issuing authority to verify claims and issue a standardized Certificate of Origin specifying the origin criterion.

Customs exemption for Thai-origin goods imported under the India-Thailand Free Trade Agreement, subject to proof of origin.
Customs exemption is granted to specified goods imported into India from Thailand under the India-Thailand Free Trade Agreement, subject to proof that the goods are of Thai origin in accordance with the Interim Rules of Origin. The exemption covers only the tariff items and descriptions listed in the table and applies to the whole of the customs duty otherwise leviable under the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act. The notification came into force on 1 September 2004.

Anti-dumping duty on chloroquine phosphate imposed, margin-based levy applied against landed value for affected imports.
Definitive anti-dumping duty is imposed on chloroquine phosphate (tariff item 2939 20 40) originating in or exported from the People's Republic of China. The duty equals the difference between a specified US dollar per kilogram amount and the landed value of imports, applies to listed origin/export permutations and to any producer or exporter, operates from the provisional duty date, is payable in Indian currency, and uses a prescribed Government exchange rate notification with the bill of entry date as the relevant date.

Appointment of Common Adjudicating Authority to adjudicate a Show Cause Notice against M/s Chabra Industries under Customs Act.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs, exercising powers under the Customs Act, appoints the Commissioner of Customs (Export), Air Cargo, New Delhi to act as Commissioner of Customs at Kandla, Jamnagar, Import and General New Delhi, and ICD Tughlakabad for the purpose of adjudicating the Show Cause Notice issued to M/s. Chabra Industries by the Additional Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Delhi Zonal Unit; the appointment supersedes an earlier notification except as to prior acts.

Appointment of adjudicating authority: Commissioner of Customs (Export) designated to adjudicate DRI show cause notice against a firm.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs appoints the Commissioner of Customs (Export), Air Cargo, New Delhi to act as Commissioner of Customs for specified ports and the Inland Container Depot, Tughlakabad, for the purpose of adjudicating the matters relating to the Show Cause Notice issued in respect of M/s. Bonita Industries, by Notification No. 99/2004-Customs (N.T.), dated 26 August 2004, superseding Notification No. 53/2004 except for prior actions.

Customs adjudication: single Commissioner designated to hear the show cause proceedings against the specified importer.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs appoints the Commissioner of Customs (Export), Air Cargo, New Delhi to act as the Commissioner of Customs for specified Commissionerates for the limited purpose of adjudicating matters arising from the Show Cause Notice issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Delhi Zonal Unit in respect of M/s. Unicorn Industries and others, superseding an earlier notification except as to prior actions.

Appointment of Commissioner to adjudicate show cause notices under the Customs Act, centralizing adjudication for a specified importer.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs appoints the Commissioner of Customs (Import), Jawahar Customs House, to act as Commissioner of Customs for specified other customs formations solely for adjudicating the Show Cause Notice issued to M/S SYP Agro Foods Ltd., invoking powers under the Customs Act to transfer adjudicatory responsibility for that proceeding.

Exchange rate determination for exported goods sets specified currency conversion rates under the Customs Act, effective from notification.
The notification, issued under the Customs Act authority, prescribes the rate of exchange for listed foreign currencies for purposes relating to exported goods and supersedes the earlier notification; it sets two schedules: one prescribing rates per single unit of specified currencies and the other prescribing the rate per one hundred units for the listed currency, with application from the stated effective date for export-related customs computations.

Exchange rate determination sets official conversion rates for specified foreign currencies for import valuation, effective from specified date.
Determines official rate of exchange for specified foreign currencies for import valuation, effective from 1st September, 2004, prescribing conversion rates in two schedules for use in customs valuation of imported goods and superseding the previous notification of 27th July, 2004.

Customs duty amendment revises tariff entries for iron and steel, replacing prior exemptions with specified duty rates.
Amendment substitutes revised column entries in the principal exemption notification's Table: two specified serial entries are set to a duty rate of 5%, another serial entry's column is set to Nil, and a replaced serial entry applies a 5% duty to goods under the listed commodity code, thereby altering tariff treatment for the identified goods under the existing notification.

Duty reduction on petroleum products expands customs tariff relief, lowering rates for motor spirit, diesel and LPG.
Amendment to the customs tariff notification inserts new table entries and substitutes an existing rate to effect a duty reduction on specified petroleum products by identifying tariff headings for Motor Spirit, High Speed Diesel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas and prescribing reduced customs duty rates under the existing exemption notification framework.

Commissioner appointment under Customs Act to adjudicate a show cause notice issued to M/s Mangal Exports.
Appointment of the Commissioner of Customs (Export), Jawahar Custom House, Nhava Sheva, to act as Commissioner of Customs (Import), Jawahar Custom House, Nhava Sheva for adjudicating the show cause notice issued to M/s Mangal Exports, made under the statutory power conferred by subsection (1) of section 4 of the Customs Act, 1962 and confined to the matters arising from the notice referenced by the Additional Director General, Mumbai Zonal Unit dated 19 April 2004.

Adjudicating authority appointment: Commissioner designated to adjudicate a show cause notice concerning M/s Devarshee Processors.
The Board designated the Commissioner of Customs (Export Promotion), New Customs House, Mumbai to act as Commissioner of Customs (Import), Jawahar Custom House, Nhava Sheva and as Commissioner of Customs, New Customs House, Kandla solely for adjudicating the show cause notice issued to M/s Devarshee Processors (F.No. DRI/BZU/B/Inv-12/2002, dated 29 February 2004) by the Additional Director General, Mumbai Zonal Unit, as recorded in the notification dated 6 August 2004.

Customs airport designation expands to include Khajuraho permitting baggage loading and unloading for tourist chartered flights.
The amendment designates Khajuraho as a Customs airport for the specific purpose of unloading and loading baggage brought in tourist chartered flights by inserting a new entry into the table of Notification No. 61/94-Customs (N.T.), thereby extending the locations authorized for those baggage operations under the customs regulatory framework.

Anti-dumping duty rescission removes prior duties on vitrified and porcelain tiles from specified origins, subject to past actions.
The Central Government rescinds the notification imposing anti-dumping duty on vitrified and porcelain tiles originating in or exported from the People's Republic of China and the UAE, under powers in the Customs Tariff Act and relevant anti-dumping rules, while preserving actions or omissions that occurred before the rescission.