EPCG scheme amendment: off site installation permitted with joint bond and bank guarantee; increased concessional rate and expanded supply scope.
The amendment permits capital goods imported under the EPCG scheme to be installed in another manufacturer's factory if that manufacturer is endorsed on the licence and the importer and manufacturer execute a bond for the full duty difference backed by a Bank Guarantee, binding them jointly and severally to fulfil the export obligation and other notification conditions and to pay duty with interest on default; it also increases the TABLE figure at serial 4, column (2), and expands clause (v) to include supplies under specified clauses of paragraph 121 of the Export and Import Policy.

Import-export port eligibility expanded to specified seaports, airports and ICDs; Commissioner may permit additional locations.
Amendment prescribes that imports and exports under advance licences issued on or after 19-9-1995 must be effected through specified seaports, airports and Inland Container Depots as listed, and empowers the Commissioner of Customs to permit movement through any other sea port, airport, Inland Container Depot or land customs station by special order subject to conditions specified by him.

Port and Terminal Access: authorised sea ports, airports and ICDs prescribed for VBAL imports, with commissioner discretion to permit others.
The amendment replaces condition (iv) of Notification No. 148/95-Cus to prescribe specific sea ports, airports and Inland Container Depots as the authorised points for imports and exports against a VBAL issued on or after 19-9-1995, and provides that the Commissioner of Customs may, by special order and subject to specified conditions, permit use of any other sea port, airport, ICD or a land customs station.

Specified port requirement limits garment VBAL imports and exports to listed ports, with commissioner able to permit alternatives.
The amendment replaces condition (6) to require that imports and exports under Special VBAL for readymade garments be through the same specified sea port, airport or inland container depot drawn from an enumerated list, while allowing the Commissioner of Customs, by special order and subject to conditions, to permit use of other ports, airports, ICDs or land customs stations.

Port-specific import-export requirement restricts garment VBAL shipments to listed ports; commissioner may permit others with conditions.
The amendment requires that imports and exports under Special VBAL for readymade garments be undertaken through the same port, airport or inland container depot, specifying a list of permitted sea ports, airports and inland container depots; the Commissioner of Customs may, by special order and subject to specified conditions, permit import and export through other ports, airports, inland container depots or land customs stations.

Exemption to imports for export orders conditioned on specified ports and ICDs; Commissioner may permit alternate points.
The amendment conditions the exemption for imports made for execution of export orders on movement through specified sea ports, airports, or Inland Container Depots while allowing the Commissioner of Customs to permit other points by special order; it also expands "packing materials" to expressly include hangers for garments.

Imports under advance licence: amendment expands permitted ports and adds controlled substances to provisos by Commissioner discretion to permit others
The notification substitutes condition (iv) to list permitted sea ports, airports and Inland Container Depots for imports and exports under advance licences and empowers the Commissioner of Customs to permit other ports or a land customs station subject to conditions. It also amends provisos to conditions (vi) and (vii) by substituting the single reference to Acetic Anhydride with the trio Acetic Anhydride, Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine.

Imports under advance licence: permitted ports specified and commissioner empowered; Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine added to controlled items.
Amendment to Notification No. 79/95-Cus replaces condition (iv) to specify permitted sea ports, airports and Inland Container Depots for imports and exports under the advance licence and grants the Commissioner of Customs authority to permit other ports or stations by special order subject to conditions. It also amends the provisos to conditions (vi) and (vii) to substitute "Acetic Anhydride" with "Acetic Anhydride, Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine," thereby extending specified controls to Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine.

Customs entry-point restriction: specified ports and depots required for imports/exports, with commissioner power to permit exceptions.
Substituted condition (7) restricts imports and exports to a specified list of sea ports, airports and Inland Container Depots, and authorises the Commissioner of Customs to permit use of any other sea port, airport, Inland Container Depot or land customs station by special order subject to conditions specified by the Commissioner.

Port and airport routing requirement: imports and exports limited to specified locations, commissioner may permit others subject to conditions.
Amendment restricts imports and exports for goods to be supplied to UNO, UN and other aided programmes to specified sea ports, airports and Inland Container Depots, while permitting the Commissioner of Customs, by special order and subject to specified conditions, to allow movement through other ports, airports, ICDs or land customs stations.

Exemption extension: inclusion of Bhartiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited in currency-note printing machines notification.
Notification No. 21/96-Cus dated 7-6-1996 amends Notification No. 187/94-Customs by inserting the words "or Bhartiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited" after "Reserve Bank of India," thereby extending the existing exemption for machines for printing currency notes to include the additionally named entity.

Exchange rate determination for export goods sets official conversion rates, superseding prior notification and governing customs valuation.
Determination of official exchange rates for export goods under the Customs Act, superseding the earlier notification and prescribing specific foreign-currency-to-Indian-rupee conversion rates effective from 1st June, 1996, set out in Schedule I (rates per one unit) and Schedule II (rates per one hundred units) for use in export-related customs administration.

Exchange Rate Determination for imported goods fixes currency conversion rates affecting stamp duty and customs valuation.
Prescribes exchange rates for specified foreign currencies to be applied in converting to Indian rupees for calculating stamp duty under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and for section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 insofar as it relates to imported goods; supersedes the earlier notification and, from the first day of June, 1996, makes the rates in Schedule I (per one unit) and Schedule II (per one hundred units) the operative conversion factors.

Customs exemption inclusion adds Greaves Limited to list of beneficiaries under the missile development notification.
The Central Government amends Notification No. 257/92-Customs by adding item 71 to the Table in the opening paragraph, listing Greaves Limited, New Delhi, as an eligible beneficiary under the Missile Development Programme exemption pursuant to its statutory power under the Customs Act.

Port for coastal trade designation expanded to include Surasani-Yanam, adding it to the notified coastal ports list under customs rules.
The notification inserts Surasani-Yanam as an additional entry for Andhra Pradesh in the Table to the prior customs notification listing ports for coastal trade, thereby expanding the notified roster of coastal trade ports. The amendment is promulgated under clause (d) of section 7 of the Customs Act, 1962, by way of a further notification to the earlier notification No. 64/94 (N.T.).

Customs amendment: horological raw materials included for specified import treatment relating to manufacture of watch and clock components.
The Central Government amends Notification No. 61/94 (N.T.)-Customs by inserting a new sub-item adding horological raw materials for manufacture of component or part or both of wrist watches and clocks to the Rajasthan entry, thereby including those materials among goods recognised for specified appointments or customs treatment at the Jaipur airport.

Exchange rate determination for export goods establishes official statutory conversion rates and supersedes the prior notification.
Determination of exchange rates for conversion of specified foreign currencies into Indian rupees for export goods, issued under the authority of the Customs Act, fixes the rates set out in two appended schedules and declares those rates effective from the stated date, superseding the earlier notification and establishing the statutory rates for customs valuation and export-related conversions.

Exchange rate schedule prescribed for stamp duty and customs valuation, updating conversion rates for imported goods.
The Central Government prescribes exchange rates for specified foreign currencies to be used in converting into Indian currency and vice versa for calculating stamp duty and for purposes of the Customs Act insofar as they relate to imported goods; the rates are set out in two schedules (per one unit and per one hundred units) and supersede the earlier notification, taking effect from the stated effective date.

Customs exemption amendment clarifies that ultrasonic equipment includes A scan, B scan, pachy meter and cleaners.
The notification substitutes the prior entry in the annexed table to specify Ultrasonic equipment and its component types - A scan, B scan, pachy meter and cleaners - thereby clarifying the scope of the customs exemption for those medical devices.

Rescission of warehousing notification alters applicable warehousing regulation through executive exercise of customs rescission power.
The Central Government, invoking its power under section 61(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, has rescinded Notification No. 10/92 Customs (N.T.), dated 17 February 1992, relating to the warehousing period; the rescission is effected by Notification No. 22/96 Cus. (N.T.), dated 4 April 1996, removing the earlier regulatory provision.