Customs notification amendment updates trademark references and omits specified clauses under public interest powers statute
Notification No.48/2007 Customs (N.T.) amends Notification No.1/64 Customs by omitting clauses (iii), (iv) and (vii), and by substituting references to provisions of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 with corresponding provisions of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 in clause (viii) and in sub clauses (b) of clauses (ix) and (x). These changes are made under section 11 of the Customs Act, 1962 in the public interest.

Intellectual property enforcement: customs may suspend, examine and seize imported goods suspected of infringing rights under procedural safeguards.
These Rules enable suspension, examination, seizure and disposal of imported goods suspected to be goods infringing intellectual property rights. A right holder may serve a prescribed notice and pay an application fee; the Commissioner must register or reject the notice within a set period. Registration requires bonds and indemnities. Customs may suspend clearance on notice or on its own initiative, follow fixed time-limits (shorter for perishables), permit examination and sampling, and, if infringement is determined, seize and destroy or otherwise dispose of goods with right holder concurrence; costs of destruction and detention are borne by the right holder.

Anti-dumping duty on zinc oxide continues, imposing a specified per unit charge and pro rata basis for other purities.
Imposition of anti-dumping duty on imports of Zinc Oxide targets specified tariff headings for goods originating in, exported from, or routed through the People's Republic of China; duty prescribed as a specific charge per unit for 99.5% purity, with other purities assessed on a pro-rata basis. Duty is payable in Indian currency, exchange rate for calculation set by separate government notification, with the relevant date for exchange determination being the bill of entry presentation date. The measure is effective for a multi-year period from publication, subject to earlier revocation or amendment.

Customs amendment expands designated notified ports and airports under Advance Licensing Scheme and DEEC scheme.
The Government amends specified Customs notifications under the Advance Licensing Scheme/DEEC Scheme by substituting location clauses to add Indore to the grouping with Rajasansi (Amritsar) and Lucknow (Amausi), and to add Loni (District Ghaziabad) to the grouping with Durgapur (Export Promotion Industrial Park) and Babarpur; these textual substitutions are applied to the conditions/paragraphs specified in each listed notification and the amendments take effect on publication in the Official Gazette.

Appointment of Special Adjudicator to exercise customs adjudication powers for DRI show cause notices against implicated importers.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs, invoking statutory powers under the Customs Act, appoints the Commissioner of Central Excise, Goa, and authorises him to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the Commissioner of Customs, Port Import, Chennai, for adjudicating the show cause notice(s) issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Mumbai Zonal Unit, in proceedings concerning M/s Shri Balaji Rollings Pvt. Limited and others.

Special Adjudicator appointment under the Customs Act authorises adjudication of DRI show cause notices in a specified case.
The Commissioner of Central Excise, Goa is authorised under Section 4(1) and Section 5(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 to exercise the powers of the Commissioner of Customs, Port Import, Chennai for adjudicating the show cause notice and related matters issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Mumbai Zonal Unit concerning M/s. Karthik Inductions Limited and others, as notified by S.O. 715(E).

Delegation of Adjudicatory Authority: Commissioner of Central Excise, Goa authorised to adjudicate DRI show-cause notices against Global Ispat.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs appoints the Commissioner of Central Excise, Goa and authorises him as the proper officer to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the Commissioner of Customs, Port Import, Chennai for adjudicating show-cause notices relating to M/s Global Ispat Limited and others issued by the revenue intelligence agency; the delegation is case-specific and effected under the Board's statutory powers.

Special adjudicator appointment empowers a Central Excise Commissioner to exercise customs adjudication powers in DRI show cause proceedings.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs, under Sections 4 and 5 of the Customs Act, appointed the Commissioner of Central Excise, Goa as Special Adjudicator empowered to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the Commissioner of Customs, Port Import, Chennai for adjudicating specified show cause notices issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence relating to Twenty First Century Wire Road Ltd. and others, thereby temporarily transferring adjudicatory competence for those matters to the designated officer.

Appointment of Special Adjudicator: Commissioner of Central Excise, Goa authorised to adjudicate DRI show cause notices.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs, invoking its statutory adjudicatory powers, appoints the Commissioner of Central Excise, Goa and authorises him to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the Commissioner of Customs, Port Import, Chennai for adjudicating show-cause notices issued to M/s. Tulsyan NEC Ltd. and others arising from an investigation file of the Revenue Intelligence unit, as set out in S.O. 712(E).

Appointment of special adjudicators authorizes a commissioner to exercise customs adjudication powers in specified DRI show cause matters.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs, under Section 4(1) and Section 5(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, appoints the Commissioner of Central Excise, Goa and authorizes him to exercise the powers and duties of the Commissioner of Customs, Port Import, Chennai for adjudicating show-cause matters issued to M/s. RKKR Steels Limited and others by the Additional Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Mumbai Zonal Unit.

Export duty exemption for low-grade iron ore fines limited to excess over a specified per-tonne floor.
Grants an exemption from customs duty for exports of iron ore fines with Fe content of 62% and below by relieving that part of the duty specified in the Customs Tariff Second Schedule which exceeds an amount computed at a fixed per-tonne floor; issued as Notification No.62/2007 Customs dated 3 May 2007 and later rescinded by Notification No.80/2008 dated 13 June 2008.

Customs exemption for aircraft and aircraft parts: imports allowed subject to approval and undertaking restricting use and resale.
The notification amends the customs tariff by inserting and substituting schedule entries to grant Nil or reduced duty treatment to specified aircraft, aircraft parts (excluding rubber tyres or tubes), refrigerated motor vehicles and certain other goods, and adds Conditions 103-105 requiring Ministry approval, prescribed usage undertakings, resale restrictions, and duty payback obligations where concession conditions are breached.

Tariff value fixation for edible oils and brass scrap updated by substitution of table under Customs Act
The Board, invoking powers under sub-section (2) of Section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962, amends Notification No.36/2001-Cus (N.T.) by substituting its Table of tariff values. The new Table fixes tariff values in US$ per metric tonne for specified imports: Crude Palm Oil, RBD Palm Oil, other Palm Oil variants, Crude Palmolein, RBD Palmolein, other Palmolein variants, Crude Soyabean Oil, and Brass Scrap (all grades), establishing revised customs valuation benchmarks.

Provisional anti dumping assessment clarified to identify producer, exporter and export channel for specified tile imports.
The Central Government amended its provisional assessment notification under rule 22 by substituting the referenced parties with language identifying M/s. Guangdong Monalisa Ceramic Co. Ltd. as Producer and M/s. Foshan Monalisa Industry Co. Ltd. as Exporter through M/s. Ava Corp., Hong Kong (Exporter), thereby clarifying which exporters' imports of vitrified and porcelain tiles are subject to provisional assessment pending completion of the new shipper review. This amendment does not change the prior findings of dumping or material injury.

Provisional assessment of anti-dumping duty on specified tiles pending new shipper review; importers may post security and face retrospective liability.
Provisional assessment was ordered for vitrified and porcelain tiles (excluding vitrified industrial tiles) produced by M/s. Foshan Chan Cheng Jinyi Ceramics Co. Ltd. and exported by M/s. Joyson Ceramic Material Company Limited through M/s. Able Ace (M) Sdn. Bhd., pending a new shipper review under rule 22. Customs may require security or guarantee for any deficiency, and importers will be liable to pay any anti-dumping duty recommended on review retrospectively from the date of review initiation.

Adjudicating authority appointed under Customs Act to hear show cause notices against company and its director.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs, under section 4(1) and section 5(1) of the Customs Act, authorises the Commissioner of Customs (Imports), Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House, Nhava Sheva, to act as Commissioner of Customs (Export Promotion), New Customs House, Mumbai, solely for adjudicating show cause notices issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in respect of M/s Mitashi Edutainment Pvt. Ltd. and its director.

Common Adjudicating Authority appointed to adjudicate show cause proceedings under the Customs Act for specified importer.
Under subsection (1) of section 4 and subsection (1) of section 5 of the Customs Act, 1962, the Central Board of Excise and Customs appoints the Commissioner of Customs, Inland Container Depot, Tughlakabad, New Delhi as the Common Adjudicating Authority empowered to exercise the powers and duties of the Commissioner of Customs, Air Cargo Complex, New Delhi for adjudicating matters arising from a show cause notice issued to M/s Vasavi Impex Pvt. Ltd. (now Sri Sai Sathvik Impex Pvt. Limited) by the Additional Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Chennai.

Common adjudicating authority appointed to centralize adjudication of specified customs show cause notices under statutory powers.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs appoints the Commissioner of Customs (Imports), Jawahar Custom House, as common adjudicating authority to exercise the powers and discharge duties of two other Commissioners for adjudication of matters relating to a specified show cause notice issued by a revenue investigative unit concerning named parties, thereby centralizing adjudicatory responsibility for those proceedings under statutory Customs Act authority.

Common adjudicating authority appointed to exercise Customs Commissioner's powers to adjudicate show cause notices issued by revenue intelligence.
A common adjudicating authority is designated under sections 4(1) and 5(1) of the Customs Act to exercise the powers and duties of the Commissioner of Customs (Import), New Customs House, Ballard Estate, Mumbai, limited to adjudicating specified show cause notices issued against M/s Global Traders and others, effecting a temporary delegation of adjudicatory jurisdiction to the Commissioner of Customs (Import), Air Cargo Complex, Mumbai.

Appointment of Common Adjudicating Authority to consolidate adjudication of a specified show cause notice concerning M/s Fulchand and Sons.
Appoints the Commissioner of Customs, Custom House, Tuticorin as a Common Adjudicating Authority under sub section (1) of section 4 and sub section (1) of section 5 of the Customs Act, 1962, authorised to exercise the powers and duties of specified Commissioners and Deputy/Assistant Commissioners of Customs to adjudicate matters relating to the show cause notice issued to M/s Fulchand and Sons, Tirupur (F.No.INV/DGCEI/CBERU/7/2005, dated 20th June 2006).