Service tax commencement on air travel agent and mandap keeper services specified under the Finance Act effective from appointed date.
Under powers conferred by statutory appointment, the Central Government designates the first day of July, 1997 as the date on which service tax shall come into force in respect of the taxable services identified in the specified sub clauses of the definition of taxable services in the Finance Act, 1994.

Exemption for security paper supplies to specified government presses creates a nil-duty channel under amended notification.
Amendment inserts an exemption entry creating a nil-rate duty for cylinder mould vat security paper manufactured by the Security Paper Mill, Hoshangabad, when supplied to the Bank Note Press, Dewas; the Currency Note Press, Nashik; or the India Security Press, Nashik.

Exchange rate determination for export goods prescribes notified currency conversion rates effective for customs valuation.
Determination under section 14(3)(a)(i) of the Customs Act, 1962 prescribes, effective 1 July 1997, the rate of exchange for specified foreign currencies for conversion into Indian rupees and vice versa for export goods. The determination is implemented by two schedules: Schedule I (rates per one unit of currency) and Schedule II (rates per one hundred units), and supersedes the earlier notification specified.

Exchange rate determination: prescribed currency conversion rates now govern stamp duty and customs valuation consequences.
The Central Government prescribes specific foreign to Indian currency conversion rates for calculating stamp duty under the Indian Stamp Act and for purposes of section 14 of the Customs Act insofar as those provisions relate to imported goods. The notification supersedes the prior notification and specifies that the exchange rate for each foreign currency listed in Schedule I and Schedule II shall, with effect from the stated effective date, be the rate shown opposite that currency for conversion into Indian currency or vice versa.

Import restriction: certain monumental and building stones now restricted and allowed only under licence or public notice.
Amendment to ITC (HS) Exim Code 68.02 places specified monumental and building stones under a restricted import policy. Exim Code 68022109 (Others) and 68022200 (Other calcareous stone) are restricted and may not be imported except against a licence or in accordance with a Public Notice; the change is issued in the public interest.

Anti-dumping duty on catalysts from Denmark imposed, specifying import rates and scope for goods under relevant tariff chapters.
Provisional imposition of anti-dumping duty on specified catalysts originating in or exported from Denmark, levied according to tariff classification under Chapter 38 or Chapter 98 with product-specific rates set out in the annexed Table; a proviso limits levy for the first listed catalyst to imports exported from Denmark. The notification is time-limited to the stated expiry date.

Valuation of cosmetics and toilet preparations clarified-specified tariff headings use the statutory alternate valuation method.
The notification substitutes Explanation I to define "value" for cosmetics and toilet preparations: goods under heading No. 33.03, 33.04, 33.05 or 33.07 are to be valued in accordance with the provisions of section 4A of the Central Excise Act, while other goods are to be valued in accordance with the provisions of section 4 of that Act.

Abatement for retail-priced cosmetics under section 4A permits reduced assessable value for specified tariff headings.
The Central Government, exercising powers under Section 4A of the Central Excise Act, authorises an abatement from the retail sale price for valuation of goods falling under the specified Central Excise Tariff headings for cosmetics, prescribing the abatement percentage applicable to those listed headings and stipulating the date from which the abatement is operative.

Valuation of cosmetics: retail-sale-price method made applicable to specified tariff categories for excise valuation.
The Central Government, exercising powers under sub-section (1) of Section 4A of the Central Excise Act, specifies that goods under tariff headings 33.03, 33.04, 33.05 and 33.07 are subject to the subsection permitting valuation with reference to retail sale price, thereby making the retail-based valuation method applicable to excise assessment for these cosmetics.

Exemption for captively consumed unbranded chewing tobacco: excise and additional duty not required to be paid under prevailing practice.
The Central Government directs that the whole of the excise duty and additional duty payable on unbranded chewing tobacco captively consumed in the manufacture of branded chewing tobacco, which were not levied during the period in accordance with a prevailing practice, shall not be required to be paid in respect of such unbranded chewing tobacco.

Customs duty rate adjustment for refinery setup clarifies eligible equipment and broadens scope of exemptible goods for refinery construction.
The Central Government, under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, substitutes the effective duty entry against S. No. 144A and replaces List 8A with a detailed, functionally organised catalogue of goods, plant, machinery, systems, components, spares, software and consumables eligible for setting up crude petroleum refineries, encompassing process units, hydrogen and sulphur recovery, utilities, process subsystems, treatment systems, heat exchange and compression equipment, instrumentation and control systems, safety and communications equipment, initial charges of catalysts and maintenance systems.

Brand name exclusion limits excise exemption for branded goods, preserving it only for manufacturer or certain institutional brands.
Amendment narrows a central excise exemption by excluding goods bearing a brand name or trade name except where that name is the manufacturer's or belongs to specified institutional producers or development corporations; it also defines brand name or trade name to include any name or mark, registered or not, used to indicate a commercial connection between goods and the person using the name or mark.

Yarn exemption rules updated: concession limited to specified finished yarns produced without single-yarn facilities and subject to prior duty payment.
The notification amends tariff descriptions and conditions for exemption of dyed, printed, bleached or mercerised yarn by restricting the concession to yarns made in factories without single-yarn production facilities and by requiring that the inputs have had the appropriate excise or additional duty paid; it also conditions the concession for textured or draw-twisted yarn on prior duty payment and on non-availability of input credit during finishing processes.

Service tax liability extension: custom house and steamer agents treated as service providers when they raise bills.
The amendment to the Service Tax Rules inserts sub-clauses treating an agent who raises the bill as the service provider: specifically, a custom house agent who bills clients for services rendered and a steamer agent who bills a shipping line for services rendered, thereby clarifying identification of the taxable person in such agency services.

Service tax commencement for Customs House Agents and steamer agents activates levy while carving out specified service exclusions.
Service tax under the Finance Act, 1997 is appointed to commence on a specified date, making the levy applicable to services including Customs House Agents and steamer agents, while expressly excluding service tax on certain taxable services specified in clause (41) of section 65 of the Finance Act, 1994; the notification uses powers under the Act to fix the operative commencement date and list exclusions.

Project imports regulations amended to specify sponsoring authorities for different plant and project categories and bring a new table into force.
The Project Imports (Amendment) Regulations, 1997 substitute the Table in the Project Imports Regulations, 1986 to identify sponsoring authorities for plant and project imports: Director of Industries for SSI units; named national and regional power and transmission entities for their projects; Secretary to the State Government or UT for other power projects; and the concerned administrative ministry or department for any other plant or project. The amendment takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette under the powers conferred by section 157 of the Customs Act.

Land customs station amendment adds Old Raghna Bazar road as a declared route for Bangladesh trade.
The Central Government, under clause (b) and clause (c) of section 7 of the Customs Act, 1962, amends the annexed table of the existing customs notification by inserting an entry designating Old Raghna Bazar and the road from Dharmanagar through Old Raghna Bazar to Betuli-Fultala (Bangladesh) as a declared land customs station/route against the Bangladesh entry.

Customs duty exemption for specified imports by hundred percent export oriented units subject to bond, licence and export obligations.
Exemption from customs duty is granted for specified goods imported into India for manufacture, production, packaging or job work connected with export by hundred per cent Export Oriented Units approved by the designated Board, subject to compliance with the Export and Import Policy, possession of import licence, manufacture in customs bond, execution of a bond securing export obligations, and meeting export percentage and period requirements fixed by the Board; customs authorities may permit debonding on payment of duty, temporary outward removals, inter-unit transfers, re-export, partial in-bond manufacture and duty-free destruction of scrap under prescribed conditions.

Effective rate of duty for external silicone breast prosthesis prescribed under amended customs notification altering tariff entry.
The Central Government amends Notification No. 11/97-Customs by inserting, after S. No. 207 in the Table, a new entry identifying External silicone breast prosthesis as a distinct tariff item and prescribing an effective rate of duty of 10%, with other table columns left blank.

Customs exemption for telecom goods: specified equipment exempted only when imported by licensed telecom service providers.
The amendment inserts S. Nos. 149A-149D into the customs exemption Table, adding Lists 9A-9D that enumerate goods for basic telephone, cellular mobile, radio paging and closed user satellite data network services. Each entry is linked to specific tariff columns and is made subject to new Conditions 33A-33D, which restrict the exemption to imports by persons licensed by the Department of Telecommunications for the relevant service. The amendment is issued under section 25(1) of the Customs Act and is valid up to and inclusive of 31st March, 1999.