Section 35AC eligible project extension specified for a rural tribes welfare project after National Committee recommendation for further period.
The Central Government re-specifies the scheme of Bharat Sevashram Sangha for a Rural Tribes welfare project-covering hospital facilities, vocational training-cum-production unit, residential school and model demonstration farm-as an eligible project or scheme for a further three assessment years following the National Committee's recommendation and satisfaction that the project is being properly executed, and records the estimated project cost for the extended period.

Tax incentive eligibility extended under Section 35AC for Children of the World scheme, allowing continued deductible project expenditure.
The Central Government, exercising powers under clause (b) of the Explanation to section 35AC of the Income-tax Act, specifies the scheme of Children of the World (India) Trust for land development, construction, furnishing and equipments/medicines of Vishwabalak Kendra at Nerul, Mumbai as an eligible project or scheme for a further period of two assessment years commencing from assessment year 1998-99, following the National Committee's recommendation that the project was being executed properly.

Eligible project designation under Section 35AC extended for charitable rural development scheme enabling specified expenditure treatment.
Section 35AC designation of the Radha Kaliandas Daryanani Charitable Trust scheme is extended for a further three assessment years commencing 1998 99, following the National Committee's recommendation that the project is being executed properly; the extension includes maintenance and administrative expenditure on nine institutions under Sai Baba Seva Dham for the Rural Development Programme at village Kanhe and amends the estimated project cost to ninety nine lakhs.

Eligible project specification: extension granted for a healthcare and eldercare scheme enabling tax-deductible expenditure under income tax rules.
The Central Government, on the National Committee's recommendation under the Income-tax Rules, specifies the Khail Shanker Durlabhji Avedna Ashram Trust scheme-construction, furnishing and running of a 100 bedded ashram and a day-care centre for elderly persons-as an eligible project under Section 35AC and extends that specification for a further three assessment years, enabling expenditure on the scheme to qualify under the Section 35AC framework.

Eligible project designation extended for Mother and Child Care Project, preserving tax advantaged treatment for the extended period.
Extension of designation as an eligible project under section 35AC is granted to the Rajasthani and Gujarathi Charitable Foundation's Mother and Child Care Project in the slums of Pune and Khanpur village for a further three assessment years commencing 1998 99, following a National Committee recommendation that the project is being properly executed and would extend beyond its initial period.

Deduction under section 35AC: approved charitable projects assigned specified deductible caps and limited duration.
Central Government approval under section 35AC lists 28 institutions and specifies for each the eligible project or scheme, the estimated cost and the maximum amount of that estimated cost which may be allowed as a deduction; some entries separately identify a corpus fund. The notification also prescribes the assessment years for which the approvals remain in force and notes later substitutions to certain recorded amounts.

Customs appointment for specified purposes: Nagpur added for loading export cargo and unloading import cargo.
Amendment to Notification No. 61/94 (N.T.) adds item (c) "Nagpur" against Maharashtra in the Table, authorising Nagpur for the loading of export cargo and unloading of import cargo, effected under clause (a) of section 7 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Segregation of issue proceeds requires separate account and balance-sheet disclosure of utilisation and investments of unutilised funds.
The amendment requires the board to state that all monies from public issues of shares or debentures be held in a separate bank account, that utilised proceeds be disclosed under a separate Balance Sheet head with their purposes, and that any unutilised proceeds be disclosed under a separate Balance Sheet head showing how those monies have been invested.

Rescission of Customs exemption notification: prior exemptions for goods under Chapters 1-98 rescinded under section 25(1).
Rescission of the notification granting exemptions and effective duty rates for goods of Chapters 1 to 98. The Central Government, invoking powers under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, satisfied that rescission is necessary in the public interest, rescinds Notification No. 20/97-Customs dated 1 March 1997, thereby withdrawing the exemption and duty-rate regime created by that notification.

Special duty exemption: whole special customs duty waived for goods specified against listed serial numbers in notification.
The amendment substitutes the opening paragraph to provide that goods specified against S. Nos. 2 to 13 of the Table are exempted from the whole of the special duty of customs leviable under sub section (1) of section 68 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1996.

Project notification under Heading No. 98.01 expands assessment coverage to designated urban distribution projects in Hyderabad and Tirupati.
The Central Government, invoking sub item (6) of Heading No. 98.01 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, amends Notification No. 42/96 Cus to add Urban Distribution Development Projects of the State Electricity Board in Hyderabad and Tirupati as projects notified for assessment under that heading, stated to be made having regard to economic development.

Rescission of excise notifications restores prior duty position under statutory powers, invoking public interest and tariff correction.
The Central Government, exercising powers under section 5A(1) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and, where applicable, section 5A(1) read with section 3(3) of the Additional Duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance) Act, 1957, rescinds specified notifications setting effective rates of Basic Excise duty and Additional duty for designated goods, having been satisfied that rescission is necessary in the public interest; the rescinded notifications are listed in the annexed Table.

Excise amendment revises effective rates by omitting a table entry and substituting tariff classifications for a listed item.
The Government, exercising powers under section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, amends Notification No. 4/97-Central Excise by omitting serial number 4 from the table and substituting for serial number 93A the column (2) entry "5204.90, 54.01 or 55.08," thereby modifying specified tariff classifications and effective rate descriptions for goods of Chapters 17 to 96.

Duty Entitlement Pass Book exemption limited to claims against specific transferred credit, provisional credits excluded.
The amendment adds a condition that a person who is not a Duty Entitlement Pass Book holder may claim the benefit of exemption only against a specific amount of credit transferred by a DEPB holder, and not against any provisional credit, thereby conditioning exemption entitlement on a concrete transferred credit.

Export duty rebate: exports must be duty-paid and dispatched directly from factory or warehouse unless board permits otherwise.
Amendment requires rebate-linked exports of excisable goods (excluding mineral oils and ship stores) to be exported only after payment of excise duty and directly from a factory or a warehouse, except where the Central Board of Excise and Customs permits otherwise by general or special order.

Excise exemption for vegetable saps used in manufacture of traditional-system medicaments now subject to nil duty within producing factory.
The amendment adds an exemption entry providing that vegetable saps and extracts used within the factory of their production for manufacture of medicaments exclusively used in the Ayurvedic, Unani or Siddha systems are subject to nil excise duty, by way of modification to Notification No. 4/97-Central Excise.

Customs exemption amendments expand the notified goods list, redefining which inputs qualify for duty concessions.
Amendment revises List A substitutions and inserts new tariff entries identifying specific materials, components and specialty chemicals (polystyrene film; nickel iron cobalt alloys; ceramic plates and steatite rods; coated/uncoated electrogalvanised sheet/strip; high purity silanes, phosphine and related materials; silver sputtering targets; and items for solar cells/modules) as eligible for exemption or specified effective duty treatment, and removes and renumbers S. No. 1 in List B.

Tariff exemptions expanded for specified manufacturing inputs, with conditional undertakings and certificate based compliance required.
Amendment expands concessional tariff entries by inserting new headings and goods for manufacture (including chemical inputs, catalytic converter components, silicon and solar related items, CNC systems, and inputs for syringes and needles), substitutes and omits certain table entries to update scope, and adds Condition 66A in the Annexure requiring an undertaking, post import certificate from central excise confirming use, and payment on demand of duty differential for non compliance.

Tariff amendment: Fruit juice based drinks assigned concessional excise rate under amended Central Excise notification.
Amendment inserts a new tariff entry treating fruit juice based drinks as a distinct taxable category and specifying the applicable excise charge at 8%, by modifying Notification No. 5/97-Central Excise to incorporate this additional item into the tariff table following the existing entries.

Exemption for chewing tobacco: amendment adds a nil-duty tariff entry for unbranded chewing tobacco under excise rules.
Amendment adds a tariff entry under heading 24.04 creating an excise exemption for chewing tobacco and preparations containing chewing tobacco that do not bear a brand name, referencing an earlier notification exempting those unbranded products from the whole of excise duty and recording the duty as nil.