Excise duty exemption limits excess levy on specified petroleum tariff items by capping the ad valorem rate under central law.
Notification No.15/1998-CE exempts goods under sub-headings 2710.11, 2710.12, 2710.13 and 2710.19 of the Central Excise Tariff from so much of the duty leviable as exceeds the amount calculated at a specified ad valorem rate, exercising powers under the Central Excise Act read with provisions of the Finance Bill and the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act.

Concessional import filings: manufacturers may choose consignment or quarterly-estimate applications; customs must record consignment details.
Manufacturers may apply for concessional import duty either per consignment or by declaring an estimated quarterly requirement. If the quarterly-estimate option is used, the Assistant Commissioner of Customs must debit the application with the quantity and value imported under each consignment and record bill of entry particulars before allowing the exemption notification benefit.

Commissioner discretion to exempt exporters from clause compliance when failure is beyond their control, subject to representation.
Amendment permits the Commissioner of Customs to exempt an exporter or authorised agent from a specified clause where non compliance was for reasons beyond their control, after considering any representation and recording reasons for the exemption.

Imported goods transhipment conditions require manifest identification and extend relevant references from ports or airports to customs stations.
Transhipment conditions for imported goods are amended to require that goods be identified in the import manifest or import report, as applicable, as intended for transhipment to any customs station. References in the relevant condition and its proviso are broadened by replacing "port or airport" with "station". The amendments take effect upon publication in the Official Gazette.

Duty free baggage allowances clarified for returning passengers, tourists, professionals, transfers and unaccompanied baggage.
These Rules prescribe duty free baggage clearance for different categories of arrivals, defining resident, tourist, family and professional equipment, and allocating specific allowances via Appendices A-F. They distinguish arrivals by origin and route, set limits and exclusions for used personal effects, professional equipment and jewellery, provide separate tourist concessions including re export conditions, extend provisions to unaccompanied baggage with time limits and discretionary extensions, and permit limited crew concessions; detailed prohibited items and appliance categories are listed in Annex I, Annexure II and Annexure III, with specified land routes in Annexure IV.

Rescission of exemption notification: government withdraws a prior customs exemption, restoring statutory tariff application.
Central Government rescinds Notification No. 11/97-Customs, declaring withdrawal of that customs exemption as necessary in the public interest by issuance of Notification No. 30/98-Customs dated 2 June 1998, thereby removing the prior exemption from the customs tariff regime.

Exemption from special additional duty for defined imported goods, subject to existing conditional exemptions and declaration requirements.
Exemption from the whole of the special additional duty of customs is granted for specified goods in the First Schedule when imported into India, subject where indicated to the conditions of existing First Schedule exemptions or to conditions specified in other notifications. The notification lists categories (baggage exemptions, specified gold and silver imports, certain tariff headings including crude petroleum and newsprint, lightweight coated paper for magazine printing) and requires a bill-of-entry declaration for goods imported for sale, with an undertaking to pay social additional duty if disposed of otherwise. Certain other notification-based imports are explicitly excluded from this exemption.

Customs notification amendment updates exemption tables, replaces rule references, alters import classifications and tariff rates and administrative designations.
Central Government, under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, amends ten named customs exemption notifications by substituting wording in Tables and paragraphs to update rule references, include courier imports within classifications, adjust tariff expressions and ad valorem rates, change specified monetary rates per ten grams, omit or replace certain table entries, modify storage and accounting undertakings for importers, revise effective dates in explanatory provisions, and substitute administrative designations and clause wording for accessories, parts and consumables.

Special Customs duty continuation preserves tariff-based exemptions for specified electronic and telecommunication imports under amended notification now.
The Central Government, under section 25 of the Customs Act and section 68 of the Finance Act, substitutes a new Table in Notification No. 72/97-Customs to continue and define tariff-based treatment for specified goods in the First Schedule. The substituted Table lists applicable tariff headings and enumerates electronic, telecommunication and data-processing goods and components eligible for the notification, including specified exclusions and value-based limits and referencing related notification conditions where applicable.

Special customs duty exemption expanded to include additional tariff items and specified computer, textile and beverage inputs.
The Central Government amends Notification No.12/97-Cus to substitute item (b) so that goods at S. Nos. 2-15 of the Table are subject to the whole of the special customs duty under the Finance (No.2) Act, 1996. The amendment inserts S. No.14 listing extensive tariff sub-headings (textiles, yarns, fabrics, paper, polymers and related goods) and S. No.15 specifying particular items (disk drives, telephony apparatus, higher-value integrated circuits, drafting machines, coated paper for magazines, alcoholic preparations for beverage manufacture, specified fabrics and upholstery goods, deflection components, pillows and related articles) within that treatment.

Customs duty exemption for specified semiconductor manufacturing equipment imports under concessional import procedure, subject to procedural conditions.
The notification exempts from the whole of customs duty a detailed list of machinery, parts and accessories used in semiconductor and flat-panel display manufacture, specified by tariff headings, and includes goods from any chapter required for manufacture of the listed items; the exemption is available only where importers follow the prescribed concessional import procedure and is subject to the notification's temporal limits and subsequent amendments.

Customs duty rate reduction: specified imports exempt from excess duty, aligning payable rates with Finance Bill proposals.
The Central Government exempts listed imported goods from customs duty exceeding the amounts calculated at the Table's specified rates, applying the Table's standard ad valorem rate where the standard rate is leviable and the Table's preferential ad valorem rate where a preferential rate is leviable; the Table identifies goods by Chapter, heading or sub heading and, in one case, pairs an ad valorem rate with an additional per weight charge.

Customs duty concessions: notification sets concessional ad valorem rates and conditional exemptions for listed imports.
The Central Government, invoking section 25(1) of the Customs Act, exempts specified imported goods set out in the Table from customs duty and additional duty in excess of the ad valorem or specified rates shown in the Table, subject to conditions in the Annexure and compliance with applicable procedural rules such as the Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty for Manufacture of Excisable Goods) Rules, 1996.

Credit of specified duty limited for manufacturers, with transitional full credit for inputs received before the amendment.
The amendment replaces the prior entitlement by allowing manufacturers of final products to take credit of ninety-five per cent. of the specified duty paid on listed inputs, while a proviso grants full credit for specified duty on inputs received in the manufacturer's factory on or before the 1st day of June, 1998, to the extent of duty paid.

Rescission of Central Excise notifications under section 4A removes specified non-tariff notifications from force effective immediately
Rescinds fourteen previously issued Central Excise (Non Tariff) notifications by exercise of the statutory powers conferred under section 4A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, specifying each notification by number and date and withdrawing those instruments from continued effect under the cited provision.

Rescission of notification: prior Central Excise notification withdrawn under rule 57K of the Central Excise Rules.
The Government, invoking rule 57K of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, issues Notification No. 19/98-C.E. (N.T.) rescinding Notification No. 79/88-Central Excise, thereby withdrawing the earlier non-tariff Central Excise notification by administrative action.

Retail sale price abatement applies to specified excisable goods, prescribing sector-specific abatement rates under central excise rules.
Notification designates specified excisable goods by tariff headings for assessment on the basis of retail sale price and prescribes corresponding abatement rates to determine assessable value. It lists product categories-including confectionery, cereal preparations, pan masala in defined pack sizes, aerated waters, chemicals, toiletries, footwear, tiles, cooking and electrical appliances, batteries, consumer electrical goods, and lighting equipment-and links each to a fixed percentage abatement. The notification also defines retail sale price as the maximum packaged price to the ultimate consumer, inclusive of taxes, freight, dealer commission and related charges.

Compound levy for embroidered fabrics set, imposing a per machine per shift duty for embroidery on textile bases.
Fixes a compound levy for embroidery operations by specifying a duty chargeable per metre length of embroidery machines per shift when used to produce embroidery in the piece, in strips, or in motifs on cotton, man made, silk or woollen fabric bases, pursuant to rule 96 ZI of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, and superseding the earlier compound levy notification.

Tariff values for pan masala retail packages set by weight categories; excludes low areca nut products lacking tobacco.
Central Government fixes tariff values for Pan Masala in retail packages by prescribing per pack valuation bands according to pack weight categories, superseding the earlier notification. The measure excludes goods containing only a low proportion of areca nut by weight and not containing tobacco. "Retail package" is defined as a package produced, distributed, displayed, delivered or stored for sale through retail sales agencies or other instrumentalities for consumption by individuals or groups.

Input credit rules amended to allow credit on originals or customs certificates when duplicates are lost, subject to time limits.
The amendment permits Commissioner-issued exemptions from pre-authentication of invoice foils and serial-number intimations; extends several procedural time limits to one hundred and eighty days; allows input credit or receipt entries on originals or customs certificates where duplicate/triplicate invoices or bills of entry are lost in transit subject to Assistant Commissioner satisfaction and specified six- and nine-month cutoffs; disallows credit for inputs used in embroidery manufacture and redefines "metre length" for certain machines; and permits consolidated daily debits and single account currents for qualifying assessees.