Customs law extension to continental shelf and exclusive economic zone expands applicability of customs and tariff Acts with immediate effect.
Extension of the Customs Act, 1962 and the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 to designated areas of the Continental Shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone is effected under the territorial provisions of the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other Maritime Zone Act, 1976, relying on executive powers to declare the reach of customs legislation; the application follows the Government's maritime notification and takes immediate effect.

Export restriction changes: pulses, milk products and castor seed removed or reclassified, affecting licence requirements.
The notification amends Chapter 16 restricted exports by deleting Milk (including baby milk and sterilised liquid milk) and Castor Seed from the restricted list, and by revising the pulses entry to permit exports of all pulses, including lentils, grams, beans and flours made therefrom, except when supplied in consumer packs up to five kilograms.

Annual report filing period extended under securities regulations, increasing prescribed submission time for annual reports.
The Central Government, under statutory authority, issues the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Annual Report) Amendment Rules, 1997, substituting the words "sixty days" with the words "ninety days" in rule 3, sub rule (2) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Annual Report) Rules, 1994, thereby altering the prescribed submission period in that sub rule.

DEPB scheme exemption expanded to add Kakinada and broaden listed import locations under amended customs notification
Notification No. 87/97 Cus amends condition (iv) of Notification No. 34/97 Customs by substituting place names: "Tuticorin and Vishakhapatnam" becomes "Tuticorin, Vishakhapatnam and Kakinada", and "Ludhiana and Hyderabad" becomes "Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Agra, Faridabad, Jaipur, Guntur and Varanasi", thereby altering the designated import locations under the DEPB exemption.

Compounded levy rates for aluminium circles amended to impose distinct levies based on cold rolling machine roller length.
Amendment revises the compounded levy rates for aluminium circles produced on cold rolling machines by substituting item (ii) of Notification No. 109/94-Central Excises to create a two-tier levy linked to the roller length of the cold rolling machine: one rate where the roller length is at or below the threshold and a higher rate where the roller length exceeds that threshold, enacted under rule 96ZB of the Central Excise Rules, 1944.

Exchange rate determination for export goods establishes prescribed currency conversion rates and supersedes the prior notification.
The Central Government, exercising its customs statutory power, supersedes the earlier notification and prescribes fixed conversion rates for specified foreign currencies into Indian rupees for export transactions, effective 28th November 1997. The prescribed rates are set out in two schedules: Schedule I lists per unit rupee equivalents and Schedule II lists rupee equivalents for specified quantities, thereby fixing the exchange rates applicable for customs valuation and export procedures.

Exchange rate determination: government prescribes official conversion rates for foreign currencies for customs and stamp duty purposes.
Notification prescribes official exchange rates for specified foreign currencies for calculating stamp duty under the Indian Stamp Act and for purposes of section 14 of the Customs Act in relation to imported goods, superseding the earlier notification, and declares that the rates set out in Schedules I and II are the conversion rates to apply from the stated effective date.

Modvat credit for imported inputs adjusted to allow additional-duty credit assuming domestic excise rate, with importer exception.
The amendment provides that credit for duty on inputs imported into India is limited to the amount of additional duty calculated by assuming the like input produced in India is chargeable to excise duty at a specified ad valorem rate, subject to an exception for inputs imported directly by a manufacturer for his own use and received in the manufacturer's factory on or after the implementation date.

Jurisdiction redefinition of Central Excise commissioners reallocates territorial areas and consolidates chief commissioner groupings under amendment.
Notification No. 59/97 amends rule 2 of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 to reassign specific territorial areas among Commissionerates-including detailed reallocations within Karnataka-and substitutes clause (6) to group Commissionerates under designated Chief Commissioners for all excisable goods, clarifying supervisory responsibilities and certain functional inclusions and exceptions.

Import duty exemption for EPZ/FTZ/EHTP goods where items used for training, destroyed in unit, or reimported for repair.
The notifications substitute "Commissioner of Customs" with "Assistant Commissioner of Customs", add a condition exempting duty-subject to Assistant Commissioner satisfaction-where goods are used for training, destroyed within the unit/complex, or where scrap or waste arising in production is destroyed within the unit/complex, and amend the goods table to include "re-conditioning or re-engineering" plus entries for goods re-imported due to buyer failure and goods imported for repair/re-conditioning/re-engineering and exported within three years.

Entry requirements for courier imports expanded to mandate prescribed bill of entry forms for specified restricted consignments and schemes.
The amendment narrows courier clearance by excluding heavier individual packages and replaces the entry rule: authorised couriers must present bills of entry in courier Forms III, IV or V, while certain categories (duty exemption claims, imports under exemption or entitlement schemes, end use conditioned imports, imports under foreign trade licences, related party consignments, consignments above a CIF value threshold, or as directed by the Assistant Commissioner) must use the standard bill of entry under the Bill of Entry (Forms) Regulations, 1976; some exempted goods may be cleared on courier forms on payment of duty.

Exchange rate amendment updates statutory conversion values for specified foreign currencies affecting export valuation and customs procedures.
The Central Government amends earlier Customs notifications by substituting Schedule entries for four specified foreign currencies with revised rupee-equivalent exchange rates, and declares those revised rates effective from the stated effective date; the amendment is issued under provisions of the Indian Stamp Act and the Customs Act and operates to alter the statutory conversion values applicable to export goods.

Exchange rate determination for customs updated; four foreign currencies assigned revised rupee conversion rates effective immediately.
Amendment to prior customs notifications substitutes Schedule-I entries to fix revised rupee conversion rates for Deutsche Mark, Pound Sterling, Swiss Franc and U.S. Dollar as the operative exchange factors for customs valuation, with the revised rates becoming effective on the prescribed implementation date.

Warehousing amendment expands notified warehouse locations and adds specific Andhra Pradesh sites to the eligible list.
Amendment to Notification No. 266/67-C.E. inserts two new items into paragraph 2 naming Vakalapudi (Kakinada Division) and a grouped entry for Gummalladoddi Village and Kattubadipalem, thereby adding these Andhra Pradesh sites as notified warehousing locations; paragraph 3(a) is amended to substitute the former words listing Haldia and Kandla with an expanded list of Haldia, Kandla, Gummalladoddi and Kattubadipalem, bringing the new locations within the notification's scope for warehouse removal purposes.

Appointment of Commissioners of Customs redefines territorial jurisdiction and assigns commissioners to specified excise and customs areas.
Exercising powers under the Customs Act, the Central Government appoints the officers listed in the table to be Commissioners of Customs for areas falling within the jurisdiction of the corresponding Commissioners of Central Excise or Commissioners of Customs, superseding the earlier notification and thereby reallocating territorial jurisdiction and administrative control among Chief Commissioners and named Customs and Central Excise Commissionerates.

Anti-dumping duty on Purified Terephthalic Acid: country- and exporter-specific tariffs applied to imports under preliminary findings.
Imposition of anti-dumping duty on Purified Terephthalic Acid applies country- and exporter-specific rates for imports from the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Indonesia under the Customs Tariff and anti-dumping rules; the notification prescribes named-exporter and residual rates for Korea, specified and residual rates for Thailand, and a rate for all exporters from Indonesia, and is provisional in effect for the period ending 20 May 1998 based on the designated authority's preliminary findings.

Exchange rate amendment updates foreign currency conversion rates for export goods, replacing prior schedule and fixing new rates.
Amendment substitutes Schedule I entries for serial numbers 5, 7, 11, 13 and 14 of the prior customs notification by replacing the exchange rates for Deutsche Mark, French Franc, Pound Sterling, Swiss Franc and U.S. Dollar with newly specified rupee equivalents per unit; the substituted schedule is declared operative from the stated effective date for customs calculations relating to export goods.

Exchange rate notification amended: specified foreign currency conversion rates for imports established and implemented under statutory authority.
The Central Government amended Notification No. 54/97-NT-Cus by substituting specified entries in Schedule-I to set new exchange rates for certain foreign currencies to be used in customs valuation of imports; the revised rates for Deutsche Mark, French Franc, Pound Sterling, Swiss Franc and U.S. Dollar are prescribed and are effective from 20th November, 1997.

Exemption for tea companies from certain disclosures, subject to quantity, stock and purchase value reporting requirements.
The Central Government exempts companies engaged in cultivation or processing of tea from specified Schedule VI disclosures in the profit and loss account, subject to conditions: disclose quantity and other particulars (excluding value) of green leaf tea produced and processed with opening and closing stock; where green leaf tea is purchased, also disclose the value of purchases in addition to quantity, particulars and opening and closing stock. The exemption is effective for a limited statutory period from Gazette publication.

Approval as housing finance company under section 36(1)(viii) grants tax recognition subject to compliance.
M/s. Home Trust Housing Finance Co. Ltd. has been approved as a housing finance company for the purposes of section 36(1)(viii) of the Income-tax Act for specified assessment years; the approval is subject to the condition that the company will conform to and comply with the provisions of section 36(1)(viii).