Anti-dumping duty imposed on Low Carbon Ferro Chrome from Russia; exporters face specified per tonne duties under customs rules.
Imposition of anti-dumping duty on Low Carbon Ferro Chrome (carbon 0.03%-0.2%; chromium 65%-70%) originating from Russia under the Customs Tariff Act and applicable anti-dumping rules, based on preliminary findings of dumping. The notification prescribes exporter-specific per tonne duty rates: Derek Raphael & Co. Ltd. - 10,900; Norcalloys SA - 17,400; Norcalloys LP - 18,600; Societe Anonyme Des Minerals - 12,300; SYNCRET BV - 16,900; and exporters other than those listed - 18,600 per metric tonne.

Effective rate of duty: liquid crystal displays added to list under customs notification, changing duty treatment.
The Central Government, exercising powers under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, amends Notification No. 36/96-Customs by inserting "Liquid crystal displays" as item (25) in list 9, thereby adding that product to the exemption schedule and affecting the effective rate of duty applicable to goods under Chapters 1 to 99.

Excise duty exemption for intermediate vehicle components: prior non-levy practice negates excise liability for captive consumption.
The Central Government directs that excise duty shall not be required to be paid on intermediate goods-specifically chassis, body platforms and tube assemblies-manufactured and captively consumed for the production of Kolos and BEML Tatra vehicles where a prevailing practice resulted in non-levy; the direction recognizes that, for the period in question, duty which otherwise would have been payable is not to be collected in respect of those intermediate goods.

Excise duty exemption for plated iron wire prevents recovery of excess duty where prior practice omitted levy.
The Government declares an excise duty exemption for wire of iron or non-alloy steel plated or coated with base metals within the relevant tariff heading, finding that a practice prevailed of not levying duty above a specified threshold per tonne for clearances between 14-5-1992 and 25-6-1992; it directs that duty in excess of that threshold need not be paid where such excess was not levied during that period in accordance with the practice.

Duty drawback rate change: new f.o.b. drawback rate for specified chapter, with allocation between customs and excise.
Amendment under section 75(3) of the Customs Act and rule 5(2) of the Drawback Rules alters the drawback for Chapter 57 sub serial 5702, effective 25th March 1996: the Rate of Drawback is set at seven per cent of f.o.b. value and the allocation between customs and central excise is fixed at 4.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively.

Additional duty amendment: omission of specified customs exemption notifications by substituting the proviso operative date to a later month.
Amendment substitutes the proviso date in Notification No. 47/96 Customs so that the earlier figures, letters and words denoting the original August operative day are replaced with those denoting the September operative day, thereby deferring the operative date and omitting specified additional-duty exemption notifications from that substituted date.

Effective date adjustment: Central Excise notifications' commencement shifted from August to September for specified exemptions.
The Central Government, exercising statutory amendment powers under the excise enactments, directs substitution of date expressions in four specified Central Excise notifications so as to postpone their commencement dates: three notifications replace the first day of August with the first day of September, and one notification replaces the thirty-first day of July with the thirty-first day of August, limited to date substitutions in the provisos and specified paragraph.

Commencement of Central Excise amendment: general rules effective on publication; specified provisions deferred to a later set date.
The substituted sub rule (ii) in rule 1 provides that the amended Central Excise rules shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette, except that rule 4, sub rule (i) and (ii) of rule 6, rule 7 and sub rule (iii) of rule 10 shall come into force on 1st September, 1996. The amendment is effected under section 37 of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 by Notification No. 20/96-C.E. (N.T.).

Modvat credit effective date postponed, delaying deemed credit commencement under amended notification and governmental authority exercise.
Amendment substitutes the previously specified commencement date in paragraph 2 of the earlier notification to defer the commencement of Modvat credit to yarns and fibres on a deemed basis; the change is made under the delegated rulemaking power conferred by sub rule (2) of the Central Excise Rules and operates solely by substituting the date in the earlier notification.

Central Excise Rule Amendment adjusts implementation dates and substitutes specific sub rule references for rule compliance timing.
Amendment revises commencement and cross references in the Central Excise Rules, 1944 under Section 37 authority: it renames the instrument as the Fourth Amendment and fixes its commencement on Gazette publication; substitutes later implementation dates in clause (ii) of sub rule (1) of rule 57H; and replaces the words "sub rule (2)" with "clause (ii) of sub rule (1)" in sub rule (5) of rule 57 I to correct an internal reference.

Exchange rate determination for export goods sets official conversion rates under Customs Act, superseding prior notification.
The Central Government, under section 14(3)(a)(i) of the Customs Act, determines statutory rates of exchange for conversion of specified foreign currencies into Indian rupees for export goods, superseding the earlier notification and prescribing that the rates set out in the appended Schedule I (per one unit) and Schedule II (per one hundred units) shall apply for export purposes from the stated commencement date.

Exchange rate determination for imported goods set to govern stamp duty calculation and customs valuation under applicable statutes.
The Central Government prescribes fixed rate of exchange conversions for specified foreign currencies for use in calculating stamp duty and for application of section 14 of the Customs Act in relation to imported goods, superseding the earlier notification and listing the applicable rates in Schedule I (per one unit) and Schedule II (per 100 units).

Customs amendment adds deflection components and electron guns to the exemption list, altering their tariff treatment.
The government amends an earlier customs notification by inserting into List 9 two entries: (23) deflection components (deflection coil/yoke, linearity coil, width coil) and (24) electron guns, thereby bringing those items within the notification's exemption and tariff treatment.

Public financial institution designation: North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd added to the notified list under the Companies Act.
Exercising powers under section 4A(2) of the Companies Act, the Central Government amends an existing notification to add the named development finance corporation as a new entry in the notified list, thereby specifying it as a public financial institution under the Act.

Effective duty cap limits customs duty on imported petroleum oils and bituminous mixtures to the notified ad valorem rate.
An exemption caps customs duty on imports of petroleum oils and bituminous mixtures by disapplying any portion of the First Schedule duty in excess of an ad valorem amount, thereby creating an effective duty cap for those tariff headings under the Customs exemption power.

Baggage special customs duty exemption: full relief for duty free items, limited relief matching duty free allowance for excess articles.
Creates two exemption categories for goods under Customs Tariff heading 98.03: (1) goods passed free of duty or otherwise fully exempt under the Baggage Rules, 1944, are relieved from the whole of the special customs duty; and (2) articles exceeding the duty free allowance receive exemption only to the extent of the portion of special duty equivalent to the duty free allowance, with the exemptible portion computed by reference to that allowance.

Reduced customs duty for research equipment enables public research institutions to import qualifying goods with limited ad valorem liability.
Notification grants a limited customs duty concession on specified scientific and technical goods imported for non commercial research by qualifying public funded research institutions, designated universities, registered research institutions, government departments and recognised regional research centres. The concession applies to instruments, equipment (including computers), accessories, parts, consumables, software and recorded media, live animals for experimental purposes, and prototypes subject to value limits, conditional on prescribed institutional certificates, registration, use restrictions, and documentary production at import clearance or warehouse release.

Customs duty exemption for R&D imports conditional on recognised in house R&D and government co funding, with certification and retention restrictions.
Exempts specified goods from customs duty when imported for R&D projects by companies with in house R&D recognised by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, provided the project is funded by a listed central Ministry or research body with at least twenty percent funding share, and a Deputy Secretary level certificate accompanies importation detailing project cost, funding share, value of goods already imported and that imports are for the project. Goods cannot be sold or transferred for five years and the exemption is limited to a value equivalent to the funding share.

Duty exemption on passenger baggage limits customs liability to notified effective rates, subject to specified conditions.
Exemption applies to goods imported by a passenger as baggage and classified under heading No. 98.03: the Central Government exempts duty to the extent it exceeds an amount calculated at the rate specified in the Table, subject to conditions specified in the referenced notifications; the Table ties listed goods to rates and conditions in earlier notifications, and separately treats certain printed and archival materials at the rate in the First Schedule.

Baggage duty reduction: amendments lower specified customs rates and revise exemption and certification conditions.
The Central Government amends multiple Customs notifications under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 to implement a customs duty reduction and revise exemption conditions by substituting ad valorem rates, deleting or replacing specific item descriptions, broadening contracting party language to include Indian companies and consortia with revised certification requirements, and adding concessional entries and procedural conditions for sports trophies, medals, prizes and goods gifted under bilateral agreements.