Exchange Rate Determination: Government prescribes currency conversion rates for stamp duty and customs on imported goods.
The Central Government prescribes fixed rates of exchange for specified foreign currencies for calculating stamp duty under the Indian Stamp Act and for determining rates under section 14 of the Customs Act in relation to imported goods, effective from the stated operative date, and provides a Schedule showing each foreign currency's amount equivalent to Rs. 100.

Customs exemption for platinum imports enables specified agencies to import duty free for jewellery export replenishment under the promotion scheme.
Exemption of customs duty and additional duty is granted for platinum imports under heading 71.10 when imported by specified government and Reserve Bank authorised agencies for supply under the Gold/Silver and Platinum Jewellery Export Promotion and Replenishment Scheme, subject to the Export and Import Policy and Handbook of Procedures operative for the referenced policy period and as amended.

Customs exemption extension for imported gold and silver permits supply to EPZ/EOU jewellery units subject to procedures.
The amendments provide that the existing exemption shall also apply to gold and silver under tariff headings 71.06 and 71.08 when imported by designated importers for supply to jewellery units in EPZs, EOU complexes and hundred percent EOUs under the specified export scheme, subject to (a) procedures as may be specified by the Collector of Customs and (b) compliance with the conditions stipulated in paragraph 1 of the notification.

Customs exemption for imported gold and silver under export schemes requires export of equivalent metal and execution of a bond.
Silver and gold under Headings 71.06 and 71.08 are exempt from customs and additional duty when imported for specified export schemes; where the foreign buyer supplies the metal the importer must execute a bond undertaking to export jewellery or articles containing metal equivalent to the imported quantity within the contractual or extended period and to pay duty on any shortfall.

Rescission of customs notifications: government withdraws specified exemptions for natural or cultured pearls under Customs Act.
Central Government, invoking powers under the Customs Act, rescinds five prior miscellaneous exemption notifications concerning natural or cultured pearls as necessary in the public interest, thereby withdrawing the operative effect of those notifications: No. 265/83-Customs (19 September 1983); No. 30/87-Customs (28 January 1987); No. 31/87-Customs (28 January 1987); No. 154/88-Customs (2 May 1988); and No. 273/92-Customs (16 September 1992).

Notification under section 10(23C)(iv) recognizes Indian Council for Child Welfare's tax-exempt status for specified assessment years.
Central Government exercises its power under the specified sub-clause of clause (23C) of section 10 of the Income-tax Act to notify the Indian Council for Child Welfare, New Delhi, as a qualifying charitable institution for the purposes of that sub-clause, thereby recognizing the Council for specified assessment years within the statutory tax-exemption framework.

Small Scale Industry exemption thresholds updated, expanding eligibility under amended central excise investment limit rules for manufacturers.
Amendment under sub-section (1) of section 5A of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 substitutes two sub-clauses in paragraph 2(b) of Notification No.1/93-Central Excises to revise the maximum investment ceilings that determine entitlement to the S.S.I. central excise exemption for the categories in clause (1) sub-clauses (b) and (c) and clause (2) of paragraph 1.

Special Value Based Advance Licence commencement tied to date of issue rather than date of first consignment clearance.
Amendment substitutes the timing trigger in the Schedule to the principal notification so that, under both the import and export provisions, the prior phrase "from the date of clearance of the first consignment of import" is replaced by "from the date of issue of the said licence," making the licence issue date the operative commencement for benefits under the Special Value Based Advance Licence regime.

Pass Book quantity restriction: drawback admissible only after deletion of non-imported items from the Pass Book.
Where a Pass Book with quantity restrictions includes an item not imported duty free, drawback of Customs and Central Excise duties on that item is admissible only after the Licensing Authority modifies the Pass Book to delete that item. Exempt materials must not be disposed of or utilised except to discharge export obligation and until export proceeds are realised, though they may be transferred to a supporting manufacturer named in the Pass Book. The Explanation's valuation reference is amended to the c.i.f. value of the Pass Book issued up to 31st March, 1993.

Advance Customs Clearance Permit amendment expands coverage to include computer hardware and software imports.
The Central Government, exercising powers under the Customs Act, 1962, amends Notification No. 205/92-Customs by substituting in the Explanation, clause (ii), the words "and computer software" with "computer hardware and software", thereby extending the Advance Customs Clearance Permit coverage to include computer hardware together with computer software.

Advance licence conditions tightened: drawback, transferability and disposal restricted until licence modification and full export obligation discharge.
Amendments require that if any item in an advance licence is not imported duty free, drawback of Customs and Central Excise duties on that item is admissible only after the Licensing Authority modifies the licence to delete that item; exempt materials may not be disposed of or utilised except to discharge export obligations until those obligations are fully discharged and export proceeds realised; transferability endorsements will not be made on Advance Intermediate Licences issued after the cut off; timing in the Schedule is changed to commence from the date of issue of licence.

Utilisation restriction: exempt imports under advance licences cannot be disposed before export obligation is discharged and proceeds realised.
Amendment imposes a utilisation restriction: exempt materials imported under value based advance licences cannot be disposed of or used except to meet the export obligation until that obligation is discharged and export proceeds realised. It treats electronic goods covered by a single serial number in the Standard Input Output and Value Addition norms as a single export product, adjusts the reference for licence value to licences issued up to the stated cut-off, and changes schedule timing to run from the date of issue of the licence instead of clearance of the first consignment.

Customs licence cutoff limits exemption to licences issued before a specified cutoff and revises licence-value reference.
Amendment to Notification No. 103/93-Cus confines the customs exemption for materials for capital goods supplied to fertilizer plants by inserting a proviso excluding licences issued after a specified cutoff date and by substituting the term "value of the licence" with a temporal formulation limiting that reference to licences issued up to that cutoff date.

Licence valuation cutoff for export-oriented supplies restricts treatment to licences issued before a specified cutoff.
The notification amends Notification No. 101/93-Cus by adding a proviso clause in paragraph 2 for licences issued after 31st March, 1993, and substitutes in the Explanation clause (iii)(b) the phrase "value of the licence" with "value of the licence issued upto the 31st March, 1993," thereby limiting licence-related valuation or treatment to licences issued on or before that cutoff.

Customs exemption amendment clarifies licence cut off, confining exemption eligibility and valuation to licences within the prescribed period.
Amendment to the exemption notification inserts a temporal cut off for licence-related provisions: the proviso in paragraph 2 is extended to include licences issued up to the cut off date and the Explanation is revised so that references to the "value of the licence" apply to licences issued up to that cut off, thereby confining exemption eligibility and valuation to licences within the prescribed temporal boundary.

Customs exemption amendment extends proviso timing and specifies licence valuation reference for petroleum supplies.
Amendment to the customs exemption modifies Notification No. 513/86-Cus by (1) adding the words "or after 31st March, 1993" to the proviso in paragraph 1A, clause (iii), thereby changing its temporal scope, and (2) substituting the phrase "value of the licence issued upto 31st March, 1993" for "value of the licence" in the Explanation to clause (ii)(b), thus specifying the reference period for licence valuation. Both changes are made under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962.

Name change in customs notifications: 'Burma' replaced by 'Union of Myanmar' in specified exemption orders.
The Central Government, under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, directs that in Notification No. 280/76-Customs and Notification No. 321/76-Customs (both dated 2nd August, 1976) the word "Burma" shall be substituted by the words "Union of Myanmar," thereby amending those customs exemption notifications to reflect the official change of the country's name.

Public offer allocation revised: reduction in required public portion, proviso removed and reserved shares excluded from calculation.
The draft amends the rule on offer composition by reducing the proportion of securities required to be offered to the public, omitting the existing proviso to that clause, and revising the Explanation so that a specified category of reserved securities shall not form part of the public allocation. The amendments are enacted by textual substitution and omission and the rules will commence on final Gazette publication.

Rescission of notification withdraws prior baggage exemption under statutory customs powers, removing the earlier ministerial exemption.
The Central Government, invoking powers under the Customs Act, has rescinded Notification No. 6/93 Customs dated 9 February 1993, thereby withdrawing the prior miscellaneous baggage exemption previously provided by that ministerial notification in the public interest.

Baggage duty reduction: amended customs notification lowers the effective ad valorem duty for baggage under statutory power.
The Central Government, under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, amends Notification No. 136/90-Customs by substituting "150% ad valorem" with "100% ad valorem" at the two places where those words occur in column 2 of the Table annexed to that notification, thereby reducing the effective ad valorem duty on baggage as specified in the Table.