Notification No. 97/2004, Dated 17th Sept 2004

17th September, 2004.

Notification No. 97/2004 - Customs 

            In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), the Central Government, being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby exempts goods specified in the Table annexed hereto, from,- 

(i)	so much of the duty of customs leviable thereon which is specified in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975) as is in excess of the amount calculated at the rate of five per cent ad- valorem , and
(ii)	the whole of the additional duty leviable thereon under section 3 of the said Customs Tariff Act, when specifically claimed by the importer.

2.             The exemption under this notification shall be subject to the following conditions, namely : - 

(1)           that the goods imported are covered by a valid licence issued under the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme in terms of Chapter 5 of the Foreign Trade Policy permitting import of goods at the rate of five percent duty and the said licence is produced for debit by the proper officer of customs at the time of clearance: 

                Provided that for import of spare parts specified at S.No.4 of the said Table, the validity period of the licence shall be deemed to be the period permitted for fulfillment of the export obligation in full; 

(2)           that the importer executes a bond in such form and for such sum and with such surety or security as may be specified by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs binding himself to fulfil export obligation on FOB basis equivalent to eight times the duty saved on the goods imported as may be specified on the licence, or for such higher sum as may be fixed by the Licensing Authority, within a period of eight years from the date of issue of licence, in the following proportions, namely :-

Provided that where the duty saved is not less than Rs.100 crores, or where the licence is issued to units in the agri export zone as may be notified by the licensing authority, the export obligation shall be fulfilled within a period of twelve years from the date of issue of licence in the following proportions, namely :- 

Provided further that where a sick unit is notified by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction or where a rehabilitation scheme is announced by the concerned State Government in respect of sick unit for its revival, the export obligation may be fulfilled in terms of Paragraph 5.5.1of the Foreign Trade Policy: 

Provided also that where the capital goods are imported for technological upgradation , the export obligation shall be fixed equivalent to six times the duty saved on the goods imported as may be specified on the licence, or for such higher sum as may be fixed by the Licensing Authority, within a period of eight years from the date of issue of licence; 

Provided also that export obligation of a particular block may be set off against the excess exports made in the said preceding block;

(3)        that if  the importer does not claim exemption from the additional duty leviable under section 3 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975), he shall be deemed not to have availed of the exemption from the duty specified in the First Schedule to the said Customs Tariff Act for the purpose of calculation of the duty saved amount for calculation of export obligation; 

(4)           that the importer produces within 30 days from the expiry of each block from the date of issue of licence or within such extended period as the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs may allow, evidence to the satisfaction of the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs showing the extent of export obligation fulfilled, and where the export obligation of any particular block is not fulfilled in terms of the preceding condition, the importer shall within three months from the expiry of the said block pay duties of customs of an equal amount equal to that portion of duties leviable on the goods, but for the exemption contained herein which bears the same proportion as the unfulfilled portion of the export obligation bears to the total export obligation together with interest at the rate of 15per cent per annum from the date of clearance of the goods; 

(5)           that the capital goods imported, assembled or manufactured are installed in the importer’s factory or premises and a certificate from the jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise or Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise, as the case may be, is produced confirming installation and use of capital goods in the importer’s factory or premises, within six months from the date of completion of imports or within such extended period as the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, may allow : 

Provided that if the importer is a service provider, he may produce said certificate of installation and usage issued by an independent chartered engineer: 

Provided further that in the case of , - 

(i)                   manufacturer exporter and merchant exporter having supporting manufacturer(s) or vendor(s);

(ii)                 import of irrigation equipment for use in contract farming for export of agricultural products; and

(iii)                importer rendering services, 

the capital goods may be installed at the factory or premises of such other person whose name and address are endorsed on the licence referred to in condition (1) and where the bond for full difference of duty, if necessary, in terms of condition (2), with or without a bank guarantee, as the case may be, is executed by the importer and such other person binding themselves jointly and severally to fulfil the export obligation and all other conditions of this notification and to pay duty with interest at the rate of 15 per cent per annum in case of default;               

Provided also that agro units located in Agri Export Zones or service providers in Agri export Zones may move the capital goods within the Agri Export Zones under intimation to the jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise or Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise, as the case may be, subject to the condition that the importer shall maintain accurate record of such movement. 

(6)           that the imports and exports undertaken through seaports at Mumbai, Kolkata , Cochin, Magdalla , Kakinada , Kandla Mangalore, Marmagoa , Chennai, Nhava Sheva , Paradeep , Pipavav , Sikka , Tuticorin , Visakhapatnam , Dahej , Mundhra , Nagapattinam , Okha , Jamnagar and Muldwarka or through any of the airports at Ahmedabad , Bangalore, Bhubaneswar , Mumbai, Kolkata , Coimbatore , Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur , Chennai, Srinagar , Trivandrum , Varanasi , Nagpur and Cochin or through any of the Inland Container Depots at Agra, Bangalore, Coimbatore , Delhi, Faridabad , Gauhati , Guntur , Hyderabad, Jaipur , Jallandhar , Kanpur , Ludhiana, Moradabad , Nagpur, Pimpri ( Pune ), Pitampur ( Indore ), Surat , Tirupur , Varanasi , Nasik , Rudrapur ( Nainital ), Dighi ( Pune ), Vadodara , Daulatabad ( Wanjarwadi and Maliwada ), Waluj ( Aurangabad ), Anaparthy (Andhra Pradesh), Salem, Malanpur , Singanalur , Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur , Ahmedabad , Bhiwadi , Madurai , Bhilwara , Pondicherry , Garhi Harsaru , Bhatinda , Dappar ( Dera Bassi ), Chheharata ( Amritsar ), Karur , Miraj , Rewari , Bhusawal , Jamshedpur , Surajpur and Dadri or through the Land Customs Station at Ranaghat , Singhabad , Raxaul , Jogbani , Nautanva ( Sonauli ), Petrapole and Mahadipur . 

(7)           notwithstanding anything contained in condition (4), where the Licensing Authority grants extension of block-wise period for any block(s) or overall period of fulfilment of export obligation upto a period of two years or regularization of shortfall in export obligation, not exceeding five per cent of such export obligation, the said block-wise period or overall period of export obligation shall be extended or  condoned by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be : 

                Provided that in respect of sick unit referred to in the second proviso to condition (2), extension of overall period of export obligation shall not be allowed. 

3.             Where the goods specified in the said Table are found defective or unfit for use, the said goods may be re-exported back to the foreign supplier within 3 years from the date of payment of duty on the importation thereof: 

                Provided that at the time of re-export, the goods are identified to the satisfaction of the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, as the goods which were imported.