Notification No. 31 dated 1^st April 1997 (As amended by notification no. 52/2000, 120/2000, 30/2001, 122/2001, Notification No. 113 dated 16^th October 2002, Notification No. 125 dated 12^th November 2002)

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 materials imported into India, against an Advance Licence issued on or after 1^st April, 1997 (hereinafter referred to as the said licence), from the whole of the duty of customs leviable thereon which is specified in First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975) subject to the following conditions, namely: -

(i)������� that the materials imported are covered by a Duty Exemption Entitlement Certificate (hereinafter referred to as the said certificate), issued by Licensing Authority on or after 1^st April, 1997 in the form specified in the Schedule annexed to this notification, in respect of the value, quantity, description, quality and technical characteristics;

(ii)������ that the importer at the time of clearance of the imported materials executes a bond with such surety or security and in such form and for such sum as may be specified by the Assistant Commissioner of Customs binding himself to pay on demand, an amount equal to the duty leviable on the imported materials but for the exemption contained herein, in respect of which the conditions specified in this notification have not been complied with together with interest at the rate of 15% per annum from the date of clearance of the materials.

Provided that the Bond shall not be necessary in respect of imports made after discharge of export obligation in full;

(iii)������ that the said licence and the said certificate are produced before proper officer of Customs at the time of clearance of imported materials for debit;

(iv)������ that the imports and exports are undertaken through the sea ports at Mumbai, Calcutta, Cochin, Magdolla, Kakinada, Kandla, Mangalore, Marmagoa, Madras, Nhava Sheva, Paradeep, Pipavav, Sikka, Tuticorin, Visakhapatnam, Dahej, Nagapattinam, Okha and Mundhra, or through any of the airports at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Mumbai, Calcutta, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Madras, Srinagar, Trivandrum, Varanasi, Nagpur and Cochin or through any of the Inland Container Depots at Agra, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Delhi, Faridabad, Gauhati, Guntur, Hyderabad; Jaipur, Jalandhar, 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 and Garhi Harsaru or through the Land Customs Station at Ranaghat, Singhabad and Rakaul.

Provided that the Commissioner of Customs, may by Special Order and subject to such conditions as may be specified by him, permit import and export through any other Seaport, Airport, or Inland Container Depot or through the Land Customs Station.

(v)������� that the export obligation is discharged within the period specified in the said certificate or within such extended period as may be granted by the Licensing Authority or the Director General of Foreign Trade, by exporting Resultant products manufactured in India which are specified in Part E of the said certificate (hereinafter referred to as Resultant products) and the said certificate together with evidence of discharge of export obligation to the satisfaction of the Assistant Commissioner of Customs is produced within 30 days of expiry of period allowed for fulfillment of export obligation or within such extended period as the said Assistant Commissioner of Customs may allow:

Provided that an Advance Intermediate Licence holder may discharge export obligation by supplying the Resultant products to ultimate exporter in terms of paragraph 7.5 of the Export and Import Policy;

(vi)������ that exempt materials shall not be disposed of or utilised in any manner, except for utilisation in discharge of export obligation, before the export obligation under the said licence has been discharged in full;

Provided that Acetic Anhydride, Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine, Vitamins, Pen-G and their derivatives in respect of which the benefit of this notification is claimed shall be utilised by the importer in his own factory or in the factory of any other manufacturer indicated in the said certificate even after discharge of export obligation;

(vii)����� that where benefit of this notification is sought by a person other than licencee, such benefit shall be allowed against the said licence and the said certificate only if it bears endorsement of transferability by the Licensing Authority:

Where the goods 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 Assistant Commissioner of Customs or the Deputy Commissioner of Customs as the goods, which were imported.

Provided that benefit of this notification shall not allowed to a transfer of the licence for import of Acetic Anhydride, Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine.