Notification No. 77 dated 16^th October 1998 (As amended by Notification No. 121/99, 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 Custom 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 a Special Advance Licence with Actual User Condition in terms of para 7.4 of the Export and Import Policy 1997-2002 notified by the Government of India in the Ministry of Commerce vide Public Notice No. 41(RE-98)/1997-2002, dated the 16^th September, 1998 (hereinafter referred to as the said licence), from the whole of the duty of custom leviable thereon which is specified in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975) and from the whole of the Additional duty leviable thereon under section 3 of the said Customs Tariff Act, subject to the following conditions, namely: -

(i)������� that the materials imported are covered by the said licence and Actual User Duty Exemption Entitlement Certificate (hereinafter referred to as the said certificate), issued by the Licensing Authority in the form specified in the Schedule annexed to this notification, in respect of quantity and description;

Provided that the value and details of the technical specifications of the materials shall be submitted by the importer to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs having jurisdiction in the Bill of Entry and Part �D� of the said certificate at the time of clearance;�

(ii)������ that materials imported are required in export of the resultant electronic products made of the materials and the import of the materials is made prior to the export;

(iii)������ that the resultant electronic products shall be manufactured only out of the materials imported under this notification.

(iv)������ 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 having jurisdiction binding himself to pay on demand an amount equal to the duty leviable, but for the exemption, on the imported materials in respect of which the conditions specified in this notification have not been compiled with, together with interest at the rate of fifteen per cent per annum from the date of clearance of the said materials;

(v)������� that the said licence and part �I� of the said certificate are produced before the proper officer of customs at the time of clearance for debit;

(vi)������ that the importer shall maintain the record of imported materials and the export products in the format as specified in the Annexure to this notification;

(vii)����� the Designated Officer of the Department of Electronics (hereinafter referred to as the said officer) verifies the relevance/ usability of the imported materials in the export product as well as the quantity of such materials required for the manufacture of such export product. The said officer shall also verify the actual utilisation of the imported materials in the export product as well as the wastage in respect of export product in terms of the standard input output norms as specified in Volume-II of the Hand Book of Procedures of the Export and Import Policy 1997-2002 (hereinafter referred to as the Hand Book);

Provided that where such standard input output norms are not specified in the Hand Book for an export product, the said officer shall determine and verify the relevance/ usability of the imported materials as well as the quantity of such materials required for the manufacture of such export product. The said officer shall also verify the actual utilisation of the imported materials in such export product as well as the wastage as is determined by him to be reasonable.

(viii)���� 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 and Varanasi, 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, 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 be 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.

(ix)������ that the sourcing of the imported materials from private bonded warehouses set up under para 5.15 of the Export and Import Policy 1997-2002 would be allowed;

(x)������� 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 by exporting resultant products manufactured in India which are specified in Part �E� of the said certificate (hereinafter referred to as resultant products);

(xi)������ that the importer produces certificate from the said officer to the effect that the imported materials have been actually utilised in the manufacture of resultant products and the said certificate is produced as evidence of discharge of export obligation to the Assistant commissioner of Customs having jurisdiction with in a period of thirty days of the expiry of period allowed for fulfilment of export obligation, or within such extended period as the said Assistant commissioner of Customs may allow:

(xii)����� that the imported materials shall not be disposed of or utilised in any manner except for utilisation in discharge or export obligation;

Provided that disposal of waste shall be allowed upto the limits specified in the standard input-output norms mentioned in the said Hand Book without payment of customs duty:

Provided further that disposal of waste arising in respect of resultant product not mentioned in the standard input output norms in the said Hand Book shall be allowed without payment of Customs duty subject to verification by the said officer.

Provided also that imported materials which remain unutilised after the expiry of the export obligation period, shall be liable to customs duty but for the exemption contained in this notification, together with interest at the rate of twenty four per cent annum from the date of clearance of the materials.