[TO BE PUBLISHED IN
THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (i)]
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
(DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE)
Notification No.17/ 2015 – Customs
New Delhi, the 1st
April, 2015.
G.S.R.
253 (E).- 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 when imported into India against a Post Export EPCG duty credit scrip
issued by the Regional Authority in accordance with paragraph 5.12 of the
Foreign Trade Policy which provides for duty remission in proportion to export
obligation fulfilled (hereinafter referred to as the said scrip) from,-
(a) the
whole of the duty of customs leviable thereon under the First Schedule to the
Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975); and
(b) the
whole of the additional duty leviable thereon under section 3 of the said
Customs Tariff Act.
2. The exemption under this
notification shall be subject to the following conditions, namely:-
(1) that
the said scrip is granted against a valid authorisation issued under para 5.28 of the
Handbook of Procedures (hereinafter referred to as the said authorisation) by
the Regional Authority to an applicant (hereinafter referred as the
authorisation holder) who opted for the scheme of Post Export EPCG Duty Credit
Scrip:
Provided that the applicant is not
issued, in the year of issuance of the said authorisation, the duty credit
scrips under the erstwhile Status Holders Incentive Scrip (SHIS) scheme.In the case of applicant who is Common Service
Provider (hereinafter referred to as CSP), the CSP or any of its specific users
should not be issued, in the year of issuance of the said authorisation, the
duty credit scrips under SHIS. This condition shall not apply where already
availed SHIS benefit that is unutilised is surrendered or where benefits availed under SHIS that is
utilised is refunded, with applicable interest, before issue of the
said authorisation. SHIS scrips which are surrendered or benefit refunded or
not issued in a particular year for the reason the said authorisation has been
issued in that year shall not be issued in future years also;
(2) that
the said authorisation is not for import under duty exemption but for import of
the goods specified in the Table annexed hereto on full payment of applicable
duties in cash;
(3) that
the said authorisation is registered at the port of import specified in the
said authorisation and the goods, which are specified in the Table annexed
hereto, are imported within eighteen months from the date of issue of the said
authorisation on full payment of applicable duties in cash, and the said
authorisation is produced before the proper officer of customs at the time of
clearance of the goods for endorsement of the import particulars and in cases
where the authorisation holder has opted that the Cenvat Credit under Cenvat
Credit Rules, 2004 in respect of the additional duty under section 3 of the
Customs Tariff Act , 1975 (51 of 1975) paid (hereinafter referred to as
additional duty of customs) shall not be taken, the proper officer endorses
“Not valid for Cenvat Credit” on the bill of entry:
Provided that the goods imported should
not fall under clause (f) of paragraph 5.01 of Foreign Trade Policy:
Provided further that catalyst for
one subsequent charge shall be allowed, under the authorisation in which plant,
machinery or equipment and catalyst for initial charge have been imported,
except in cases where the Regional Authority issues a separate authorisation
for catalyst for one subsequent charge after the plant, machinery or equipment
and catalyst for initial charge have already been imported;
(4)
that the capital goods importedunder the said
authorisation are installed and put to use, after their import, in the
authorisation holder’s factory or premises and at the time of registration of
the said scrip a certificate, confirming such installation and use of the
goods, from the jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise or
Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise, as the case may be,or from an independent Chartered Engineer, which
has been issued prior to the date of the first application filed by the authorisation
holder for issuance of duty credit scrip against the said authorisation, is
produced before the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or the Assistant
Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be:
Provided that an authorisation holder (including an authorisation
holder who is a CSP) registered with the Central Excise opting for the
independent Chartered Engineer’s certificate shall send a copy of the
certificate, upon its issuance, to the jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise or the Assistant
Commissioner of Central Excise, as the case may be, as intimation or record:
Provided further that in the case of
manufacturer authorisation holder and merchant authorisation holder having
supporting manufacturer(s) or in the case of import of irrigation equipment for
use in contract farming for export of agricultural products or in the case of
authorisation holder rendering services, the capital goods may be installed at
the factory or premises of such other person whose name and address is
endorsed, prior to installation, by the Regional Authority on the said
authorisation. This would apply even when Regional Authority endorses a change
in the factory or premises or person. The name and address of such other person
shall also be mentioned on the shipping bills for fulfillment of the export
obligation and the authorisation holder and such other person jointly and
severally fulfill the export obligation and all other conditions. This shall
not apply to a CSP:
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 authorisation holder shall
maintain accurate record of such movement;
(5) that
where the goods imported under the said authorisation are found defective or
unfit for use, they may be re-exported back to the foreign supplier within three years
from the date of clearance of said goods subject to the condition that,-
(a) 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, to be the same goods
which were imported;
(b) when the re-export of the goods has been
made under claim of duty drawback, no duty remission in the form of duty credit
scrip for the duty paid at the time of import on the re-exported goods shall be
allowed;
(c) after any
duty remission in the form of duty credit scrip has been claimed in respect of
the duty paid on the goods imported under the said authorisation, no duty
drawback shall be allowed when the goods are re-exported and the export
obligation shall also not be re-fixed;
(6) that
goods imported under the said authorisation are not disposed of or transferred
by sale or lease or any other manner by the authorisation holder till the date
of last export against which the said scrip is issued;
(7) that
the total export obligation to be fulfilled is equivalent to eighty five per
cent. (85%) of six times the amount which is the sum of applicable duty of
customs under the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975)
paid (hereinafter referred to as basic customs duty), additional duty of
customs, Education Cess under section 94 of the Finance (No.2) Act, 2004 (23 of
2004) paid and Secondary and Higher Education Cess under section 136 of the
Finance Act, 2007 (22 of 2007) paid on goods imported under the said
authorisation, on Free On Board basis, which is to be fulfilled within an
export obligation period of six years from the date of issue of the said
authorisation:
Provided that additional duty of
customs shall not be taken for computation for the purpose of fixation of
export obligation when the Cenvat Credit in respect of additional duty of
customs has not been taken:
Provided further that the export
obligation shall be 75% of the export obligation specified above when fulfilled
by export of following green technology products, namely, equipment for solar
energy decentralised and grid connected products, bio-mass gassifier, bio-mass or waste boiler, vapour absorption chillers, waste heat
boiler, waste heat recovery units, unfired heat recovery steam generators, wind
turbine, solar collector and parts thereof, water treatment plants, wind mill
and wind mill turbine or engine, other generating sets – wind powered,
electrically operated vehicles . motor cars, electrically operated
vehicles – lorries and trucks, electrically operated vehicles – motor cycle and
mopeds, and solar cells:
Provided also that for units located
in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, the export obligation shall be 25% of the export
obligation specified above:
Provided also that where a sick unit holding said authorisation is notified by the Board
for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) or where a rehabilitation
scheme is announced by the concerned State Government in respect of sick unit
holding said authorisation for its
revival, the export obligation may be fulfilled within time period allowed
by the Regional Authority as per the rehabilitation package prepared by the
operating agency and approved by BIFR or rehabilitation department of State
Government. In cases where the time period is not specified in the
rehabilitation package, the export obligation may be fulfilled within the
period specified in paragraph 5.05 of the Foreign Trade Policy;
(8) that
the duty remission granted as duty credit in the said scrip bears the same
proportion to the amount which is the basic customs duty on the goods imported
under the said authorisation which were considered for fixation of export
obligation, as the extent of export obligation fulfilled (over and above the
average export obligation) bears to the total export obligation:
Explanation
1. – For the purpose of condition
(8),-
(a)
the amount of duty remission shall not include the duty paid,
any portion of which has been rebated, including by way of duty drawback;
(b)
the amount of duty remission shall not include the duty paid
which are not assessed finally;
(c)
extent of export obligation fulfilled shall be the export obligation fulfilled
till the last export included in the said scrip less the export obligations
fulfilled that have been counted towards the previously issued duty credit
scrips against the said authorisation;
(d)
in condition (c) above, the export obligation fulfilled till
the last export included in the said scrip shall be taken as the total export
obligation fulfilled in the following cases –
(i) where the authorisation holder fulfills
seventy five per cent. (75%)
or more of the export obligation as specified in condition (7) [over and above
hundred per cent. (100%) of the average export
obligation], within half of the period specified for export obligation as
mentioned in said condition (7), in which case the balance export obligation
shall stand condoned;
(ii) where
the Regional Authority regularizes shortfall, in the export obligation as
specified in condition (7), not exceeding five per cent. (5%) of such export
obligation, in which case the said shortfall shall be condoned;
(e) Explanation 2 to this
notification relating to ‘Export obligation’ shall apply severally to each duty credit scrip, including the said scrip, issued against the said authorisation;
(f) the exports and supplies made within
the export obligation period specified in condition (7) shall count towards
fulfillment of export obligation;
(g) for fulfillment of export obligation,
the payments against exports or supplies should have been realised.
(9) that
where the first proviso to condition (7) is applied, the Cenvat Credit in
respect of additional duty of customs shall not been taken and at the time of
registration of the said scrip a certificate, from the jurisdictional Deputy
Commissioner of Central Excise or Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise, as
the case may be, to the effect that Cenvat Credit in respect of additional duty
of customs on goods imported under the said authorisation has not been taken,
is produced by the authorisation holder before the Deputy Commissioner of
Customs or the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be:
Provided that when the authorisation
holder is not registered with Central Excise, he may produce the said
certificate on self-certification basis;
(10) that
the duty remission in the said scrip does not relate to duties paid on the
imports made under the said authorisation which have not been installed and put
to use;
(11) that
the duty remission in the said scrip has not been obtained as a consequence of
indigenous sourcing of capital goods;
(12) that
the said scrip is issued, on request of the authorisation holder in form ANF5B for duty remission, by the
Regional Authority specifying the same port of registration as mentioned in the
said authorisation and it indicates details of the said authorisation, total
export obligation fixed and its calculation, details of previous duty credit
scrips issued against the said authorisation and the calculation of duty
credit;
(13) that the imports under the said
authorisation, the exports for fulfilling the export obligations and import of
goods against the said scrip are undertaken through the seaports, airports or
through the inland container depots or through the land customs stations as
mentioned in the Table 2 annexed to the Notification No 16/ 2015- Customs dated 01.04.2015or a
Special Economic Zone notified under section 4 of the Special Economic Zones
Act, 2005 (28 of 2005):
Provided that the Commissioner of
Customs may, by special order or a public notice and subject to such conditions
as may be specified by him, permit import and export through any other
sea-port, airport, inland container depot or through a land customs station
within his jurisdiction;
(14) that
for the purposes of registration, the said scrip is produced by the
authorisation holder at the specified port of registration before the Deputy
Commissioner of Customs or the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case
may be, along with –
(a) the
said authorisation and the bill(s) of entry under which the imports under the
said authorisation were made on payment of applicable duties in cash;
(b) evidence showing the extent of export obligation fulfilled within
the export obligation period;
(c) certificate confirming installation and use as prescribed in condition
(4) above;
(d) certificate that Cenvat Credit has not been taken as prescribed in
condition (9) above, where applicable;
(e) undertaking from the authorisation holder to the effect that,-
(i)
the goods imported under the said
authorisation have not been disposed of or transferred by sale or lease or any
other manner till the date of last export against which the said scrip is
issued;
(ii)
the duty remission in the said scrip
does not include the duty paid, any portion of which has been rebated,
including by way of duty drawback; and
(iii)
all the conditions have been
complied with respect to the duty credit in the said scrip,
and the said Deputy Commissioner or
Assistant Commissioner, as the case may be, upon being satisfied, allows the
said scrip to be registered and the Customs authority endorses details of the
said scrip and the remark “Drawback not available on re-export” on the bill(s)
of entry, and registers the said scrip;
(15) that
the said scrip and goods imported against it shall be freely transferable;
(16) that
the said scrip is produced before the proper officer of customs at the time of
clearance for debit of the duties leviable on the goods and the proper officer
taking into account the debits already made under this exemption and the debits
made under the notification No. 18 of 2015 – Central Excise, dated the 1st
April, 2015, debits the duties leviable on the goods, but for this
exemption;
(17) that
the validity of the said scrip shall be eighteen months from the date of issue
and the said scrip shall be valid on the date on which actual debit of duty is
made;
(18) that
where the importer, under this notification, does not claim exemption from the
additional duty of customs leviable under section 3 of the Customs Tariff Act,
1975 (51 of 1975) he shall be deemed not to have availed the benefit under this
notification for the purpose of calculation of the said additional duty of
customs;
(19) that
the benefit under this notification shall not be available to the items listed
in Appendix 3A
of Appendices and AyatNiryat Forms;
(20) that
the importer shall be entitled to avail of the drawback of the duty of Customs
leviable under the First Schedule to the said Customs Tariff Act against the
amount debited in the said scrip;
(21) that
the importer shall be entitled to avail of the drawback or Cenvat credit of
additional duty leviable under section 3 of the said Customs Tariff Act against
the amount debited in the said scrip.
Explanation
2. – For the purpose of this
notification, –
(A) “Capital goods” has the same
meaning as assigned to it in paragraph of 9.08 of the Foreign Trade Policy;
(B) “Common Service Provider” (CSP)
means a service provider who is designated or certified as a Common Service
Provider by the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Department of
Commerce or State Industrial Infrastructural Corporation in a Town of Export
Excellence;
(C) “Export obligation”,-
(I) means
obligation on the authorisation holder to export to a place outside India,
goods manufactured or capable of being manufactured or services rendered by the
use of capital goods imported under the said authorisation and the export
obligation shall be over and above the average level of exports achieved by the
authorisation holder in the preceding three licensing years for the same and
similar products within the export obligation period and such average shall be
the arithmetic mean of export performance in the last three years for the same
and similar products:
Provided that in case of export of
goods relating to handicraft, handlooms, cottage, tiny sector, agriculture,
animal husbandry, floriculture, horticulture, pisciculture, viticulture,
poultry, sericulture, carpet, coir and jute, the authorisation holder shall not
be required to maintain the average level of exports:
Provided further that in case of
export of goods relating to aquaculture (including fisheries), the
authorisation holder shall not be required to maintain the average level of
exports subject to the condition that said authorisation has been obtained for
goods other than fishing trawlers, boats, ships and other similar items:
Provided also that the goods,
excepting tools, imported under said authorisation by the aforesaid sectors,
shall not be allowed to be transferred for a period of five years from the date
of imports even in cases where export obligation has been fulfilled:
Provided also that exports made to
such countries as notified by Director General of Foreign Trade, shall not be
counted for fixing the average level of exports:
Provided also that exports against
only such shipping bills which mention the authorisation number and date of the
said authorisation shall be counted for the fulfillment of the export
obligation;
Provided also that in the case of
authorisation issued to a CSP, –
(i)
the reference to ‘authorisation
holder’ in this Explanation shall be taken to mean a reference to ‘CSP and
specific users whose details are informed prior to export by CSP to the
Regional Authority’;
(ii)
for the exports by users of the
common service to be counted towards fulfillment of export obligation of CSP,
the respective shipping bills of the users of common service shall contain the
authorisation details of the CSP and the concerned Regional Authority shall be
informed about the details of the users prior to such export; and
(iii)
the exports counted against the
authorisation shall not be counted towards fulfillment of other specific export
obligations against all other authorisationsissued under Chapter 5 of the Foreign Trade Policy, including
para 5.28
of Handbook of Procedures;
(II) shall
be fulfilled through physical exports and the export proceeds realised in freely convertible currency. However the following
categories of supplies shall also be counted towards fulfillment of export
obligation:
(a)
deemed exports, namely:-
(i) supply of goods against Advance
Authorisation or Advance Authorisation for annual requirement or Duty Free
Import Authorisation Scheme;
(ii) supply of goods to Export Oriented Units
or Software Technology Parks or Electronic Hardware Technology Parks or
Biotechnology Park;
(iii) supply
of goods to projects financed by multilateral or bilateral agencies or funds as notified by Department of Economic
Affairs, Ministry of Financeunder International Competitive Bidding (ICB) in
accordance with the procedures of those agencies or funds, where legalagreements
provide for tender evaluation without including customs duty;
(iv) supply
and installation of goods and equipment (single responsibility of turnkey
contracts) to projects financed by multilateral or bilateral agencies or funds as notified by
Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance under ICB in
accordance with the procedures of those agencies or funds, where bids may have
been invited and evaluated on the basis of Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) prices for
goods manufactured abroad;
(v) supply
of goods to any project or purpose in respect of which the Ministry of Finance,
by Notification No. 12/2012-Customs dated 17-3-2012, as amended from time to
time, permits import of such goods at zero customs duty subject to conditions
specified in the said Notification and the supply is made under ICB procedure;
(vi) supply
of goods required for setting up of any of the mega power projects specified in
the list 32A at Sl. No. 507 of Notification No. 12/2012- Customs dated
17.03.2012, as amended from time to time, provided the mega power project
conforms to the threshold generation capacity specified in the said Notification. The supply should be made
under ICB procedure. The ICB condition shall not be mandatory if the requisite
quantum of power has been tied up through tariff based competitive bidding or
if the project has been awarded through tariff based competitive bidding;
(vii) Supply of
goods to nuclear power projects through National Competitive Bidding (NCB) or
through ICB as provided in clause(h) of para 7.02 of Foreign Trade Policy:
(b) supply of ITA-1 items to Domestic Tariff
Area, provided realisation is in free foreign exchange;
(c) royalty payments
received in freely convertible currency and foreign exchange received for
Research and Development (R&D) services; and
(d) payments received in Rupee terms for such
services as are specified in paragraph 5.04(h) of the Foreign Trade Policy.
(D)
“Foreign Trade Policy” means the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020,
published by the Government of India in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
vide notification
No. 01/2015-2020, dated the 1st April
2015 as amended from time to time;
(E) “Handbook of Procedures” means
the Handbook of Procedures 2015-20 published by the Government of India in the
Ministry of Commerce and Industry vide public notice No. 01/2015-2020, dated the 1st April 2015 as amended
from time to time;
(F) “Manufacture” has the same
meaning as defined in clause (f) of section 2 of the Central Excise Act, 1944
(1 of 1944);
(G) “Regional Authority” means the
Director General of Foreign Trade appointed under section 6 of the Foreign
Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 (22 of 1992) or an officer
authorized by him to grant an authorisation including a duty credit scrip under
the said Act;
Table
|
S. No. |
Description of goods |
|
(1) |
(2) |
|
1. |
Capital goods for pre-production, |
|
2. |
Capital goods in Semi Knocked Down (SKD) / |
|
3. |
Spareparts |
|
4. |
Spare parts required for the existing plant |
[F.No.605/55/2014-DBK]
(Sanjay
Kumar)
Under
Secretary to the Government of India
