196/1994 DATE 08/12/1994

Goods for use in aquaculture farms and on export of aquaculture products produced therefrom - exemption on import
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 below (hereinafter referred to as the goods), when imported into India or procured from a Public Warehouse or a Private Warehouse appointed or licensed, as the case may be, under section 57 or section 58 of the said Customs Act, for use in aqua-culture farm in connection with the operational requirements of such aquaculture farm and for export of aquaculture products produced from such goods (hereinafter referred to as the said purpose) by hundred per cent export-oriented undertakings approved by the Board of Approvals for hundred per cent Export Oriented Undertakings, appointed by the notification of the Government of India in the former Ministry of Industry and Civil Supplies (Department of Industrial Development) No. S. O. 163(E)/(RLIU)/10(2)76, dated the 3rd March, 1976 or the Development Commissioner concerned as the case may be (hereinafter referred to as said Board), from the whole of the duty of customs leviable thereon under the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 ( 51 of 1975) and the additional duty, if any leviable thereon under section 3 of the second mentioned Act, subject to the following conditions, namely:-

(1) the importer has been granted necessary approval for the import of the goods for the said purpose;

(2) the importer at the time of import or procurement of the said goods, executes a bond in such a form and for such a sum as may be prescribed by the Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs binding himself-


(a) to produce a Certificate from the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise or Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise having jurisdiction over his unit certifying receipt of the said goods in the unit and goods having been entered in the record prescribed for this purpose;

(b) to fulfill the export obligations and comply with the conditions stipulated in this notification and in the Export and Import Policy, 1 April, 1997-31 March, 2002, published by the Government of India under the Ministry of Commerce Notification number 1/1997-2002, dated 31st March, 1997, as amended from time to time (hereinafter referred to as the Export and Import Policy) and to pay on demand an amount equal to the duty leviable on the goods and interest at the rate of twenty per cent per annum on the said duty from the date of importation or procurement of the said goods till the date of payment of such duty, if-


(i) in the case of capital goods, such goods are not proved to the satisfaction of the Assistant Commissioner of Customs Deputy Commissioner of Customs to have been installed or otherwise used within the unit or re-exported within a period of one year from the date of importation or procurement thereof or within such extended period not exceeding five years as the Assistant Commissioner of Customs Deputy Commissioner of Customs may, on being satisfied that there is sufficient cause for not using them as above within the said period, allow;

(ii) in the case of goods other than capital goods, such goods are not proved to the satisfaction of the Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs to have been used in connection with the production or packaging of goods for export out of India or reexported or cleared for home consumption within a period of one year from the date of importation of procurement thereof or within such extended period as the Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs may, on being satisfied that there is sufficient cause for not using them as above, allow;

(iii) in the case of


(a) goods produced or packaged, such goods have not been exported out of India, and-

(b) unused goods (including containers, suitable for repeated use) as have not been exported or cleared for home consumption, within a period of one year form the date of importation or procurement of such goods or within such extended period as the Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs may, on being satisfied that there is sufficient cause for not exporting such goods within the said period, allow;

(iv) in the case of raw materials, components, spares and consumables (other than capital goods) imported or procured duty free, the unit fails to achieve Net Foreign Exchange Earning as a Percentage of Exports (NFEP) and Export performance (EP) as specified in appendix-1 of the Export and Import Policy, within one year of importation or procurement of such goods or within such extended period not exceeding one year as the Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs may, on being satisfied that there is sufficient cause, allow:

Provided that the Commissioner of Customs may extend the period for achievement of Net Foreign Exchange as a Percentage of Exports (NFEP) or Export Performance (EP) for further period not exceeding five years from the date of importation or procurement;


(3) the importer uses the goods for the purpose of production of aquaculture products and exports out of India hundred per cent or such other percentage, as may be fixed by the Board, of aquaculture products produced from the goods for a period of 10 years or such extended period as may be specified by the Board;

(4) the importer shall maintain a proper account of import, consumption and utilisation of the said goods and of exports made by him, and shall submit such account periodically to the Development Commissioner of the Zone, in such form and in such manner as may be laid down by the Development Commissioner;

(5) the importer, at the time of import of the goods, produces to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs a certificate from the Development Commissioner to the effect that the importer has executed a bond in such form and for such sum binding himself to fulfil the export obligations and conditions as may be specified for this purpose in the Export and Import Policy

(6) notwithstanding anything contained in this notification the exemption contained herewith shall also apply to those goods which on importation into India are used for the purpose of production of aquaculture products within hundred per cent Export-Oriented undertakings approved by the Board and such products (including rejects, waste and scrap material arising in the course of production) even if not exported out of India, are allowed to be sold in India, under and in accordance with the Export and Import Policy, as amended from time to time, and in such quantity and subject to such other limitations and conditions as may be specified in this behalf by the Development Commissioner, on payment of duty of excise leviable under section 3 of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 ( 1 of 1944) or where such articles (including rejects, waste and scrap material) are not excisable, customs duty equal in amount to that leviable on inputs obtained under this notification and used for the purpose of the manufacture or production of such articles, which would have been paid, but for the exemption under this notification, shall be payable at the time of clearance of such articles.


(7) The Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs may, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by him, allow a unit to re-export the goods;


(8) without prejudice to any other provisions contained in this notification, the Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs may, subject to such condition's and limitations as he may deem fit to impose under the circumstances of the case for the proper safeguard of the revenue interest and also subject to such permission of the Development Commissioner or the Board of Approvals where it is exclusively required under the Export-Import Policy, allow the said unit to clear any of the said goods; for being taken to any other place in India in accordance with the Export and Import Policy, as amended from time to time (hereinafter in this notification referred to as the said Export and Import Policy):-



(a) such clearance of capital goods, material handling equipments, office equipments, and captive power plants may be allowed on payment of an amount equal to the customs duty leviable on such goods on the depreciated value thereof and at the rate in force on the date of payment of such duty;

Provided that in the case of capital goods, the Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs may, subject to such conditions as he may specify, permit destruction of such capital goods without payment of duty inside the unit, or outside the said unit, where it is not possible or permissible to destroy the same within the said unit, in the presence of custom officer.

(b) such clearance of goods (including containers suitable for repeated use) other than those specified in clause (a), may be allowed on payment of customs duty on the value at the time of import and at rates in force on the date of payment of such customs duty;

(c) such clearance of used packing materials such as cardboard boxes, polyethylene bags of a kind unsuitable for repeated use may be allowed without payment of any customs duty:

Provided that the importer shall not be eligible to avail of the exemption applicable to goods falling under heading 98.01 of the the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 ( 51 of 1975), or the exemption available to goods imported under the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme permitting import of capital goods at the rate of duty of 5% ad valorem in terms of notifications in force at the time of debonding.


EXPLANATION:- The depreciation in respect of goods covered by clause (a) shall be allowed for the period from the date of commencement of commercial production of the unit or where such goods have been imported after such commencement, from the date such goods have come into use for commercial production, upto the date of payment of duty.

(9) (i) the notification No. 188-Customs/93, dated the 27th December, 1993 of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue is hereby rescinded.

(ii) Notwithstanding such rescission, anything done or action taken under the notification so rescinded shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this notification.

THE TABLE


Sl.No.	Description of Goods
1.	Capital Goods including plant and machinery for packaging, conveyor belts and accessories, spares and consumables including lubricants therefor for spawning Hatchery, Aqua Farm, Processing Plant, Chilling unit (cold storage) and Feed plant.
2.	Material handling equipments, namely, fork-lifts, over-head cranes, mobile cranes, crawler cranes, hoists and stackers and spares, consumables including lubricants therefor.
3.	Captive power plant including power generating set as recommended by the Development Commissioner and accessories.
3A.	OMITTED
[Old 3A.	Captive power plant including power generating set of a capacity exceeding 1000 KVA as. recommended by the said Board of Approval and accessories; ]
4.	Tools, Jigs, Gauges, Fixtures, Moulds, Dyes, Instruments and accessories.
5.	Cold room apparels.
6.	Chemicals for water treatment, Zeolite, Teaseed powder / cake, waste digesters, pesticides, fungicides, veterinary medicines including vaccines.
7.	Office equipments, spares and consumables thereof.
8.	Feed for prawns / fish and other aquatic animals including Artemia (Brain Shrimp eggs) and other Hatchery feeds.
9.	Raw materials for feeds for aquatic animals, namely, meals of fish and other aquatic invertibrates like squid / prawns in liquid, powder or other forms, fish lipid oil, squid oil, veterinary grade premix of vitamins / minerals not suitable for human consumption, sea weed powder, kalp Meal, Molasses, yeast, choline chloride, Antioxidants excluding Vitamins, Licithin, Di-calcium Phosphate and Calcium Lactate which are capable of use in other than veterinary application.
10.	Preservatives, pre-mix taste makers, battering materials, special cooking medium, bread crumbs / powder.
11.	packaging materials, all sorts.
12.	Catfish-eggs, fries and fingerlings.
13.	High Speed Diesel for use in the power generating sets as recommended by the Board of Approvals.