In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 5A of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 (1 of 1944), the Central Government, being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby exempts the goods specified in column (3) of the Table hereto annexed and falling under the sub-heading No. of the Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 (5 of 1986) specified in the corresponding entry in column (2) of the said Table (hereinafter referred to as the goods) when brought into duty free shops in the arrival halls at the customs airports from the factories of their manufacture situated in India for sale, in foreign currency, to passengers arriving from abroad, from the whole of the duty of excise leviable thereon which is specified in the said Schedule, subject to the following conditions, namely:

(a) the owner of the duty free shop or his agent (hereinafter referred to as the consignee) is authorised to store and sell the goods, in foreign currency, in the said duty free shop to passengers arriving from abroad, by the Commissioner of Customs having jurisdiction in the customs airport (hereinafter referred to as the Commissioner of Customs);

(b) the consignee brings the goods directly from the factory of manufacture to the said duty free shop;

(c) the goods so brought are sold, only in foreign currency, to the passengers arriving from abroad;

(d) if due to any special circumstances, the goods are to be taken back by the consignee to the manufacturer or for home consumption, then the consignee shall make an application to the Commissioner of Customs, indicating the reasons, who after satisfying himself about the need and circumstances may allow removal of such goods on pay~ ment of excise duty as applicable on the date of removal and subject to any other condition as he may deem fit;

(e) the procedure set out in the Appendix to this notification is followed.

Procedure to regulate the movement of the goods for sale, in foreign currency, at the duty free shops in the arrival halls of customs airports

(a) Application for obtaining the goods free of duty. Any person intending to obtain the goods free of duty for sale, in foreign currency, in duty free shops located in the arrival halls at the customs airports shall make an application in writing to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs having jurisdiction in the customs airport (hereinafter referred to as the Assistant Commissioner of Customs) stating therein the quantity of the goods required. The application shall also be accompanied with a declaration stating that the goods will be sold to passengers coming from abroad on receipt of payment in foreign currency only. The Assistant Commissioner may grant the permission, after causing such enquiries to be made as he may deem fit and the applicant shall then enter into a bond in the form iven in Annexure-A below with such surety or sufficient security, for such amount and under such conditions as the Assistant Com- of Customs may approve:

Provided that in the event of death, insolvency or insufficiency of the surety, or where the amount of the bond is inadequate, the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, in his discretion, demand a fresh bond, and may, if the security furnished for a bond is not adequate, demand additional security.

After the grant of the permission and execution of the bond by the applicant, the officer of customs in-charge of the duty free shop shall issue a certificate, in the form given in Annexure-B below certifying that

(i) the said applicant has been authorised to store and sell the goods, in foreign currency, to passengers arriving from abroad, by the Commissioner of Customs upto

(ii) the said applicant has executed a bond in the form given in Annexure-A with the Assistant Commissioner of Customs showing the number and particulars of the bond; and

(iii) the specimen signature of the said applicant or his agent furnished on the body of the certificate is genuine and he would attest it. The certificate shall be sent by the said officer-in-charge under registered post (acknowledgement due) to the factory from which the goods are to be obtained. A copy of the certificate shall also be sent by the said officer-in-charge to the Superintendent in-charge of the range of the factory, from where the goods are to be obtained.

(b) Removal of goods to duty free shop. On receipt of the aforesaid certificate the owner of the factory from where the goods have to be removed or his agent (consignor) shall prepare an application in the form given in Annexure-C below in quadruplicate for removal of the goods mentioning clearly the number and date of the bond as given in the certificate issued by the officer of customs-in-charge of the duty free shop. Removal application in Annexure-C must be serially numbered. Separate Serial Nos. should be given for each financial year. The Serial Number must be noted on all the copies. Whenever any removal application has to be cited in the course of correspondence, the name of the factory, the Serial Number and date of Annexure-C shall always be quoted as reference. The consignor shall, however, intimate to the Central Excise of- in charge of the factory of removal about the removal of goods at least 24 hours before such removal is expected to take place.

(c) Marking of the packages. Packages to be marked and address to be noted in the application.

The owner of the factory of removal or his agent (consignor) must

(i) ensure that packages bear proper marking and number;

(ii) ensure that all copies of Annexure-'C' below are prominently marked Intended for sale at duty free shop in the arrival hall at the - customs airport;

(iii) give the full address of the factory of removal as well as of the Superintendent-in-charge of the range under which the factory falls and the Collec- to which it is attached.

(iv) take care that whenever any of the said addresses is used for despatching purposes the full address of the Superintendent-in-charge of the range including the name of the district is properly reproduced.

(d) Preparation of Gate Pass. The consignor shall also prepare a gate pass in form G.P. 2 in Appendix I (Central Excise Series No. 65AA) to the Central Excise Rules, 1944, in res ect of the goods proposed to be removed from his factory and will thereafter clear ge goods on his own without any verification by any Central Excise Officer.

(e) Disposal of documents in Annexure-C and Gate Pass. The consignor shall send the original and triplicate copy of Annexure-C and original copy of the gate pass along with the consignment to the consignee. The duplicate copy of Annexure-C will be sent by the consinor to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs. The quadruplicate copy of Annexure-C along with a copy of the gate pass will be sent by the consignor to the Central Excise officer-in-charge of his factory within 24 hours of the removal of the consignment in question. The said officer-in-charge shall maintain an account of all such removals in Annexure-D below.

(f) Action at destination. On receipt of the duplicate co b the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, it must immediately be entered in the 'Record of Receipts in Bond' given in Annexure- E below and forwarded the same day to the officer of customs in charge of the duty free shop. The entries in this record should be verified against relative entries of the record of goods prescribed by the Commissioner.

(g) Responsibility for further accounting. After receipt of the goods from a manufacturer, proper accounting of the goods shall be the responsibility of the consignee and the officer of customs in charge of the duty free shop.

(h) Examination of the consignment on receipt. The consignee must give intimation of the arrival of the consignment at his premises to the officer of customs in charge of the duty free shop without any delay and should store the same separately and in tact, pending examination and cheek by the said officer and the said officer, after taking account of the goods, will identify them with the marks and numbers, and check the consignment in full. Thereafter, he shall complete the certificate on the duplicate copy received from the consignor and original and triplicate copy of the applications presented by the consignee, return duplicate to the Central Excise Officer in charge of the factory or removal direct and triplicate to the consignee for despatch to the consignor after noting thereon the deficiency or excess, if any.

(i) Re-entry. If the duplicate application is received by the Officer ofcustoms in charge of the duty free shop before the arrival of th ds is reported to him by the consi nee, he must keep it pending securely and systematically filed in a file marked "PenTirg duplicate Annexure-C application" and record the particulars of the consignment in his "Record of Receipts in Bond" as in Annexure-E below and no sooner the consignment is received, he shall follow the procedure prescribed in paragraph (h) above.

(j) Accounting and Sale:

(1) The goods covered by this procedure shall be kept in the duty free shop.

(2) The goods shall be accounted for in the Stock Register to be maintained in the form as in Annexure-F below.

(3) Every sale shall be covered by a sale voucher in the form as in Annexure-G below.

(4) The sale voucher shall be serially numbered and prepared in duplicate, the original for the passenger and the duplicate (carbon copy) to be retained at the duty free shop. Duplicate copy shall be available for inspection by the officer of custorns-in-charge of the duty free shop at all reasonable times.

(5) All sales made in a day shall be accounted for daily in the said Stock Register.

(6) (i) Entries in the said Stock Register shall be attested by the Manager of the duty free shop or his agent daily unless there is no transaction on a particu ar day.

(ii) The officer of customs-in-charge shall also check the said Stock Register daily and put his signatures thereon in token of the checks exercised by him.

(k) Duty leviable on the goods not duly accounted for as having been sold in foreign currency to passengers arriving from abroad, etc. If any goods obtained under this procedure are not duly accounted for to the satisfaction of the Assistant Commissioner of Customs as having been sold, in foreign currency, to the passengers arriving from abroad, the applicant shall, on demand, immediately pay the duty of excise leviable on such goods. The authorisation granted to the a licant, may at any time be withdrawn by the Commissioner of Customs if a breach of the procedure is committed by the applicant, his agent or any person employed by him. In the event of such a breach, the Commissioner of Customs may also order the forfeiture of the security de posited under paragraph (a) above and may also confiscate the goods and all goods in store in the premises of the applicant.

(l) Despatch of duplicates by registered post acknowledgement due. Despatch of duplicate application in Annexure-C referred to in a paragraph (e) above must always be made by registered post-acknowledgement due, and the Postal receipt of registration must be systematically filed by the consignor and presented for inspection to the Central Excise Officer-in-charge of the factory whenever required.

(m) Demand of duty on goods not reaching destination. If the certificate of receipt of consignment of the goods despatched to the consignee [as per paragraph (h)] is not received back by the consignor within 30 days of t e removal of the goods or within such extended period as may be allowed by the Assistant Cominissioner of Central Excise, it shall be the responsibility of the consignor himself to pay the duty of ex~ cise leviable on the consignment by a debit entry in his account-current. However, in such cases where the consignor produces proof of receipt of consignment to the satisfaction of the Central Excise Officer-in-charge of the factory after payment of duty in the manner indicated above, he will be eligible for grant of refund on the duty so paid by making an application.

The Central Excise Officer-in-charge cif the factory may also demand duty on a consignment the certificate in respect of which has not been received within the stipulated period. In such cases if the consignor has already paid the duty leviable on the consignment b a debit entry on his account-current, the said Central Excise Officer may intimate the officer of customs-in-charge of the duty free shop about the particulars of such deposit in reply to the said notice of demand.

(n) Action by the Central Excise officer-in-charge of the factory of removal in case of non-receipt of Annexure-C certificates. If the duplicate cop of Annexure-C is not returned to the Central Excise officer-in-charge of the factory of removal within a fortnight of the removal of consignment, reminders must be issued regularly at weekly intervals to the Officer of customs-in-charge of the duty free shop. If, despite such reminders, the duplicate copy of Annexure-C is not received within two months of the date of removal of the consignment, the matter should be reported to the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise in whose charge the consignor operates, who will either secure a satisfactory proof of the consignment having been dui received by the consignee or ensure that the duty of excise properly due on the goods not so received at destination is recovered.

(o) Verification of the use of non-duty paid goods. On receipt by the consignee, the goods shall be sold, in foreign currency, to the passengers arriving from abroad. It shall be the responsibility of the person-in-charge of the duty free shop to ensure that all the goods have been fully accounted for and sold in foreign currency to the passengers arriving from abroad to the satisfaction of the Assistant Commissioner of Customs.

I/We (1) .......of .................. [hereinafter called the obligor(s)] and (2) I/We .of .......(hereinafter called the surety) am/are jointlyand severally bound to the President of India in the sum of rupees to be paid to the President of India for which payment I/We jointly and severally bind myself / ourselves and my/our legal representatives.

The above bounded obligor(s) being permitted to remove the goods described in his/their application No . ..........dated ......from the factory at to the duty free shop in the arrival hall of customs airport at ......................................

The condition of this bond is that if the obligor(s) and his/their legal representatives shall observe all the provisions of the notification No. 145/89-Central Excises, dated the 19th May, 1989, and all the provisions of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, and all such amendments thereto, as may be issued from time to time, to be observed in respect of the goods so transferred.

And, if all the said goods are duly removed to the duty free shop in the arrival hall of the customs airport before the ..........day of.....19.

And, if all the said goods are sold, in foreign currency, to passengers arriving from abroad.

This obligation shall be void.

Otherwise and on breach or failure in the performance of any part of this condition, the same shall be in full force.

I/We declare that this bond is given under the orders of the Central Government for the performance of an act in which the public are interested.
 

Accepted by me this ......... day of ........... 1998.

(Assistant Commissioner of Customs)
(for and on behalf of the President of India).

Date ..............

No..............

This is to certify that

(1) Mr./Messrs.and address) is/are authorised to store and sell the goods, in foreign currency, to passengers arriving from abroad by the Commissioner of Customs upto ................

(2) That he/they has/have executed a bond, as required, under notification No. 145/89-Central Excises, dated the 19th May, 1989 for Rs . with the Asstt.

Commissioner of Customs ..................and as such may be permitted to remove .......(Qty.) of goods from the units at ........... to duty free shop in the arrival hall of customs airport at ...............................

(3) That the specimen signatures of his/their authorised agent namely Shri __________________ are furnished here below duly attested.
 

Range .....................
Original
Duplicate
Triplicate
Quadruplicate

I/We holder(s) of Central Excise Licence No. __________________ apply for leave to remove the undermentioned goods from the factory at to the duty free shop of Mr./Messrs. __________ in the arrival hall at customs airport at _____________
 

*1. To be entered by the consignor/owner or his authorised agent in words and figures.

2. The aforesaid Mr./Messrs. _______ have executed a bond at destination; bearing No. ___ dated ____ for rupees ________________
 

*(Delete the entries not applicable)

A certificate from the officer of customs-in-charge of the duty free shop at in Annexure-B to the Notification No. 145/89-Central Excises, dated the 19th May, 1989 is attached.

3. I/We hereby declare the above particulars to be true.
 

(1) Certificate of Central Excise Officer in-charge of factory of Removal.
TO The Officer of Customs In charge of the duty free shop.

I hereby certify that the consignment conforms in all respects to the description given above and 1 have permitted removal under Transport permit in Form G.S. No. ____ Dated _______
 

(2) Certificate of Officer-in-charge of the duty free shop in the arrival hall of the customs airport.

To

The Central Excise Officer
In-charge of factory of removal

I hereby certify that the consignment arrived at and that the goods conform in all respects to the description given above/overleaf except for the following discrepancies and that they have been entered under Entry No. ____ dated _____ of the Stock Register prescribed by the Commissioner of Customs.

RANGE OFFICER .............................
 

DUPLICATE Annexure C to Notfn. No. 145/89-Central Excises, dated the 19th May, 1989
 

Date ........................
DUTY FREE SHOP

.............. CUSTOMS AIRPORT