Notification No. 96 dated 2^nd March 1993 (As amended by notification nos. 189/93, 110/94, 193/94, 83/95, 101/95, 117/95, 171/95, 86/97, 12/98, 38/98, 65/99, 9/00, 56/2001, Notification No. 64 dated 24^th June 2002, Notification No. 65 dated 25^th June 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 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, or procured from international exhibitions held in India for purposes of manufacture and development of electronics hardware, or electronics hardware and software in an integrated manner, by the Electronics Hardware Technology Park units under the 100 percent export oriented scheme, approved in this behalf by the Inter-Ministerial Standing Committee (hereinafter referred to as the �Committee�) appointed by notification of the Government of India in the Department of Industrial Development S.O. No. -117 (E) dated the 22^nd February, 1993 (as amended) 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 by the Committee, for the import of goods for the said purposes;

(2)��� The importer carries out the manufacture or development or both of the electronics hardware or software under customs bond and subject to such other conditions, as may be specified by the Assistant Commissioner of customs in this behalf;

(3)��� The importer exports out of India hundred percent, or such other percentage, as may be fixed by the Committee, of electronics hardware or software manufactured wholly or partly from the goods for the period stipulated by the Committee or such extended period, as may be specified by the Committee;

������� Provided that all such exports are made against freely convertible foreign currency;

(4)��� Omitted

(5)��� The importer agrees-

(a)��� to bring the goods into the unit and use them within the unit in connection with the manufacture or development or both of electronics hardware or software for export:

(b)����� not to move the goods from the unit without the approval of the Assistant Commissioner of Customs:

(c)����� to export out of India all electronics hardware or software manufactured in the unit;

(6)��� The importer shall produce a certificate to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs from the designated officers to the effect that the goods imported are to be installed or used in the unit and that the import of such goods has been authorised by the Committee;

(7)��� Without prejudice of any other provisions contained in this notification, the Assistant Commissioner of Customs may, subject to such conditions 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 Designated officer or the Committee where it is exclusively required under the Export and 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 -

(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;

(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 eligible to avail of the exemption applicable to goods falling under heading No.98.01 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975), or the exemption available to the imported goods under any Export Promotion scheme other than the Export Promotion Capital Goods 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.

(8)��� The importer executes a bond in such form and for such sum and with such authority as may be prescribed by the Assistant Commissioner of customs, binding himself to fulfil the export obligations and conditions under this notification, conditions under the Export and Import Policy and to pay on demand an amount equal to the duty leviable on the goods as are not proved to the satisfaction of the Assistant Commissioner of Customs to have been used in the manufacture or duty leviable on the goods and interest at the rate of fifteen percent per annum on the said duty from the date of duty free 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 to have been installed or otherwise used within the bonded premises 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 may, on being satisfied that there is sufficient cause or 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 to have been used in connection with the production or packaging of goods for export out of India or re-exported with a period of one year from the date of importation or procurement thereof or within such extended period as the Assistant Commissioner of Customs may, on being satisfied that there is sufficient cause for not using them as above within the said period, 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 container, suitable for repeated use) as have not been exported, within a period of one year from the date of importation or procurement of such goods or within such extended period as the Assistant 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 may, on being satisfied that there is sufficient cause, allow:

Provided that the Commissioner of Customs may extend the period for the 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;

(9)��� Omitted

(10)� The procedure, as may be prescribed by the Commissioner of Customs, is followed by such unit;

(11)� The Assistant Commissioner of Customs may, subject to the conditions and limitation as may be stipulated in the Export and Import Policy and those as may be specified by him in this behalf permit the goods imported or procured by the unit or goods partially processed or manufactured or packaged therefrom to be taken outside the unit without payment of duty for the purposes of test, repairs, refining, processing, display, jobwork or any other process necessary for manufacture of final products and to be returned to the said unit thereafter or remove the same without payment of duty under bond for export from the job worker�s premises:

Provided that the waste or scrap or remnants generated during such processes at the job worker�s premises is either returned to the unit or is cleared on payment of duty as if the said waste or scrap or remnants have been cleared by the said unit;

(11A)��������� The Assistant Commissioner of Customs may permit to remove moulds, jigs, tools, fixtures, tackles, instruments, hangers and patterns and drawings to the premises of sub-contractors subject to the condition that these goods shall be brought back to the bonded premises of Electronics Hardware Technology Park unit on completion of the job work, within a stipulated period;

(12)� Captive power plants including captive generating sets of a capacity exceeding 1000 KVA and the spares, fuel, lubricants and other consumables for such plants and sets as recommended by the Committee.

(12A)��������� Captive power plants including captive generating sets upto 1000 KVA capacity and the spares, fuel, lubricants and other consumables for such plants and sets as recommended by the designated officer�.

(13)� The Assistant Commissioner of Customs may, subject to such conditions as he may deem fit to impose under the circumstances of the case for the proper safeguard of the revenue interest, allow a unit to re-export goods;

(14)� Omitted.

(15)� Notwithstanding anything contained in this notification, the exemption contained herein shall also apply to-

(a)��� goods which on importation into India are used for the manufacture or development of electronics hardware or software within the unit and such hardware or software (including rejects, waste and scrap material arising in the course of manufacture and development of such hardware of software), even if not exported out of India are allowed to be sold in India under and in accordance with the Export and Import Policy and in such quantity and subject to such limitations and conditions as may be specified in this behalf by the Committee, on payment of duty of excise leviable thereon under section 3 of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 (1 of 1944) or where such hardware or software (including rejects, waste and scrap material arising in the course of manufacture and development of such hardware or software) are not excisable, customs duty equal in amount to that leviable on the inputs obtained under this notification and used for the purpose of manufacture or development of such hardware or software (including rejects, waste and scrap material arising in the course of manufacture and development of such electronic hardware or software), which would have been paid, but for the exemption under this notification, shall be payable at the time of clearance of such electronic hardware or software (including rejects, waste and scrap material arising in the course of manufacture and development of such hardware or software);

(b)��� spares and consumables other than those specified in the Table, to the extent of 1.5% of the ex-factory value of manufacture of articles for export out of India by the unit during the preceding year or such percentage in excess thereof as the Central Government may, in each individual case allow having regard to the recommendations made to it in this behalf by the Committee for the purpose of supply of such spares and consumables with the export articles for after-sale service, subject to the condition that such supply is specifically stipulated in the relevant export contract and the Assistant Collector of Customs is satisfied that the value of such spares and consumables have been included for arriving at the value addition as required under the said Export and Import policy:

Provided that sale of software within India shall not be allowed through data communication link or telecommunication link subject to such conditions as may be specified by the Commissioner of Customs.

(c)��� goods which on importation or procurement are used for the manufacture or development of Electronics Hardware or Software, within the unit and such hardware or software even if not exported out of India, are allowed to be cleared to the warehouse appointed or registered under notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance number 26/98-Central Excise (NT), dated the 15^th July, 1998, or cleared to the warehouses authorised to carry out manufacturing process or other operations under section 65 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962) and under the Manufacture and Other Operations in Warehouse Regulations, 1966 or cleared to the licence holders referred to in clause (e) of paragraph 9.10 of the Export and Import Policy, without payment of duty:

(16)� Subject to the satisfaction of the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, duty shall not be liable in respect of -

(i)������ the said goods used for imparting training to workers.

(ii)��� the said goods or goods manufactured, produced, processed or packaged in the unit, if such goods are destroyed within the unit;

(iii)�� the scrap or waste material or remnants (arising in the course of such production, manufacture, processing or packaging) if such scrap or waste material or remnants are destroyed within the unit.

(iv)��� the capital goods, if such capital goods are destroyed within 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;

(17)� The Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs may, subject to such conditions or limitations as may be specified by him in this behalf, and subject to approval of the Inter-Ministerial Standing Committee, permit the goods imported or procured by the unit or goods partially processed or manufactured or packaged therefrom to be taken out of India for the purpose of processing if such processing is not available in India, without payment of duty, and to be returned to the said unit thereafter.