Short title, extent and commencement.- (1) These regulations may be called the Special Economic Zones (Customs Procedures) Regulations, 2003.

“Board of Approvals” means the combined Board of Approvals for export oriented unit and special economic zone units, as notified in the Official Gazette, from time to time, by the Government of India in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry;

“custodian” means any person approved by the Commissioner of Customs under section 45 of the Act for the custody of imported goods unloaded in the customs area;

“Development Commissioner” means the Development Commissioner of the concerned special economic zone;

“ developer” means a person engaged in development, or operation, or maintenance of zone or in providing public utility services within the special economic zone, duly permitted by the Commissioner of Customs and includes any other person authorised by the developer for such purpose;

“Export and Import Policy ” means the Export and Import Policy, notified from time to time, in the Official Gazette by the Government of India in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry under section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulations) Act, 1992 (22 of 1992);

“export oriented undertaking” means an undertaking which has been approved as a hundred per cent. export oriented undertaking by the Board of Approvals;

“Electronic Hardware Technology Park” means the “Electronic Hardware Technology Park Scheme notified by the Government of India in the Ministry of Commerce, and approved by the Inter-Ministerial Standing Committee appointed by notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Industry (Department of Industrial Development);

“Manufacturer Exporter” shall have the same meaning as defined in the Export and Import Policy.

“Nominated Agencies” means the Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation Limited, the Handicraft and Handloom Export Corporation, the State Trading Corporation, the Projects and Equipment of India Limited and any other agency authorized by the Reserve Bank of India;

“self certification” means the certification regarding sealing of container or package of goods under export given by the zone unit and includes the certificate regarding contents and sealing of the container or package, given by the owner, the working partner, the Managing Director or Company Secretary of the said unit or any person, (holding a high position in such zone unit, authorised by such owner, working partner or the Board of Directors of such unit (m), as the case may be, on the copies of shipping bill, which indicates that such package or container in respect of goods under export have been sealed in his presence;

“Software Technology Park Scheme” means Software Technology Park Scheme notified by the Government of India in the Ministry of Commerce, and approved by the Inter-Ministerial Standing Committee appointed by notification of Government of India in the Ministry of Industry (Department of Industrial Development);

“status holder” shall have the same meaning as defined in the Export and Import Policy;

“zone” means a special economic zone specified by the Central Government under section 76 A of the Act;

“zone unit” means a special economic zone unit of business establishment set up in the processing area of the zone for carrying out authorised operations only;

Words and expressions used herein and not defined, but defined in the Act or Rules made there under, shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Act or the rules.

Setting up of unit in the zone.- (1) A zone unit may be set up for the purposes of carrying out authorised operations.

The Letter of Permission for setting up of zone unit shall be issued by the Development Commissioner.

Import of goods by the zone unit.- (1) The zone unit may import goods required for carrying its authorised operations or for the purposes of setting up the unit, through-

The goods may also be procured from public bonded warehouse or private bonded warehouse or international exhibition held in India.

In case of software, imports shall also be allowed through data communication link, internet, e-mail or any other electronic mode.

For clearance of imported goods at all ports, airports, land customs stations, inland container depots, the zone unit or developer, as the case may be, shall be required to follow the procedures, namely:-

the zone unit or developer, as the case may be, shall file a bill of entry for home consumption in quintuplicate giving therein, complete description, model, make, specifications, purpose of import of goods such as trading, manufacturing, nature of goods such as capital goods, raw materials, spares, consumables, with specially stamped endorsement as “ special economic zone cargo” alongwith bill of lading or airway bill, a invoice, packing list and purchase order or contract for noting of the bill of Entry in the zone;

the assessed bill of entry shall be submitted to the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, (hereinafter referred to as proper officer ) at the place of import such as port, airport, land customs station, inland container depot, and the same shall be treated as permission for transfer of goods to the zone;

in case of sealed full container load ( FCL) container, the goods shall be transferred to the zone on the basis of assessed bill of entry after verification of the seal, without customs escorts;

in case of other cargo, the goods shall be allowed to be transferred to the zone on the basis of assessed bill of entry either under customs escort or under transshipment procedure, depending on the option made by the zone unit; and for such transshipment, no separate documents shall be required to be filed and the transshipment permission shall be stamped on the fifth copy of the bill of entry;

on arrival of the goods in the zone, the goods shall be subjected to verification of seal in case of full container load container or verification of marks and numbers of packages in other case and after such verification, if in order, such goods received shall be allowed admission in the zone;

the zone unit shall submit fifth copy of bill of entry bearing endorsement of the Customs officers in the zone that the goods have been received in the zone, to the proper officer in charge of the airport, port, inland container deport, land customs station, post office, public or private bonded warehouse, as the case may be, within a period of forty-five days from the date of clearance of goods from such airport, port, inland container deport, land customs station, post office, public or private bonded warehouse, as the case may be, failing which the proper officer in charge of such airport, port, inland container deport, land customs station, post office, public or private bonded warehouse, as the case may be, shall write to the proper officer having jurisdiction over the zone for raising demand of duty from the zone unit;

the zone unit shall be required to obtain notional out of charge of goods from the proper officer of the zone on the same day if the goods are brought during the working hours or immediately on the next working day in case goods are brought beyond working hours;

where goods are imported by the zone unit or developer through courier, customs officer in the zone shall assess the goods as per the Courier Import and Export (Clearance) Regulations, 1998.

The goods imported by the zone unit or developer shall not be subject to detailed examination except in case of prior intelligence or information or to maintain an element of surprise.

Where the goods have been imported by post, the zone unit or the developer, following the procedure specified in sub-regulation (4), shall file the bill of entry with the Customs officers in the zone marking clearly “Postal Imports” subject to following conditions, namely:-

for the purpose of bill of entry, the post-office registration number as indicated in the intimation letter issued by the post office shall be taken as the import general manifest and item number, of the bill of entry;

copy of intimation letter received from the post office shall also be pasted on the reverse of the original bill of entry;

where the zone is away from the foreign post office, the goods shall be moved to the zone under customs escort from such post office or under control of the postal authorities.

Import of goods through personal carriage by gems and jewellery unit.- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in regulation 4, the zone unit engaged in manufacture and export of gems and jewellery, shall be allowed to import precious goods, namely gold, silver, platinum, gem and jewellery through personal baggage subject to the following procedure, namely:-

the passenger bringing the precious goods shall declare the goods with the customs authorities at the airport in the arrival hall in the declaration  form as specified by Commissioner of Customs in charge of concerned airport alongwith a duly acknowledged copy of intimation submitted to the Customs officers in the zone ;

the passenger shall hand over the goods duly packed indicating name and address of the consignee zone unit and accompanied by invoice and packing list to the customs authorities for detention in the warehouse under the detention receipt;

the Customs officers shall detain the goods and issue detention receipt indicating full details such as weight, purity and number of bars, name of unit, passport number of the passenger and name of the supplier, etc.;

the zone unit shall file the bill of entry in quintuplicate alongwith a copy of invoice, packing list, declaration with the Customs officers in the zone and in such cases, the detention receipt number issued by the Customs at Airport at the time of arrival of the passenger shall be treated as Import General Manifest and item number;

after assessments of bill of entry, original copy of the bill of entry shall be retained by the Custom officers in the zone and the remaining copies shall be handed over to the representative of the zone unit for presenting at the airport detention counter where goods shall be allowed clearance after receiving the original detention receipt, authorization from the zone unit and making entries in the warehouse register, detention receipt register and obtaining signatures from the authorised representative of the zone unit;

after release of the goods, the goods shall be moved to the zone under customs escort and shall be allowed admission into the zone unit after verification of marks and numbers of packages and notional “out of charge” by the Customs officers in the zone;

the goods so detained at the airport may also be allowed to be transported by an authority or agency approved by the Commissioner of Customs having jurisdiction over the zone.

Import through data communication or telecommunication link.- (1). Where the zone unit import computer software through data communication or telecommunication links, the zone unit shall file bill of entry within a period of twenty four hours of such import alongwith invoice and other relevant documents and shall obtain notional ‘out of charge’ from the Customs officers in the zone, subject to the following conditions, namely:-

the documents such as invoice, etc. in respect of such import of computer software shall be routed through banks;

instruction issued by the Reserve Bank of India, from time to time, if any, in this behalf shall be followed.

Procurement from warehouse.- (1) Where goods are procured from the warehouse appointed or licensed under section 57 or section 58 of the Act, the zone unit shall file bill of entry giving therein complete description of the goods such as model, make, serial number, specification, with the Customs officers in the zone.

The zone unit shall submit the duly assessed bill of entry assessed by the Customs officers in the zone to the proper officer in charge of the warehouse from where the zone unit intends to procure the goods.

The proper officer in charge of the warehouse shall allow clearance of the goods from the warehouse for supply to the zone unit without payment of duty on the cover of ex-bond shipping bill and on the basis of bill of entry duly assessed by the customs officers in the zone.

Where the re-warehousing certificate by way of endorsement by the Customs officers in the zone on the copy of ex-bond shipping bill is not received by the proper officer incharge of warehouse within the period of forty-five days from the date of clearance of the goods from the warehouse, the proper officer incharge of the warehouse shall proceed to demand of duty from the owner of such goods so supplied to the zone unit.

The zone unit shall obtain notional “out of charge” of goods from the proper officer of the zone on the same day if the goods are brought during the working hours, or immediately on the next working day in case goods are brought beyond working hours.

Procurement of goods from international exhibition held in India.- Subject to the procedure as specified in the regulation 7, the zone unit shall be allowed to procure goods from international exhibitions held in India.

Re-import or replacement or re-export of goods.- (1) The zone unit shall be allowed to re-import the goods exported and found to be defective or damaged by the overseas buyer or in the case of failure of the buyer to take delivery of the goods, subject to the procedure as mentioned in regulation 4 and subject to the following conditions, namely:-

Where the goods imported by the zone unit are found to be defective or damaged or found to be otherwise unfit for use and suppliers agree to replace such defective or damaged or unfit for use goods, then such goods received as free replacement shall be allowed admission in the zone by way of import or replacement through the authorized dealer of the overseas supplier in India, subject to the following conditions, namely:-

the goods so found to be defective or damaged or otherwise unfit for use may be re-exported later on; or

where the overseas supplier of such goods does not insist for re-export of such goods, the re-export of the same shall not be insisted provided such goods are either destroyed with the permission of proper officer, or shall be cleared into domestic tariff area on payment of duty as if cleared for home consumption.

Procurement of goods by zone unit or developer from domestic tariff area.- (1) The zone unit or developer, as the case may be, may procure any goods from domestic tariff area for carrying out authorised operation subject to the following conditions, namely:-

the domestic tariff unit supplying the goods to the zone unit or developer, or the zone unit or developer on behalf of the domestic tariff area unit, as the case may be, shall file a bill of export giving therein complete description, model, make, specifications, nature of goods such as capital goods, raw materials, spares, consumables, with specially stamped endorsement as “special economic zone cargo” alongwith invoice, packing list and purchase order for noting and assessment of the bill of export in the zone;

the assessed bill of export shall be submitted to the proper officer having jurisdiction over the domestic tariff area unit and the same shall be treated as permission for transfer of goods to the zone;

the domestic tariff area unit supplying goods to the zone unit or the developer, as the case may be, shall be allowed to remove the goods on the cover of ARE-I and the assessed bill of export, giving therein complete description, model, make, serial number, specifications etc.;

the goods so brought to the zone may be allowed admission into the zone on the basis of assessed of bill of export and ARE-I and a copy of bill of export and ARE-I, with an endorsement that goods have been admitted in full into the zone, shall be forwarded to the Central Excise Superintendent having jurisdiction over the domestic tariff area unit within forty-five days, failing which the Superintendent shall raise demand of duty against the domestic tariff area unit;

where domestic tariff area unit or zone unit, on behalf of such domestic tariff area unit, has filed a bill of export under claim of duty drawback or duty entitlement passbook scheme and the domestic tariff area unit does not intend to claim duty drawback or duty entitlement passbook scheme credit, a disclaimer to this effect may be given to the zone unit, and on the basis of such disclaimer given by the domestic tariff area unit, duty drawback or duty entitlement passbook scheme credit may be claimed by the zone unit;

the proper officers in the zone shall assess the bill of export in the same manner as it is assessed in the case of export of goods under claim of duty drawback or duty entitlement passbook scheme credit or no claim, as the case may be, and instruction issued under respective export promotion scheme shall apply mutatis mutandis in respect of these goods ; and valuation of such goods shall be done in terms of section 14 of the Act;

before allowing admission of such goods in to the zone, the goods shall be examined by the customs officer of the zone in respect of description, quantity, marks, model etc. given in the ARE-I and bill of export, invoice and packing list and also as per the examination norms laid down in respect of export goods and instruction issued by the Board in this behalf from time to time;

the duty drawback or duty entitlement passbook scheme credit against such supply of goods by domestic tariff area unit to the zone unit or to the developer shall be admissible only when the payment for such supply of goods to the zone unit is received in freely convertible foreign currency;

a copy of the bill of export and ARE-I with endorsement of zone customs authorities on it to the effect that goods have been admitted in full in the zone shall be treated as proof of export;

where the goods are intended to be procured by the zone unit from a trader or merchant exporter, the procedure as stated hereinabove shall apply mutatis mutandis, including filing of bill of export except that the goods shall not be required to be brought to the zone under the cover of ARE-I and assessed copy of bill of export shall not be required to be submitted to the jurisdictional Central Excise authority for removal of goods,  from the premises of the trader or merchant exporter.

Procurement of goods from export oriented undertaking or software technology park unit or electronic hardware park unit .- (1) The zone unit or the developer may also procure capital goods or manufactured goods from export oriented undertaking or software technology park unit or electronic hardware technology park unit subject to following conditions, namely:-

subject to the procedure specified in regulation 7, the export oriented undertaking or software technology park unit or electronic hardware technology park unit, as the case may be, may transfer capital goods imported or procured duty free to the zone unit or the developer, as the case may be;    

subject to the procedure as specified in the regulation 10, the export oriented undertaking or software technology park unit or electronic hardware technology park unit, as the case may be, may also transfer manufactured goods to the zone unit or to the developer duty free;

the goods procured by the zone unit or developer under clauses (i) and (ii) shall be used by it for the purposes of carrying out authorised operations in the zone only;

the capital goods or manufactured goods in export oriented undertaking or software technology park unit or electronic hardware technology park unit so transferred under clauses (i) and (ii) to the zone unit shall be considered as imported goods for zone unit for all purposes.

Transfer of goods from one zone unit to another zone unit in the same zone or different zone.- A zone unit may procure goods namely, capital goods or manufactured goods from another zone unit located in the same zone or in another zone, subject to following conditions, namely:-

the receiving zone unit shall file bill of entry for home consumption in quintuplicate giving therein, complete description, model, make, specifications, purpose of import of goods, nature of goods such as capital goods, raw materials, spares, consumables, alongwith a invoice, packing list with the customs authorities in the zone, having jurisdiction over such unit;

on the basis of such assessed bill of entry, the goods shall be allowed to be removed or transferred to the receiving zone unit under transshipment permit;

there shall be no requirement to file any additional documents for the purpose of transshipment of goods and the transshipment permission shall be stamped on the bill of entry itself;

the supplying zone unit shall submit the re-warehousing certificate to the proper officer having jurisdiction over the such supplying unit within a period of forty five days, failing which the jurisdictional proper officer of the supplying zone unit shall write to the jurisdictional proper officer of the receiving zone unit for demand of duty from the receiving zone unit;

Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1), in case where supplying and receiving zone units are located in the same zone, the movement of goods including raw materials shall be allowed subject to maintenance of accounts by both receiving and supplying zone unit and no bill of entry shall be required to be filed with the customs authorities in the zone.

Export of goods by special economic zone unit.- (1) Any goods manufactured, produced, reconditioned, re-engineered, imported or procured by the zone unit, as the case may be, as per the terms and condition of Letter of permission, may be exported out of India through airport or port or inland container depot, or land customs station or by post or courier or personal carriage, as the case may be, subject to the following conditions, namely:-

the zone unit shall file shipping bill in quadruplicate with customs officers in the zone, giving therein complete description of goods such as model, make, serial number, specification, alongwith relevant documents, namely, invoice, packing list, GR Form (in duplicate) for noting;

the shipping bill shall be assessed by the customs officers in the zone in the manner and procedure as is followed in case of normal export