Deferred import duty payments extended to 30 days; eligible manufacturer importers added and can apply from March 1.
Rule 4 of the Deferred Payment of Import Duty Rules, 2016 is amended to extend the deferred payment period from 15 to 30 days: duties for Bills of Entry returned in months other than March are payable by the 1st of the following month, and duties for Bills of Entry returned in March are payable by 31st March. The amended limits apply from 01.03.2026. A new class, "Eligible Manufacturer Importer," approved by the Directorate of International Customs and able to apply from 01.03.2026, may avail the facility until 31st March, 2028.

RPA imports for military use exempt from BCD and IGST when imported by defence entities with authorised certificate.
The circular confirms that RPA (Remote Pilot Aircraft) includes drones, UAVs and UAS, and that exemption from Basic Customs Duty and IGST under S. No. 59 of Table II of notification No.45/2025-Customs applies only when imported into India by the Ministry of Defence, Defence forces, Defence PSUs, other PSUs, or any other entity for the Defence forces, subject to a certificate from a Ministry of Defence officer not below Joint Secretary rank.

Temporary ICES Bill of Entry suspension enables Budget-related tariff updates while export filing and assessment continue normally.
Bills of Entry cannot be filed in ICES during the temporary system-update period following the Union Budget presentation, and related approvals are also suspended. Other ICEGATE services and Shipping Bill filing and assessment continue normally. Export-related levies introduced through Budget changes are to be monitored and, where applicable, collected manually until directory updates are made online. Prior Bills of Entry must be checked for changed duty liability before Out of Charge, and Bill of Entry filing resumes once ICES updates are completed.

ICES budget updation temporarily suspends Bills of Entry filing and requires duty review of prior filings before out-of-charge.
ICES will temporarily suspend filing of Bills of Entry from 11:00 hours on 1 February 2026 while budget-related notifications and tariff directories are updated. Section 48 approvals will also stop, although other ICEGATE services and officer functions in ICES will continue. Bills of Entry filed earlier may be processed, subject to checking prior filings for changed duty liability before out-of-charge. Filing and processing will resume after system updation, generally within 48 hours where no substantial new levies are notified.

RTI officer appointments and appeal routing are notified for Customs (Port), Kolkata with jurisdiction-wise allocation of charges.
Appointment of Central Public Information Officers and First Appellate Authorities for the Commissionerate of Customs (Port), Kolkata is notified under the RTI Act, 2005, with jurisdiction-wise allocation of charges to officers named in the annexure. The notice supersedes the earlier public notice on the subject and provides that first appeals may be filed before the corresponding First Appellate Authority under the statutory appeal mechanism. It also sets out the operational process for RTI applications, including online filing, submission by post or by hand, and fee payment to the notified account.

Listing compliance: consolidated LODR master circular standardises disclosures, ESG reporting, dematerialisation and enforcement measures.
Master circular consolidates SEBI directions for compliance with the LODR Regulations, 2015, superseding prior circulars while preserving actions taken under them. It prescribes standardised formats and timelines for periodic and event-driven disclosures (shareholding pattern, financial results and audit procedures, related party transactions, deviation statements, IDR reporting), mandates BRSR and BRSR Core disclosures and assurance, specifies dematerialisation requirements, introduces Integrated Filing for periodic governance and financial filings, and sets uniform enforcement measures including fines, trading suspension, freezing of promoter holdings and delisting processes.

Special window for transfer and dematerialisation of physical securities opens Feb 5, 2026 allowing transfers with one-year lock in.
A one year special window from February 5, 2026 to February 4, 2027 permits transfer and mandatory dematerialisation of physical securities where the transfer deed was executed prior to April 1, 2019, including prior rejected lodgements. Transferees must submit original certificates, the pre April 1, 2019 transfer deed, proof of purchase, KYC, a DP attested Client Master List, and an Undertaking cum Indemnity. Securities must be credited only in demat form and are subject to a one year lock in; disputes and securities transferred to IEPF are excluded. Listed companies/RTAs must verify identity and signatures, publish a 30 day notice when required, and process complete requests within 70 days.

Direct credit of securities to investor demat accounts replaces LOC requirement, subject to DP attested CML and 30 day processing.
SEBI abolishes the requirement for issuance of a Letter of Confirmation and directs RTAs/issuer companies to verify investor service requests and initiate demat conversion requests to credit securities directly into the investor's demat account. The investor must supply a DP attested Client Master List not older than two months and a demat conversion request form. RTAs must complete credit within 30 days, notify the investor after confirmation, retain and deface physical certificates where available, and record lock in details when applicable; changes take effect April 02, 2026.

Designation of Central Assistant Public Information Officer for Chennai Customs Zone under the RTI Act appointed.
Designation under Sec 5(2) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 appoints Smt. Kamakshi Muralidharan, Superintendent of Customs, as Central Assistant Public Information Officer for the Office of the Chief Commissioner of Customs, Chennai Zone, with the office address and telephone contact provided for public access.

Entry Inwards procedures enable cargo discharge immediately after berthing through remote verification of Pilot On Board vessel information.
Entry Inwards is delinked from completion of physical boarding formalities to reduce the interval between berthing and cargo discharge. After a vessel reports at the Pilot Station or the pilot is confirmed on board, relevant vessel details must be sent to the Customs Docks Office by port control, vessel traffic services, and the vessel or steamer agent. Following verification, the Boarding Officer may grant Entry Inwards in ICES by email, which authorises commencement of cargo discharge. Physical document verification and boarding checks continue, and discrepancies or misdeclarations remain subject to action under the Customs Act.

HSNS Cess accounting heads designated for payment, interest, penalty and other receipts to facilitate compliance.
Specific eight digit accounting head codes are prescribed for payments under the HSNS Cess: separate codes for cess receipts, interest, penalties and other payments. These codes are to be circulated to field formations, trade and the public to ensure correct allocation and accounting of remittances arising under the HSNS Cess levy.

HSNS Cess registration and payment procedure: portal enrolment, challan generation and electronic payment via ICEGATE required.
Registration and payment for HSNS Cess are effected via the CBIC taxpayer portal and ICEGATE. Taxpayers must enroll by PAN validation, obtain a 15 character ERN, complete Form HSNS REG 01 with business, premises, promoter, authorized signatory and bank details, upload prescribed documents, and receive a Temporary Registration Number used to access the dashboard. Monthly cess is paid electronically using generated challans (CTIN) selecting accounting codes (major head 0045) and payable via ICEGATE through NEFT/RTGS, net banking or payment gateway; payments produce system e receipts and challan status updates.

HSNS Cess registration and payment procedure on the CBIC taxpayer portal from 1 February 2026.
HSNS Cess application functionalities will be hosted on the designated CBIC taxpayer portal and made operational from 1 February 2026 for login, enrollment, registration and payment by taxable persons. The advisory provides step-by-step procedure for new registration and payment, with annexures for registration, payment and helpdesk support, and notes that separate advisories will follow for HSNS DEC-01 declarations and HSNS RET-01 returns.

IGST refund cases: verify PFMS bank validation and submit rejected Shipping Bills via ICEGATE or designated Customs email.
PFMS integration verifies AD Code and bank account details for IGST refund credits; failures due to improper AD Code or incorrect bank details produce PFMS error codes. An automated reversal returns failed transactions from PFMS to ICEGATE, and officers must follow ICES Advisory No. 18/2020 to process rejected Shipping Bills and generate fresh refund scrolls. Exporters should verify PFMS validation, update ICEGATE, and submit lists of affected Shipping Bills or those marked "Rejected" with port codes to the designated Customs email or Sevottam for rectification.

Authorized Economic Operator helpdesk established to expedite application processing and resolve deficiency-related applicant queries.
A dedicated Help Desk at the Export Commissionerate, Air Cargo Complex, Mumbai is established to assist stakeholders with AEO application filing and resolution of deficiency-related queries, with nominated officers available physically and by email; an escalation email is provided for unresolved grievances and the arrangement is declared a Standing Order for staff.

Sea Arrival Manifest compliance requires timely Bill of Lading data, replacing pre-entry supplementary manifest amendments with designated amendment messages.
Supplementary Import General Manifest amendments before Sea Entry Inwards are to be disabled from 20 February 2026. Timely House Bill of Lading declaration through Cargo Summary Notification messages is required so that Sea Arrival Manifests contain mandatory data for risk analysis and trade facilitation. Before Sea Entry Inwards, Bill of Lading additions or amendments must use Sea Arrival Amendment or Sea Cargo Amendment messages without officer routing. Post-entry amendments will require officer routing, with reasons for delayed inclusion potentially sought and supplementary amendment charges leviable under existing procedures.

Vessel berthing: Entry Inwards can be granted on pilot report enabling immediate unloading of cargo upon berthing.
Entry Inwards may be granted when the vessel reports at pilot station based on pilot boarding notification transmitted electronically by the Port Traffic Control Room, enabling immediate cargo discharge subject to submission of relevant documents and existing Advance IGM/Bill of Entry requirements; boarding officers will complete post berthing verifications and address any discrepancies even after Entry Inwards is granted.

Gold TRQ allocation under India UAE CEPA via e auction: 80MT second round with eligibility caps and bid security requirements.
DGFT invites competitive e auction bids for a second round allocation of gold TRQ under India-UAE CEPA for FY 2025 26 limited to 80 MT; TRQ authorisations will be valid six months. Eligible bidders must hold BIS hallmark registration and GST registration and comply with Annexure IV; MSME and other unit caps for the second round are 50 KG, 100 KG, 250 KG and 500 KG respectively, in addition to any first round allocations. The process requires online registration on MSTC, Class III digital signature, a participation fee and INR 100,000 bid security; financial bids use 51 price buckets and the EFC allocates quantities to Preferred Bidders who must pay for allotted TRQ or face forfeiture and sanctions for misconduct.

Brand Rate of Drawback applications must be processed by BRFC and approved by the Commissioner as the final determination.
All Brand Rate of Drawback applications must be processed by the Brand Rate Fixation Cell (BRFC), which shall scrutinize documents, obtain verification reports as required, apply prescribed risk parameters, prepare a checklist and a self-contained recommendation, return deficient claims for supplementation, and route verified proposals through proper channels. Final fixation/determination of Brand Rates must be submitted to and approved by the Commissioner of Customs under Rules 6 and 7 of the Drawback Rules, 2017, and that approval constitutes the final determination. A checklist sets conditions including port eligibility, timeliness, value relationships, export verification, certification requirements, shipping bill identifiers, and calculation worksheet verification.

Port clearance for vessels at Chennai and Kamarajar moves online; bonds, mandatory documents and seven day post sailing submissions required.
Advance and EDI Port Clearance for vessels calling Chennai and Kamarajar ports will be issued via an online portal; ASCs/ASAs must register, submit a one year continuity bond and undertaking, provide mandatory initial certificates to obtain advance clearance, and furnish remaining listed documents within seven days of sailing. The online workflow uses a three level officer verification system, issues deficiency memos for incomplete submissions, permits online amendment/extension/closure, and includes QR coded certificates; manual issuance continues until 02.03.2026 and the Notice is effective from 27.01.2026.