International Customs Day observance set for January 27; formations to host events and submit activity reports and photos.
Field formations are instructed to organise International Customs Day on 27 January 2014 involving trade members, CHA associations, senior officers of associated departments and other stakeholders, and to submit a report of activities with photographs to the Board by sending soft copies to [email protected] and [email protected].

Prohibition on subcontracting by customs cargo service providers - unauthorised outsourcing breaches cargo integrity and invites enforcement.
Regulation 6(2) prohibits Customs Cargo Service Providers from leasing, transferring customs-area premises or subcontracting/out sourcing custody and handling functions for imported or exported goods without written permission of the Commissioner of Customs; the Board reports cases of unauthorised subcontracting that compromised cargo integrity and directs jurisdictional Commissioners to review compliance, initiate remedial action, and enforce penalties for violations.

SAD exemption on SEZ/FTWZ clearances not available for stock transfers to DTA for self-consumption, therefore payable.
The circular clarifies that the SAD exemption for goods cleared from SEZ/FTWZ into the DTA is conditional on those goods not being exempt from sales tax/VAT when sold in the DTA. Stock transfers from SEZ/FTWZ to DTA units for self-consumption are not subject to sales tax/VAT and therefore do not meet the condition for exemption; consequently SAD is leviable on such transfers. Field formations should issue trade/public notices and report implementation difficulties to the Board.

Customs broker licence renewal procedure requires prescribed documentary compliance and antecedent verification before approval.
Renewal of a Customs Broker Licence under Regulation 9 of CBLR, 2013 requires submission within the prescribed pre expiry period of a complete set of documents including Form A, CHA licence copy (Form B), premises proof, identity card list, Bond in Form D, five year performance summary, three years of service tax and income tax returns, fee challan, FDR security deposit, solvency certificate, PAN documentation, constitutive documents, CHAs Association membership, Powers of Attorney as required, and a declaration addressing constitution/address changes, inoperative cards, Regulation 16 accounts, pending judicial matters, arrears, and reasons for any delay; antecedent verification will follow and renewal, once approved by the Commissioner, will be intimated and listed on the Policy Branch notice board.

Risk management system selection may trigger export consignment examinations unless exporters correctly declare factory stuffing and seal type.
RMS implementation may cause factory stuffed containers to be selected for physical examination, including random picks; this commonly results from incomplete or misplaced entries in the Shipping Bill/check list-notably omission of factory stuffing status, seal type (Authorized/Self/Warehouse), Central Excise examination status, or reward scheme claims in designated fields. Exporters and Customs Brokers must enter all required particulars, including Annexure C details (except container-specific numbers when unknown), at filing to minimize examinations and delays; incorrect declarations at registration can prompt detailed inspection prior to grant of LEO.

Assignment of Show Cause Notice to designated Commissioner for adjudication under the Customs Act administrative framework.
The Board, invoking Notification No.15/2002 Customs under sub section (1) of section 4 of the Customs Act, 1962, assigns Show Cause Notice F. No. VIII/48/06/2013 DRI dated 16.09.2013 issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Chennai to the Commissioner of Customs (Seaport Import), Custom House, Chennai for the purpose of adjudication.

Declaration of CFS required at assessment for FCL cargo; changes may be permitted by the assessing shed officer during carting.
Exporters of Full Container Load shipments must manually declare the Container Freight Station on the hard-copy checklist of the shipping bill at assessment; assessing officers must record that the goods are to be carted and examined in the declared CFS. Changes to the declared CFS at carting time may be permitted by the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner of the assessing shed.

Ban on Thuraya satellite phones: mandatory brand declaration and confiscation risk for unlicensed devices in Indian waters.
Ban on Thuraya satellite phones requires steamer agents and masters to declare Thuraya, Iridium and similar satellite phones in the Pre Arrival Notification and in vessel stores and private property lists, specifying the brand/make. Agents must sensitize crew about the ban. Customs may inspect for usage in Indian waters and unlicensed or prohibited Thuraya/Iridium devices found in possession or use are liable for confiscation.

Risk Management System: exporters must populate designated shipping bill fields or face selection for examination.
Notice directs exporters and CHAs to furnish specific shipping bill information in designated fields: indicate factory stuffing and seal type, state whether Central Excise examined the consignment, and record claims under Chapter 3 reward schemes in the 'Whether export under Reward Scheme' column. Omission or misplacement of these particulars at submission may prompt selection for physical examination under the Export Risk Management System and cause processing delays; exporters/CHAs must provide complete details at submission and report any difficulties to the Commissioner (Export).

Monetary-limit non-appeal rule: Department must assert that low-value unappealed decisions are non-precedential and may be relitigated later.
Instruction prescribes a monetary threshold below which the Department will not file appeals and emphasizes that decisions accepted for low monetary reasons are non-precedential. Departmental counsels and field officers must plead that non-filing does not equal acquiescence, may continue to contest the issue on merits later, and should use procedural measures such as transferring matters to the Call Book when higher forum decisions are pending.

Wildlife clearance procedure now requires sealed representative samples with authenticated test memos; spot inspections limited to specific cargo types.
Certification by the designated Wildlife Control Bureau will be based on sealed representative samples submitted with a test memo containing specific queries, both duly authenticated by Customs officials; sealed samples and the authenticated test memo must be presented to the Bureau for certification. Spot inspections will be reserved for bulk consignments, perishable cargo requiring immediate examination, and live organisms, and will occur only on written request from Customs.

Customs Container Freight Station procedures govern custody, sealing, permitted movement and reporting obligations for containerized cargo.
Procedures require CPCFS to act as custodian within the Customs area, segregate FCL/LCL and special cargo, maintain bonds and detailed registers, and obtain serially numbered triplicate/transshipment permits with space availability certificates for movement from notified Customs areas; gate officers must verify container and seal numbers, inspect seals on arrival, record and report tamper, seal containers with customs bottle seals during interim custody, and follow prescribed transit times with explanations and condonation procedures for delays, with weekly and monthly reconciliation and reporting obligations to Customs.

Regularization of export obligation defaults allows payment of customs duty with interest capped at duty to close cases.
Regularization permits authorization holders to close pending export obligation defaults by paying the applicable customs duty for the shortfall plus interest on that duty, with interest capped at the amount of duty. The option excludes cases where the export obligation period remains unexpired and ordinarily yields no refund; procedural steps and any corrections for calculation errors are to be issued separately.

Risk Management System enables electronic clearance of compliant self assessed imports while reserving targeted assessments and audits.
RMS at Adani Hazira Port enables electronic processing of Bills of Entry through ICES/ICEGATE so that compliant self assessed B/Es may be cleared to out of charge after duty payment without officer assessment or examination, while selected B/Es-by risk parameters, intelligence or random selection-are routed for assessment/examination. ACP importers receive enhanced facilitation subject to Compulsory Compliance Requirements and continued random checks. Concurrent audit is replaced by Post Clearance Audit; bond debits are system driven; and rigorous data quality and document submission obligations are imposed to secure facilitation.

Risk Management System enables self-assessed import clearances with selection for targeted assessment and post-clearance audit.
Activation of the Risk Management System at Adani Hazira Port implements an ICES/ICEGATE driven process where electronically filed Bills of Entry are risk evaluated: compliant self assessed B/Es may be cleared Out of Charge after duty payment without officer assessment or examination, while selected B/Es are routed for assessment and/or examination on risk criteria, random sampling or specific intelligence. The system replaces concurrent audit with targeted assessment and a Post Clearance Audit function; ACP importers receive facilitation but remain subject to CCRs, random checks and PCA selection.

Temporary entry passes for shipping line and CFS staff require documented application, countersignature, renewal and surrender obligations enforced.
Issuance of temporary entry passes requires application to the Deputy Commissioner (Preventive General) with employer ID copy, three photographs, and a countersignature from MANSA leadership for shipping agents or an Authorized Signatory for CFSs; CFS applicants must also provide residential address proof. Passes are issued by the CHS Section for a limited term, renewable before expiry upon submission of the prior pass. Employer associations and CFS management must inform Customs and ensure surrender of passes upon employee expulsion or termination, and applications per employer are limited.

Confidentiality in anti dumping investigations: dual submissions and good cause justification, with agency discretion on disclosure and hearings.
Parties in anti dumping investigations must submit confidential information in two versions: a Confidential set and a Non Confidential Version (NCV) replicating the confidential filing with confidential portions indexed, blanked or summarized. Claims of confidentiality require a good cause statement demonstrating disadvantage from disclosure consistent with the Anti Dumping Agreement criteria. The authority will assess claims case by case, may reject unwarranted confidentiality and disregard un authorized information, and requires advance NCV submission for public hearings; annual accounts are generally non confidential absent detailed justification.

Gold import authorisation: sequencing relaxed for earlier permits; SEZ/EOU and trading houses may import for export only.
Authorisations for gold imports must be utilised solely for export purposes and diversion to domestic use is prohibited; sequencing of imports before exports will not be insisted upon for authorisations issued prior to the earlier circular. Entities in SEZs and EOUs and recognised trading houses are permitted to import gold exclusively for exports, and exports fulfilling AA/DFIA obligations do not qualify for the 20:80 scheme.

Export compliance for finished leather: samples, provisional bonds and laboratory testing determine duty and shipment finalisation.
Customs at the Air Cargo Complex will draw representative samples of consignments declared as finished leather, provisionally assess shipping bills, require exporters to execute a provisional bond and pay testing charges, forward samples to a notified testing laboratory with triplicate test memos and maintain a sample register; on receipt of the laboratory report Customs will finalize the shipping bill and close the bond if confirmed as finished leather, otherwise export duty will be applied and further action taken.

Risk Management System requirements: exporters must complete shipping bill fields accurately or consignments may be selected for examination.
The Risk Management System requires exporters and Custom House Agents to furnish complete, field specific information in shipping bills-including factory stuffing and seal type and claims under reward schemes-at the submission stage. Omissions or entry of such particulars in inappropriate fields can result in consignments being selected for examination despite prior Central Excise inspection; exporters and CHAs are therefore directed to provide full details in the designated declaration fields to avoid processing delays and amendments.