Change of Advance Rulings office address notified; trade associations must publicize relocation and inform constituents.
Notification reiterates relocation of the Authority of Advance Rulings for Central Excise, Customs & Service Tax to a new office address, referencing the earlier Public Notice. Trade associations, chambers of commerce and members of the Regional Advisory Committee are directed to widely publicize the new address among their constituents so that applications, communications and enquiries reach the relocated Authority; departmental file reference for the communication is noted.

Migration of Central Excise and Service Tax assessees to GST regime: provisional registration for PAN holders with guidance support.
Every Central Excise and Service Tax assessee with a valid PAN will be granted provisional GST registration under the draft CGST Act and draft GST Registration Rules; assessees are to use prescribed stepwise guidance on the government GST migration web pages and may contact nominated nodal officers listed in the annexure for assistance and clarifications.

Mandatory certification: Energy efficient three-phase squirrel cage induction motors must conform to the Indian standard and bear Standard Mark.
The Order requires Energy Efficient Induction Motors - Three Phase Squirrel Cage to conform to the specified Indian standard (IS 12615:2011) and to bear the Bureau of Indian Standards Standard Mark. Manufacturers must obtain a BIS licence before regular production; nonconforming motors are prohibited, with limited export exemptions. Appropriate authorities may inspect, seize, require samples and information, and testing must occur in Bureau-recognised laboratories. Substandard motors must be destroyed and disposal completed within three months. Refusal to comply with information requests or concealment of records is punishable by imprisonment or fine.

Declaration of undisclosed income allowed for cash and specified-deposit accounts under scheme, subject to exclusions and procedural conditions.
The circular explains that the Scheme permits declaration of undisclosed income only when represented as cash or deposits with specified entities (including banks and post offices), excluding assets and foreign bank deposits; declarations are available despite assessment notices or search/survey actions, no credit for advance tax, TDS or TCS is allowed, seized cash may be adjusted towards tax, surcharge and penalty (but not for the mandatory deposit), deposits by any transfer mode and certain returned advances are eligible.

Central Excise/Service Tax taxpayers must obtain provisional ACES IDs, complete GSTN registration and secure an ARN for migration.
Taxpayers must obtain a provisional ID and password via the ACES portal, use these credentials to log into the GSTN portal, verify pre-filled non-editable details (including legal business name and PAN), upload supporting documents, submit GST REG-20, and receive an ARN and provisional certificate enabling migration to GST on the rollout date; taxpayers lacking a valid PAN must obtain and update it on ACES before migration.

Single Window Interface for Facilitation of Trade extended to exports, streamlining export clearances under a central circular.
Extension of the Single Window Interface for Facilitation of Trade (SWIFT) to export transactions is announced and Circular No. 01/2017 (Customs) dated 04.01.2017 is enclosed for guidance; importers, clearing agents and the trading public are directed to consult the circular, available on the central customs website, for procedural instructions to align export clearances with the SWIFT platform.

All Industry Duty Drawback amendments notified, altering drawback rates and providing guidance to importers and clearing agents.
Amendments to the All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback effective 15 January 2017 were notified by Circular No. 02/2017; the circular adjusts the schedule of duty drawback rates and is issued for the guidance of importers, clearing agents and the trading public and published on the Board's website for operative details and implementation guidance.

Tariff value fixation governs import valuation for listed commodities; importers must apply notified customs values and guidance.
Fixation of tariff values has been notified for specified imported commodities including edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nut, gold and silver; the notification fixes the tariff value applicable for customs valuation. The public notice transmits Ministry of Finance Notification No. 04/2017-Customs (N.T) dated 13.01.2017 for guidance and directs importers and agents to consult the official CBEC website for operative values and compliance instructions.

AIR of duty drawback amendment notified; guidance issued to importers and clearing agents on procedural requirements.
Amendment to the procedure for AIR of duty drawback has been notified by the Department of Revenue through Notification No. 03/2017 Customs (N.T.), modifying Notification No. 131/2016 Customs (N.T.) and changing the administrative requirements for advance information reporting and duty drawback procedures; the notice is circulated for guidance to importers, clearing agents and the trading public and the full text is available on the department's website.

Customs notification amendment informs importers and agents of changes and availability of updated text online for guidance.
Amendment to Customs notification informs that Notification No. 02/2017-Customs (N.T.) dated 06.01.2017 further modifies Notification 63/94 and that the amending notification is enclosed for guidance of importers, clearing agents and the trading public and is available on the CBEC website.

Condonation of delay in payment under Income Declaration Scheme permitted where payment was timely but bank credit was delayed.
The Board permits condonation of delay in payment under the Income Declaration Scheme where payments made by cheque, RTGS or electronic transfer were effected on time but were credited by banks after the notified due date due to technical or banking delays; jurisdictional Principal Commissioners/Commissioners are directed to accept requests for such condonation while noting that non-payment by the notified date otherwise renders declarations invalid and attracts the Scheme's consequences.

GST taxpayer administration divided: 90% with local administrations below Rs. 1.5cr, above-threshold taxpayers split equally.
The Council adopted a stratified, computerised division of taxpayers between Central and State tax administrations: taxpayers below Rs. 1.5 crore turnover to be administered 90% by States and 10% by Centre, taxpayers above that threshold to be divided equally; new registrants to be initially split and reallocated after year-end; both administrations to retain intelligence-based enforcement powers. IGST powers to be cross-empowered to States on the same basis as CGST/SGST subject to a carve out for adjudication of place of supply and specified import/export matters. Territorial waters within twelve nautical miles to remain Union territory with State collection delegated by the Union.

Direct Port Delivery logistics: transporter and CFS options to streamline container evacuation and storage for importers.
The notice prescribes logistical options for Direct Port Delivery clients to address transport and storage impediments by endorsing a transporter model and requiring CFSs to offer services such as dedicated stacking, evacuation transport, GPS-tracked delivery, insurance, temporary storage of Customs-cleared cargo, affixing RSP/MRP stickers, de-stuffing and handling of non-RMS or CSD-hold containers, with avenues for expedited earmarking of space or warehouse licensing and escalation to DPD/CFS management cells.

DPD Facility advance intimation required - importers must notify shipping lines and terminals to enable preferred CFS handling and clearance.
DPD importers must give advance intimation to shipping lines, terminals and a preferred CFS with consignment details, DPD Client Code and commitment to pay, and shipping lines must record and communicate both DPD Client and preferred CFS codes and discharge containers as DPD; RMS facilitated consignments must be cleared from the terminal within the prescribed window with pre issued electronic delivery orders, non RMS or examination required containers must be moved to the preferred CFS for examination, terminals must issue provisional DPD codes when no intimation is received and provide daily gate in/out data to Customs and CFSs.

BIS registration relaxation for PoS devices allows port level carton labelling pending device labelling before market sale.
Non labelled, BIS registered PoS devices may be imported if the importer affixes a standard logo on each carton at the port and furnishes a customs declaration that each terminal will be labelled after clearance but before sale, with Customs permitted to release consignments based on that declaration and model/serial number details. Sealed secondary cells/batteries fitted in such registered terminals may be imported only if registered with BIS under IS 16046 or certified to IEC 62133:2012; spares are excluded.

Cash Section payments will be accepted with the revised challan without officer authentication; same-day acknowledgements required.
The Cash Section at Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House shall accept payments without requiring authentication/signature from Assistant or Deputy Commissioners or other officers when presented with the properly filled Revised Challan; the Cash Section incharge must issue and send same-day acknowledgement to the concerned Group/Section and obtain a counter-acknowledgement, and departmental officers must assist payors in case of doubt.

Registration processing expedited: one-day digital certificates and optional bank account details to be provided before first return.
Grant of registration through DVAT M Sewa will be granted preferably within one day without VATI verification, and a digitally signed, downloadable Registration Certificate will be issued in place of a provisional certificate. Bank account details are optional at the time of application but must be provided on or before filing the first return; other provisions of the earlier circular remain unchanged.

All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback amended to revise tariff classifications and adjust drawback rates and caps.
Amendments effective 15.01.2017 to the All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback reclassify certain goods and adjust drawback rates and caps: Surimi Fish Paste moved to tariff item 030402 and 160401 redescribed; drawback cap increased for other silk fabric (500799); rates/caps changed for specified man made fibre floor coverings and babies' garments; rates decreased for gold and silver jewellery. The AIR schedule is aligned with the WCO HS 2017 edition, producing multiple tariff description amendments, tile item restructurings, omission of certain items, and a new AIR entry for monopods, with agricultural equipment parts retained under existing tariff items.

Migration of Central Excise/Service Tax assessees to GST requires provisional ID, PAN update, and submission via GSTN portal.
Existing Central Excise and Service Tax assessees with a valid PAN will receive provisional registration under the draft CGST Act: CBEC forwards data to GSTN, which issues provisional ID/password; assessees must log into GSTN, verify non-editable fields, submit GST REG 20, obtain an ARN, be marked "MIGRATED" and, after verification, receive GSTIN (Form 6) and activation on the GST rollout date. Registrations lacking a PAN must obtain and update PAN on ACES before migration.

Evidence of import via IDPMS replaces hardcopy BoE; AD Category-I banks must match and settle BoEs with remittances.
AD Category-I banks must rely on BoE data in the Import Data Processing and Monitoring System and discontinue hardcopy BoE submission where data exists. Banks shall enter or download BoE details, use the BOE Settlement message to match and settle BoEs with Outward Remittance Messages (permitting multiple ORMs per BoE and vice versa), issue an acknowledgement slip to importers on settlement, require importers to preserve the importer copy and acknowledgement, follow up on unsettled ORMs, and preserve audited BOE Settlement data under the Cyber Security Framework unless investigating agencies direct otherwise.