GST migration assistance available through local Seva Kendra to help Central Excise and Service Tax assessees complete online migration.
The notice establishes a GST Migration Seva Kendra at the Commissioner's office in Jabalpur to assist Central Excise and Service Tax assessees in completing the online GST migration process on the national portal, including entering required details and scanning/uploading supporting documents, and names the officers responsible for the facility.

Bill of Entry filing deadline tightened, introducing late charges and accelerated duty payment obligations for self assessed and reassessed entries.
Bill of Entry must be presented by the end of the next day (excluding holidays) after arrival of the conveyance or cargo; delayed presentation attracts prescribed late charges determined by entry inwards or arrival dates captured in ICES, with mandated cargo arrival notifications by Customs Cargo Service providers and administrable waiver powers vested in Additional/Joint Commissioner officers. Duty payment timing under Section 47 is accelerated: duty on self assessed entries must be paid the same day, and duty on re assessed or provisionally assessed entries must be paid within one day after return of the Bill of Entry; transitional rules preserve prior timings for earlier filed entries except where re assessment occurs after enactment.

Custodians must implement CBEC Partner Connectivity Protocol and submit NDA and infrastructure checklist for secure CBEC data-centre connectivity.
Custodians under HCCAR, 2009 are instructed to implement CBEC Partner Connectivity Protocol v2.0 by provisioning prescribed IT infrastructure and secure connectivity to CBEC Data Centres, ensuring network devices support 802.1x, deploying mandated hardware and software (including CBEC-provided security agents), using SFTP for message exchange, executing the Non-Disclosure Agreement (Annexure-5) and completing the Custodian Infrastructure Checklist (Annexure-6), and submitting these documents to the Systems Manager for LAN IP pool issuance or update.

Centralised adjudication jurisdiction transferred and centralised audit cell established reallocating audit and post-clearance audit responsibilities.
The charge of the Centralised Adjudication Cell is transferred from NhavaSheva IV Commissionerate to NhavaSheva II Commissionerate with immediate effect. Separately, Import Audit, Post-Clearance Audit and On-site Post-Clearance Audit charges previously with NhavaSheva I Commissionerate are transferred to a newly created Centralised Audit Cell which shall function under NhavaSheva V Commissionerate.

Capacity planning standards require depositories to maintain excess capacity, monitor utilisation, and report implementation promptly to regulator.
Depositories must size installed capacity above projected peak demand using hourly peak trends from recent operation, apply that sizing across all technical components, monitor utilisation-especially during pay-in/pay-out windows-and trigger capacity enhancements when sustained high utilisation occurs; they must deploy real-time monitoring and alerts, amend bye-laws and systems within the prescribed implementation period, communicate the provisions to participants and on their website, and report implementation status to the regulator.

FPI investment limits in government securities increased, with separate long term allocations and higher SDL cap effective immediately.
Revised FPI debt limits for April-June 2017 update instrument wise upper caps for central government securities, a separate allocation for long term FPIs, and an increased aggregate cap for State Development Loans, effective April 3, 2017; existing security wise limits, allowance for coupon investment outside limits, and the minimum three year residual maturity requirement continue to apply.

Download restrictions on statutory forms: blocked dealers require ward verification before online permission is granted and inspections follow.
The circular mandates blocking automatic downloading of statutory forms for specified dealer categories (provisional registrants, recent registrants, high GTO with negligible tax, incomplete DVAT 04 details, absent or fictitious bank details, frequent DP-I changes, and reuse-return users). Blocked dealers may obtain downloads only after online application and verification by the Ward in charge. Alerts for large or suspicious downloads require daily reporting, immediate TIN blocking, physical inspection, and a DVAT Act notice to produce documents within 15 days; non-compliance may lead to declaring forms invalid, issuing DVAT 10 and DVAT 11 and initiating recovery.

Enhanced standards for credit rating agencies: clarifications on disclosure exemptions, rating outlooks, and withdrawal procedures.
SEBI clarifies that CRAs may omit certain instrument details in standardized press releases (interest rates for bank loans, maturities for working capital, tranche specifics for frequently reissued money market instruments while providing duration ranges), and that rating outlooks need not be assigned to short term ratings, low category ratings, ratings on watch, securitization pools, or mutual fund scheme ratings subject to monthly surveillance. The circular prescribes the "ISSUER NOT COOPERATING*" suffix and explains permitted withdrawal procedures for non transferable bank loans and open ended mutual funds, including required requests, bank no objection, assignment of a rating on withdrawal, and issuance of the prescribed press release stating reasons.

Income tax returns AY2017-18: new one-page ITR-1 (Sahaj) for individuals with income up to Rs.50 lakh, simplified filing.
Notification introduces a one-page simplified ITR-1 (Sahaj) for individuals with total income up to Rs.50 lakh from salary, one house property and other sources; rationalises tax computation and deduction parts; reduces number of ITR forms through consolidation and renumbering; requires electronic filing of all notified forms while permitting limited paper filing for elderly taxpayers (age 80) and individuals/HUFs with income Rs.5 lakh and no refund claimed.

Extension of banking hours: corrigendum corrects designated government branch closing times to enable e-payment compliance.
Corrigendum identifies a typographical error in paragraph 2 of Trade Notice No. 03/2017 and clarifies that designated branches conducting government business were to remain open until 6.00 p.m. on the first date and until 8.00 p.m. on the second date, reversing the times as originally printed, issued as an administrative instruction by the Commissioner to secure correct implementation of the e-payment deadline extension.

MEIS extension for onion exports continued under Foreign Trade Policy, maintaining incentive eligibility for a further short period.
Extension of MEIS benefit for 'Onions Fresh or Chilled' under ITC (HS) code 07031010 is authorized under paragraph 1.03 of the Foreign Trade Policy (2015-2020), extending the notified FOB-based export incentive so that exporters remain eligible to claim the MEIS benefit for shipments effected up to 30.06.2017.

Direct Port Entry procedure clarified: routing, parking plaza SOPs, Let Export Order fallback, refrigerated-container relaxation and gate verification.
Compilation consolidates DPE directions: factory stuffed export containers generally routed via designated CFSs with specified exemptions; subsequent expansion allowed direct entry for manufacturing entities. Terminal SOPs for Document Processing Areas and Parking Plazas address buffer yard use, cross terminal LEO issues, 24x7 officer deployment, and interim relaxation permitting refrigerated/perishable containers to enter terminals without Parking Plaza entry under prescribed procedure. Procedures for manual Let Export Order during system failures and Gate Officer verification (container number, seal number and condition) are prescribed. The compilation functions as a standing order and provides contact points for operational issues.

Hazardous export cargo: clearance requires documentation, scanning at Distripark, and 'clean' movement slip verification before port entry.
Revised procedure requires hazardous export consignments to be accompanied by ISO certificate (if available), cargo analysis report and Material Safety Data Sheet; Class 5, 8 and 9 may be physically examined in authorised CFSs under expert supervision, while other classes must be scanned at the JNCH Distripark scanner with Let Export Order issued and a 'clean' stamp on the movement slip before port entry, and any adverse scan communicated immediately for further examination.

Direct Port Delivery procedures require advance intimation and defined verification steps to streamline container clearance and stakeholder responsibilities.
Consolidated directives govern Direct Port Delivery procedures at JNCH, specifying DPD client registration and documentation, roles and responsibilities of shipping lines, port terminals and CFSs, and extensions of DPD eligibility. It prescribes advance intimation requirements, time-bound evacuation expectations from terminals, scanning and examination procedures for RMS and non-RMS consignments, verification of Out of Charge (OOC) and delivery orders, and operations of the DPD/RMS Facilitation Centre to process releases on a continuous basis.

Drawback refund claims digitization enables centralized electronic submission, unique ID tracking and digital retrieval of claims.
A dedicated service centre at JNCH will receive drawback refund claims including claims under Section 74, assign a unique ID and issue an acknowledgement; a vendor will digitize the claim and documents (collecting a prescribed fee and issuing a receipt showing the unique ID) and the hard copy will be forwarded for processing. Supplementary documents may be submitted and digitized against the same unique ID without additional fee, while any change in the claim needs prior approval of the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Customs of the Drawback section.

DPD facility: immediate movement to preferred CFS required when goods need examination; time limits must not delay clearance.
When a DPD importer's bill of entry is not RMS facilitated or containers require examination due to a CSD hold, containers must be moved from the port terminal to the preferred CFS nominated by the importer. The importer must promptly engage and notify the selected CFS, shipping line and terminal operator to ensure evacuation without delay; clearance shall continue from the CFS as per normal procedure. Port terminals must not apply the 48-hour limitation to delay such movements. Specific difficulties may be escalated to the DPD Cell.

Foreign portfolio investor limits increased for government securities, with revised allocations effective and SEBI to issue operational guidelines.
Limits for investment by Foreign Portfolio Investors in Central Government Securities and State Development Loans are increased for April-June 2017, effective April 1, 2017; unutilised long term investor limits at end March 2017 will be released to the general category in April 2017. Existing conditions continue to apply, including security wise limits, coupons permitted outside limits, and a minimum residual maturity of three years; SEBI will issue operational allocation and monitoring guidelines.

GST Council approves draft rules on input tax credit, valuation, transitional provisions and composition; circulated for public comment.
The Council approved in principle four draft Rules-Input Tax Credit, Valuation, Transitional Provisions and Composition-and adopted amendments to five existing Rules on Registration, Return, Payment, Refund and Invoice/Debit Credit Note. These drafts and amended Rules will be circulated to States and placed in the public domain for comments; final versions will be returned to the Council after public consultation. Officers may make minor drafting changes; lottery valuation Rule for tickets to be deleted with taxation on face value; rate fitment proposals to be discussed only at Council meetings.

Customs EDI system launch enables computerized processing of import and export customs declarations at Bhavnagar port.
Launch of the Customs EDI System (ICES 1.5) at Port of Bhavnagar is announced, directing importers, exporters, customs brokers, manufacturers and other trade stakeholders that computerized processing of Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills will commence at the port and instructing affected parties to adopt the EDI interface for submission and processing of customs documentation.

Bill of Entry filing deadline tightened; late charges and expedited duty payment required, with transitional rules for earlier filings.
Amendments impose a late charge for delayed presentation of Bill of Entry by requiring presentation before the end of the next day after arrival at the customs station; BOE regulations set late charges and treat entry inwards or cargo arrival as the relevant date, with no charges for goods arrived before enactment. Separate amendment requires immediate payment of duty for self-assessed BOEs and accelerated payment where BOEs are assessed, reassessed or provisionally assessed after return, with transitional rules for BOEs filed before enactment.