Indian Customs EDI (ICES 1.5) at SIKKA Port mandates electronic filing, automated assessment, and integrated licence/bond management.
ICES 1.5 at SIKKA Port mandates electronic filing and automated processing of Bills of Entry, IGMs and Shipping Bills via ICEGATE or service centres after required registrations (IE Code, CHA, shipping agents, DGFT licences). The system validates data, computes assessable value and duty, routes B/Es to appraising groups, supports first/second check examinations, concurrent audit, RMS facilitation, and integrates DEPB/licenses, bond/BG management and electronic duty/payment workflows prior to out of charge.

Authentication of EDI Bill of Entry: system-generated final printouts require no customs officer signature and stakeholders notified.
Once the Customs EDI system records an Out of Charge (OOC) entry and generates the authenticated final printout of the Bill of Entry, that system-generated document is deemed authenticated and does not require a Customs officer's signature; stakeholders are to accept such printouts and report any implementation difficulties.

Customs Area declaration: CFS premises recognised and operator approved as custodian and CCSP under customs law.
Premises of M/S ALS Tuticorin Terminal (P) Ltd., Survey No. 998, Tuticorin, comprising 10.62 acres, are declared a Customs Area under Section 8(b) of the Customs Act, 1962 for de-stuffing FCL imports, storage and customs examination of import and export cargo, and stuffing and sealing of export containers. The company is approved as Custodian under Section 45(1) and as Customs Cargo Service Provider under Regulation 10 of the Handling of Cargo in Customs Area Regulations, 2009, subject to prescribed procedural circulars and facility movement rules.

Transfer of shares to IEPF Authority: earlier circular withdrawn pending review; fresh instructions to follow.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has withdrawn the earlier circular on Transfer of Shares to IEPF Authority pending review. The withdrawal is effective immediately; fresh instructions will be issued in due course. The communication, issued with the approval of the competent authority, notifies stakeholders and nodal officers that no further action should be taken based on the withdrawn circular until new directions are published.

Limitation extinguishment bars fresh company applications where earlier filings were rejected as time barred under prior law.
Where an application was earlier rejected as time barred under Section 22(1)(ii)(b) of the Companies Act, 1956 for being filed after the twelve month period, the extinguished limitation is not revived by the lack of a prescribed limitation in Section 16(1)(a) of the Companies Act, 2013; applicants cannot file fresh Section 16(1)(a) applications to bypass the prior time bar decision.

GST migration: provisional enrolment window re-opened; unused provisional IDs cancelled and replacements available via jurisdictional officer.
Reopening of the GST enrolment window permits Central Excise and Service Tax assessees to migrate by using provisional IDs; unused provisional IDs issued up to 31.01.2017 have been cancelled while IDs issued in February-March 2017 and those restored after State VAT cancellation remain active. To obtain a provisional ID taxpayers must contact their jurisdictional Central Excise/Service Tax officer or GST Seva Kendra and send an email from their registered ACES email to the designated helpdesk with the subject requesting a provisional ID and include their Central Excise/Service Tax registration numbers and details of any earlier enrolment issues.

Airline passenger manifests must be transmitted electronically 12 hours pre-check-in and 15 minutes before departure.
Carriers must transmit electronically the pre check in passenger manifest twelve hours before scheduled departure and the final passenger manifest fifteen minutes before leaving or taking off, to Indian Customs in the prescribed structure. From 15.05.2017 outbound manifests are to be submitted fifteen minutes before departure in a flat file format identical to inbound transmissions; carriers must modify systems to enable the additional twelve hour outbound transmission within six months. The Passenger Manifest format (Form II) specifying flight, passenger, journey, document, crew and visa data fields is annexed.

Export realisation proof requirement: failure to submit BRC/negative statements will trigger system alerts and customs action.
Exporters must submit Bank Realisation Certificates or certified Negative Statements for Drawback EDI shipping bills identified on the commissionerate website by the final deadline; failure to comply will lead to alerts in the ICES 1.5 system and initiation of enforcement action under Section 7S(I) of the Customs Act, 1962 read with Rule ISA of the Drawback Rules, 1995, with immediate alerts placed where mailed communications were returned undelivered.

Airlines must electronically transmit outbound passenger manifests 12 hours and 15 minutes before departure in prescribed formats.
Carriers must electronically transmit pre check-in passenger manifests twelve hours before departure and final passenger manifests fifteen minutes before leaving the port of embarkation in India, in either the prescribed flat file format or UN/EDIFACT PAXLST API; final manifests in flat file format were required from 15.05.2017 and the twelve hour transmission must be implemented within six months.

Filing deadline extension for quarterly VAT returns; online filing allowed, payment obligations unchanged, digital signatures waive hard copy.
The Commissioner extends the filing deadline for fourth quarter VAT returns for 2016-17, permitting online or hard copy submission of Forms DVAT 16, DVAT 17 and DVAT 48 with annexures until 30.05.2017. Tax payment obligations remain unaffected and must be made as required by the statute. Dealers filing with a digital signature are not required to submit a hard copy of the return/Form DVAT 56.

Pending registration clearance: authorities must prioritise disposal of all VAT/CST registration applications by the deadline.
Directive requiring Assessing Authorities to prioritize and dispose of the backlog of DVAT and CST registration applications, continuing prior online registration guidance and mandating Zonal in-charges to monitor progress and ensure completion within the circular's specified timeline.

Brand rate drawback clearance: failure to submit fixation letters may lead to zero-rate processing but supplementary claims permitted.
A special drive requires exporters with pending brand rate drawback claims to furnish a brand rate fixation letter, bank realisation certificate, and export performance copy within four weeks; absent compliance, claims will be processed at zero rate, though exporters may later pursue a supplementary claim under the statutory procedure.

System-generated Bill of Entry: signature and stamp of out-of-charge officer no longer required on final printout.
The Customs EDI-generated final printout of the Bill of Entry, produced after out-of-charge, bears the name and SSOID of the officer who effected out-of-charge and is therefore a system-generated document; consequently, the physical signature and stamp of the out-of-charge officer are not required on that final printout. Stakeholders are to follow this practice and report any implementation difficulties to the issuing office.

SEZ approvals and transfers: continuity maintained while ownership/name changes require strict compliance and financial disclosure.
The BoA approved extensions of formal approvals and LoPs for specified SEZ projects with time limits, rejected two in principle extension requests, approved a co developer application, authorised changes of name and transfers of shareholding subject to uniform conditions - including seamless continuity of SEZ activities, fulfilment of eligibility and security clearances, compliance with Revenue/Company/SEBI rules, immediate furnishing of full financial details to Member (IT), CBDT and jurisdictional authority, provision of PAN and assessing officer details to CBDT, and recognition of the Assessing Officer's right to tax assessments; directed consideration of SEZ Rules amendment; approved area increases and an FTWZ declaration; rejected one appeal and deferred another for legal advice.

Non-requirement of signature on system-generated Bill of Entry: final printouts need no officer signature or stamp.
The final print-out of the Bill of Entry generated by the Customs EDI system bears the name and SSOID of the officer who gave out-of-charge, and therefore the signature and stamp of the out-of-charge officer will not be required on the final printout.

Passenger manifest transmission required: carriers must electronically send pre-departure and final outbound manifests to customs.
Carriers must transmit electronically the pre-check-in passenger manifest and the final outbound passenger manifest to Indian Customs in prescribed electronic formats, including a flat file format or the UN/EDIFACT PAXLST API; the flat file for outbound final manifests matches the inbound format. Immediate electronic transmission of the final outbound manifest in flat file format is to commence as directed, and carriers must modify their systems to generate and submit the additional advance outbound manifests within the specified implementation period.

Exemption from late filing charges now processed centrally by EDI special cell, decided by notified proper officer.
A dedicated special cell in the EDI Section will centrally receive and process applications for exemption from fines for late filing of a Bill of Entry across all Import Groups; such exemption requests will be dealt with and decided by the proper officer designated under the relevant notifications, eliminating the need for multiple submissions to different Groups.

Stacking code transparency: shipping lines must upload IAL stacking codes to the DPD portal so DPD clients can view allocations.
Requirement for shipping lines to upload IAL data-serial number, container number, stacking code and DPD code-on the JNCH DPD Portal, with vessel and voyage numbers indicated; uploaded information will be viewable by DPD clients. Portal credentials are provided to shipping lines and operational issues or non conforming stacking code allocations are to be reported through the portal complaint section or to the DPD Cell officer for action.

DPD facility change for waste paper: direct port clearance allowed with No Use Bond and Central Excise pre opening examination.
Manufacturer importers of waste paper with Direct Port Delivery will be permitted port clearance without mandatory CFS examination provided at assessment the Group AO records DPD instructions and the importer/CB furnishes a No Use Bond obliging presentation of containers to the jurisdictional Central Excise for examination before opening Customs seals; the Group Officer will record and close consignments only after receipt of the Central Excise examination report, report uncleared entries beyond one month, and the facility is liable to cancellation on misdeclaration.

Rebate of State Levies on textile exports: CBEC issues implementation guidance and circulars for exporters.
Rebate of State Levies (RoSL) on export of garments and made-up articles is to be implemented by CBEC through administrative guidance. The notice directs exporters, customs brokers and trade members to the Ministry of Textiles notifications and schedules that set rebate rates and to CBEC circulars that provide the operational framework for claiming RoSL, and it invites reporting of implementation difficulties to the Department.