All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback amended to adjust export incentive rates and tariff classification consequences.
Amendments revise the All Industry Rates (AIRs) of Duty Drawback, increasing rates/caps for specified marine products, rubber articles including tyres, leather articles, wool yarns and fabrics, glass handicrafts, bicycles and certain man made textile nets, while reducing rates/caps for specified chemical tariff items; a Drawback Schedule entry for polypropylene mats was deleted and those goods retained under an alternate tariff heading consistent with the Customs Tariff Act, with the existing rate/cap. Issuance of public notices/standing orders and reporting of implementation difficulties to the Board are directed.

Export Promotion Cells centralize customs handling of export work, replacing GST officer processing and assuming jurisdictional files.
Formation of Export Promotion Cells to centralize customs-related export work previously handled by Central Excise/GST officers. New Cells at Bengaluru (East I, East II, South, Central), Mysore and Chitradurga are assigned specific jurisdictions, office locations and officer contacts. These Cells will take over related files from the GST Commissionerates immediately, officers will report to the Additional Commissioner of Customs, and trade is requested to utilise the Cells for customs work and report difficulties to the Commissioner.

Budgetary support under GST for erstwhile area based exempt units enables refundable credit after verification and PFMS disbursal.
The scheme provides refundable budgetary support to units formerly covered by area based excise exemptions in specified hill and northeastern states; eligible units must be GST registered, file quarterly returns with tax paid, register under the scheme and submit supporting documents. Claims are computed from cash ledger debits for central and integrated tax, reduced for inputs from composition dealers, and adjusted where multiple units operate under one GSTIN using certified allocation data. Registration yields a unique ID and vendor validation; sanctioned amounts are paid via PFMS after verification and inspection, with provisional sanction possible if inspection cannot be completed.

Authorized Economic Operator programme expands advance authorizations on self declaration and tightens application and compliance procedures.
Amendments to the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programme expand facilitation by permitting AEO-certified exporters to apply for Advance Authorization on self-declaration where SION or ad-hoc norms are absent or additional inputs are used. The Commissioner, Directorate of International Customs is designated AEO Programme Manager; applications go to jurisdictional Chief Commissioners with copies to the Programme Manager. Financial solvency for the prior three years, absence of insolvency or customs duty defaults, and specified solvency certificates are required. Certificate validity, disclosure of show-cause notices, site reporting, and nomination of Client Relationship Managers are also revised.

Movement of containerised imports now governed by ICES v1.5 CFS and Gate modules with bonded auto debits and electronic gate controls.
ICES Version 1.5 introduces CFS and Gate modules at Kolkata (Port) requiring MLOs and CFS operators to register yearly renewable continuity bonds (CO by MLOs; TR by CFSs). IGM filing will carry CFS and bond details to trigger auto debiting of bond amounts and generation of a system "Movement No." Customs officers approve movements in ICES; Gate Module entries at terminal and CFS create gate passes and effect automatic TR bond recredit on receipt, while CO bond recredit and cancellation are reconciled by the Container Cell on submission of export details.

Authorized Economic Operator programme changes decentralise processing and set solvency, validity, and compliance requirements.
Amendments revise the Authorized Economic Operator framework to decentralise application processing to jurisdictional Chief Commissioners while designating the Commissioner, Directorate of International Customs as AEO Programme Manager supported by zonal officers. Applicants must demonstrate three years' solvency, be free from insolvency or customs duty default, and provide tier-specific solvency certificates. The validity of certificates is three years for T1/T2 and five years for T3/LO. AEO applicants' legal-compliance details will be posted online with field formations required to respond to zonal AEO cells; zonal cells must nominate a Client Relationship Manager. Advance Authorisation on self-declaration is permitted for AEO exporters where input norms are absent or additional inputs are used.

Customs transshipment from Pune ACC requires approved transshipment permits, bonds, double locked custody, and ICES 1.5 electronic processing.
Facility for export transshipment from ACC Pune requires filing the Shipping Bill and obtaining Let Export Order at origin; carrier/transhipper must secure an approved Transshipment Permit and register a Continuity Transit Bond/BG in ICES 1.5, which is debited on approval and re credited after proof of onward export. Physical custody at gateway requires a double locked custodian warehouse, Customs verification of packages against TP/AWB/SB, loading under Customs supervision, and electronic messaging between origin and gateway for permit, SB and EGM processing; ETP approval also triggers IGST refund processing.

Foreign Direct Investment rules revised to liberalize sectoral entry routes, ownership limits, and compliance requirements.
Amendments revise FDI entry routes, ownership limits and compliance across sectors: joint audit requirement when an international-network auditor is specified; 100% automatic FDI for investing NBFCs, while CICs and other investing companies require Government approval and RBI CIC compliance; competent authority for applications from countries of concern assigned to DIPP for automatic-route security-clearance cases; civil aviation carrier foreign investment capped with effective control retained by Indian nationals; real-estate broking classified as non-real-estate business allowing 100% automatic FDI; 100% automatic FDI in single brand retail with brand, sourcing and transitional global-sourcing conditions; removal of certain power exchange restrictions; expanded medical device definition; and rules for equity issuance against imports and pre operative expenses with specified documentation and reporting.

Container scanning: non-intrusive inspection required and supervised physical examination for suspicious AFTWZ-bound containers.
Pilot project requires RMCC-selected AFTWZ bound containers to be scanned at designated mobile or fixed scanners; the EIR will record selection and scanner type and must accompany containers. AFTWZ/Carrier must bring selected containers for scanning and submit EIRs with CSD endorsements to the DC/AC. CSD will endorse scanning outcomes on the EIR and email images of suspicious containers to AFTWZ, which must conduct supervised full physical examination and return results to CSD and the system. Unscanned containers due to operational issues will be diverted for supervised examination with EIR endorsement.

Attendance directive for Group A officers requires presence at Customs Day investiture ceremony to ensure official participation.
A departmental circular issues an attendance directive requiring all Group A officers posted in the Board to attend the Customs Day and Investiture Ceremony, communicated as an internal administrative instruction from the Department of Revenue, Central Board of Excise & Customs and issued with Board approval.

Export Promotion Circles established to centralize customs functions, shifting specified duties from Excise/GST to local customs.
Export Promotion Circles are constituted within Ahmedabad customs to undertake customs functions hitherto performed by Excise/GST formations - including drawback administration, concessional import processing, issuance of end use and installation certificates, EOU/EHTP/STP related customs work, and sealing of containerized cargo - effective immediately; Annexure A lists controlling offices, EPC addresses and territorial jurisdictions for implementation, and stakeholders are invited to report difficulties to the department.

Verification of State-run lottery tickets required; designated Assistant Commissioners must inspect and countersign statements immediately.
Designated Assistant Commissioners must visit the specified printing presses to physically verify printed lottery tickets against invoices and countersign statements prepared by State Lottery officials; for unsold tickets after each draw, the Assistant Commissioners of the named Special Circles and specified Assistant Commissioners of State Tax must inspect unsold tickets at district Lottery Department offices and countersign the prepared statements, with these measures effective immediately.

Filing of returns under GST: calendar set, edit facility allowed pre-offset, reduced late fees, reconciliation deferred.
Filing of returns under GST requires monthly FORM GSTR-3B by all registered persons and FORM GSTR-1 on monthly or quarterly basis depending on self-assessed aggregate turnover; quarterly filing is available up to Rs.1.5 crore turnover but monthly filing may be elected for the year. Late fees for July-September were waived; reduced daily late fees apply from October. Errors in FORM GSTR-3B may be corrected using the edit facility prior to offsetting; otherwise adjustments must be made in subsequent returns, amendments to FORM GSTR-1, refunds claimed where necessary, or payments/reversals made with interest. System reconciliation with GSTR-1/2 is deferred pending notification.

Independent oversight committee for product design mandates supervision of new and modified commodity contracts and reporting to exchange management.
Mandates an Independent Oversight Committee for Product Design to oversee new and modified commodity products and the ongoing review of approved contracts; to examine SEBI inspection observations on product design; and to assess adequacy of resources devoted to product design. Heads of departments handling these matters must report to the committee and the Managing Director, and may appeal exchange action to the committee within a period set by the governing board. Exchanges must amend bye-laws, inform members and publish the provisions, effective within thirty days.

Minimum Export Price applied to onion exports, permitted only on Letter of Credit, effective immediately until notified otherwise.
Export of onions under the specified ITC (HS) entries is permitted only on Letter of Credit (LC) and is subject to a Minimum Export Price (MEP) of US$ 700 F.O.B. per metric ton, effective immediately and valid until 20.02.2018; treating this public notice as a standing order for officers and staff and providing contact points for difficulties.

GST practitioner enrolment now uses Karnataka's online backend with staged document and field verification, then DSC approval.
Karnataka has implemented a Model-1 online back-end for enrolment of Goods and Services Tax Practitioners whereby applicants file FORM GST PCT-01 on the common portal, applications are received via API to the state NIC portal, and the Additional Commissioner (Revision & Recovery) acts as the Authorised Officer to issue enrolment certificates (FORM GST PCT-02). The workflow mandates JCCT-DGSTO document verification, optional ACCT-LGSTO/CTO-SGSTO field verification of professional address, consolidated recommendations to the Authorised Officer, DSC-based online approval or rejection, and system notifications with login credentials upon approval.

Online filing requirement mandates uploading offer documents and scheme/takeover/buyback filings to the SEBI intermediary portal.
Mandatory online filing requires draft offer documents, draft letters of offer, draft schemes of arrangement and filings for takeovers and buy backs to be uploaded to the SEBI Intermediary Portal; merchant bankers and recognized stock exchanges must simultaneously file physical and online copies during the transition and thereafter migrate to online only submissions, with portal access, user manual and helpline provided.

Electronic sealing requirement for container self sealing: mandatory for specified exporters, voluntary where readers exist.
Implementation of electronic sealing for container self sealing moves from voluntary adoption to phased mandatory use where Customs reader infrastructure is available. Entitled exporters with RFID e seals may opt in immediately; earlier mandatory compliance applies to exporters previously permitted self sealing, accredited economic operators, and those using supervised stuffing at specified locations. Exporters using officer supervision may continue until e sealing becomes mandatory at their port or ICD. Trade bodies are asked to inform members and consult the full circulars for operational details.

Manual GST refund filing for inverted duty, deemed exports and cash ledger balances permitted with procedural safeguards.
Manual processing of refund claims is authorised for inverted duty structure, deemed exports and excess electronic cash ledger balances while the portal refund module is unavailable. Claims must be filed in FORM GST RFD-01A (monthly, or quarterly for registrants filing GSTR-1 quarterly), only after furnishing the corresponding GSTR-1 details and filing GSTR-3B for the preceding period. Provisional refunds may be sanctioned on submission of a manual undertaking to repay any incorrectly sanctioned amount with interest. Specific statements of RFD-01A apply and refund orders must be communicated to the counterpart authority within seven working days.

Provisional Assessment special drive to finalize pending cases; submit required documents to task force and valuation branch
A special drive directs prompt finalization of provisional assessment of export Bills of Entry pending in DEEC (Group-7D), requiring importers, exporters and customs brokers to submit outstanding documents (including SVB orders and pending approvals) to the AC/CRC-II Section for entry in the Customs EDI system. A Special Task Force at DEEC is designated to receive submissions for non-SVB cases, monthly joint meetings with SVB will address SVB-related matters, and an awareness program and escalation channel to senior commissionerate officers are provided to facilitate disposal.