Customs Area declaration approving custodian and customs cargo service provider status for a Container Freight Station under customs supervision.
The premises of M/s. Prompt Terminals (P) Ltd., Tuticorin CFS at Survey No. 24/3 are declared a Customs Area for unloading, de-stuffing and Customs examination of FCL imports and for Customs examination, stuffing/loading and sealing of export cargo under Customs supervision. M/s. Prompt Terminals is approved as Custodian under Section 45(1) and as Customs Cargo Service Provider under Regulation 10 HCCAR 2009 to receive, store, deliver, dispatch and handle imported and export goods in the declared area, subject to specified procedural circulars and notices.

Certificate of Origin (Non-Preferential) authorization for AECC&I; agency added to FTP appendices as issuing authority.
The Director General of Foreign Trade, exercising powers under paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020, authorises M/s Asian Exporters' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AECC&I) to issue Certificate of Origin (Non-Preferential) and adds the agency to Appendix 2E (List of Agencies Authorized to issue Certificate of Origin (Non-Preferential)) at Serial No.32 (Maharashtra), thereby enlisting AECC&I as a recognised issuing authority under the FTP 2015-2020.

Certificate of Origin authorization updated by administrative change to an issuing agency's registered office address.
Amendment updates the registered office location of the India Industries Association in the List of Agencies Authorized to issue Certificate of Origin (Non-Preferential), made under paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020; the Director General of Foreign Trade records the new address and confirms that the Public Notice notifies this administrative change for the IIA as an authorized issuing agency.

GST treatment of catering services: exempt if provided by eligible educational institutions; third-party supplies taxable if input credit not taken.
If catering services are provided by an educational institution that meets the notification definition for educational establishments, such catering is exempt from GST. If the supply of food or drink in a mess or canteen is provided to the educational institution by a third party, that supply is treated as a taxable service to the institution at the reduced rate, provided the institution has not taken input tax credit on goods and services used in supplying the service.

25th GST Council decisions: provisional IGST settlement, invoice level return transition review, e Way Bill rollout and law amendment directives.
The Council approved provisional settlement of Rs. 35,000 crore from accumulated IGST to be split equally between Centre and States (States' share distributed pro rata on 2015 16 collections); ratified listed notifications, circulars and orders; directed staged transition toward an invoice upload/acceptance return model with the Nilekani proposal to be examined by the Group of Ministers; kept composition threshold at Rs. 1.5 crore in law; notified national e Way Bill portal rollout with a February 2018 trial and informal waiver of intra State penalties for that month; authorised Section 172 removal of difficulty orders limiting transitional credit and excluded unspecified cesses from transition.

Discontinuation of EP copy of shipping bill: exporter copy signed by customs accepted for specific ANF applications.
Routine printing of the EP copy of the Shipping Bill will be discontinued; for shipments from EDI ports no hard copy is required for export obligation discharge and the Exporter Copy of the Shipping Bill, duly signed by Customs, may be submitted in lieu of the EP copy for specified ANF applications.

Authority for Advance Ruling constituted under West Bengal GST, deemed central AAR and office established in Kolkata.
An Authority for Advance Ruling has been constituted under the West Bengal GST framework and is deemed to be the Authority for Advance Ruling under the Central GST; the State government has established its office at 14 Beliaghata Road, Kolkata, functioning from the fourth floor of Annex Building III, as notified and communicated by the Commissioner, State Tax, West Bengal.

SEZ Bill of Entry filing: ensure SEZ port code and accurate shipment details for ICEGATE integration; manual filings prohibited.
File SEZ Bills of Entry only after confirming the SEZ Port Code has been updated in the Port Code Directory; enter all particulars accurately and cross-check against the system-generated checklist before submitting the Job Number. Errors in IGM, airway bill numbers, package count or weight may cause cancellations and integration failures with ICEGATE, and manual filing requests will not be entertained.

Manual processing of zero-rated supply refunds: prescribed forms, registers and inter-authority payment coordination govern claims handling.
Manual processing is required for refund claims on zero-rated supplies until the refund module is available. Claimants must file prescribed refund forms and supporting documents with the jurisdictional officer; ITC-based claims require a portal-generated proof of debit to be submitted manually. Officers must record applications in refund registers, issue deficiency memos, grant provisional refunds, conduct detailed verification (including return and shipping validation), and issue final sanction or rejection with re-crediting to the electronic credit ledger where applicable. Payment is made by the relevant central or state authority after inter-authority communication.

Import authorisation updated: specified banks and nominated agencies listed under Appendix 4B for gold and silver imports.
Amendment to Appendix 4B formally updates the lists of banks authorised by the Reserve Bank of India to import both gold and silver and of banks authorised to import only gold, with designated officials and addresses. It also lists nominated agencies under the Foreign Trade Policy with full contact details for each office. The amendment thus governs which banks and agencies trade participants must recognise for import and nominated-agency functions under Appendix 4B.

GST return filing: quarterly GSTR-1 option up to Rs 1.5 crore, reduced late fees, and pre-offset edit facility.
Registered persons must file FORM GSTR-3B monthly, with persons whose self-assessed aggregate turnover is up to Rs. 1.5 crore eligible to file FORM GSTR-1 quarterly; this choice is fixed for the financial year. Late fees are reduced for October 2017 onwards (lower rates for NIL and non NIL liabilities). Errors in GSTR-3B may be edited online before offsetting; where editing is not possible, corrections must be made in subsequent GSTR-3B/GSTR-1 or refunds claimed. System reconciliation with GSTR-1/GSTR-2 awaits further notification.

Advance Authorisation self-declaration allowed for AEOs; application processing decentralised and solvency rules tightened and validity periods specified.
Amendments decentralise AEO application processing, designating the Commissioner, Directorate of International Customs as AEO Programme Manager and requiring submission to jurisdictional Chief Commissioners with a copy to the Manager. AEOs may apply for Advance Authorisation on self-declaration where SION/ad hoc norms are absent or additional inputs are used. Financial eligibility requires solvency for the prior three years; T1/T2 may submit auditor or independent CA solvency certificates while T3/LO (and T2 under review) require statutory auditor certificates. AEO validity is three years for T1/T2 and five years for T3/LO.

KYC norms simplified for courier imports/exports: Aadhaar, passport, PAN or GSTIN accepted; delivery address recording required.
The notice prescribes KYC verification for courier imports/exports: individuals may use Aadhaar, Passport, PAN or Voter ID with recording of delivery address by the authorised courier; representative verification on delivery remains permitted. For firms registered under GST, GSTIN suffices for KYC; where not GST-registered, UIN or PAN will serve. Packages containing only letters or documents are exempt from KYC but must be X rayed by the authorised courier to ensure compliance.

Transfer of customs functions to the preventive commissionerate consolidates drawback, export and container sealing administration.
Functions relating to duty drawback, brand rate fixation, DTA-to-SEZ drawback, import at concessional rates, export procedures, container sealing and electronic self-sealing, previously performed by Central Excise/GST officers, are transferred to the Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Jamnagar, which will administer these matters for specified Gujarat districts and Diu and has organised jurisdiction into Export Promotion Circles.

Import/export permission extended for Adani Kandla Bulk Terminal under customs schemes, retaining prior conditions and one-year validity.
Permission to use Adani Kandla Bulk Terminal for import and export of all permissible goods is extended for one year until 05/12/2018, retaining the same conditions as Public Notice No. 28/2016 and applying to movements under the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme, Advance Authorisation Scheme, and Duty Free Import Authorisation Scheme.

Export Promotion Cells established to centrally handle customs functions and receive jurisdictional files from GST units.
Formation of Export Promotion Cells to assume customs-related functions from Central Excise/GST officers within Mangalore Customs Commissionerate; six Cells listed with district jurisdictions, officer names and contact details. The Cells will take over all customs files from respective GST Commissionerates immediately and staff will report to the Commissioner of Customs, Mangalore through the Additional Commissioner. Trade and public are requested to use these Cells for customs work and to report difficulties to the undersigned.

IGST refund procedure: helpdesk established to assist exporters in resolving integration errors and obtaining pending refunds.
A dedicated IGST Refund Helpdesk has been established to assist exporters in resolving integration and PFMS-related errors that leave IGST refund claims pending; remediation guidance and lists of affected shipping bills are published on the customs website, and exporters who rectify the flagged errors can have successful refund scrolls generated, with named helpdesk officers available for clarification.

Conflict of Interest disclosures required for insolvency professionals ensure transparency and trigger agency publication and compliance measures.
Insolvency professionals and professionals they appoint must disclose relationships with the corporate debtor, other professionals, financial creditors, interim finance providers and prospective resolution applicants to their Insolvency Professional Agency within specified trigger-based timelines, generally three days of the triggering event or when a relationship later arises. "Relationship" covers four categories (including deriving 5%+ revenue, office-holding or partner status, close-relative links, and aggregated partner/director relationships) within three years. Agencies must facilitate and publish disclosures promptly; the insolvency professional must confirm arm's length appointments. Non-compliance or wrong disclosures attract legal action.

Fees for insolvency professionals must be transparent and invoiced in the professional's name, paid into their bank account.
Fees payable to an insolvency professional are part of the insolvency resolution process cost and must be transparent, reasonable, and disclosed to those fixing remuneration. Insolvency professionals and other professionals they appoint must raise invoices in their own names and receive payment into their bank accounts; payments to any person other than the professional do not form part of the insolvency resolution process cost.

Electronic sealing for containers: additional exporters authorised for self sealing and factory stuffing, some under initial customs supervision.
The addendum authorises additional exporters to perform self sealing and factory stuffing at their registered premises where exporters hold AEO, self sealing or factory stuffing permissions; certain grantees are subject to initial customs supervision of sealing. The list of newly permitted exporters and their stuffing premises is attached, all prior terms of the public notice and previous addenda remain unchanged, and stakeholders are directed to the customs website and to report implementation difficulties to the Commissioner.