Forwarding of samples for testing to outside laboratories: field formations may forward specified samples to designated labs.
Customs field formations may directly forward samples of specified goods that Revenue Laboratories cannot test to identified external or empanelled laboratories. Field formations must follow the sampling technique prescribed by the receiving laboratory and confirm sampling requirements beforehand. For live consignments, samples must be sent promptly and laboratories requested to upload test reports for online access. If laboratory turnaround exceeds three days, the importer must be offered the warehouse option. Testing charges are payable by the importer or exporter. The procedure excludes cases where Partner Government Agencies draw samples.

Tax assessment order review requires quarterly reporting of good and poor orders with appellate decisions for internal guidance.
Quarterly reporting of tax assessment orders is required for internal review of assessment quality. Each Additional Commissioner Grade-2 (Appeals) must furnish copies of the three worst assessment orders in which revenue loss or disregard of material legal points is involved, together with the corresponding appellate orders, and also copies of three good assessment orders with their appellate orders, so that these cases may be used to sensitize other assessing officers. The reports must be sent to the headquarters at the end of every financial quarter, with reasons, by the 15th day of the following month.

Merchandise Exports from India Scheme: exporters submit shipping bill details when 'Reward' column was incorrectly marked, by deadline.
Requests submission of shipping bill particulars in Excel for cases where exporters inadvertently selected "N" in the "Reward" column on EDI shipping bills despite an affirmative written declaration, limited to shipping bills within the specified Let Export date window and excluding those later amended by customs, to assess eligibility for Merchandise Exports from India Scheme benefits.

Supply by an artist clarified under GST: central circular on artist and gallery sales to be applied and circulated.
Clarification concerns the treatment of supply by an artist, including sales of goods by artists through galleries, under the GST framework, and refers to Circular No. 22/22/2017-GST; the Commissioner directs circulation of that Circular to trade bodies, chambers, RAC members and other concerned persons within the Jabalpur CGST jurisdiction for information and compliance.

Advance ruling applications may be filed manually under prescribed form and manner; stakeholders must be informed.
Manual filing is authorized for applications for an advance ruling and for appeals to the Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling, following the central circular that prescribes the form and manner of such applications. The Commissioner directs dissemination of the circular to trade, industry associations, chambers of commerce, RAC members, and other concerned persons within the jurisdiction to ensure awareness and compliance.

Paperless processing under SWIFT: mandatory for Appraising Groups 1 and 4; supporting documents must be uploaded on ICEGATE.
Implementation of Paperless Processing under SWIFT requires supporting documents for each Bill of Entry to be uploaded on ICEGATE per the referenced procedures. Pilot operations have been converted to a mandatory regime for Appraising Group 1 and Appraising Group 4 from 01.03.2018. For Appraising Groups 2, 3, 5 and 6, uploading is optional though importers and Custom House Agents are encouraged to use the e-SANCHIT application. Implementation difficulties are to be reported to the Additional Commissioner (Technical), ICD, Tughla-kabad (Import).

DTA clearance of unclaimed abandoned goods must follow Section 48 and Customs Manual procedures in FTWZs.
DTA clearance of unclaimed abandoned goods held in FTWZs must proceed under Section 48 of the Customs Act, 1962, and officials must adopt the procedures set out in the Customs Manual; Development Commissioners of SEZs are directed to follow Section 48 strictly and implement the Customs Manual steps for DTA clearance.

Amendments to ANF 4F/4G update export documentation and DFIA procedures for GST and missing EP shipping bill copies.
Amendments to ANF 4F and ANF 4G align Handbook of Procedures 2015 2020 with GST and non issuance of EP Shipping Bill copies by Customs by permitting e BRC/FIRC, Appendix 2L/2U formats and, where EP copies are not provided, submission of self certified Exporter Copy of the Shipping Bill; they maintain documentary requirements for deemed exports, require exclusion of agency/commission when computing FOB for value addition, restrict post obligation use of inputs where CENVAT/ITC was availed, and mandate online filing with digital signature along with prescribed declarations and supporting certificates.

Ayurvedic medicine classification turns on classical or proprietary formulation, label disclosure, and corresponding tax treatment.
Classification of Ayurvedic medicines for tax purposes depends on whether the product is a classical medicine or a proprietary medicine. Classical medicines are manufactured according to the names, formulas and methods described in authoritative books listed in Schedule I of the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940, with the relevant book named on the label, and are stated to fall in the 5 percent tax category. Proprietary medicines are prepared on self-developed formulas, with ingredient details and product name shown on the label, and are stated to fall in the 12 percent tax category.

Refund of Input Tax Credit: manual filing and processing clarified, with monthly claims in prescribed refund form and statements.
Claims for refunds of unutilised input tax credit due to inverted tax structure and for deemed exports must be filed manually in FORM GST RFD-01A (monthly, with quarterly option for eligible small taxpayers) accompanied by Statement-1 and Statement-1A or Statement-5B, required undertakings and declarations. The GSTN workflow requires entry of turnover, output tax, Net ITC and Adjusted Total Turnover so the system auto-calculates the maximum eligible refund, debits the eligible amount from the Electronic Credit Ledger on submission, generates an ARN whose printout must be physically submitted to the designated nodal office, and enables nodal verification, issuance of acknowledgements or deficiency memos and adjustment against outstanding liabilities.

Export promotion cells to administer duty free and concessional imports and to monitor compliance and recovery procedures.
Establishes Export Promotion Cells to assume Customs functions formerly managed by Central Excise/GST officers for EOUs/EHTP/STPI units, including issuance of procurement, installation and reconciliation certificates, scrutiny of periodical returns, processing of bonds and LUTs, PBW/IBMSO application processing and renewals, acceptance of job work intimations, permissions for destruction, factory stuffing/self sealing export verification, monitoring of utilisation and initiation of recovery proceedings, collection of duty on DTA clearances, execution of bonds and maintenance of related registers and records.

Daily Contract Settlement Value calculation for interest rate futures clarified; VWAP-based pricing with layered theoretical-price fallbacks and disclosure requirement.
SEBI requires the Daily Contract Settlement Value for interest rate futures to be computed from the volume weighted average futures price of the last half hour multiplied by a fixed multiplier; absent last half hour trading, a theoretical futures price is used based on NDS OM two hour VWAP of the underlying bond, with fallback options of a FIMMDA referenced theoretical price or the day's VWAP, previous day's theoretical price usable up to five trading days, and mandatory disclosure of the theoretical price model by exchanges.

Inspection without Delivery Order allowed; goods still released only on production of Delivery Order to expedite import clearance.
Customs will permit inspection of imported goods without production of a Delivery Order to reduce cargo dwell time; custodians, importers or brokers must present goods when registered for examination, but cargo will be released only upon production of the Delivery Order.

IGST refund FAQs clarify claims filing and disbursal procedures; published guidance is available online for exporters.
Administrative guidance issues IGST refund FAQs to clarify filing and disbursal procedures for IGST refund claims; FAQs are posted on the Customs zone website under Refund Export and stakeholders may notify the issuing office of any remaining difficulties.

Paperless Customs document submission via e-SANCHIT enables electronic uploading, IRN linking, and online assessment processes.
The e-SANCHIT facility requires stakeholders to upload digitally signed supporting documents for Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills via ICEGATE, obtain and link unique Image Reference Numbers (IRNs) when documents are added after bill generation or in response to queries, and ensures assessment, examination and post-clearance verification will be conducted using electronic documents while originals that must be verified are still to be produced as required; authorized persons must retain originals for five years and follow prescribed linkage and submission procedures.

Eligible collateral rules allow IFSC clearing corporations to accept bank guarantees and foreign securities with minimum cash composition required.
Clearing corporations in the International Financial Services Centre may accept as eligible collateral cash and cash equivalents (including specified foreign currencies, term deposit receipts and bank guarantees issued by IFSC bank branches), Indian securities held with foreign depositories, foreign securities including units of liquid mutual funds, and gold for trades in all product categories, provided cash and cash equivalents form at least half of total liquid assets. Clearing corporations must amend systems and bye laws, notify members and publish the change, and report implementation status monthly to the regulator.

IGST refunds on exported goods require GST-return and Customs shipping bill data to match for automated processing.
IGST refunds for exported goods require reconciliation of GST return data with Customs shipping bill records; a shipping bill plus filed EGM and valid return constitutes the refund application under Rule 96, and the Customs refund module automatically validates and processes refunds, with specific error codes (SB000-SB006) identifying mismatches and prescribed corrective steps such as amending GSTR-1 via Form 9A or approaching the shipping line to file EGM, and exporters must ensure accurate GST-compliant invoice and shipping bill details and validated PFMS bank details to receive refunds.

GST customs jurisdiction changes in the Chennai Zone: revised allocations and annexure issued for handling Customs-related GST work.
GST Trade Notice No.007/2018 amends Trade Notice No.003/2018 to revise the allocation of Customs-related GST work in the Chennai Zone, issuing a revised annexure that specifies which reorganised Customs formations (including Customs (Preventive) commissionerates) will handle Customs work for each GST & Central Excise commissionerate, with detailed territorial inclusions and exclusions, contact details, and cross-references to prior notifications and public notices.

Guest house allotment policy sets eligibility, priority and charges for departmental transit accommodation and booking procedures.
Rates, eligibility and administrative rules govern the departmental transit guest house at Custom House, Cochin. The Competent Authority controls allotment, maintenance and booking; allotment follows a specified priority order, applications are ordinarily required seven days in advance with confirmation three days before stay, and occupancy limits and special rules apply for transfers, medical stays and private visits. Room entitlements correspond to officer categories and a tariff schedule differentiates on duty and private visit charges. Occupants must pay charges, maintain register entries, and are liable for damage; inventories and periodic verifications are mandated.

Road and infrastructure cess on petrol and diesel introduced, with notifications modifying excise duty and temporary exemptions.
A Road and Infrastructure Cess on petrol and diesel was imposed in Budget 2018-19 and made immediately effective by provisional collection. Central Excise notifications rescind prior exemptions, reduce certain basic excise rates, incorporate the new cess into the appropriate duty for ethanol blended petrol and bio diesel, and provide temporary exemptions pending enactment. Amendments clarify that exemptions do not apply to goods manufactured on or before 01.02.2018 and cleared on or after 02.02.2018; targeted 50% relief for specified North East refinery clearances and exemptions for ethanol blends and bio diesel are addressed.