Transit interception procedures under GST now require coded SMS reporting, online register generation, and strict document-based ownership verification.
Uniform instructions govern transit interception under the GST mobile squad system. The proper officer must send an SMS within 30 minutes of interception to obtain a six-digit interception number using the prescribed reason codes, enter that number in FORM GST MOV-02, and ensure generation of Register-5 within the stipulated period. The circular also prescribes separate accounting of tax, cess, penalty and fine, limits detention where e-way bill and documents exist, restricts re-inspection absent specific intelligence, and explains ownership of goods by reference to documents of title under the Sale of Goods Act, 1930.

Transit goods inspection procedure outlines detention, provisional release, and confiscation steps for vehicles, documents, and e-way bills.
Prescribes the procedure for stopping vehicles carrying goods in transit, verifying documents and e-way bills, conducting physical inspection, and issuing the prescribed forms. It provides for release where no discrepancy is found, detention under section 129 where tax and penalty are payable, provisional release on bond and bank guarantee, and demand orders in FORM GST MOV-09. It further provides for confiscation proceedings under section 130 through FORM GST MOV-10 and FORM GST MOV-11, including redemption on payment of fine, tax, penalty and other charges, with related demands recorded in the electronic liability register.

Abolition of Group 7 reallocates scheme filings to regular assessment groups and mandates PFMS validation for drawback payments.
Abolition of Assessment Group 7 in ICES requires scheme/licence Bills of Entry to be allocated to existing assessment groups by highest assessable item classification and processed under the First-in First-out rule; pending BEs filed on or before 07.05.2018 remain in the former group. Exports measures: e-payment via ICEGATE is enabled for export duty/cess and PFMS bank account validation is mandatory for drawback payments, with payments withheld if PFMS validation fails, moving drawback disbursements toward full electronic processing.

Abolition of Group VII in ICES reallocates license bills and mandates e payment plus PFMS validation for drawback.
Group VII in ICES has been discontinued effective 08.05.2018; pre-existing bills pending assessment remain in the old group, while new License/Scheme bills will be allocated to Groups 1-6 by highest assessable value and processed FIFO. Export measures: e-payment via ICEGATE enabled for export duty/cess, and PFMS bank account validation is now mandatory for Drawback-shipping bills not PFMS-accepted will be excluded from the final Drawback scroll-to move Drawback payments toward full electronic disbursement.

Letter of Undertaking deemed acceptance on ARN generation; online submission replaces physical documents, subject to ineligibility rejection.
Registered exporters shall submit FORM GST RFD-11 on the common portal; an LUT is deemed to be accepted when an online acknowledgement with an Application Reference Number (ARN) is generated. No physical documents need be submitted to the jurisdictional office for acceptance. If it is later found that the exporter was ineligible to furnish an LUT in lieu of a bond, the LUT may be rejected and shall be deemed rejected ab initio.

Track and Trace system for pharmaceutical exports extended; exports require barcoded tertiary and secondary packaging and data upload.
Amendment to Para 2.90A mandates that drugs manufactured on or before 01.07.2019 are exempt from maintaining Parent Child relationship data for three packaging levels on the Central Portal, whereas drugs manufactured after 01.07.2019 may be exported only if tertiary and secondary packaging carry barcoding and the prescribed data is uploaded on the Central Portal; implementation of the Parent Child data maintenance and upload requirement is extended until 15.11.2018 for SSI and non SSI manufactured drugs.

Pre-inspection requirement for metallic scrap eased: PSIC waived for imports from safe countries via designated ports, subject to supplier certificate.
PSIC for metallic waste and scrap imports is dispensed for consignments from the USA, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the EU when cleared through designated ports; such consignments must carry a supplier/scrap yard certificate confirming absence of radioactive materials and explosives and will undergo radiation and explosive screening via portal monitors and container scanners. Transshipments through those safe countries/regions are not eligible for this facilitation. Imports through other ports, including specified ports for unshredded scrap, remain subject to PSIC.

Designated port enlistment: Krishnapatnam added for scrap imports; scrap permitted only via listed designated ports.
Krishnapatnam Port is added to the list of designated ports in Para 2.54(d)(iv) of the Handbook of Procedures, 2015-20, reaffirming that import of scrap is permitted only through the enumerated designated ports and that no exceptions will be allowed, including for EOUs and SEZs.

Abolition of customs Grouping reallocates Bills of Entry and requires electronic export payments plus PFMS validation for Drawback.
Abolition of Group VII in ICES reallocates new License/Scheme Bills of Entry to Groups 1-6 based on the classification with the highest assessable value, with pre existing pending Bills remaining in the former group and all Bills following the First in First out rule. Export measures enable e payment of export duty/cess via ICEGATE and mandate PFMS bank account validation for Drawback; Shipping Bills not PFMS accepted will be excluded from the final Drawback scroll, promoting electronic Drawback disbursement.

Abolition of Group-7: export bills reallocated across groups; e-payment enabled and PFMS validation required for drawback.
Group-7 in ICES is discontinued; pending Bills of Entry filed before discontinuation remain in that group, while new licence/scheme export bills are allocated to Groups 1-6 by item classification and follow the First-in-First-out rule. E-payment for export duty/cess via ICEGATE is operationalized. PFMS bank-account validation is mandatory for Drawback and shipping bills will not be included in the final drawback scroll unless the exporter's account is PFMS-accepted, as part of moving Drawback payments to a fully electronic PFMS process.

Refund threshold prohibition: refunds below statutory minimum blocked at filing, no ARN generated or ledger debited.
Registered persons must be prevented from filing FORM GST RFD-01A on the common portal when the claimed refund is below the statutory threshold; in such cases no Acknowledgement Reference Number shall be generated and neither the electronic cash nor credit ledger shall be debited, thereby blocking low-value refund claims at the filing stage to avoid frivolous claims and administrative burden.

Timely completion of investigations: ensure investigation reports reach Assessing Officers well before limitation periods to enable statutory action.
Investigation reports from STRs and TEPs must meet category-based SOP deadlines and be forwarded so Assessing Officers receive actionable findings well before limitation periods expire. Investigating officers must send reports in time to permit AO enquiries and approvals, with reasons formally recorded for any delay. The Investigation Wing leadership is directed to strictly enforce adherence to these timelines and ensure reports are transmitted at least six months before the date of limitations where statutory action may be required.

Electronic sealing for export containers: exporters granted self-sealing and factory stuffing subject to verification and GST addition.
Exporters authorised for self-sealing and factory stuffing may stuff and electronically seal containers at approved stuffing premises in Pune, subject to conditions including addition of stuffing premises in GST registration, presence of Customs Officer for specified consignments, and verification of residential addresses, bank accounts and antecedents; a list of exporters granted such permissions Jan-Apr 2018 is published and the public notice remains effective.

Tramadol added to psychotropic substances schedule, triggering NDPS Act controls on manufacture, possession, import and export.
Tramadol has been inserted into the Schedule to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 as a psychotropic substance (new serial entry 110Y), bringing it within the Act's prohibition on unauthorised production, manufacture, possession, sale, transport, import, export and transhipment except for medical or scientific purposes under licence or permit. Customs has notified exporters, importers and brokers and directed officers to treat implementation as a standing order and to address operational difficulties to the designated customs appraising main (export) office.

Recovery of arrears under GST: inadmissible transitional credit and related charges recoverable as State tax via electronic ledgers.
Amounts of tax, interest, penalty, late fee and inadmissible input tax credit arising from proceedings under the existing law, including wrongly carried forward VAT or CENVAT credit not admissible under transitional provisions, shall be recovered as arrears of State tax under the CGGST Act and recorded in Part II of the Electronic Liability Register, to be paid through the registrant's electronic credit or electronic cash ledger; unregistered dealers' arrears to be recovered in cash under the existing law.

Interception of conveyances: standardized e-way bill verification, inspection forms, detention, release and confiscation procedures.
The circular prescribes uniform procedures for interception, inspection, detention, release and confiscation of goods and conveyances under CGGST Act and Rules 138-138D. Proper officers must verify e-way bills (physical or electronic), record statements in FORM GST MOV-01, order physical verification in FORM GST MOV-02, upload Part A of FORM GST EWB-03 within 24 hours, conclude inspection within three working days (or obtain FORM GST MOV-03 extension), report in FORM GST MOV-04 and Part B of FORM GST EWB-03, and issue release (FORM GST MOV-05), detention (FORM GST MOV-06) or demand/confiscation orders (FORMS GST MOV-09, MOV-10, MOV-11) with electronic liability register entries and prescribed bond/security mechanisms.

Job work compliance: principal may send goods for processing without tax, subject to return, documentation and ITC rules.
Principal may send inputs or capital goods to a job worker without payment of tax and may further send them to successive job workers; the principal must maintain accounts, issue challans and file FORM GST ITC-04 as intimation. Goods must be returned or supplied within one year for inputs and three years for capital goods or be deemed a supply by the principal from the date initially sent. Registered job workers are suppliers of services liable to GST and may claim ITC; supplies from a job worker's premises are treated as supplies by the principal who must determine time, value and place and issue the invoice.

Zero rated exports: refunds clarified to allow LUT rectification, data amendment reliance and limited documentary demands.
Procedural and substantive clarifications for export-related refund claims: officers must account for Table 9 amendments in FORM GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B rectifications when processing refunds; where exports occurred, delays in filing a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) may be condoned and post-facto LUT or extension of export periods allowed; one deficiency memo per refund application is permitted and requires a fresh manual FORM GST RFD-01A after rectification; transitional credits are excluded from Net ITC; and specified documentary requirements (invoices, shipping bills, BRC/FIRC) alone should be demanded, with refunds not to be withheld for minor procedural lapses.

IT/ITES SEZ fencing and entry/exit decisions are delegated to the Development Commissioner, with standard fencing exempted from central approval.
Decisions on fencing and number of entry/exit points for IT/ITES/EH/Biotechnology SEZs shall be made by the Development Commissioner, who will inform the Board; standard 2.4 metre wall or chain-link fencing with 0.6 metre barbed wire and a single entry/exit point require no separate central approval, while departures from these specifications must be specifically considered and processed under the SEZ Rules; in other SEZs, separate gate proposals will be decided on file by the Department.

Import compliance for hazardous chemicals - notification, safety data sheets and transport and storage obligations required.
Importers of hazardous chemicals must notify the designated State authority at import or within thirty days, providing recipient details, port of entry, transport mode, quantity and a Safety Data Sheet in Schedule 9 format; maintain Schedule 10 records available for inspection; ensure transport complies with motor vehicle regulations; store consignments in customs bonded warehouses or approved terminals with proper equipment and trained personnel; and comply with State directions, including possible stoppage of imports and coordination with port authorities for safe handling.