Extended Producer Responsibility authorization required for import of listed electrical and electronic equipment; produce CPCB authorization at import.
Importers of electrical and electronic equipment, components, consumables, parts and spares listed in Schedule I must obtain and produce an Extended Producer Responsibility Authorization from the Central Pollution Control Board when importing such items; the notice treats importers as Producers for these purposes and requires presentation of the CPCB EPR Authorization at import, with implementation issues to be reported to the issuing office.

EPCG authorisations: submit Redemption Certificate/EODC to enable bond/BG cancellation and cargo clearance.
Holders of listed EPCG authorisations registered at JNCH Nhava Sheva must submit copies of Redemption Certificate/EODC without delay to allow bond/BG cancellation and timely clearance of consignments; submissions may be sent by email, registered/speed post or delivered in person to the EPCG Monitoring Cell. EPCG holders must also ensure installation certificates are filed within six months of import and, for authorisations not in the list, provide evidence of submission of the first block export obligation to the Joint DGFT as per S.O. 70/2016.

Container movement procedure now requires pre movement e mail intimation and bond adequacy verification before terminal release.
Removal of the prior requirement for Container Cell permission is replaced by a pre movement e mail intimation to the Assistant Commissioner, Container Cell, containing container identifiers, vessel/rotation/IGM details, a self declaration of continuity bond number, validity and balance (with break up), and destination CFS/warehouse/ICD; the same intimation must be sent to the port terminal, a written request submitted to the Container Cell by the next working day for reconciliation, and steamer agents/importers must ensure sufficient bond balance or face bond enforcement and penal action.

Validity of Chapter 3 Duty Credit Scrips extended; applies irrespective of FTP period, revalidation generally not permitted.
Duty Credit Scrips issued on or after 01.01.2016 under Chapter 3 shall be valid for 24 months from date of issue and must be valid on the date of actual debit; revalidation is not permitted except as covered under paragraph 2.20(c) of the Handbook of Procedures. This rule applies to all Chapter 3 scrips irrespective of the Foreign Trade Policy period, and trade is advised to avail the benefit with officers treating this Public Notice as standing order.

Scrip validity extension: Chapter three scrips now carry extended validity across FTP periods without amendment requirement.
The Directorate confirms that the amendment in Public Notice 33, which increases Chapter Three scrip validity to 24 months and is incorporated into the Handbook of Procedures 2015-20, applies to all Chapter Three scrips irrespective of the FTP policy period. Scrip holders need not approach Regional Authorities for amendments to reflect the extended validity; the change is effective by virtue of the Handbook amendment and is communicated for guidance to trade and Customs formations.

Jurisdiction of Customs Preventive Divisions updated to map CPUs, GST ranges, PIN clusters and coastal jurisdictions.
Corrigendum 4 amends Public Notice No.01/2018 to specify and reassign jurisdictional boundaries of Customs Preventive Divisions and their Customs Preventive Units in the Thiruvananthapuram Zone under the Customs Act, 1962. It identifies formation names, CPU locations, GST range areas, indicative PIN code clusters and town lists, adds narcotics units where designated, includes coastal and marine jurisdictions, and extends the Kochi CPD to administer the Union Territory of Lakshadweep including Kavaratti.

Brand rate fixation: Brand Rate Cell at ICD Mulund to process Drawback Rules applications under GST; reapplication for post-GST exports
A dedicated Brand Rate Cell has been established at ICD Mulund to fix brand rates of drawback under the Drawback Rules in the GST regime; pending central excise applications filed before the GST transition will be transferred to the Customs Commissionerate having jurisdiction over the place of export (exporter may choose among multiple export places). Post-transition exports require fresh brand rate applications as previously fixed rates do not apply; verification of application data will be done by the Customs formation having jurisdiction over the manufacturing factory, and earlier circulars apply mutatis mutandis.

Transshipment permission for air cargo enables electronic ICES movement with bond, Customs supervision and liability for shortages.
Permission authorizes M/s InterGlobe Aviation Limited to effect export and import transshipment of general cargo from APTPC bonded warehouse via electronic documentation on ICES for one year from bond acceptance, subject to Chapter VIII of the Customs Act and relevant CBEC circulars. Carriers must file IGM/EGM, use CTM/TP/ACTM, secure Customs escort and supervision, obtain destination acknowledgements to debit/re credit the transhipment bond, and comply with sealing, weight matching, register maintenance, custody instructions and proof of export requirements. A transhipment bond and bank guarantee have been furnished and the carrier is liable for shortages, duties and related charges.

Tax Deduction at Source under GST: DDOs must register with TAN but defer deductions until commencement notification.
Government drawal/disbursing officers must obtain TAN-based registration on the GST portal and be prepared to file returns, but must not deduct tax at source until the government notifies the commencement date; where deductions were already made, heads of departments must arrange refunds to suppliers and submit action taken reports.

Provisional NOC for imported pre-packaged retail food enables storage transfer pending final clearance, subject to Form 13A conditions.
The amendments permit the Authorized Officer, after visual inspection and sampling, to issue a provisional no objection certificate allowing imported pre-packaged retail food consignments to be moved to a secure storage facility on the basis of an importer declaration in Form 13A. Goods must remain in that facility until final NOC is given; Customs and the food authority may inspect. The facility, formerly limited to items with shelf-life under seven days, is extended to all imported pre-packaged retail food articles, subject to compliance, possible re-export/destruction on breach, and disqualification for future use upon non-compliance.

Assessment correction under Section 74B requires compliance with Rule 36B(7) and full consideration of Form 9.
Assessing authorities must reassess 2013-14 CST cases where Form 9 was not or only partly considered, or where multiple assessment orders exist, applying relevant reassessment provisions (including Section 74B) or other applicable law; they must observe Rule 36B procedures-notably Rule 36B(7)-and may call for necessary documents before exercising reassessment powers.

Appendix 4E compliance requires full technical disclosure to prevent deferment of chemical advance authorisation applications.
Non-submission of complete Appendix 4E is causing deferment of advance authorisation applications for chemicals filed on a self declaration basis. Applicants must provide step wise manufacturing processes, full chemical reactions with molecular and structural formulas and weights, stage wise molar yields, material balance, solvent requirement and recovery, by product/co product details, finished product purity and standard technical literature so Regional Authorities can forward complete dossiers to the Norms Committee for time bound processing.

Recovery of arrears and inadmissible input tax credit clarified under the Uttarakhand GST transition framework.
Clarification is issued on the recovery of arrears arising under the existing law from assessment, adjudication, appeal, revision, rectification, and amended returns, and on the reversal or recovery of inadmissible Input Tax Credit under the Uttarakhand Goods and Services Tax regime. Recoverable VAT, Entry Tax, Luxury Tax, Entertainment Tax, tax, interest, penalty, late fee, and inadmissible transitional or erroneously availed ITC are to be treated as arrears of tax under the said Act, recorded in Form GST PMT-01, and paid through the Electronic Credit Ledger, Electronic Cash Ledger, or by cash where the assessee is unregistered.

Advance Authorisation and DFIA rules updated: issuance, export correlation, norm changes, SCOMET clearance, and documentation relaxed.
Amendments permit Regional Authorities to issue Advance Authorisations where no SION or valid ad hoc norms exist or where additional inputs are self-declared; wastage stays subject to Norms Committee decisions. Exports/deemed exports made before authorisation may be accepted if shipping bills/tax invoices reference the EDI file or authorisation number and detail exempted materials. If norms change between filing and issuance, authorisations will be proportionate to provisional exports; SCOMET clearance is required before export of SCOMET items. Documentation rules allow manual BRCs and self-attested shipping bill copies where EDI verification is unavailable.

Authorized laboratory recognition expanded to include additional GIA branches for certification of diamonds under export procedures.
Two branches of the Gemological Institute of America are added to paragraph 4.74 of the Handbook of Procedures (2015-2020) as authorized laboratories for certification and grading of diamonds of 0.25 carat and above, by Public Notice No. 8/2015-2020 issued by the Director General of Foreign Trade under powers conferred by Paragraph 1.03 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020.

Abolition of group-based customs allocation prompts reassignment to remaining groups and mandates electronic export payment and PFMS validation.
Abolition of Group VII in ICES means only pre-cutoff Bills of Entry remain in that group; all new licence/scheme Bills will be allocated to Groups I-VI based on item classification with highest assessable value and will follow the First-In-First-Out rule. Export measures include electronic payment of export duty/cess via ICEGATE and mandatory PFMS bank-account validation for Drawback, withholding SBS availability for final drawback scroll until PFMS acceptance, as part of transitioning Drawback, IGST refund and RoSL payments to fully electronic processing.

Import quota for pulses: allocation and application modalities set, with reporting obligations and an import completion deadline.
Prescribes the application and allocation regime for restricted imports of specified pulses: millers/refiners with own refining/processing capacity must apply online using ANF-2M with proof of capacity and fee; DGFT/EFC will allocate available annual quota among eligible applicants based on declared capacity and applied quantity, notify allocations on the stipulated date, require import completion by the prescribed deadline, and mandate weekly shipment arrival reports to DGFT and the Regional Authority. DGFT may amend or cancel the process and invite fresh applications.

Underwriters: SEBI master circular consolidates registration, reporting, SCORES grievance procedures, outsourcing and conflict of interest rules.
Master Circular consolidates SEBI directives for underwriters up to March 31, 2018 and prescribes conditions for group entity registration, mandatory half yearly electronic reporting of status or constitution changes, single window prior approval procedures for change in control, mandatory use of the SEBI Intermediary Portal for registration related filings, designated e mail IDs for regulatory and grievance communications, SCORES enrolment and complaint handling with 30 day ATR upload obligations, prevention of unauthenticated news circulation, and detailed outsourcing and conflict of interest principles.

RFID E-seal verification requirement: seal integrity checks determine routing to CFS and LEO issuance for export clearance.
Prescribes procedures at BMCT requiring preventive officers to verify RFID E-seal integrity and encoded container data at parking plaza entry; any tamper or mismatch mandates routing to CFS for open and examination and issuance of LEO from that CFS. Post-verification, shipping bills are registered in the Document Processing Area and LEO entered into TOS; multi-bill and multi-container contingencies, special handling for reefer and perishable cargo, carrier bond modification for rail-linked movements, and terminal gate ticketing and monitoring requirements are also specified.

MEIS rate applicability extended: enhanced export incentive rates continue beyond earlier terminal dates for eligible exports.
The amendments revise Appendix 3B wording so enhanced MEIS rates apply for exports from the original commencement date onwards, removing earlier terminal dates; corresponding clarification extends specified service export reward rates in the Appendix 3D annexure so that enhanced rates from the Mid Term Review continue beyond the previously stated cut-off.