Reward scheme for informers extended to tax recovery cases; informers and officers may receive discretionary rewards subject to conditions.
Extension of the reward scheme allows payment to informers who provide actionable intelligence on defaulters' assets and to government servants whose efforts result in recovery. Rewards require Chief Commissioner satisfaction that departmental tracing efforts were exhausted and that the information led to recovery. The reward may be up to 5% of the amount recovered, determined by the information's nature, accuracy and efficacy. Informer-initiated cases draw from the informer reward pool under existing policy. Officers may receive rewards for extraordinary post-adjudication recoveries subject to Reward Committee approval and applicable upper limits for post-investigation work.

Classification of Tramadol as a psychotropic substance: delayed applicability for licensed manufacturers, importers and exporters after grace period.
The amendment defers the operational applicability of Tramadol's classification as a psychotropic substance so that licensed manufacturers, importers and exporters are subject to the notification only after the expiry of a prescribed grace period following publication; the earlier public notice is amended accordingly and Customs staff are to treat this Public Notice as a Standing Order.

Goods and Services Tax reforms approved: law amendments, new return formats, appellate tribunal, IGST rule change, and rate adjustments.
The Council ratified recent central and pari materia State notifications, expanded ITGRC remit and extended migration and TRAN filing deadlines; approved legislative amendments to CGST/IGST/UTGST/Compensation Acts with specified drafting changes (including retrospective amendment to Section 7 and an enabling provision for Special Category States' registration thresholds); constituted GSTAT with a national and three regional benches; approved the new return design (monthly return; SAHAJ and SUGAM quarterly returns with monthly payment, eligibility up to Rs. 5 crore) targeted for January 2019; adopted multiple rate changes and exemptions as per Fitment recommendations, and directed IGST cross utilisation change plus establishment of a CBIC led committee to address IGST apportionment and balances.

Exporters must correct EGM errors to enable Shipping Bill migration and receipt of IGST refund to bank accounts.
EGM filing errors (SB002, SB006) and invoice errors (SB005) prevent Shipping Bills from migrating from the IGST Temporary Scroll to the Final Scroll, blocking IGST refund credit. Exporters must ensure correct EGM filing before flight departure, submit reconciliation documents (GSTR 1/Table 6A, GSTR 3B and a Concordance Table) and send rectification details to the IGST Refund Cell (Airport) for processing.

IGST refund clearance fortnight to expedite processing of pending export refund claims and assist exporters.
A public notice announces a dedicated IGST refund clearance fortnight at the Air Cargo Complex, NSCBI to expedite liquidation of pending IGST refund claims and assist exporters and export organizations in getting refund claims processed, with difficulties to be reported to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Drawback & IGST Refund Section.

IGST refund rectification: officer interface extended to resolve PAN/GSTIN and invoice mismatches, exporters urged to ensure accuracy.
Clarifies that where exporters have entered PAN instead of GSTIN in Shipping Bills, such cases will be treated under the same conditions as SB003 errors because PAN is embedded in GSTIN, and that the officer interface mechanism to rectify SB005 invoice mismatches and other specified errors is extended to Shipping Bills filed up to 30.06.2018; exporters must ensure due diligence and report implementation difficulties to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs.

IGST refund mismatch resolution: officer interface extended to allow rectification of PAN/GSTIN and invoice errors for export refunds.
CBIC directs that PAN-instead-of-GSTIN entries in Shipping Bills causing SB003 errors will be resolved under the same conditions and procedures as SB003/SB005 error resolutions, since PAN is embedded in GSTIN. The officer-interface rectification mechanism for invoice mismatches and other identified errors is extended to cover additional shipping bills to expedite IGST refunds; exporters must check ICEGATE and approach jurisdictional officers for rectification, and the Public Notice functions as a Standing Order for staff.

IGST refund sanction process urged following GSTN-to-Customs data transmission failures; exporters must submit documents for officer-interface processing.
Sanction of IGST refunds pending due to non-transmission of data from GSTN to Customs EDI is being advanced by processing claims through the officer interface. Exporters and customs brokers listed are required to follow CBIC Circular No. 12/2018-Cus and the local Public Notice, submitting all relevant documents so refunds can be sanctioned despite electronic transmission gaps; stakeholder associations should publicize the procedure to expedite compliance and sanctioning.

Refund of IGST on export: Help Desk established to expedite refunds after error rectification for exporters.
A Help Desk has been established to facilitate the IGST refund on export of goods on payment of duty by assisting exporters, customs brokers and other stakeholders to rectify errors and expedite refund claims. The facility is located at the FIEO Marine Building, Willingdon Island, Kochi, operates during specified dates and hours, and provides telephone contacts for in-person assistance and coordination with Customs.

IGST refund assistance: Help Desk established to expedite exporters' pending refund claims and resolve related issues.
A time limited administrative Help Desk has been set up at the Federation of Indian Export Organisation in Bengaluru, staffed by a nominated Customs officer, to provide expeditious assistance to exporters-especially micro, small and medium enterprises-in obtaining sanction of pending IGST refunds on export of goods; stakeholders are invited to use the service and report implementation difficulties to the Commissioner's office.

Tariff transparency requirement: CFSs must publish LCL cargo tariffs and provide e invoicing/e payment or face regulatory action.
Non-disclosure of tariff rates for LCL cargo by CFSs breaches customs regulatory obligations; CFSs must publish LCL tariff schedules on their websites and provide e-invoicing and e-payment facilities. Failure to comply will invite enforcement action under the relevant customs regulatory framework to ensure transparency and enable traders to ascertain charges in advance.

IGST refund facilitation: Help Desks enable exporters to submit documents remotely and resolve refund claim errors.
Help Desks at FIEO and AEPC offices, staffed by nominated Customs officers with necessary infrastructure, will identify specific errors delaying IGST refund claims via ANTARANG and ICEGATE, guide exporters on required documents, and transmit submissions by ICEGATE email to nodal officers at the port of export. The Help Desks will act as an extended office of the port of export so exporters need not visit the port once requisite documents are forwarded for processing.

IGST refund mismatch resolution extended to shipping bills filed up to 30.06.2018 using officer interface for rectification.
Where PAN was entered instead of GSTIN in shipping bills, PAN as embedded in GSTIN will be treated as sufficient for IGST refund claims subject to the conditions of para 2 of Circular 15/2018-Customs. The officer-interface rectification mechanism for SB003/SB005 and other errors in Circulars 05/2018, 08/2018 and 15/2018 is extended to shipping bills filed up to 30.06.2018, with exporters advised to ensure due diligence.

Officer Interface rectification for invoice and GSTIN mismatches extended and exporters must ensure accurate GSTIN and invoice details.
Extension of the Officer Interface alternative mechanism permits rectification of invoice mismatch and invalid GSTIN errors for export shipping bills so affected, enabling correction of discrepancies that impede IGST refund claims; cases where PAN was entered instead of GSTIN are treatable under the same conditions, which apply mutatis mutandis, and exporters are advised to ensure identical invoice details between shipping bills and GST returns.

IGST refund process: SB003 and SB005 rectification extended to enable exporters to resolve shipping bill invoice mismatches.
Clarification provides that IGST refund claims affected by PAN/GSTIN mismatch (SB003) will be resolved under the previously prescribed SB003 utility and conditions, and that the Officer Interface rectification facility for SB005 and other specified errors is extended to shipping bills filed up to 30.06.2018, with exporters urged to ensure due diligence to prevent future mismatches.

IGST refund processing: exporters must submit documents and concordance tables to resolve specified error codes for sanction.
Sanction of pending IGST refunds is being facilitated through a refund drive to address holds caused by error codes SB005 and SB006; affected exporters and customs brokers must submit all relevant documents, including the concordance table, to enable sanctioning via the officer interface, with a circulated list of shipping bills and individual intimations issued to concerned parties.

RFID sealing for bonded warehouse movements mandated, replacing one-time locks and requiring certified seals and data capture.
Extension of electronic sealing requires use of RFID OTLs for deposit into and removal from bonded warehouses where one-time-locks are prescribed; RFID seals must meet ISO 17712:2013 and ISO/IEC 18000-6 Class 1 Gen 2, bear unique serials in a prescribed format, be sourced from CBIC-listed vendors who submit conformity certifications, and be supported by readers and a web-application capturing specified data elements including IEC, transport identifiers, RFID OTL number, timestamps and warehouse/location codes.

Office relocation of Superintendent Range; offices to function from new premises, updating address for trade and industry.
The office of the Superintendent Range Narsinghpur I and Narsinghpur II will function from new premises effective 19 July 2018 at Plot No. 3, Ground Floor, Ramnagar Colony, Belapurkar Ward, Narsinghpur; trade and industry members are notified of the change and linked to Public Notice No. 02/2017 18 for context.

IGST refund facilitation: special administrative drive to clear pending export refund claims through error rectification and officer interface.
Administrative drive to clear pending IGST export refund claims by permitting officer-interface rectification of transmission and EGM errors, notably EGM code SB006 for ICDs/gateway ports and error codes SB002, SB003, SB005 (alone or combined). A Refund Cell at Customs House - Pipavav and a special camp at the Commissionerate in Jamnagar will process refunds stuck due to these errors; stakeholders may contact the nominated nodal officer by email for assistance.

IGST refund processing intensified at ICD Mulund during Export Refund Fortnight with dedicated contact and nodal officer support.
An Exports Refund Fortnight at Inland Container Depot Mulund is instituted to intensify disposal of pending IGST refund claims for exports; a dedicated refund cell with an e mail and phone contact is established and specific nodal officers are nominated to assist exporters, brokers and trade members on all IGST refund issues, with implementation difficulties to be reported to the Principal Commissioner of Customs.