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.

VAT return filing deadline extended; payment obligations continue under statutory provision and digital filers need no hard copy.
The last date for filing the fourth-quarter VAT return for 2017-18 in Form DVAT-16 is extended to 28.05.2018 for online or hard-copy submission; payment obligations remain governed by section 3(4) of the Delhi Value Added Tax Act, 2004. Dealers filing with a digital signature need not submit a hard copy of the return/Form DVAT-56, but required annexures and enclosures must be furnished.

Interception of conveyances must follow prescribed procedures; designated officers authorized to inspect, detain, release or confiscate goods.
Interception, inspection, detention, release and confiscation of goods in movement must be conducted under the procedures prescribed in the referenced circular and applicable GST law and rules. The Assistant Commissioner (Preventive) is authorized to designate officers as proper officers to execute these inspection and enforcement functions, and those proper officers are required to strictly follow the circular's procedural steps when acting on conveyances and consignments. Stakeholders are directed to disseminate the procedures to trade and the public.

Abolition of Import Appraisement Group VII reallocates bills to groups with FIFO; export duty and drawback move to electronic payment.
Abolition of Import Appraisement Group VII removes that group from the electronic customs system; bills filed before discontinuation remain in the former group while new licence/scheme bills are allotted to remaining groups based on classification with the highest assessable value and will follow the FIFO rule. Export measures enable e-payment for export duty via the electronic gateway and mandate PFMS bank account validation for drawback processing, making drawback disbursal contingent on PFMS acceptance.

Drawback claim authorization: Deputy/Assistant Commissioners may sanction and disburse claims with SEZ disclaimer and officer certification.
Deputy/Assistant Commissioners of Customs are authorised to sanction and disburse Drawback Claims filed by DTA suppliers for supplies to SEZ units or developers. Such claims must be supported by a disclaimer certificate from the SEZ unit or developer and a certificate from the specified SEZ officer confirming that drawback has not been availed or claimed on the goods.

Paperless document submission required: supporting documents must be uploaded to eSANCHIT and linked to the Bill of Entry.
All supporting documents required for Bill of Entry processing and any additional documents sought by the Appraising Group must be uploaded via eSANCHIT on ICEGATE, IRNs generated for each upload, and those IRNs must be linked to the Bill of Entry by amending the BE. The BE amendment requires initiation (via the Service Centre) and online approval by the appraising officer. The department will retain the BE docket and supporting documents in digital form and will not accept hardcopy submissions.