Direct Port Delivery for Authorised Economic Operator: expedited DPD permission granted, with applications processed promptly by AEO cell.
Direct Port Delivery is extended to all Authorised Economic Operators (Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3). AEO certificate holders wishing to avail DPD must apply to the Commissioner of Customs (NS III), JNCH; applications will be processed by the AEO Cell and the competent authority's decision communicated to applicants within a short processing period. The expedited procedure applies to all AEO holders while the procedure for 100% EOUs continues under the earlier Facility and Public Notices.

Insurance requirement for CCSPs reduced to reflect average dwell time, easing bond obligations under HCCAR.
The amount of insurance CCSPs must provide under Regulation 5(1)(iii) of the Handling of Cargo in Customs Area Regulations should be calculated by reference to the average value of goods likely to be stored in the Customs area for a period of 10 days based on projected capacity, with the Commissioner of Customs empowered to specify amounts having regard to goods already insured by importers or exporters.

Hazardous cargo storage distances defined: uniform separation requirements between hazardous goods, administrative buildings and general cargo to ensure safety.
A jointly recommended framework sets uniform separation distances for hazardous goods storage: explosives must be separated by 200 metres from administrative buildings, other hazardous goods by 30 metres from administrative buildings, and separation between hazardous and general cargo in port areas is governed by the IMDG Code. Land storage in container depots, CCSP areas and customs notified areas is governed by specific rules (e.g., Gas Cylinder Rules, Explosive Rules, Petroleum Rules), and specific rules override port rules in case of conflict.

Risk-based selectivity for PGA NOCs streamlines consignment clearance by waiving NOCs for low-risk goods under SWIFT.
Implementation of a risk-based selectivity mechanism under SWIFT routes Bills of Entry to PGAs for NOCs, but the RMS will waive PGA NOC requirements for consignments assessed as low risk and display a waiver on the Bill of Entry; manual referral of such consignments is restricted except with Assistant/Deputy Commissioner approval, and the RMS will generate documentary and inspection instructions based on PGA delegation.

Reason to believe standard must govern reopenings; increased digital-era turnover alone cannot justify reopening assessments.
Reopening past income-tax assessments is permissible only where the Assessing Officer has reason to believe that income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment, not on mere suspicion. A rise in current-year turnover, including due to digital payment adoption, cannot alone justify reopening earlier years; Assessing Officers are advised not to reopen cases merely for that reason.

Declaration eligibility under the dispute resolution scheme determines payment obligations and treatment of related penalty appeals.
Clarifications specify that a valid declaration under the Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2016 is available only where the appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) remained pending at the time of filing; appellate authorities must keep matters pending where intention to opt in is expressed. The Scheme requires payment of disputed tax and interest and, in specified cases, a portion of minimum penalty, treats linked penalty appeals as deemed withdrawn and waived to the extent provided, fixes the total income for computation as per the last appellate order on or before filing, and prescribes timelines for payment intimation and issuance of certificates and orders.

Rules of Origin verification ensures Certificates of Origin authenticity and mandates procedural referral and documentation for checks.
Verification procedures under Rules of Origin permit checks where COO genuineness is doubted, origin accuracy is disputed, or on a random due diligence basis. Specimen seals/signatures circulated by partner countries are to be held locally with a designated JC/ADC custodian for comparison; absent specimens are referred to Director (ICD), CBEC. Other verification requests require Principal Commissioner/Commissioner approval and submission of the COO, invoice, Bill of Lading/Airway Bill and Annexed information. Provisional release of goods pending verification must follow the prescribed security procedure.

Inspection without Delivery Order allowed to expedite cargo clearance; release conditioned on subsequent production of Delivery Order.
Customs officers may inspect imported goods without insisting on a Delivery Order to reduce dwell time; importers and port authorities must present goods when registered for examination, and cargo will be released only after production of the Delivery Order.

Special Advance Authorization combined with All Industry Rates enables streamlined duty drawback procedures for exporters.
Special Advance Authorization under para 4.04A of FTP 2015-20 may be issued in combination with All Industry Rates (AIRs) of Duty Drawback; CBEC circular and Customs and DGFT Notifications provide the detailed guidance and are available on the respective websites, and exporters should raise any operational difficulties with the Customs office.

Customs litigation reduction: Department withdrew 165 pending appeals and published the case list for trade information.
The Department filed applications to withdraw pending customs appeals and has obtained orders withdrawing 162 appeals and three higher-court applications; a consolidated list of the withdrawn cases has been published and stakeholders are instructed to refer to that list and report any difficulties to the concerned departmental groups or sections.

Due date for income-tax returns extended to facilitate compliance under Section 119 authority following declaration scheme timing.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes, exercising powers under Section 119, extends the due-date for furnishing income-tax returns by taxpayers whose accounts are audited, to a later date in October 2016, so as to remove inconvenience and facilitate compliance where the last date for declarations under the Income Declaration Scheme 2016 coincided with the original filing due date for Assessment Year 2016-17.

Pre-shipment inspection agency recognition: Melt Enterprises Ltd added to authorised PSIA list; instrument approvals and scope adjusted.
Pre-shipment inspection agency recognition is conferred on Melt Enterprises Ltd., UK by inclusion in Appendix 2G, authorising it to issue Pre-Shipment Inspection Certificates for a three-year period and listing approved spectrometers and survey meters for PSIC issuance. The notice also re-notifies and limits the instrument authorisation for M/s. Asia Inspection Agency Co. Ltd., Thailand to two specified Radcomm instruments, thereby restricting that agency's authorised inspection equipment.

Extension of filing deadline for VAT quarterly returns; tax payments remain payable as required and digital filers exempted from hard copy.
Extension of the filing deadline for first quarter VAT returns in Forms DVAT-16, DVAT-17 and DVAT-48 is granted, with submission of required annexures and enclosures to the later prescribed date. The extension is limited to filing time; tax payment obligations remain governed by existing VAT provisions and must be paid in the usual manner. Dealers using digital signatures are exempted from submitting a hard copy of the return/Form DVAT-56, while other filing requirements continue to apply.

Registration category for jewellery manufacturers must be amended to enable ER-8 return filing under ACES.
Jewellery manufacturers must amend their business registration category to Jewellery-7113 in the ACES portal to enable filing of the modified ER-8 return; a ticker on ACES notifies assessees to submit the amendment.

Acceptance of cash over the counter: banks must accept declarants' tax deposits under the scheme while following KYC.
Banks must accept cash over the counter from any customer, irrespective of amount, for payment of tax dues under the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016, including deposits via challan ITNS-286, and must apply Know Your Customer procedures in accordance with the Master Direction on Know Your Customer, 2016; banks should issue immediate branch-level instructions to implement this requirement.

Handling of Cargo regulations require prompt evacuation of import containers and transparent service charges to cut dwell time.
Port Terminals, CFSs, Shipping Lines and Transporters are identified as Customs Cargo Service Providers required to comply with the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009, providing adequate infrastructure, equipment and manpower for all container and cargo handling activities and to abide by the Act. Operational directives require early evacuation of import containers from port premises, advance vessel/cargo intimation, reporting of non-compliance for regulatory action, publication of schedules of charges, GPS tracking of trailers, provision of transport capacity, and implementation of ICES terminal gating for efficient gate operations.

Simultaneous benefit choice: exporters may surrender either SHIS or zero duty EPCG, subject to refund, interest and conditions.
Notification allows exporters who were incorrectly granted simultaneous Status Holder Incentive Scheme (SHIS) and zero duty EPCG benefits to choose one scheme and surrender the other, prescribing that unutilized scrips may be surrendered, utilized or transferred amounts are treated as utilized for refund and interest purposes, refund of utilized amounts is to be paid in cash with interest under the Customs Act, EPCG may be converted to concessional-duty authorizations by payment of differential duties plus interest in lieu of surrender in certain cases, payment may be made by cash or debiting valid duty credit or original SHIS scrips for the refundable amount (interest to be paid in cash), and erroneous issuance will not attract penal action.

Replenishment of Gold granted as one time relief for exporters of gold jewellery to claim from nominated agencies, subject to conditions.
A one time exemption permits exporters of gems and jewellery manufactured from gold during the specified period to claim replenishment of gold from Nominated Agencies within 120 days of the Public Notice, despite earlier RBI circular omissions; eligibility covers exporters who exported via overseas exhibitions under paragraph 4A.18(a)(i) and those who booked gold with Nominated Agencies by depositing the prescribed earnest money, subject to realisation of export proceeds and compliance with all Foreign Trade Policy and Handbook of Procedures conditions.

Cargo handling compliance mandates prompt removal of import containers and transparent charges to reduce clearance dwell time.
Port Terminals, CFSs, Shipping Lines and Transporters, as Customs Cargo Service Providers, must comply with the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009 by providing adequate infrastructure, manpower and facilities for container and cargo handling, removing imported containers from port premises within the prescribed timeframe, issuing advance intimation of vessel and cargo arrival, publishing schedules of charges, installing GPS on trailers, implementing ICES gate terminals and reporting deviations or Customs delays to designated officers for remedial action.

Restrictions on promoters' share transfers and directorships after compulsory delisting until exit offers are provided to public shareholders.
Where the fair value is positive, promoters' equity shares and corporate benefits shall be frozen and transfers (sale, pledge, etc.) blocked until promoters provide the exit option to public shareholders as certified by the recognised stock exchange; promoters and whole time directors are barred from serving as directors of any listed company until that exit option is effected, with exchanges and depositories coordinating compliance and SEBI empowered to take enforcement action for non compliance.