Customs Single Window expansion enables electronic NOC and lab referrals, streamlining agency clearances and document upload.
The Single Window expansion implements an ICES-based No Objection Certificate module to identify Bills of Entry requiring agency clearance and redirect them to agency officers who will record online determinations (Release, Out of Scope, Reject, Withhold NOC, or Provisional NOC). Customs will rely on agencies' online entries and will grant Out of Charge only after agencies enter Scope or Provisional NOC for all items. A Lab Module will permit online Test Memo generation, sample tracking, and laboratory reporting to support agency testing and recommendations; directories mapping tariff heads and locations to agencies will be managed by Local Systems Managers.

Duplicate PAN identification: update requests undergo RCC duplicity checks and are marked for surrender or forced update.
Core field PAN update requests from service providers are subject to mandatory RCC review, during which RCC may seek reconfirmation or documentation; upon RCC approval the request is queued for an automated duplicity check. If identified duplicates are found to belong to the same person, RCC marks the request duplicate and service providers must re-verify-confirmed duplicates prompt direction to approach the assessing officer for surrender, whereas non-duplicates may be resent with a force-flag for automatic update.

EDD Challan generation role expanded to SVB and EDI appraisers to centralize processing and reduce delays.
EDD payment challan generation is authorized for Special Valuation Branch (SVB) and EDI appraisers in addition to Group Appraisers. This centralized arrangement allows SVB and EDI to generate EDD challans irrespective of the assessing Group to address delays caused by Group Appraisers exiting the Appraising Menu during B/E assessment, thereby streamlining processing and reducing dwell time.

SEZ approvals and co-developer conditions: extensions granted, co-developer limits affirmed, and duty-free benefits restricted for nonessential infrastructure.
The Board extended multiple formal approvals and LoPs subject to implementation timelines and standard SEZ Act and Rules. Co-developer approvals require standard conditions, generally limited to 30-year renewable leases, and tax treatment of lease-related receipts is subject to Assessing Officer scrutiny. Several co-developer proposals were approved with defined scopes; others were rejected where applicants acted as contractors or proposed infrastructure not necessary for SEZs. Duty-free CAPEX and O&M benefits were disallowed for additional facilities serving the Domestic Tariff Area. Rule 74A does not apply where units remain going concerns after restructuring; ownership transfers assessed case by case.

Standard Input Output Norms update: new norms for malted milk food exports set input composition and packaging rules.
SION E-133 establishes input output norms for "Malted Milk Food," specifying allowed input items and their quantities per 1.00 kg of export product, including malted barley/wheat flour, relevant milk products, optional cocoa components for chocolate flavour, cane sugar, permitted food additives approved for the export product, and packaging materials governed by the applicable packing material policy.

Custody of cargo: KSIE appointed custodian at air cargo complex, subject to handling regulations and operational obligations.
M/S Kerala State Industrial Enterprises Ltd. is appointed Customs Cargo Service Provider at the Air Cargo Complex, Karipur, Calicut as custodian of import and export cargo under the Customs Act and Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009. KSIE must provide specified infrastructure, security, storage segregation, electronic connectivity and furnished office accommodation; maintain records; restrict removal of goods except on written permission; obtain insurance; execute required bonds for transit; publish charge schedules; indemnify Customs for loss or damage; and comply with Commissioner directions and regulatory amendments.

Payment of refund/rebate through e-payment: sanctioned amounts credited via NEFT/RTGS to beneficiary bank accounts after bank-certified authorization.
Sanctioned refund/rebate payments will be made by electronic transfer (NEFT/RTGS) after claimants submit a bank certified one time authorization (Annexure A). The refund authority forwards a signed consolidated statement (Annexure B), a consolidated cheque and an electronic copy to the authorized bank, which credits beneficiary accounts after deducting RBI prescribed charges. Banks must generate UTRs and periodic scrolls; the sanctioning authority forwards UTR reports monthly to the PAO for reconciliation and discrepancy reporting.

PAN jurisdiction correction: trusts' PANs to be migrated to Exemption Charges after RCC review and data retrieval from central records.
RCC-wise extracts of trust ITR-7 filings have been compiled to identify PANs outside their proper Exemption Charges jurisdiction; PCITs/CIT(Exemption) must obtain the encrypted spreadsheet and password from the designated Administrative Director to effect PAN migration and jurisdictional realignment before time-bar constraints.

Transshipment of courier shipments: updated procedure requires bonds, guarantees, secured transfer and destination landing acknowledgements.
Authorised Couriers may transship imported consignments from Bangalore Airport to specified domestic customs stations, subject to Sections 54-55 of the Customs Act, the Transshipment Regulations and Courier Regulations. Permissions are granted by the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner (Courier) where procedures are followed; air is preferred, road allowed only when air carriage is unavailable. Security and procedural safeguards include segregation, X ray, secured TP godown with double locks, Cargo Transfer Manifests and destination landing acknowledgements. Couriers must execute a bond with a bank guarantee of 15% (self renewing), may use a mother bond, insure goods, and face forfeiture or penal action for failures.

All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback revised to add and reclassify tariff entries and adjust drawback caps.
Changes to the All Industry Rates (AIR) of Duty Drawback effective 23.11.2015 extend AIR to rice in PP/HDPF bags, create separate tariff entries with AIRs and caps for specified varieties and blends, restructure sub headings to distinguish drawback caps, expand descriptions of tariff items to include additional products, provide composite AIRs for footwear under specified headings, and increase or adjust drawback rates and caps for a range of identified tariff lines.

Electronic refund payment to bank accounts introduced; requires one time bank certified authorization, cancelled cheque, and self attested copy for later claims.
Electronic payment of sanctioned rebate/refund amounts will be made directly to assessees'/exporters' bank accounts via RTGS/NEFT. For fresh claims filed on or after 10.02.2016 claimants must provide a one time, bank certified authorization in duplicate in the prescribed format (Annexure A) with a cancelled cheque containing the IFSC code; for subsequent claims a self attested copy of the authorization must be produced. Queries may be addressed to the jurisdictional Commissioner.

Customs Single Window expands online NOC and lab integrations to streamline regulatory clearances across multiple agencies and locations.
Implementation of an integrated Customs Single Window within ICES to enable electronic lodging of Customs clearance documents, message exchange with regulatory agencies, an online No Objection Certificate (NOC) module for referral of Bills of Entry to specified agencies with defined online decision categories, and a Lab Module to automate sample referral and online test reporting; Out of Charge depends on agency entries and initial item referral will use Customs Tariff Head while directories and role mappings are managed by Local Systems Managers.

FATCA and CRS compliance: reporting in local currency and due diligence rules for fixed deposits, custodians, HUFs and NBFCs.
Operational guidance for FATCA and CRS requires reporting in local currency for specified cycles and permits financial institutions to treat certain fixed deposits opened without new documentation as pre-existing accounts where the linked savings account predates the relevant cut-off, due diligence has been or is being completed, and accounts are treated as linked. Local sub-custodians must conduct due diligence on global custodian end-clients but may rely on global custodian KYC/FATCA/CRS documentation while retaining reporting obligations and access to documents. HUF accounts are treated as entity accounts with PMLA/KYC due diligence, and NBFCs report based on whether they operate as depository institutions or investment entities.

Electronic refund reconciliation: UTR collection and periodic scrolls ensure PAO-led matching and discrepancy reporting.
A monthly reconciliation regime requires collection of the bank-generated Unique Transaction Reference (UTR), consolidation of UTRs and cheque details by the refund sanctioning authority for transmission to the Pay and Accounts Officer (PAO), and submission by the bank of a periodic scroll showing transfers; the PAO shall reconcile field cheques with the periodic scroll and report discrepancies to field formations for verification and compliance reporting.

VAT central assessments will use Form 9 data to levy tax for statutory form deficiencies; hard copies not accepted.
Assessments for tax due to deficiencies of central statutory forms will be based on information filed in Form 9 and departmental electronic records; the system branch will compute tax by reconciling Form 9 with Form 1 and supply an editable assessment order. Hard copies of statutory forms shall not be accepted; authenticity can be verified via TINXSYS. Existing assessments need not be re issued unless reassessment is required and no objection or appeal is pending. Objections/appeals for deficiency based assessments are allowed only after ensuring the relevant forms have been filed online. Form DVAT 09 governs cancellation of registration and stock valuation at cancellation.

Re-export under Section 69: shipping bills must be processed via EDI 1.5; manual filing requires prior commissioner approval.
All shipping bills for re-export under Section 69 of the Customs Act, 1962 must be filed and processed under the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) 1.5 system; manual noting is permitted only in genuine technical-failure cases with prior approval of the Additional/Joint Commissioner in charge of docks, and implementation difficulties must be reported to the issuing office.

Online processing of SCOMET export applications requires prescribed document uploads; originals of end use certificates and entry bills still required.
Online processing of SCOMET export applications requires mandatory electronic filing with digital signature and uploading of prescribed documents-End Use cum End User Certificates from all supply chain entities, purchase orders, ANF 1 exporter profile, technical specifications, relevant contract excerpts, and prior authorization copies-so applications can be forwarded electronically to the inter ministerial working group. Only original End Use cum End User Certificates and copies of Bills of Entry for exports in the preceding year must still be submitted in hard copy.

Port clearance: Steamer agents may use a one year continuity bond to streamline vessel entry, with documents due within seven days.
Steamer agents may furnish a one year continuity bond/guarantee, in prescribed format, to obtain Advance/EDI Port Clearance and avoid repeated bonds; required certificates must be submitted within seven days of sailing or customs action under the Customs Act, 1962 may follow. The bond must be on Rs. 500 stamp paper as revised, renewals must be sought before expiry, and other public notice provisions remain unchanged.

Continuity bond option for steamer agents simplifies port clearance, replacing repeated bonds while preserving document submission rules.
Steamer agents may furnish a one year continuity bond/guarantee in the prescribed format to obtain Advance/EDI Port Clearance for vessels, reducing repeated bond execution; the bond must be on revised stamp paper and requires submission of specified certificates (inward/outward clearance, immigration NOC, port health, ship registry) within seven days of sailing, with noncompliance subject to action under the Customs Act, 1962, and agents must apply for renewal prior to expiry.

Minimum Import Price obligations strengthened; importers must comply or face customs enforcement and penalties for iron and steel imports.
Amendment to import policy conditions imposes Minimum Import Price requirements on specified iron and steel HS codes under Chapter 72; customs formations are directed to implement the amended conditions and initiate action under the Customs Act, 1962 against importers violating those conditions, and to report any enforcement difficulties to the Board.