Proper description of goods required in manifests and bills of lading, failure may trigger customs penalties and inspection delays.
Carriers and shipping lines must fully and accurately declare the description of goods in the Import General Manifest and Bills of Lading under Section 30 of the Customs Act; mis declaration attracts penal provisions under Section 111(f) and Section 112. IGM entries must correspond to Bills of Lading and include specific descriptions-size, brand and specifications where possible-so as to enable pre arrival processing and non intrusive inspection. Shipping lines must obtain importer details and impress upon exporters to provide complete cargo information to ensure correct filing.

Cyber Security Operation Center requirement mandates round the clock monitoring, incident sharing and governance for market infrastructure institutions.
MIIs must establish a Cyber Security Operation Center (C-SOC) providing 24x7 identification, monitoring, analysis, response, recovery and reporting of cyber incidents. The C-SOC shall perform continuous threat analysis, log and traffic monitoring, VAPT, forensic and root cause analysis, simulations, automation and DR parity; be headed by a CISO reporting to the MD & CEO; deploy designated security technologies; follow a board approved Cyber Crisis Management Plan; adopt one of the specified in house or shared staffing models while retaining ultimate responsibility; provide quarterly board reports; and include C SOC implementation in the annual systems audit.

AEO programme digitization enables online filing and processing of AEO-T1 applications while allowing transitional manual filing.
A newly launched web portal enables online filing and processing of AEO-T1 applications and issuance of digitized certificates, supported by a circulated Guidance Note. Manual filing will continue concurrently until the prescribed transition cutoff to avoid delays, but users are urged to adopt the online system. The periodic review and onsite PCA cycle for AEO-T1 and AEO-T2 is extended to three years, with the Directorate empowered to initiate reviews at any time if adherence to AEO conditions is in doubt. Trade publicity and a contact email are provided for implementation issues.

Disposal of unclaimed cargo: mandatory notices, NOC clearance and e auction procedures ensure expedited sale with Customs oversight.
Expedited disposal regime requires custodians to list cargo unclaimed beyond thirty days, notify importers to clear goods within ten days, and submit inventories to Customs; Customs will segregate consignments needing retention, grant NOCs for auctionable lots or identify external regulatory/testing requirements, and cooperate in sample checks. Custodians must obtain valuations from approved valuers to set reserve prices, conduct e auctions through an approved platform with Customs oversight, file consolidated buyer wise bills of entry post sale, and obtain duty assessment and out of charge orders before release, with sale proceeds disbursed under statutory provisions.

Drawback claims: pending shipping bills must be regularised or they will be processed as zero drawback after the deadline.
An alarmingly large number of shipping bills are unprocessable for duty drawback due to Airlines not filing EGMs and due to EGMs filed with errors. The Commissionerate has published lists of affected shipping bills and calls on Airlines, Exporters, Customs Brokers and trade bodies to identify and rectify the EGM/ECM defects. The notice serves as an intimation of deficiency under Clause 3(a) of Rule 13 of the Drawback Rules, 1995, and warns that unrectified claims will be rejected and processed as zero drawback without further notice; contact details for Drawback officers are provided.

Disposal of unclaimed cargo: e-auction process with custodian inventories, Customs NOC and regulatory clearance controls.
Procedure prescribes a staged mechanism under Section 48 for disposal of unclaimed/uncleared cargo: custodians must list cargo, update importer details, serve notices, prepare inventories and seek Customs NOC. Customs will segregate consignments requiring retention or regulatory clearance and identify those fit for e-auction; where testing or external NOCs are required, custodians arrange testing and obtain clearances before auction. Auctions use reserve prices fixed by approved valuers, sales are regularised through consolidated bills of entry, Customs assesses duty and sale proceeds are disbursed under the Customs Act.

TIR Carnet transit procedure: standardized Customs sealing, voucher checks and NGA guarantee mechanisms govern international road transit.
Prescribes operational framework for movement of goods under TIR Carnets in India: FICCI is the National Guaranteeing Association; carnets serve as Customs transit declarations and guarantees; Customs procedures at departure, transit and destination require inspection, sealing, voucher retention and exchange, comparative checks, and inquiries for irregularities; NGA liability is limited, excludes alcohol and tobacco, and Customs must first seek payment from liable persons before claiming from the NGA; AEO-LO holders may be authorized to use TIR subject to a written declaration and specified container and seal safeguards.

Paperless LPCO submission by government agencies enables digital linking of licences to customs entries for faster clearance.
PGAs must upload digitally signed Licenses/Permits/Certificates/Other Authorizations (LPCOs) onto e-SANCHIT; beneficiaries cannot upload LPCOs. Beneficiaries must register on ICEGATE to receive a Unique Image Reference Number (IRN) for each PGA-uploaded LPCO. The IRN must be tagged to the Bill of Entry or Shipping Bill to enable customs clearance; amended LPCOs require re-upload with a new IRN and corresponding amendment of the entry. If an IRN is not tagged at filing, the beneficiary may link it by amendment at the Service Centre.

Transhipment procedure for export cargo enables monitored transit via LCSs with ECTS sealing, bill of transshipment and bond safeguards.
The pilot permits transhipment of export cargo from Bangladesh through specified LCSs to Nhava Sheva port under Section 54 of the Customs Act. Shipping lines file a Bill of Transshipment in triplicate, procure and record an ECTS seal, and supply a bond equivalent to twice the goods' value. Customs officers verify sealing at LCS, supervise any transfer to Indian conveyances or approved rail operators, and at the port validate seal integrity via the ECTS web application before permitting loading and recording manifest details; trip reports enable crediting or cancellation of bonds and trigger action on unauthorized unsealing.

Import quota correction: errata revises pet coke import allocation and imposes environmental guideline compliance for imports.
Errata to Public Notice No.50/2015-2020 amends the subject to specify Raw Pet Coke allocation for CPC manufacturing, requires imports to comply with Ministry of Environment guidelines, corrects the CPC manufacturing industry allocation to 0.7 Million MT, and limits relevant import authorisations' validity to 31.3.2019.

EOU compliance amendments clarify customs and excise exemptions, GST interaction, updated notifications and revised B 17 bond procedural requirements.
Amendments align Customs and Central Excise notifications with FTP 2015-2020 and post GST law: imported goods may be temporarily cleared without payment of customs duties, IGST and compensation cess not paid at import while GST liability on supply is governed by GST law; duties on DTA clearance correspond to the exemption availed at import with depreciation allowed for capital goods and transaction value treatment for leftover textiles. The amendments update job worker GST registration rules, replace obsolete notification references, extend specified re import periods for certain electronics, and introduce a revised B 17 bond for new EOUs.

Discharge of bonds by nominated banks via electronic export proof submission ensures expedited customs confirmation and release.
An electronic procedure requires nominated agencies/banks to submit prescribed export proof-EP copy of Shipping Bill, Customs-attested invoice, and bank certificate of realization/eBRC-via a dedicated email. The Assistant/Deputy Commissioner must acknowledge within 24 hours, issue a deficiency memo for incomplete submissions (requiring missing documents within five days), and may requisition other documents only with Additional Commissioner approval. After receipt or verification of documents, the officer will confirm export within seven days and discharge the bond within seven days of confirmation.

Line of Credit support for export finance enabling water project procurement, subject to FEMA compliance and export eligibility.
Exim Bank extended a Government of India supported Line of Credit to Tanzania to finance water supply projects, permitting financing of eligible exports from India under the Foreign Trade Policy. At least seventy five percent of contract value must be supplied from India, with the remainder procurable from outside India. The LoC specifies a terminal utilization period after project completion; shipments must be declared in the Export Declaration Form. No agency commission is payable under the LoC, though exporters may use own resources or EEFC balances for commission subject to realization and AD Category I bank compliance. Directions issued under FEMA.

Visits to business premises ensure enforcement action against registered persons not filing GSTR-3B and not paying collected taxes.
Mandated enforcement visits target registered persons repeatedly failing to file FORM GSTR-3B or remit collected taxes; Assistant Commissioners, CTOs of LGSTOs/GSTSOs and DGSTOs hold jurisdiction under section 71 to assign and conduct visits. Assignments and approvals must follow FORMAT-1 and FORMAT-2 respectively; officers must report fortnightly in FORMAT-3, maintain FORMAT-5 visit registers, and DGSTOs must consolidate monthly in FORMAT-4 to send to Additional CCT (Audit). Data will be analysed for assessment under sections 62 and 64, and strict compliance with procedures is mandated.

GST migration special procedure: jurisdictional nodal officer nominated; contact details provided for taxpayer migration assistance.
The notification implementing the special procedure for taxpayers with provisional IDs nominates a jurisdictional nodal officer to assist completion of migration; Annexure A supplies the officer's designation, office address, telephone and email for IT grievance redressal, and the Trade Notice directs commissioners and trade associations to circulate these contact details to officers and assessees, superseding the earlier Trade Notice.

Extension of time authority: senior GST officers may grant extensions beyond three days under the specified GST circular.
Delegates authority under the Himachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 to officers of the rank of Joint Commissioner or above at Headquarter, Tax Audit and in zone jurisdictions to grant extensions of time beyond the three day period referenced in clause 2(e) of the GST circular dated 25 April 2018, by office order of the Commissioner dated 5 December 2018.

Territorial jurisdiction revised for DGFT Regional Authorities altering RA boundaries and specified district and UT inclusions.
Revision of territorial jurisdiction for DGFT Regional Authorities amending Appendix 1A: Ludhiana's jurisdiction covers Punjab with specified district exclusions; Mumbai's jurisdiction covers Maharashtra areas not allocated to Pune or Nagpur RAs and includes Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Goa; Chennai's jurisdiction covers Tamil Nadu excluding areas under Madurai and Coimbatore RAs and includes the Union Territory territories of Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam. The changes take immediate effect.

Discharge of export bonds: standardised electronic submission and strict timelines for nominated banks to secure bond release.
Nominated agencies/banks must electronically submit prescribed proof-of-export documents (EP copy of shipping bill, customs-attested invoice, bank certificate of realization/eBRC) within FTP timelines. The customs officer will acknowledge receipt within 24 hours; if incomplete, a deficiency memo will be issued within five days and additional documents must be provided within seven days. Requests for extra documents require Additional Commissioner approval. Export confirmation will be completed by document review or ICES within seven days of receipt, and the bond will be discharged within seven days of confirmation.

GST range relocation: Mettupalayam Range consolidated with Karamadai Range, changing administrative location and jurisdictional contact.
Notice that the CGST Mettupalayam Range (Location Code: XM0703), under Coonoor Division and formerly at No.69B, Karamadai Road, Mettupalayam, has been shifted to No.55, 57, Gandhi Maidhanam, Karamadai, Coimbatore, which also houses the CGST Karamadai Range, with effect from 01.12.2018; issued for information of trade and industry by the Principal Commissioner of GST & Central Excise, Coimbatore.

Paperless Processing under SIMFT: eSANCHIT enables exporters to upload supporting documents online, accessible to Customs during assessment.
Implementation of Paperless Processing under the Single Window Interface extends the eSANCHIT facility for upload of digitally signed supporting documents in exports to all ICES locations on a voluntary basis. Authorised persons must upload documents via ICEGATE, obtain an Image Reference Number (IRN) to link files to Shipping Bills, and may amend Shipping Bills at the Service Centre if documents are uploaded after Shipping Bill generation or in response to Customs queries. Customs will access uploaded documents during assessment; originals must be retained for five years and produced when required.