Sea cargo manifest rules require carriers to register and file electronic arrival/departure manifests and furnish bonds for transshipment.
The Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment Regulations, 2018 require authorised carriers to register (Form I) and electronically file standardized arrival and departure manifests (Forms II-V, VIA/VIB, VIIA/VIIB, VIII), mandate bonds or sureties for transshipment and transit through designated foreign routes (Forms IX-X), impose carrier responsibilities including recordkeeping, track-and-trace and electronic delivery orders, and provide procedures for amendment, suspension, revocation, penalties (up to Rs.50,000) and appeals under section 129A.

Paperless processing via e-SANCHIT replaces originals for most import documents while preserving limited verification and retention obligations.
Paperless processing mandates digitally signed supporting documents be uploaded via e-SANCHIT under the Bill of Entry (Electronic Integrated Declaration and Paperless Processing) Regulations, 2018; originals are not required except where specified for verification, defacement, or debit of quantity/value, and all supporting documents-including those to be presented in hard copy-must still be uploaded. Where debits are made on hardcopy, the latest debit sheet must be uploaded for subsequent entries. The authorised person must retain the assessed bill of entry and original supporting documents for five years and produce them to Customs on demand.

Customs brokers licensing regulations require exams, bond and security, obligations, identity cards, penalties, and renewal procedures.
The Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018 require licensing for persons acting as Customs Brokers, set eligibility (citizenship, Aadhaar, PAN, qualifications/experience, financial viability), mandate written and oral examinations, prescribe grant procedures including payment of fee, execution of bond and furnishing of Rs. 5,00,000 security, define license forms and inter-station intimation, set ten-year validity with renewal rules, enumerate broker obligations and staff identity-card regimes (F/G/H), and provide for suspension, revocation, penalties and appeals with specified procedures.

Assessment reallocation for export benefit entries: centralised license and bond monitoring instituted to manage export obligation compliance.
Assessment of Bills of Entry under export-promotion schemes has been reallocated from the discontinued Group-VII to Assessing Groups I-VI based on classification of the highest assessable item. A centralized Export Promotion Monitoring Cell (EPMC) and License Monitoring Cell will register licences and scrips, monitor Bonds and Bank Guarantees, and track fulfilment of export obligations. Assessing Group officers decide Bond/BG quantum; accepted Bonds/BGs are forwarded daily to the monitoring cells, which coordinate EODC processing. Duty Credit Scrip entries do not require Bonds/BGs, and legacy work will be handled by EPMC during transition.

Export proceeds monitoring: new RBI-BRC module mandated and manual BRC certificates no longer accepted for affected shipping bills.
The Commissionerate requires use of the RBI-BRC Module for monitoring realization of export proceeds for EDI shipping bills with LEO dates on or after the module's effective implementation; manual negative statements or certificates from authorized dealers/chartered accountants for such shipping bills will not be accepted. Exporters must verify BRC integration via ICEGATE or coordinate with their authorized dealer bank to transmit BRC data to the RBI portal. Prior shipping bills remain subject to existing circulars and instructions, and implementation difficulties should be reported to the Assistant Commissioner in-charge of the BRC Drawback Section.

Assessment group discontinuation shifts export-scheme import assessments to standard groups; electronic payments and mandatory PFMS validation follow.
All Bills of Entry under export schemes and licences filed on or after 08.05.2018 will be allotted to Groups I-VI based on the item of highest assessable value and processed under the First-in-First-out rule; Bills filed on or before 07.05.2018 pending assessment remain in the erstwhile Group VII. Registration and monitoring of scrips/licences, Bonds/BGs and Export Obligation discharge will continue to be maintained at the erstwhile Group VII section. E-payment via ICEGATE is operational for export duty/cess and PFMS bank account validation is mandatory for Drawback processing.

Import policy change for peas: only shipments with irrevocable commercial letter of credit or full advance before cutoff qualify.
The import policy for peas was amended from Free to Restricted; transitional registration applies to shipments arriving within the pre cutoff window and to those backed by Irrevocable Commercial Letters of Credit or by 100% advance payment made through banking channels before the cutoff, and such shipments must be registered with the jurisdictional Regional Authority. Registrations based on part advance payments are to be treated as recalled or cancelled, with RAs and Customs directed to act accordingly.

Mandatory digital payment through e MPS deadline extended while DSC login requirement is being delinked for exporters.
Mandatory digital payments via the electronic Miscellaneous Payment System (e MPS) were to be compulsory following Trade Notice No. 25/2018, but some exporters could not pay because they lacked a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC). The e MPS will be changed to delink DSC from login to enable exporter access, and the deadline for mandatory digital payment has been extended pending these modifications.

E-Sanchit implementation requires digital upload of supporting import documents and dispenses manual officer signatures for out-of-charge.
Manual signature on out-of-charge documents is dispensed with where the officer's SSOID appears in the Bill of Entry and custodians rely on the EDI Out-of-Charge message to issue gate passes. E-Sanchit is mandatory for supporting import documents; all supporting documents must be uploaded digitally, latest debit sheets uploaded for subsequent Bills of Entry when hard-copy debits occur, and originals must be produced in the shed for debiting before out-of-charge.

e-Way Bill requirement: portal opened for trial use so stakeholders can practise generating bills before formal implementation.
E-Way Bill generation for intra-state movement of goods in Punjab is available on a trial basis from May 18, 2018 to allow stakeholders to generate e-Way Bills and familiarise themselves before formal intra-state implementation effective June 1, 2018, with helpline numbers and an email provided for queries.

Refund data reporting requires daily district consolidation by designated nodal officers and submission to state GST headquarters.
States must report date-wise GST refund claim and sanction data in three specified proformas into a GSTN web tool, with district figures consolidated daily at headquarters. A Nodal Officer will be posted at headquarters and in each district and their contact details must be sent to the Commissionerate e-mail. Amounts must be in whole rupees; missing proformas up to 17 May 2018 are treated as "Nil". Data must be furnished daily to the C Section e-mail and Deputy Commissioners must ensure accuracy and timeliness.

Officer authorization: Deputy Commissioners may approve or reject GST Practitioner enrolment under Haryana Goods and Services Tax Act.
Deputy Commissioners of State Tax having jurisdiction over the address declared in the enrolment application are empowered to approve or reject Goods and Services Tax Practitioner applications submitted in FORM GST PCT-01, under the Haryana Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, in accordance with the Act's definitions and the procedural provisions governing submission and scrutiny of enrolment applications.

Refund processing timelines mandated; accounts branch must examine and return proposals promptly with escalation for delays.
The Controller of Accounts must ensure examination and processing of VAT refund proposals by the Accounts Branch is completed and returned to the originating office within seven days; if not returned within six days the assessing authority must notify the Controller and on the seventh day escalate to the Zonal In-charge, and the Controller must review internal work distribution and Link Officer arrangements to meet the prescribed timeline.

Reasoned assessment and speaking orders required, with specified identification and statutory references in VAT notices and penalties.
All notices and consequential decisions must be speaking orders that recite relevant facts and provide clear reasoning. Officers framing default assessments and penalty orders must specify reasons for the assessment, state the basis for accepting or rejecting the dealer's version, explain any assumed turnover, and cite relevant provisions and sections of the DVAT Act where necessary.

Sanction of refund delegated to tiered state tax officers, with specified thresholds and certain schedule entries omitted.
Amendment substitutes S. No. 9 in the Schedule to delegate sanction of refund for total refund claims under all Acts to a tiered set of officers: State Tax Officer for the lowest threshold; Assistant Commissioner of State Tax for the next tier; Deputy Commissioner of State Tax for the middle tier; and Joint Commissioner of State Tax for higher amounts. The amendment also omits S. Nos. 10-13 and S. No. 46 and their entries. The order is effective from 21st May, 2018.

Monitoring of foreign investment limits - system operational from June 1; companies must submit required data by May 25.
SEBI extends the deadline for listed companies to provide required data to the depositories to May 25, 2018, and sets the new system for monitoring foreign investment limits to become operational on June 01, 2018; custodians must notify FPI clients and the circular is issued under Section 11(1).

Abolition of Appraising Group VII reallocates Bills of Entry to groups one to six by highest assessable value; FIFO applies.
Abolition of Appraising Group VII in the ICES system effective 08.05.2018 discontinues that group for new assessments; pending Bills of Entry filed before that date remain in the erstwhile group. New License/Scheme Bills of Entry will be allotted to Groups one to six based on the item with the highest assessable value and will follow the regular first-in, first-out processing rule. Stakeholders are to note changes in ICES 1.5 and report difficulties to the Additional Commissioner of Customs (EDI Systems Manager).

Direct Port Delivery expanded to specified importers with advance filing, duty prepayment, 48 hour evacuation and verification rules.
Extension of the Direct Port Delivery (DPD) facility to listed importers is authorised for FCL containers covered by RMS-facilitated Bills of Entry or where no examination is required, subject to advance filing of Bills of Entry, advance payment of customs duties and charges, advance electronic delivery orders, and verification of container and seal numbers by Port Terminal or Preventive Officers; DPD permission may be withdrawn for non-compliance, selected consignments remain subject to examination, importers must evacuate DPD containers within 48 hours or have them moved to CFS/APM Yard, and importers must submit monthly performance reports while RMS facilitation operates 24x7.

Reorganisation of SEZ entities requires prior approval and continuity as a going concern, with liabilities preserved and tax reporting.
Reorganisation of SEZ developers, co-developers and units-including name change, shareholding change, business transfers and court approved mergers/demergers-requires prior approval (Board of Approval for developers; Approval Committee for units), the entity must continue as a going concern and must not exit the SEZ, and all liabilities remain unchanged. Reorganisation is subject to safeguards: continuity of SEZ activities and obligations; fulfilment of eligibility criteria and security clearances; compliance with revenue, company and securities laws on taxability and transfers; prompt reporting of financial details to CBDT and jurisdictional authority; Assessing Officer's right to tax assessment; and compliance with State laws and PAN/reporting requirements.

Paperless customs processing: upload digitally signed supporting documents, verify originals at Central Original Document Verification Cell, obtain IRN.
Authorized persons must have originals of specified Certificates verified and debited/defaced at the Central Original Document Verification Cell; thereafter the verified/debited/defaced Certificates must be uploaded on ICEGATE e SANCHIT, an Image Reference Number (IRN) obtained, and that IRN linked to the corresponding Bill of Entry by submitting an amendment at the Service Center; once an IRN/DRN is generated the uploaded document cannot be removed.