Round the clock customs clearance extended to all bills of entry and MOT waived for services at attached CFSs.
Extension of round the clock customs clearance to all bills of entry makes 24x7 operations universal at designated sea ports, assigning logistical responsibilities to custodians, brokers or importers. The customs fee regulations were amended to eliminate merchant overtime fee for services by customs officers at 24x7 ports and airports; this MOT exemption is clarified to cover attached Container Freight Stations, including factory stuffed containers and stuffing at CFSs for exports, treating CFS activity as an extension of port clearance.

Digital submission of supporting documents: e SANCHIT requires upload, IRN linking and online access for customs assessment.
Tuticorin Custom House adopts e SANCHIT for uploading digitally signed supporting documents on ICEGATE; authorized persons must upload necessary documents, obtain an Image Reference Number (IRN) for post filing uploads and link them to the Bill of Entry by amendment. Customs will access electronic documents on ICES for assessment, queries and Post Clearance Compliance Verification. Certain documents must still be presented in original at goods registration, all supporting documents must nevertheless be uploaded, manifest departments will not receive hardcopy dockets, and originals must be retained for five years per draft regulations.

PGA NOC procedure enables advance warehouse Bills of Entry with bonded release conditional on PGA NOC verification.
Importers must file an advance Warehouse Bill of Entry and register a one time bond; out of charge and bond release are performed by Appraising Group or Docks officers who will annotate that ex bonding requires PGA NOC. Upon receipt of PGA NOC the importer files an Ex Bond Bill of Entry for assessment or OOC, and the OOC officer must verify the PGA NOC before OOC. Bonded warehouses charge storage from the date of physical warehousing. Alternative clearance under the No Use Bond facility is permitted without awaiting PGA NOC; consignments needing only markings may be cleared in Home Consumption same day.

FPI investment in unlisted corporate debt and securitised instruments permitted subject to maturity, end use and compliance conditions.
Foreign Portfolio Investors are permitted to invest in unlisted non-convertible corporate debt and specified securitised debt instruments subject to Ministry of Corporate Affairs guidelines, a three-year minimum residual maturity for unlisted corporate debt, and end-use restrictions forbidding investment in real estate business, capital market activity and land purchase; custodians must ensure compliance per RBI directions. Securitised debt issued by SPVs or listed under SEBI securitised debt regulations is eligible without the three-year maturity requirement. Aggregate investments in these categories are capped within the extant corporate debt limit; all other existing FPI conditions remain applicable.

Investment restrictions on mutual funds require an exit option for unitholders before REIT/InvIT investments.
Amendments to mutual fund regulations impose investment restrictions on acquisitions of REIT and InvIT units, making the Seventh Schedule restrictions applicable to all fresh investments by schemes. Existing schemes proposing such investments must comply with the relevant mutual fund regulation and provide unitholders a minimum exit period before investing. The circular states immediate applicability and invokes the regulator's statutory authority for issuance.

Monitoring of ITSC tax demands required; quarterly reports are due to Member (Inv.) after each quarter.
A departmental instruction requires Principal Chief Commissioners, Director Generals (Inv.) and Chief Commissioners (Central) to submit a Quarterly report of demands pending for realization after issuance of Settlement Commission orders under 245D(4), in the prescribed Annexure A format capturing opening pending cases, demands arising during the quarter, collections, and closing pending cases, to be sent to Member (Inv.) by the 10th of the month following the quarter; first report for Jan-Mar 2017 due by 10.04.2017.

Acceptance of e-BRC as proof of realization for specified export LEOs, subject to exporter declaration and misuse safeguards.
Acceptance of DGFT electronic Bank Realisation Certificate (e-BRC) is permitted as proof of realization for drawback claims on Shipping Bills with LEO dates from 12.08.2012 to 31.03.2014, except where specific intelligence of misuse exists. Acceptance is conditional on an exporter declaration on the reverse of the e-BRC stating that the realized value represents sale proceeds within the allowed period and confirming whether the realized value meets drawback valuation or, if short, providing a breakup of freight, insurance and commission and returning any excess drawback with interest.

Exemption from drawal of samples: AEO tier ii and iii exporters relieved from sample requirement for drawback except on intelligence.
Exporters holding AEO certificates at Tier II and Tier III are exempt from drawal of samples for grant of drawback except where specific information or intelligence necessitates drawal; customs authorities must issue public notices and standing orders for guidance and report any difficulties to the Board.

Extension of filing deadline for quarterly VAT returns; tax remains payable and e-filed returns need no hard copy.
The department extended the last date for filing third quarter online or hard-copy VAT returns for 2016-17 for Forms DVAT-16, DVAT-17 and DVAT-48 with required annexures under its rule-making authority; tax payment obligations under the Delhi VAT framework remain unchanged, and dealers filing with a digital signature are not required to submit a hard copy of the return or Form DVAT-56.

Container scanning selection by IGM targeting mandates verification, scanning, and CSD NOC before seal cutting and clearance.
Containers are selected for scanning by an IGM based Targeting Module; registered stakeholders must provide authorized e mail IDs. Selected import containers must report to the Container Scanning Division for seal and container number verification against EIR or dock gate pass and be scanned on the Container Motion System. Post scan image analysis and instructions are issued to DC/Docks and DC/SIIB (Imp); scanned containers remain deemed suspicious until the Bill of Entry is filed and require DC/Docks written permission for seal cutting. No IGM amendments are permitted for selected/scanned containers without final CSD NOC.

Factory Stuffing Permission: exporters must approach the FSP cell to obtain the required Letter of ESP before stuffing.
The corrigendum deletes the second sentence of paragraph 5 and paragraph 7.2 of Public Notice No.21/2016. Paragraph 5 is revised to require that all exporters seeking Factory Stuffing Permission immediately approach the FSP Cell at ICD, Bangalore to obtain a Letter of ESP, thereby centralizing the procedural requirement for issuance of the Letter of ESP through the designated FSP Cell.

Factory stuffing permission: exporters must obtain Letter of ESP from the FSP Cell at ICD Bangalore.
The corrigendum deletes the second sentence of paragraph 5 and restates paragraph 5 to require that all exporters seeking Factory Stuffing Permission shall immediately approach the FSP Cell at the ICD, Bangalore to obtain a Letter of ESP; paragraph 7.2 of the Public Notice is deleted in full.

Single-sample testing by NABL accredited labs: comprehensive reports obviate CRCL referral and provisional assessment.
Customs procedure is amended to require only one sample set for imported food, to be submitted to a NABL accredited laboratory chosen by the importer; if the NABL report covers all FSSAI, Customs Act and Notification 12/2012-Cus. parameters and meets prescribed limits, onward submission to CRCL and provisional assessment are not required.

Place of provision rule: sea transport to customs for transhipment is not taxable as destination lies outside the domestic territory.
Under Section 66B and Section 66C and rule 10 of the Place of Provision of Services Rules, the place of provision for sea transportation is the destination of the goods; where import documentation and customs transhipment procedures identify the ultimate destination as a country outside the domestic territory and goods are transhipped accordingly, the transportation service to the customs station is not within the taxable territory and is not subject to service tax.

Provisional Id noncompliance: failure to activate and submit signed GST enrolment leads to deletion and loss of transitional benefits.
Active Phase 1 and Phase 2 dealers must collect Provisional Ids and Access Tokens, activate and complete GST enrolment including signed submission via DSC or e-Sign, by the stated deadline; failure to do so will result in permanent disabling/deletion of provisional credentials and loss of eligibility for transitional provisions, though post-GST registration remains available without transitional benefits.

24x7 customs clearance expanded to all bills of entry; MOT charges exempted for customs services in attached CFSs.
The Board extended 24x7 customs clearance to all bills of entry at designated ports and air cargo complexes and clarified that, under amended regulations, no merchant overtime fee shall be collected for services rendered by customs officers at 24x7 ports. This MOT exemption is confirmed to apply to services performed within Container Freight Stations attached exclusively to designated 24x7 sea ports, treating CFS activity as an extension of port clearance; factory stuffed containers and exports under free shipping bills are therefore not leviable for MOT in such CFSs.

Periodic issuance of CAS-4 certificates within the prescribed deadline ensures timely provisional assessment finalization thereafter.
Requirement that a CAS-4 certificate for a financial year ending 31 March must be issued by 31 December of the subsequent financial year; cost of production of captively consumed goods must follow CAS, and assessing officers shall finalize provisional assessments expeditiously after receipt of the CAS-4 certificate.

Investor grievance redressal mechanism reformed to strengthen arbitration, empanelment, fund governance and interim relief procedures.
Exchanges and depositories must revamp investor grievance redressal by publicising arbitrator profiles, enabling electronic document submissions, conducting annual arbitrator reviews and training, segregating arbitration and appellate panels with prior SEBI empanelment approval, revising arbitration and filing fees to accelerate resolution, and creating shared defaulter databases. IPF and ISF governance, permissible utilisations and interest treatment are redefined with IPF Trust oversight, interim relief release rules and committee compositions specified. Exchanges must amend bye laws, notify stakeholders and implement the measures immediately.

Public grievance officer designation for Sevottam implementation at air cargo complex; stakeholders urged to lodge and escalate service grievances.
SEVOTTAM implementation at the General Commissionerate of Air Cargo Complex, Mumbai designates Ms. Varsha Kolhatkar as Public Grievance Officer, operating under the supervision of the Commissioner of Customs (General), with provided contact details for receipt and management of grievances; trade associations and stakeholders are requested to disseminate and use this grievance facility.

Place of Effective Management exempted for lower turnover foreign companies, restricting residential status test applicability.
The provision in clause (ii) of sub section (3) of section 6 of the Income tax Act, operative from assessment year 2017 18, shall not apply to a company (other than an Indian company) that has turnover or gross receipts of fifty crores or less in a financial year, thereby exempting lower turnover foreign companies from the POEM based residential status test.