Paperless Customs Clearance: routine printing of GAR-7, exchange control and export promotion copies discontinued pending electronic confirmations.
The Board directs routine discontinuation of printing GAR-7/TR-6 challans, Exchange Control and Export Promotion copies of Shipping Bills, and Exchange Control copies of Bills of Entry where electronic payment confirmation and system integration (ICEGATE, ICES, IDPMS, EDPMS) securely transmit required data; printouts remain available on demand or where manual processes necessitate them.

Source verification for beach sand minerals: exporters must produce legal mining certificates and transport permits before export.
Export consignments of beach sand minerals must be accompanied by a Certificate of legally mined minerals from the concerned District Collector together with transport permits and bulk permits certifying legal source; these documents are required to be produced at the Customs area as an interim verification measure under the Customs Act before allowing export.

Signature requirement for customs printouts removed; EDI-generated out-of-charge bills of entry will not bear officials' signatures.
EDI-generated duplicate and triplicate bills of entry are produced after out-of-charge is recorded and are not required to bear customs officials' signatures. Consequently, signatures will not be appended to out-of-charge bills of entry, and stakeholders must rely on the computer-generated print-outs as the official post-OOC record.

Temporary cheque payment for EDI documentation and DMS charges permitted for trade to address cash shortage.
Interim authorization permits trade and customs brokers, until 31.12.2016, to pay both EDI documentation/printing charges and DMS charges by cheque: cheques for EDI documentation and printing to be drawn in favour of M/S XEAM Ventures Private Limited and cheques for DMS charges to be drawn in favour of M/S Newgen Software Technologies Limited.

All Industry Rates updated for duty drawback; exporters must apply revised tariff lines and procedural suffixes for claims.
All Industry Rates (AIR) for duty drawback and Drawback Rules amendments took effect on 15.11.2016; stakeholders must apply the revised Drawback Schedule and procedures when filing claims. The changes include new and composite AIRs, revised tariff descriptions, separate tariff lines for product differentiation, reduced residuary customs rates, and alignment of Drawback Schedule classification with the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act. Alternative AIR suffixes C/D for Special Advance Authorization garment exports, provisional drawback payment under Rule 7, and deletion of the previous minimum-threshold restriction in Rule 8 are prescribed, with procedures governed by specified circulars.

Mate receipt requirement removed where Export General Manifest serves as primary proof of export, with limited exceptions.
Dispensation of the Mate Receipt requirement recognizes the Export General Manifest (EGM) as primary proof of export for containerized EDI shipments since the EGM database generates Mate Receipts; Mate Receipt production is no longer required except for Manual Shipping Bills and bulk cargo. Withdrawn procedural requirements include endorsement of Shipping Bills in the port area, submission of Mate Receipt to the Boarding Officer, and production of Mate Receipt for issuance of EP copies of EDI Shipping Bills.

Self attested duty document procedure revised: self endorsement and accountant certification permit dispensing of originals, with limited random cross verification.
The revised simplified brand rate scheme permits submission of a working sheet bearing an applicant declaration and an independent Cost Accountant/Chartered Accountant certificate, together with self-attested copies of duty paid documents carrying the applicant's self-endorsement/defacement; originals will not be required routinely and may be called only for limited random cross-verification based on risk parameters determined by the Commissioner, and pending applications may opt into this procedure by resubmitting the working sheet with the prescribed declaration and certificate.

Keyman insurance admissibility: premiums for partners qualify as business expenditure under Section 37; appeals to be withdrawn.
Premiums paid by a firm on a Keyman Insurance Policy for a partner, obtained to safeguard the partnership against business disruption from a partner's premature death, are allowable as business expenditure; CBDT accepts High Court decisions extending keyman coverage to persons connected with the business and directs that departmental appeals on this issue should not be filed or should be withdrawn, treating such premiums as admissible under Section 37.

Dispensing Mate Receipt requirement - EGM recognised as sufficient proof of export for containerized cargo; limited exceptions apply.
For containerized cargo the EGM database will serve as the primary export record and separate physical production of Mate Receipt is no longer required for Customs purposes; Mate Receipt remains necessary for Manual Shipping Bills and Bulk Cargo. Endorsement of Shipping Bills in the port area, submission of Mate Receipt to the Boarding Officer, and production of Mate Receipt for issuance of EP copies of EDI Shipping Bills are dispensed with, with implementation difficulties to be reported to the Additional Commissioner (PG).

Import controls on metal scrap: shredded allowed without pre-shipment certificate; unshredded subject to risk-based scanning requirements.
Import of metal scrap is governed by a revised clearance procedure: shredded scrap may be imported without pre-shipment certificate through all ports, while un-shredded, compressed or loose scrap must follow DGFT Public Notice requirements and be cleared only through EDI-enabled ports where Risk Management System selection governs documentary or physical checks; designated ports must operationalize Radiation Portal Monitors and Container Scanners and re-warehousing of sealed containers to importer premises may be permitted subject to risk-based conditions.

Deferred payment of customs duty for AEO Tier-Two and Tier-Three requires ICEGATE authentication and nodal person authorization.
Deferred payment of customs duty is permitted for AEO Tier-Two and Tier-Three importers who obtain ICEGATE login, nominate a nodal person to authenticate transactions, indicate intent by flagging "D" in the Bill of Entry, and secure OTP-based authentication by the nominated nodal person before customs clearance; intimation to the Commissioner or AEO Programme Manager and observance of prescribed due dates for payment apply, with port-level reporting available in ICES.

Import clearance of metal scrap: shredded allowed without pre shipment certificate; un shredded subject to DGFT guidelines and risk checks.
Import of metal scrap distinguishes shredded and un shredded consignments: shredded scrap is permitted entry at all ports without pre shipment certificate; un shredded, compressed or loose scrap is admissible only under DGFT guidelines and must be cleared through EDI enabled ports with selection by the Risk Management System for documentary or physical checks, with scanning based on risk assessment where facilities exist, and possible removal of sealed containers to the importer's factory under re warehousing at the importer's risk and cost.

Automated permission for IGM approval: boarding section authorised to approve IGM numbers when SMTP errors cause transmission failure.
Automated permission is authorised so that when SMTPs fail to generate through ICEGATE, the approval of the IGM Number in the system will be done by the Boarding Section as well as the Import Noting section, enabling SMTPs to be automated and transmitted to shipping lines, terminals and ICD customs to avoid hold-up of imported cargo.

Extension of filing deadline for VAT returns; returns filing extended while tax payment obligations remain unchanged.
The due date for filing second quarter online or hard copy VAT returns for 2016 17 in Forms DVAT 16, DVAT 17 and DVAT 48, with annexures, is extended to 28/11/2016 under Rule 49A, while tax payment obligations remain unchanged and dealers filing with digital signature are exempted from submitting a hard copy of Form DVAT 56.

Un-cleared cargo clearance software enables stakeholders to track disposal-pending containers and requires regular pendency updates.
UCC (Un-cleared Cargo Clearance) software operates as a shared electronic platform for tracking containers pending disposal and monitoring disposal-related pendency. Deputy and Assistant Commissioners assigned to Docks and Groups function as superusers, while Superintendents and Appraisers function as sub-users. Trained personnel must regularly update pendency positions through the UCC website, and operational difficulties may be escalated to the designated disposal-section office.

Pre-shipment inspection certificate requirement restored for shredded metallic scrap imports, and trade to be notified for compliance.
The Circular reiterates that imports of shredded metallic scrap (ferrous and non ferrous) must be cleared only upon furnishing a pre-shipment inspection certificate from designated inspection and certification agencies; it modifies the earlier circular's paragraph to restore this documentary requirement and directs customs formations to notify trade accordingly.

Authorised officers for imported food clearance; accredited laboratories to be used for statutory food sample analysis.
Customs personnel at designated houses are authorised officers under the food safety statute for purposes of imported food clearance. Trade and officers must use laboratories listed in the accreditation notification for analysis of food samples, tying authorised officer designations to accredited laboratory use and notifying trade associations, customs brokers and the public of the procedural direction.

Insider trading safeguards require pre-clearance, trading-plan exemptions, and strict compliance officer monitoring of employee dealings.
SEBI consolidates and updates guidelines requiring pre-clearance by the Compliance Officer for covered secondary market transactions by access persons, seven-trading-day validity for approvals, and a cooling-off mechanism where the Mutual Fund has transacted in the same security, with an exemption for publicly disclosed trading plans compliant with SEBI (PIT) Regulations, 2015. The Compliance Officer must monitor scheme and employee trades, and employees are prohibited from carry-forward purchases, short sales, front running and self-dealing; periodic transaction disclosures and annual holdings statements to the Compliance Officer are mandated.

PAN verification online permitted for FPIs; physical PAN copy required within sixty days or before outward remittance.
Intermediaries may verify an FPI's PAN online from an Income Tax authorised website at account opening; however, FPIs must provide a copy of the PAN card to their intermediaries within sixty days of account opening or before remitting funds out of India, whichever is earlier. The circular directs DDPs, custodians, depositories, exchanges and KRAs to implement and notify their FPI clients.

FPI corporate debt investment expanded to include unlisted bonds and securitised instruments subject to maturity and end use limits.
FPIs may invest in unlisted non convertible corporate debentures/bonds subject to a minimum three year residual maturity and end use restrictions prohibiting real estate business, capital market activities and land purchase, with custodians ensuring compliance. FPIs may also invest in securitised debt instruments issued by SPVs (originated by banks, FIs or NBFCs) or listed under securitised debt listing regulations; securitised instruments are not subject to the three year maturity requirement. These investments are subject to an aggregate cap within existing corporate bond limits and existing FPI debt market conditions remain applicable.