Fee adjustment for delayed furnishing of certified judgments reduces prosecutor payment when certified copy is supplied late.
Modification to CBDT Instruction No. 6/2016 updates Part B of Proforma 'P4' for Special Public Prosecutor billing by adding entries for Date of Judgment and Date of furnishing the certified copy, and prescribes a deduction from hearing fees where the certified copy is furnished to the Department more than ten days after the judgment (court time excluded). Existing billing heads such as substantial and non effective hearings, conference fees, clerkage, out of pocket expenses and duties outside headquarters remain.

Disposal of confiscated goods: cooperatives may buy eligible lots at a uniform rebate; higher value lots go to e auction without discounts.
Disposal of confiscated goods distinguishes between sale through Army Canteen/CSD, cooperative purchases at a uniform rebate subject to eligibility, verification, direct sale to bonafide consumers and first come first served allocation with departmental scrutiny, and sale of higher value or other goods exclusively by e auction/auction cum tender where no discount is allowed and centralized electronic auction platforms and prior procedural safeguards remain in force.

Single Window risk-based selectivity: PGA NOC waived for low-risk consignments, with procedural exception and reporting requirements.
Single Window integration places PGAs on EDI and applies risk based selectivity so low-risk consignments receive an automatic NOC waiver on the Bill of Entry and need no manual PGA reference; exceptions require Commissioner approval and weekly reporting of referred cases to the Commissioner (Single Window), while importers and brokers must accurately declare end-use and product details in the integrated declaration.

Bullion collateral limits updated: exchanges may accept increased commodities collateral with non-bullion sub-limits and liquidation safeguards.
Regulation permits a higher share of a clearing member's liquid assets to be accepted as commodities collateral while maintaining a distinct cap on non-bullion collateral; exchanges must ensure timely liquidation mechanisms, may set concentration limits based on risk perception and liquidation capability, and must notify members and publish the change.

EPCG export obligation verification streamlined: EODCs accepted generally, subject to limited random and intelligence-driven checks.
Verification under the EPCG Scheme is to be streamlined: Customs shall normally accept EODCs issued by Regional Authorities without further re-verification, while restricting its own detailed checks and installation-certificate verifications to a limited random proportion of cases. Detailed Customs verification is required when indicated by specific intelligence, upon Regional Authority endorsement, or where EODCs are based on non-EDI shipping bills; field formations must use transparent senior-level selection criteria and promptly notify exporters selected for checks.

TDS on lease premium: lump-sum non-adjustable upfront charges for long-term leases are not treated as rent for deduction.
Lump sum lease premiums or one-time upfront lease charges paid for acquisition of long-term leasehold rights, where not adjustable against periodic rent, are not payments in the nature of rent under section 194-I and therefore are not subject to TDS under that provision; the Department has accepted High Court rulings treating such payments as capital or akin to deemed sale and has not filed further appeals.

Adjudication jurisdiction clarified: allocation of import and export adjudication to specified sections and a Centralised Adjudication Cell.
A Centralised Adjudication Cell will handle adjudication of cases at Commissioner and Additional/Joint Commissioner competency levels, while Sections/Assessment Groups will issue Show Cause Notices, adjudicate matters within their assigned scope, and carry out recovery and enforcement; import cases follow document filing and classification/value rules for allocation, and export cases are allocated to specified sections by export scheme with the highest duty/incentive determining jurisdiction when multiple schemes are involved.

Electronic service of Form-2 permitted; search or seizure after June 1 bars eligibility to declare for affected assessment years.
Electronic communication of Form-2 by email to the address given in Form-1 is authorized as valid service for electronically filed declarations under the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016. An assessee is ineligible to file a declaration where a search and seizure operation has been conducted on or after 01.06.2016 but before the declaration, for assessment years for which notices enabling assessment can be issued; the year of search is already excluded as declarations are allowed only up to A.Y.2016-17.

Exit mechanism for exclusively listed companies requires promoter-funded buyback or preferential capital raise to secure investor exit.
ELCs on the Dissemination Board must either list on a nationwide exchange by raising capital through preferential allotment under ICDR-with designated exchanges granting in-principle approval and monitoring compliance and certain SAST thresholds exempted subject to promoter holding caps-or provide investor exit per Annexure-A, which mandates an independent valuer, valuer-determined acquisition at fair value, escrow-funded consideration, public announcement, specified offer and payment timelines, certification of compliance and removal from the DB upon satisfaction.

Duty-free import of containers: yearly continuity bonds may be kept alive by written request absent material changes, else fresh bond required.
Temporary duty-free importation of durable containers is permitted on execution of a Continuity Bond covering the duty element, valid for one year and extendable; container numbers must be debited on import and credited on re-export without exceeding the bond limit, with additional bonds required for excess imports. Yearly bonds may be kept alive on written request before expiry provided no material changes occurred during the bond currency; absence of such request requires filing a fresh bond, and the renewal facility is not retrospective.

Amount of insurance for CCSPs now based on ten day average storage under HCCAR, easing bond and compliance burdens.
The amount of insurance to be provided by CCSPs under HCCAR shall equal the average value of goods likely to be stored in the customs area for ten days based on projected capacity, with the Commissioner of Customs empowered to specify the amount having regard to goods already insured by importers or exporters; a notification has reduced the bond requirement commensurately from the prior thirty-day basis.

Preventive supervision of container stuffing required; verified container, seal and package details must be recorded before shipment.
Export container stuffing and loading must occur under Preventive Supervision; the exporter or agent will present the printed Exporter's copy of the Shipping Bill to the Superintendent (Docks). Preventive staff must supervise stuffing, record container and seal numbers and package counts, feed the stuffing report into the EDI system, and endorse particulars on the Exporter's copy. Discrepancies require amendment in the EDI and bar sanctioning of drawback or DEEC logging until corrected; the Preventive Officer will then grant the prescribed "allowed for shipment" endorsement.

Weigh-bridge installation required at ICDs, CFSs and docks; calibrated equipment and weighment in presence of Customs officer.
Installation of weigh-bridges is mandated at ICDs, CFSs and docks, preferably near entry/exit gates, and must be annually calibrated by the Metrological Department. Separate weighing equipment must be provided for lower-mass consignments, and all import and export weighments are to be conducted in the presence of a Customs officer.

Risk Management System in exports now applied at ICD Tumb; shipping bills screened for verification and future post clearance audit selection.
RMS is operational at ICD Tumb from 18.10.2016. Phase one applies RMS to shipping bills to select them for verification of assessment and physical examination. A subsequent phase will process shipping bills after EGM filing to select bills for PCA and sanction of drawback. The procedure applicable to other ICDs under Public Notice No. 17/2013 applies mutatis mutandis to ICD Tumb. Exporters are informed of the merged three tier AEO Programme and advised to apply; a Local Risk Manager is designated for implementation assistance.

Risk Management System enables self assessment import clearance with selective examination and post clearance audit enforcement.
Activation of the Risk Management System (RMS) at ICD Tumb enables automated, risk based clearance of electronically filed Bills of Entry under ICES: compliant consignments may be cleared on importer self assessment with ICES generated challans and out of charge without officer assessment or examination, while RMS selects certain B/Es for assessment, examination or Post Clearance Audit. Authorised Economic Operators receive assured facilitation subject to random checks and fulfilment of Compulsory Compliance Requirements; bond details, SVB disclosures and requisite certificates must be furnished at filing to permit system driven processing.

Direct entry of factory-stuffed export containers allowed before LEO, subject to manufacturing certification and gate documentation.
Factory stuffed containers, including self-sealed units of manufacturing entities, may enter port terminals prior to issuance of the Loading Export Order. Eligible manufacturing entities must obtain the Annexure A certificate from the jurisdictional Central Excise authority and present that certificate, the container invoice, and the prescribed checklist to the gate officer for direct port entry. Entities not registered with Central Excise must produce the Annexure A certificate confirming registration with a central or state government organisation. Other procedures and conditions in Public Notice No.52/2009 remain applicable.

Pre-Budget tax consultation invites industry proposals for duty and tax changes, requiring data-backed justification and submissions.
Request for industry submissions proposing changes to direct and indirect taxes for Budget 2017 18, requiring economic justification, supporting statistics, and, for Customs and Central Excise, detailed annexure data (HS code, import quantities and CIF values, domestic production and values, unit price, existing and proposed duty, revenue and industry impact). Proposals must consider corporate tax rationalization plans, be sent as Word attachments to designated email addresses (separate for indirect and direct taxes), with hard copies to named officials, and arrive by the specified deadline; vague or unsupported suggestions may not be examined.

Import data reporting: AD Category I banks must use IDPMS to report, match and settle import remittances and BoE records.
AD Category I banks must use the Import Data Processing and Monitoring System (IDPMS) to report and monitor import payment transactions, create Outward Remittance Messages for undocumented import payments, download or upload Bill of Entry data, and settle ORMs against BoEs using prescribed message formats; banks must follow up for evidence of import, record extensions and may record limited write offs or close BoEs for specific operational or quality related reasons subject to extant guidelines.

Designated sea ports must install radiation portal monitors and container scanners to permit import clearance of un shredded scrap.
Only DGFT designated entry sea ports may import un shredded metallic scrap; designation requires installation and operation of Radiation Portal Monitors and Container Scanners and AERB certification with Customs clearance. Inland Container Depots may handle clearance only for consignments routed through such designated ports and subjected to risk based scanning under Customs protocol. Imports also require pre inspection certification from the country of origin, with the PSIC requirement to be reviewed after operationalisation and risk assessment.

Simultaneous export incentives: option to return either EPCG or SHIS benefit under Public Notice resolving prior overlap.
Concurrent issuance and availing of zero duty EPCG and SHIS under FTP 2009-14 was found inconsistent with FTP/HBP provisions; inter-departmental review led to a Public Notice prescribing resolution of pending simultaneous-issuance cases and allowing flexibility to return either benefit, and Customs amended notifications to remove a related bar for FTP 2015-20.