Warehousing licence applications require a prescribed form, centralized antecedent verification, and 30 day processing with annual insurance submissions.
Prescribes a standardized application form for new bonded warehouse licences under the 2016 Warehousing Regulations, serving as an information checklist for premises, security, fire protection, types of goods, financial solvency and statutory declarations; requires bond officer inspection and report within 15 days and Principal Commissioner/Commissioner decision within the next 15 days (30 day target); mandates centralized antecedent verification with specified agencies and allows post verification; licences remain valid until surrender/cancellation while annual insurance and solvency evidence must be submitted.

Due diligence timelines under rule amendment extended for certain pre-existing reportable accounts, with U.S. accounts retaining earlier review deadlines.
The amendment extends the review deadline for pre-existing high-value individual reportable accounts and certain pre-existing entity reportable accounts from the earlier June cutoff to a later year-end date for non-U.S. reportable accounts, while preserving the earlier June deadline for U.S. reportable accounts; substantive due-diligence standards and account classification remain unchanged.

Co-developer approvals and extension of SEZ permissions require continuity, compliance, PAN reporting and tax scrutiny.
Extensions of formal and in-principle approvals and of Letter of Permission (LoP) validity were granted, typically for one year; co-developer statuses were approved subject to SEZ Act and Rules with conditions such as lease-period reduction to 30 years and prohibition of tax benefits for co-developers in specific cases. Corporate changes and transfers were permitted subject to seamless continuity, compliance with eligibility and revenue laws, immediate financial disclosure to CBDT, PAN reporting, and Assessing Officer scrutiny of taxability. Appeals were deferred where DGEP consultation was required; one formal approval was cancelled subject to certification on tax benefit non-availment or refund.

Withdrawal of appeals: Departments must file applications to withdraw identified cases and report compliance promptly.
The Board directs immediate filing of applications to withdraw departmental appeals identified before High Court and CESTAT, freezes the zonal figures shown in the annexed chart as final, and requires zones to report compliance to the Board by the prescribed deadline, ensuring recorded counts match filed withdrawal applications and outcomes.

Tariff rate quota allocation for sugar to USA increases export allocation under TRQ, subject to reporting and certification requirements.
An additional 1,146 MT of raw cane sugar (98 degree pol) is allocated from the non-levy (Free Sale) quota for export to the USA under the Tariff Rate Quota, increasing the total TRQ allocation for the referenced US fiscal year. Exports under this allocation are free but subject to the Nature of Restrictions and reporting requirements in the cited notification. Certificate of Origin for preferential sugar exports to the USA will be issued by the Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Mumbai, and other prescribed certification requirements remain applicable until the end of the specified fiscal period.

Reverse charge for arbitral services places service tax liability on recipient business entities located in taxable territory exceeding turnover threshold.
Service tax on services provided by an arbitral tribunal, including individual arbitrators, is payable by the service recipient under the reverse charge mechanism when the recipient is a business entity located in the taxable territory whose turnover in the preceding financial year exceeds the prescribed threshold; services to non business persons or business entities below the threshold remain exempt under the exemption notification.

Indirect Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme: declarants may suspend appeals by declaration and obtain discharge on compliance with deposit requirements.
The scheme permits parties with appeals before the Commissioner (Appeals) at the cut-off date to file a Form-1 declaration with a designated authority; the authority issues Form-2 acknowledgement which suspends the appeal. Declarants must deposit required sums within a fortnight and report deposits in Form-3. The designated authority issues a Form-4 discharge order; the Commissioner will reconcile Form-4 and remove the appeal from pendency as disposed of, with such disposal carrying no binding precedent.

Indirect Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme enables declarants in pending appeals to file for settlement and obtain discharge after payment.
The Indirect Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2016 permits persons with appeals pending before the Commissioner to file a declaration with the designated authority using prescribed forms, obtain an acknowledgement that stays appellate proceedings for a statutory period, deposit required tax, interest and penalty within prescribed timeframes and, upon submission of proof of payment, receive a discharge order from the designated authority. The scheme specifies categories of impugned orders that are excluded from its application and identifies the rank and appointment of the designated authority for filing and processing declarations.

Export certificate for travellers enables duty-free re-entry of personal high-value items when presented with proof at departure.
Passengers carrying jewellery or other high-value personal items may obtain an export certificate by presenting the items to Customs at Mangaluru International Airport for valuation or by submitting purchase invoices or an authorized valuer's certificate; a downloadable export-certificate format is available on the Commissionerate website and must be completed in duplicate and presented at the designated departure counter to enable duty-free re-import.

IGST on imports: importers must declare GSTIN or PAN; customs will validate payments with GSTN for credit/refund.
Imports will be liable to IGST and applicable compensation cess in addition to customs duties, with valuation rules amended to include customs duties while excluding IGST and cess; Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills have been modified and Customs EDI/EDT will reconcile declarations with GSTN so importers claiming IGST credit must declare GSTIN (or PAN and state code if not registered) and exporters must provide GSTIN, invoice and item-wise values to enable customs validation for refunds or proof of export.

Trade facilitation committee reconstitution establishes monthly stakeholder meetings to address common customs clearance issues and representation rules.
Re-constitution of the Permanent Trade Facilitation Committee (PTFC) establishes a multisector stakeholder forum including customs officers, technical and NIC representatives, customs house and ship agent associations, CFS representatives, banks, warehousing managers, import/export associations and industry bodies. The committee will meet monthly (last Thursday at 11:30 a.m., adjusted for holidays), restrict attendance to members and invitees, encourage consistent association representation, focus on common systemic customs clearance issues rather than isolated individual problems, and may invite individuals when issues have wider implications.

Import quota allocation for rough marble expanded with revalidation, verification and penalties for misdeclaration.
Revalidation and amendment of import authorisations for rough marble and travertine blocks is allowed with a 25% increase in import quantity under Notification No.11; an annexure lists 472 beneficiaries and their additional quotas. Regional Authorities must verify applicants are not on the DEL list before revalidation. Beneficiaries must file monthly import returns by the 15th of the succeeding month. False or erroneous information, mis declaration or misrepresentation will lead to forfeiture of allocation, debarment from future allocations and penal action under the Foreign Trade (D&R) Act, 1992.

Factory stuffing permission: FSP Cell issues LoFSPs to IEC holders with sealed Central Excise verification and supervision.
Procedure for issuance and administration of a Letter of Factory Stuffing Permission (LoFSP) by the FSP Cell at ICD Whitefield, Bengaluru: exporters with valid IEC must apply on Annexure B with sealed NOC/verification from jurisdictional Central Excise (Annexures C-E); Manufacturer Exporters under Free Shipping Bills are excluded due to mandatory self sealing. The FSP Cell verifies IEC, processes applications within five working days, may issue provisional 30 day LoFSPs to DGFT status holders pending Central Excise reports, and final LoFSPs are valid for specified premises, exports (except prohibited goods) and subject to supervision, prescribed examination norms and cancellation on adverse findings.

Bonded trucking operations permission enables road transshipment of export cargo through specified gateway airports under customs rules.
M/S T.T. Aviation Handling Services Pvt. Ltd., Chennai is authorised to operate Bonded Trucking Operations for transshipment of export cargo by road from Visakhapatnam Air Cargo Complex (custodian: M/S AP Trade Promotion Corporation Ltd.) to Customs notified ACCs at Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai, subject to Customs approval and consignee/airline request, and strictly following Customs Circulars No. 57/98-Cus and No. 06/2007-Cus as amended.

Fee increase for document management coupons updates docket charges, requiring stakeholders to apply the revised rate from the stated effective date.
Corrigendum amends Paragraph 2.2 of Public Notice No. 09/2016 to increase the coupon price under the Document Management System by 5%, setting the revised charge at Rs. 17 per docket, effective 22.06.2016, and applying to the Exim community, Customs brokers, steamer agents, consolidators and other stakeholders.

Weekly Open House schedule revised to subject-wise sessions; participants must submit pending issues by preceding Monday.
Weekly Open House will be held every Wednesday from 2.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. at the Zonal Addl. DGFT Chennai Conference Hall. Participation requires advance submission of complete details of pending issues and participant names/designations by the preceding Monday (requests after 5 p.m. that Monday are deferred). Sessions will be subject-wise: Chapter 3 and EDI on 1st/3rd/5th Wednesdays and Chapters 4, 5 and 7 on 2nd/4th Wednesdays. Submissions must be sent to the designated email address.

Presumptive taxation threshold expands audit exemption for eligible taxpayers who opt into the presumptive scheme.
A person carrying on business must obtain an audit when total sales, turnover or gross receipts exceed the general audit ceiling, but an eligible assessee who opts for the presumptive taxation scheme benefits from a higher non audit ceiling and is not required to have accounts audited while receipts remain within that elevated threshold; the higher ceiling applies only to those who elect the presumptive regime and does not affect taxpayers who do not opt in.

Lab Module integration enables online generation and sharing of test memos and laboratory results for customs sample testing.
Introduction of a Lab Module in ICES creates an online process for Customs officers to generate Test Memos, record samples, and refer consignments to mapped laboratories and referral agencies; laboratories access Test Memo details, record test findings electronically, and Customs may act on consignments based on those electronic results while fee payment and document submission continue under existing practices.

Port clearance procedure for ACP clients enables terminal gate examination and OOC issuance after Cargo Container Bond approval.
ACP clients opting for port clearance may obtain a Cargo Container Bond Approval Order from the Superintendent CMFC, register the Bill of Entry with the Docks Import Examination Cell, and complete examination and verification of container and seal numbers at the terminal gate or Docks Examination Cell; the examination report will be entered in the system and Out of Customs Charge (OOC) granted, while containers selected by the system for examination or scanning must be moved to CFSs/ICDs for further formalities with TR Bond debiting.

Declaration under Indirect Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme suspends appeal proceedings and mandates prescribed forms and deposit compliance.
Taxpayers with appeals pending before the Commissioner (Appeals) on 1 March 2016 may file a declaration under the Indirect Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme (Chapter XI, Finance Act, 2016). The scheme prescribes Form 1 (declaration), Form 2 (acknowledgement by the Designated Authority) whose issuance suspends appeal proceedings for sixty days, Form 3 (details of deposits) and Form 4 (order discharging dues). Declarants must deposit required sums within a fortnight of the dated acknowledgement and report the deposit within seven days. Shri Roy Joseph is nominated as the Designated Authority for Chennai VIII.