Faceless customs assessment expands to designated imports with system allocation, electronic procedures, and cross-station appeal jurisdiction.
Faceless assessment is extended to imports primarily classified under Chapter 29 in Appraisement Group 2A across Mumbai Customs Zones I, II and III. Bills of Entry are allocated by the Customs Automated System to Faceless Assessment Groups. Implementation covers assessment verification, speaking orders and review, demands and adjudication, provisional assessment, amendment of Bills of Entry, and electronic communication and record authentication. Appeals may be heard within the import jurisdiction despite the assessing officer being located at another Customs station.

Customs Inland Manifest requirement to be filed before export cargo departs, enabling eSeal tracking and risk-based facilitation.
Exporters using eSeal must file a Customs Inland Manifest (CIM) for each rail/truck movement before cargo leaves their premises, quoting Shipping Bill numbers; a CIM may cover multiple Shipping Bills but must be filed per conveyance. Exporters must obtain ICEGATE registration, follow the uploaded technical guidance and message format, and may use the Excel utility to generate JSON for submission. CIM and eSeal readings will be shared with RMS for real time tracking; port officers can verify CIM details and record match or tamper status to support risk based facilitation where intact eSeals may avoid examination.

Faceless assessment expanded: electronic assignment, verification, and re assessment workflows enforced with port responsibility for on site functions.
Faceless assessment is expanded to additional Customs Zones and tariff chapters with bills of entry assigned by the Customs Automated System to designated Faceless Assessment Groups for verification by risk based selection; such groups may accept self assessment, seek documents, order examination or testing, re assess with a speaking order, or transfer cases to the Port Assessment Group for on site functions. Ports of import remain responsible for physical examination, bond registration via Turant Suvidha Kendra, statutory permissions and processing of demands, with all communications and amendments mandated through ICEGATE and e Sanchit.

SEZ approvals and extensions affirmed, with name/share changes and area authorisations subject to compliance and disclosure obligations.
The Board granted extensions of formal approvals and Letters of Approval, approved developer and co-developer name and shareholding changes subject to conditions ensuring continuity, eligibility, tax and regulatory compliance and furnishing of financial and PAN details to revenue authorities; approved co-developer recognitions, authorized operations and area increases conditioned on execution of agreements; permitted procurement of restricted items only for in-SEZ use; held one appeal inadmissible as time-barred; granted in-principle approval for a new IT/ITES SEZ and deferred a jetty-use request.

Export quota for surgical masks: online applications within a limited window; licences issued under eligibility and documentary checks.
A temporary export control restricts exports of 2/3 ply surgical masks to a set monthly quota and requires online applications via the DGFT ECOM system within a specified filing window. Licences are examined under the Handbook of Procedures, valid for three months, and issued subject to eligibility requirements: preference for manufacturers, one application per IEC, and submission of self attested documentary proof (purchase order/invoice, IEC) and, where applicable, a bank certificate evidencing advance payment received before the prohibition date; incomplete or untimely applications will not be considered.

Export quota on medical goggles restricts monthly shipments; approvals require online application within the designated window and eligibility.
The notice imposes an export quota on medical goggles and requires exporters to apply online through the DGFT ECOM system within a specified application window; hard copies or emails will not be considered. Applications are examined under the Handbook of Procedures, licenses have limited validity, only a single application per IEC will be considered, and manufacturers are preferred upon documentary proof. Required documents include a purchase order or invoice and a self attested copy of the IEC; incomplete or untimely applications will be rejected.

Export quota controls for diagnostic kits require manufacturers to apply online with specified documentation and eligibility attestations.
Procedure prescribes a restricted export regime for specified diagnostic kits with fixed monthly quotas and permits only manufacturers to apply online through the DGFT ECOM portal within the stipulated filing window. Applications will be examined under the Handbook of Procedures; licences are valid for three months. Eligibility requires documentary proof of manufacturing, one application per IEC per month, and submission of IEC copy, purchase order/invoice, a self attested undertaking confirming domestic commitments fulfilled, and self attested documents. Incomplete or untimely submissions will not be considered.

Crowdsourced customs reform invites stakeholders to submit online proposals on duty exemptions, laws, and procedures by the deadline.
Crowdsourcing of stakeholder suggestions is instituted for reviewing existing Customs duty exemption notifications and for examining Customs laws and procedures in light of changing business needs and ease of doing business. Importers, exporters, domestic industry, trade associations, Customs staff, and the public may submit suggestions through the MyGov Innovate online portal by 21 August 2020. Portal-related difficulties may be raised with the designated Appraising Main (Import) office.

Controlling person rules clarified: trusts' settlors, trustees and beneficiaries are treated as controlling persons; AML reliance limited.
RFIs may rely on information under the Prevention of Money laundering Act only to the extent those rules conform to the 2012 FATF recommendations. For trusts, the definition of controlling person follows Explanation 2 to Explanation (B) to Rule 114F(6), requiring RFIs to treat settlors, trustees, beneficiaries (regardless of interest size) and any natural person exercising ultimate effective control as controlling persons for due diligence. For new entity accounts of passive non financial entities, RFIs may rely on self certification from the account holder or controlling person to determine reportability, per the CRS commentary.

Faceless Assessment expansion centralises customs appraisal across additional zones and assigns local appellate jurisdiction for import appeals.
2nd phase roll-out of Faceless Assessment expands operational coverage to additional Customs Zones and specified Appraisement Groups, subsuming the first phase. The Board nominates specific senior Commissioners as Nodal Commissioners to monitor faceless-assigned Bills of Entry and ensure speedy, uniform electronic assessments. Notification No.63/2020-Customs (N.T.) empowers jurisdictional Commissioners of Customs (Appeals) at the place of import to decide appeals arising from faceless assessments even where the assessing officer is located elsewhere, and trade is to be guided by public notices with implementation issues reported to the Board.

Amendment under section 149: cancellation of OOC requires DC/AC approval before AO/EDI acts; bank account registration requires bank verification.
Cancellation of Out of Charge status to permit amendments under the Customs Act is to be undertaken by AO/EDI only after prior approval of the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of the concerned group and the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner (EDI), identifying the DC/AC as the proper officer; AO/EDI will cancel the OOC in ICES after such approvals. Bank account registration with AD code and IFSC requires IEC submission via E Sanchit; EA/TA EDI verifies bank authorisation/NOC and obtains bank confirmation if needed, then places the verified request before AO/EDI, who approves registration/modification after satisfying compliance with public notices.

Pledge-based margin mechanism required; temporary parallel title-transfer allowed before mandatory migration to depository pledges.
Members must migrate margin obligations to a pledge / re-pledge mechanism in the depository system, with a temporary allowance for parallel acceptance of collateral by title transfer during a limited transition; funded stocks under margin trading should preferably be held by pledge and existing 'Client Margin / Collateral' demat accounts must be closed within the prescribed transition period.

Regulatory timeline extensions for depository participants and RTAs allow additional time to meet specified compliance requirements.
SEBI extends compliance timelines for DPs, RTAs and KRAs due to the COVID 19 disruption, designating a period of exclusion for processing demat requests, transmission of securities, closure of demat accounts and investor grievance redressal, and allowing a short post exclusion window to clear backlogs. It also extends submission deadlines for half yearly Internal Audit Reports and annual systems audits for DPs, while all other conditions of prior circulars remain applicable and depositories must notify participants and publish the circular.

Regulatory timeline extension for compliance obligations permits delayed reporting and audits due to the pandemic with continued conditions.
SEBI extended deadlines for specified compliance obligations of trading members, clearing members and depository participants due to COVID 19, postponing reporting and audit deadlines (including client funding reporting, AI/ML reporting, internal and system audits, net worth certificates, call recording maintenance and Cyber Security & Cyber Resilience Audit) with several extensions running until September 30, 2020; all other conditions of earlier circulars continue and market infrastructure entities must notify members.

Extension of filing deadline for quarterly financial results granted, easing timeline between successive reporting periods.
SEBI extended the timeline under Regulation 33 of the LODR Regulations for submission of financial results for the quarter/half year/financial year ended 30th June 2020 to address the shortened interval between successive reporting deadlines; the extension is effective immediately and stock exchanges are directed to notify and disseminate the circular to all listed entities.

Electronic AD Code and bank account registration requires E-Sanchit documents and bank-authenticated verification before ICES processing.
Online registration or modification of AD Code and bank-account details through ICEGATE requires electronic upload of prescribed documents in E-Sanchit. Fresh registration requires a bank authorisation letter, IEC, GST registration certificate, entity and authorised-signatory PAN cards, and a cancelled cheque. IFSC or bank-account modification additionally requires a no-objection certificate from the previously registered bank. Bank documents should be sent directly from the bank branch email address; otherwise, their genuineness is verified by email before same-day system processing.

Prohibition on PABA in health supplements: imported products containing PABA will be refused clearance immediately.
Imported health supplements and nutraceutical products containing PABA (Para Amino Benzoic Acid) are banned and shall not be cleared for import; affected manufactured or imported products must be withdrawn from the market. Customs directs importers, brokers and trade associations to publicise the ban; the notice is to be treated as a Standing Order and queries are to be referred to the Additional Commissioner (Technical).

Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecommunications Equipment requires certification before import or sale, effective from October.
Mandatory testing and certification under MTCTE Phase II requires testing and certification of specified telecommunications equipment (Transmission Terminal Equipment, PON family broadband equipment, and feedback devices) via the MTCTE portal; applications accepted from 25 June 2020 and certification mandatory for import, sale or use with effect from 1 October 2020.

Customs duty exemption review: public invited to submit suggestions online; departmental officers to promote participation.
An online public consultation has been launched to solicit suggestions for review of Customs duty exemption notifications and Customs laws and procedures via the MyGov Innovate portal. Stakeholders including importers, exporters, brokers, shipping agents, custodians, trade associations and the public are invited to submit inputs within the prescribed submission window. The notice directs departmental officers to promote the initiative and treats the Public Notice as a Standing Order for creating awareness and facilitating participation; difficulties may be reported to the Commissioner.

Refund application mapping: process by the authority receiving the electronic transfer when portal reassignment is unavailable.
Where a refund FORM GST RFD-01A is electronically transferred by the common portal to a tax authority that does not match the taxpayer's administrative assignment, and portal reassignment to the correct jurisdiction is not possible, the authority receiving the electronic transfer should process the refund claim. After processing, the authority should notify the common portal of the incorrect mapping and request an update so that subsequent refund applications are routed to the correct jurisdictional tax authority.