Automation of concessional import procedure shifts claims to an electronic portal requiring ID generation, bond recording and monthly reporting.
The circular mandates electronic, contact-less administration of concessional import duty procedures: importers must file one-time intimation in form IGCR-1 on the common portal to generate an IIN, submit a one-time continuity bond (with bank guarantee or security as applicable) recorded and approved in the customs automated system, and thereafter cite the IIN and bond details in bills of entry to claim exemption. Transactional intimations are removed and replaced by a monthly statement (form IGCR-3); movements for job work or inter-unit transfer occur under invoice or e-way bill and are recorded in the monthly statement. Non-receipt or short-receipt must be reported via form IGCR-2.

Online compliance portal centralizes mandatory export intimations and returns, requiring stakeholders to file electronically for trade facilitation.
The Chennai Customs Zone EPD has launched an online portal as a one-stop channel for mandatory export-related filings, requiring registered EOUs, STPI, EHTP and DTA units to submit intimation of import and goods receipt, monthly and quarterly returns, QPR/APR copies, and B17 bond debit/credit entries through the portal; users register by email and mobile and procedural instructions are provided, with operational issues to be notified to the Additional Commissioner (EPD Section).

Part delivery of import consignments permitted where containers arrive late, subject to documentation and procedural conditions.
Part delivery is permitted where all containers have not reached the ICD/CFS within 24 hours of first container arrival. Importers must apply after 24 hours to the Assistant/Dy. Commissioner with documentary evidence; permission requires container wise packing lists and homogeneous goods. RMS facilitated consignments without assessment/examination are eligible; other cases go to the Joint Commissioner. On permission, the Appraiser/Superintendent must register the Bill of Entry in EDI, endorse and record examination reports on the hard copy for each part and the cumulative examination in EDI before final out of charge; details must be maintained ICD wise in a prescribed register. The Public Notice is a Standing Order for officers.

Risk-based export compliance requires precise goods descriptions and item-specific verification to prevent unwarranted clearance delays.
Exporters must provide clear and specific descriptions of goods, while Shed officers must verify the item-specific applicability of Compulsory Compliance Requirements and avoid insisting on unwarranted compliances. Export consignments must not be held without valid reasons. Genuine difficulties must be recorded in writing and escalated, with approval, to the officer responsible for export examination; routine escalation is to be avoided. The designated Nodal Officer is to resolve internal issues and coordinate with stakeholders, where possible, to expedite export clearance.

Late Fee Waiver for Bills of Entry During ICEGATE Shutdown Enables Relief for Budget-Update Filing Delays
Late fees for belatedly filed Bills of Entry were waived where delays resulted from the temporary shutdown of ICEGATE services for Budget 2022-23 system updation. The waiver applied to Bills of Entry relating to entry inwards on 02.02.2022 and 03.02.2022, including a two-day waiver for advance Bills of Entry required to be filed by 01.02.2022 and a one-day waiver for those required to be filed on 02.02.2022. The concession operated under the Bill of Entry (Electronic Integrated Declaration and Paperless Processing) Regulations, 2018.

Late-fee waiver for delayed advance Bills of Entry applies where budget-related system downtime prevented timely electronic filing.
Late fees for delayed advance Bills of Entry are waived where filing was prevented by the temporary ICEGATE shutdown for ICES updation following Budget 2022-23 changes. The waiver covers belated Bills of Entry for consignments granted entry inwards on 2 and 3 February 2022. A two-day waiver applies to advance Bills of Entry due by 1 February 2022, and a one-day waiver applies to those due by 2 February 2022. ICEGATE filing services were fully enabled on 3 February 2022.

Waiver of late filing fee for Bills of Entry affected by ICEGATE downtime during Budget update, preserving compliance relief.
Waiver of late filing fee applies to Bills of Entry filed belatedly because ICEGATE was unavailable from 17:00 on 1 February 2022 until completion of budgetary updates in ICES; the relief covers Bills of Entry relating to IGMs filed from that time and is to be implemented under the Bill of Entry (Forms) Amendment Regulations, 2017.

Authorised officers notification: Customs must ensure imported food samples are tested only in FSSAI notified NABL accredited laboratories.
The instruction designates 157 Points of Entry for imported food and specifies that 104 PoEs will be manned by Customs officials as Authorised Officers; it mandates that sampling and testing of imported food be carried out only in FSSAI notified laboratories with valid NABL accreditation and provides Annexures listing the authorised PoEs and the notified laboratories for enforcement and officer sensitisation.

Tariffisation and withdrawal of conditional exemptions reshape customs duty application and revised IGCR rules.
The Finance Bill, 2022 and linked notifications initiate a comprehensive tariffisation moving many unconditional concessional rates into the First Schedule so BCD will largely operate through tariff entries (with many changes effective 1 May, 2022 or immediately under provisional declaration). Numerous conditional exemptions are pruned or phased out with sunset validity under section 25(4A), while sectoral BCD increases, decreases and PMPs for wearables, hearables and smart meters are prescribed. Customs Act amendments clarify assignment and jurisdiction of officers, advance ruling procedures, measures against undervaluation, and create an offence for unauthorised publication of trade data; IGCR Rules are digitised. GST and central excise measures simplify compliance and adjust valuation and fiscal incentives.

Social Welfare Surcharge applicability clarified: no surcharge where aggregate customs duties payable are zero, not on notional duty.
Social Welfare Surcharge is levied on the aggregate of customs duties, taxes and cesses actually levied and collected as duties of customs on imported goods; if the aggregate customs duty payable is zero due to an exemption, the SWS base is zero and no SWS is payable. The law does not require SWS computation on a notional customs duty calculated at tariff rate where the applicable aggregate customs duties are nil.

Petroleum import assessment shifts specified lubricants to second check while retaining mandatory laboratory testing for higher-risk classifications.
Representative sealed samples of consignments classified under CTI 27101951 to 27101990 and CTI 38249100 must be drawn and tested on a first-check assessment basis. Specified lubricant classifications may receive second-check assessment where the declared or self-assessed value is Rs. 100 or more per litre, subject to uploading a valid PTR or manufacturer's certificate of analysis on E-Sanchit and declaring PTR particulars in the Bill of Entry.

Lifetime validity endorsement for customs brokers' licences enabled; brokers may submit licences for endorsement subject to revocation provisions.
Amendment to Regulation 9 allows licences issued under Customs House Agents and Customs Brokers licensing rules to receive a Lifetime Validity endorsement, subject to existing revocation provisions; operational brokers meeting the prescribed conditions may submit licence copies to the designated commissionerate for endorsement.

License validity under amended CBLR confirmed as continuing unless revoked under specified revocation provisions.
Amendment to the Customs Brokers Licensing framework establishes that a licence issued under prior and current Customs Brokers/Customs House Agents licensing regulations remains valid unless and until revoked in terms of the specified revocation provisions. The Board's Notification amends Regulation 9 to make continuity of existing licences the default position, subject to revocation under the procedural grounds set out in the cited revocation provisions.

Container scanning compliance: automated selection mandates on site MXCS scanning and 100% examination for suspicious images before release.
A Mobile X Ray Container Scanner at New Mangalore Port Trust is operational and scans import containers selected automatically by the Container Selection Module/RMS. Selected containers must be presented at MXCS and verified against EIR/pick up tickets; post scan endorsements-"SCANNED CLEAN", "SCANNED SUSPICIOUS" or "NOT SCANNED DUE TO ODC"-determine subsequent handling. Containers marked suspicious require 100% examination under Docks supervision before Out of Charge is permitted; failure to present or unauthorized removal attracts penalties under the Customs Act and HCCAR, 2009. Weekly monitoring and reporting and a five day presentation target are mandated.

Preferential origin procedure under CAROTAR now governs AEO bank-guarantee dispensations for duty preference claims.
The CAROTAR, 2020 regime and the statutory procedure for claiming preferential rates of duty prevail over specified bank-guarantee dispensations in Circular No. 33/2016 and Circular No. 54/2020; those circular provisions are to be aligned so that competent-authority directions to furnish bank guarantees for provisional release remain unaffected and AEO relaxations are read subject to the origin-claim procedure.

Retention of ISO containers: extension for re-export and IGST lease clarification to ease medical oxygen logistics.
The Board permits extension of time for re-export of ISO containers imported temporarily for transportation of Liquid Medical Oxygen upon importer request, and clarifies that for ISO containers imported on lease with IGST paid on lease amounts under CGST law, IGST on container value is not required and re-export need not occur while containers remain under valid lease.

Electronic test memo requirement: laboratories will refuse paper memos; samples accepted only via CRCL module unless approved exception.
All officers and staff of the Mangalore Customs Commissionerate must mandatorily forward Test Memos and sampling paperwork to CRCL and other Revenue Laboratories via the CRCL module in ICES; laboratories will not accept samples unless the Test Memo is transmitted electronically through the module. A temporary exception permits paper Test Memos only with prior approval from the Additional Commissioner of Customs when system issues prevent electronic transmission.

Harmonized System update aligns national customs tariff with HS 2022; guidance issued and contact provided for transition.
Publication of the Seventh Edition of the Harmonized System implements HS 2022 into national customs practice by aligning the First Schedule of the Customs Tariff Act with HS 2022 through amendments under the Fifth Schedule to the Finance Act, 2021, effective from 01.01.2022. The revision introduces 351 six digit level amendments affecting commodity classification and tariff headings. A correlation guidance document has been published on the CBIC website to assist transition, and stakeholders may report implementation difficulties to the Additional Commissioner of Customs, ICD Whitefield, via the provided email.

Import duty classification on courier consignments: gifts face higher duty, personal purchases taxed lower with invoice proof.
Imports via courier are governed by the Customs Act and related regulations; B2B imports with a valid Importer Exporter Code follow the Customs tariff. Bonafide gifts under Chapter 9804 attract Basic Customs Duty at 35%, Social Welfare Surcharge at 10% of BCD, and IGST at 28% on value plus BCD and SWS (aggregate 77.28%). Personal-use items qualifying under the notification attract BCD at 10%, SWS at 10% of BCD, and IGST at 28% on value plus BCD and SWS (aggregate 42.08%) only if a B2C invoice and proof of monetary transfer are submitted; otherwise the gift duty applies.

Classification of parts must follow holistic evaluation of section and HS explanatory notes, not a single universal test.
Assessments of parts under Section XVII must be fact specific and holistic: officers should consider Section and Chapter Notes, HSN explanatory notes and relevant precedents rather than mechanically applying a single test; the Department has filed a review petition and sought senior counsel opinion, and difficulties in implementation should be reported to the Board.