Composite sampling for edible oils extended, permitting testing at FSSAI approved Kakinada laboratory pending review.
Facility permitting the drawal of one composite sample for one vessel of imported edible oils, with testing at the FSSAI approved local laboratory in Kakinada, is extended temporarily for six months from 01.04.2023 to 30.09.2023; all conditions of the original public notice remain in force and further renewal will be reviewed.

Determination of export incentive instrument: customs enforcement suspended pending administrative decision process on MEIS validity.
The Board directs the adjudicating authority to keep the show cause notice under section 28 of the Customs Act pending until the administrative decision on the MEIS instrument is rendered, because the licensing authority's determination on alleged wrongful availment and cancellation of the MEIS scrip is the primary basis for any customs recovery action.

Telecom equipment classification requires alphanumeric identifiers in import declarations to specify the applicable product category under customs tariffs.
Importers must declare an additional alphanumeric code/identifier in the Bill of Entry for goods classified under tariff headings 85176290 and 85176990 to indicate the applicable telecom product category; Annexure 1 illustrates covered product categories (optical transport/OTN, packet optical OLT/ONT, IP radios, VoIP/softswitch, carrier Ethernet/PTN/MPLS, LTE/MIMO/5G) and Annexure 2 provides the mapping of specified identifiers and 'Others' codes for unmapped items.

Qualified RTA status clarified, triggering enhanced compliance obligations and reporting requirements for affected registrars immediately.
An RTA is categorised as a Qualified RTA if its combined physical and demat folios for listed companies exceed the folio threshold during a financial year; the RTA must notify SEBI within five working days. A categorised RTA remains subject to QRTA requirements for the next three financial years irrespective of subsequent folio reductions. Newly categorised QRTAs receive a sixty-day period to comply with enhanced systems, internal policy frameworks and reporting obligations.

Information-gathering powers under GST authorize designated officers to require persons within jurisdiction to furnish relevant information.
Information-gathering functions under section 151 of the Gujarat Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 are assigned to designated Joint Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners. The assigned function permits direction to any person to furnish information relating to matters dealt with in connection with the Act. Each designated officer may perform only this specified function, and its exercise is expressly confined to the officer's own jurisdiction.

Electronic Certificates of Origin valid for preferential claims under ECTA when issued in prescribed format.
Electronic Certificates of Origin issued by Australian issuing bodies that conform to the prescribed format, bear authorized seals and signatures, and comply with Notification No. 112/2022-Customs (N.T.) are valid for claiming preferential treatment under the India-Australia ECTA; specimen seals and signatures are used for authenticity checks, verification requests must be channelled through the FTA Cell when necessary, importers must upload the e-COO to e-Sanchit and record unique reference particulars in the bill of entry, and a printed copy may be used in lieu of defacement of an original certificate.

Refund application time limit: officers must decide claims within the prescribed statutory period, with expedited disposal of pending applications.
Proper officers must verify refund claims and issue final sanction or rejection in Form GST RFD-06 and payment advice in Form GST RFD-05 within the prescribed statutory period counted from the filing date shown in the acknowledgement under the RGST Rules; acknowledgements or deficiency memos should be issued promptly so the decision timeframe runs from the filing date recorded therein.

Reimbursement of late fee available to registered taxpayers filing specified GST returns by the deadline, subject to verification and recovery.
Reimbursement of late fee deposited under Section 47 for April 2021-March 2022 is available only to registered persons who furnished returns/details of outward supplies by 31 March 2023; annual returns are excluded. Claims must be submitted via the Rajtax Portal in prescribed formats, with bank details first updated on the GST portal and verified by the jurisdictional proper officer. The officer shall issue sanction/partial sanction or a reasoned rejection after hearing, and sanctioned amounts are forwarded to the CSDO for budget allocation and payment. Wrongful claims are recoverable with interest and penalty.

Appellate jurisdiction of Joint Commissioner of State Tax (Appeals) clarified; district assignments and head office appeals routed to Ambala.
Joint Commissioners of State Tax (Appeals) are authorised to hear appeals under the Haryana and Central GST laws where the appellant's place of business falls within the districts allocated to them; district-wise jurisdiction is assigned to Joint Commissioners at Ambala, Faridabad, Gurugram, Hisar and Rohtak, and Ambala is additionally authorised to receive appeals against decisions of Proper Officers posted at Head Office.

Recovery of govt. dues from 1,434 exporters under Section 142; contact TRC to clear dues or submit proof by deadline.
A public list of 1,434 exporters with unpaid customs dues at Air Cargo Complex, Mumbai has been published and recovery proceedings under Section 142 of the Customs Act, 1962 have been initiated. Exporters listed must contact the Tax Recovery Cell by 18.03.2023 to clear dues with interest and penalty or submit proof of payment or pending appeals; otherwise recovery measures including attachment of movable and immovable assets under Section 142(1)(c)(ii) will follow.

Buy-back trading restrictions limit purchase volume, timing and price and require haircut on non-cash escrow deposits.
For stock-exchange buy-backs, purchases are capped at a specified proportion of average daily trading volume (value) over the ten preceding trading days; bids are barred during the pre-open, first thirty minutes and last thirty minutes of the regular session; and purchase prices must remain within a narrow range around the last traded price. Non-cash escrow components are subject to SEBI-prescribed haircuts and merchant bankers must ensure sufficiency of net escrow funds until buy-back completion, while stock exchanges will monitor compliance and may enforce penalties.

Faceless Assessment: upload complete, legible documents and link them to the Bill of Entry to expedite customs clearance.
Complete, legible and properly linked supporting documents must be uploaded to eSanchit and tagged to the corresponding Bill of Entry to enable expedited Faceless Assessment; registrations, certifications, and statutory compliance (including BIS, LMPC, PESO, CPCB, EPRA, CDSCO, AERB and sectoral portal filings) must be completed before filing, and Annexure A lists additional group-wise documents that may be required, with assessing officers retaining discretion to seek further information.

Mandatory customs broker association enrollment requires single-jurisdiction membership; Board may grant extensions for compliance.
Each customs broker must enroll as a member of the customs broker's association in every jurisdiction where they operate if a registered and recognised association exists; brokers may not enroll in more than one association in the same jurisdiction. The Board may, on written representation showing reasons beyond the applicant's control, grant a further time period to comply with time-bound duties or obligations, with reasons recorded in writing. Brokers under the Mangaluru Commissionerate are advised to enroll with the Mangaluru Custom House Agents Association.

Customs broker profiles must use Add OPS Employee to record existing other policy section employees, not Form C.
Clarifies that after Parent Policy Section validation of a CB Profile on CBLMS, customs brokers already operating under prior Form C intimations must add employees of their Other Policy Sections via the Add OPS Employee function in Existing_CB_Profile, rather than filing a new Intimation under Form C, which is reserved for fresh intent to operate in a different policy section; details SOP access, required data and uploads for Add OPS Employee and Intimation under Form C, and notes Parent Policy Section validation is a pre requisite for adding OPS details.

Label rectification at port permitted; authorised officer must verify compliance before sampling and testing proceeds.
Imported food consignments with non compliant labels may be rectified at customs bonded warehouses by affixing a single non detachable sticker or equivalent without altering the original label; the Authorised Officer or representative must verify compliance during visual inspection and consignments will be sampled and tested only if labels are found compliant. Labels found non compliant by laboratory analysis may be rectified and an NOC issued after AO verification. Clove Stem imports are to be tested against horizontal safety parameters and specified volatile oil content until standards are notified.

Body worn camera recording mandated for boarding officers during vessel inspections to enhance transparency and preserve evidence.
Boarding officers performing sea customs duties must wear a designated boarding jacket fitted with a Body Worn Camera (BWC), activate it on approach to the gangway, record continuously until de boarding, and notify stakeholders that recording is mandatory. The BWC is a stand alone, non wireless device; safety exceptions may be made by a vessel Safety Officer with supervisory verification. Recorded data must be transferred each shift to a password protected internal drive, backed up daily for custody by designated officers, retained for a minimum period, handed over and logged at shift changes, and subject to periodic supervisory review and reporting.

SEBI framework requires REs to use MeitY empaneled CSPs, retain data ownership and ensure explicit contractual controls.
SEBI's cloud framework requires REs to adopt Board approved GRC, remain fully accountable for cloud hosted data and services, use MeitY empaneled CSPs with STQC (or equivalent) audited data centres, and ensure explicit, enforceable contracts that delineate responsibilities, provide SEBI/RE audit and access rights, mandate encryption and key management (preferably BYOK/BYOE and HSM), continuous monitoring, incident notification and forensic support, and integrated reporting of compliance in systems audit, cybersecurity audit and VAPT reports within prescribed transition timelines.

Add OPS Employee requirement: brokers must register other policy section employees in CBLMS rather than filing Form C.
Brokers whose CB Profile is validated by the Parent Policy Section must use the Add OPS Employee function in CBLMS to enter employees of Other Policy Sections where they already operate; they should not file Intimation under Form C for this purpose. Intimation under Form C is intended only for giving new intimation to operate in a different policy section. Adding and validating OPS employee details is a prerequisite for other CBLMS applications, and SOPs and helpdesk support are available on the portal.

Service of insolvency applications: online submission with revised format and acknowledgement required before filing with adjudicating authority.
Applicants initiating corporate insolvency resolution must serve a copy of the application to the Board via the Board's online facility before filing with the Adjudicating Authority; on submission the applicant receives an acknowledgment ID. The Board will forward received applications to the Information Utility, which will notify other creditors, require filing of information of default as per IU Regulations, and process defaults for issuance of Record of Default. A revised submission format and step by step guide are provided and the circular supersedes the earlier online intimation circular.

Health Certificate requirement deferred, postponing its implementation for imported food consignments pending further orders while stakeholders await guidance.
The implementation of the FSSAI order requiring imported food consignments to be accompanied by a Health Certificate is deferred until further order, in light of representations from various countries and stakeholders. Customs officers are to be sensitized to this extension and any implementation difficulties must be reported to the Board, maintaining existing import processing procedures until further notice.