Custodian appointment confirms All Cargo Terminals Limited as custodian and customs cargo services provider under Customs Act regulations.
M/s All Cargo Terminals Limited is appointed custodian and approved as a Customs Cargo Services Provider for the Container Freight Station and the entire notified customs area of 1,02,168.66 SQM under Section 45(1) and 141(2) of the Customs Act, 1962 and Regulation 10 of the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009, responsible for custody of imported goods until clearance/warehousing/transshipment and for export examination and stuffing, subject to statutory compliance and a five year term subject to review, suspension or cancellation for non compliance.

Change of name for Customs custodian: CFS renamed but existing legal responsibilities and liabilities continue with the successor entity.
Change of name of the Container Freight Station from M/s K.S.P.S. Natarajan CFS Park to M/s K.S.P.S. CFS Park Private Limited is notified for customs records; the CFS remains declared as a Customs Area and appointed as Custodian under the Handling of Cargo in Customs Area Regulations. The name change does not relieve the custodian of liabilities, including pending litigation, statutory obligations, tax disputes, show cause notices and arrears incurred under the earlier name.

Empanelment of Chartered Engineers for second hand machinery valuation: invitation, eligibility, three year panel, reporting requirements and penalties.
Applications are invited for empanelment of chartered engineers to value second hand imported/exported machinery; applicants must submit prescribed proforma and supporting certificates, demonstrate minimum industrial experience (2 years), valuation experience (3 years) and total experience (5 years), and provide five years of income tax return details. A committee will scrutinize applications and refer eligible candidates to the Institute of Engineers for assessment; empanelment (valid for three years) requires submission of half yearly Self Appraisal Reports, and false information attracts penal provisions under the Customs Act.

Electronic Cash Ledger integration requires payment with interest and application for interest refund after Out of Charge regularisation.
Users whose duty payments failed to integrate due to ECL glitches must select unpaid challans, pay duty including interest within the prescribed window from the date of removal of system inability, and, after integration and marking of the Bill(s) of Entry as Out of Charge by Customs, may apply to the relevant formation for refund of paid interest under the Waiver of Interest order; reporting of absent unpaid challans or implementation difficulties must be made to DG Systems or ICEGATE HelpDesk with screenshots.

Mandatory import declaration qualifiers take effect from October, requiring covered Bills of Entry to include prescribed product details.
Mandatory additional qualifiers for import declarations under specified product chapters supplement existing importer declarations. Initially required for Bills of Entry filed on or after 1 July 2023, the mandatory commencement date is extended to 1 October 2023. Importers must furnish the prescribed qualifiers for covered import declarations from that date, alongside existing declaration obligations.

Customs sealing of suspicious containers after scanning to prevent pilferage, with seal replacement and recordkeeping requirements.
Containers marked as suspicious after scanning must be sealed with a Customs seal before leaving the scanning point to prevent pilferage or replacement of goods. Standard containers are to receive a customs bottle seal, while ISO tanks are to be sealed with strip seals or punch seals. If no space is available because all points are already sealed, one private or commercial seal may be cut and replaced after informing the concerned parties. The scanning officer must note the time and seal number on the EIR copy, and the CFS must maintain daily entry records.

AD Code Registration requirements standardized: limited documentary set accepted and same-day processing timelines enforced for exports.
Field formations shall accept only two digitally uploaded documents on e-Sanchit for AD Code and bank account registration: (a) a Bank Authorization Letter specifying exporter name and address, IEC number, PAN linked to the IEC, bank account number and holder, confirmation that the PAN linked to the account matches the PAN linked to the IEC, bank AD Code/IFSC, and branch contact details including official e mail; and (b) a cancelled cheque or latest bank statement endorsed by the bank; IFSC accounts will be validated by PFMS before disbursal.

Self Sealing Permission for exporters set with fixed initial terms, renewal criteria, mandatory RFID e seals, and port specific authorisation.
Manufacturer exporters receive initial Self Sealing Permission for five years and merchant exporters for one year; extensions are five years for manufacturers and two years for merchants if they export at least six consignments annually using the self sealing facility and have no customs contraventions. Use of CBIC approved RFID e seals is mandatory, permissions are port specific (INMAA1, INKAT1, INENR1), and amendments to premises, authorized signatory or ROC require competent authority approval. Renewal applications must be submitted two months before expiry with export statements; earlier open ended permissions must be regularised within three months.

Suspension of Customs Broker licence: limited to appropriate cases requiring immediate action with recorded reasons.
Suspension of a customs broker licence is permitted only in appropriate cases requiring immediate action; the Commissioner may suspend when an enquiry is pending or contemplated, but must not apply suspension routinely or mechanically and should record reasons explaining why immediate suspension is necessary, taking into account potential disruption to smaller broker enterprises.

Mandatory additional qualifiers for customs declarations extended to allow resolution of implementation and testing issues.
Mandatory additional qualifiers for specified import and export declarations introduced by Circular No. 15/2023-Customs have had the compliance date extended to 01.10.2023 by Circular No. 18/2023 following trade representations, a departmental request and testing-related mismatches; stakeholders are directed to report implementation difficulties to the Additional Commissioner, Airport and ACC, Bengaluru Customs Zone.

State excise and VAT licence requirement: bond to bond liquor purchasers must hold licences and submit proof before warehousing.
The notice mandates that any purchaser engaging in bond to bond purchases of imported liquor must hold valid State excise and VAT licences and submit self attested copies when executing the triple duty bond; sellers/importers must verify buyer licences prior to bond to bond transfers. It prescribes additional documentary conditions for supplies to State liquor corporations, brand registration, and specified requirements for Haryana and Uttarakhand, repeatedly requiring clean past bonding records (no outstanding expired B2B bonds). Exemptions include original importers and holders of special bonded warehouse licences.

E waste registration requirement: interim release of imported EEE consignments on EPR portal acknowledgement, extended to 31 August.
Imported consignments of 106 notified EEE items may be released on production of an acknowledgement from the CPCB EPR Portal confirming the producer has applied for registration; this interim release arrangement is extended until 31 August 2023 and applies only to producers who have submitted applications on the EPR Portal.

Self-Customs Pass enables importers, exporters and employees to apply for customs passes online via CBLMS.
Launch of an online Self-Customs Pass application in the Customs Brokers Licensing Management System (CBLMS) enables importers, exporters and employees acting on behalf of persons or firms to apply electronically for customs passes in conformity with regulation 3(b) of CBLR 2018. A detailed user manual explaining the process flow is available under the Knowledge Centre tab on the CBLMS portal.

Mandatory additional qualifiers: implementation deadline for import/export declarations extended due to trade requests and testing mismatches.
Additional qualifiers mandated by Circular No. 15/2023 Customs for specified import and export declarations, originally effective 01.07.2023, have been deferred to 01.10.2023 following trade representations, a departmental request for a further three month implementation period, and testing phase mismatches in qualifier data; the extension aims to permit resolution of technical and data consistency issues prior to mandatory deployment.

Warehousing under section 49 requires formal application, examination, ECTS sealing, and register-based monitoring of storage timelines.
Procedure requires importers to apply to the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner (Appraising Group) with prescribed documentation for permission under section 49, mandates Import Shed responsibility for 100% examination, ECTS sealing and manual gate passes, and maintenance of a Section 49 Register to monitor storage timelines and prompt Appraising Group action where extensions are not sought.

Export examination clusters streamline cargo processing by assigning designated CFSs and warehouses for faster handling.
Three separate export clusters were notified for Customs examination and processing of export cargo at Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House to speed up cargo handling. The notice assigns specified CFSs and warehouses to Cluster X1, Cluster X2 and Cluster X3, grouped by location around Uran, Nhava Sheva, Dronagiri, Panvel, Taloja and adjoining areas. The notice operates as a standing order for officers and staff, and implementation issues are to be reported through the specified contact details.

Election expenditure vigilance: enhanced CBIC preventive measures to detect and curb illicit cash, freebies and smuggled goods.
The SOP directs CBIC formations to intensify preventive vigilance during elections by designating Pr. ADG/ADG, DRI as State point persons and nodal officers, establishing Central Control Rooms and Flying Squads, collating and submitting daily reports to the ECI and CBIC investigation wings, mapping and monitoring warehouses and bonded premises, scrutinising e-way bills and stocks under Section 67 of the CGST Act, and increasing border and airport vigilance for illicit cash, contraband and goods used as voter inducements.

Import policy change for cigarette lighters: prohibition with limited free imports where CIF value meets a specified threshold.
Import policy for pocket lighters (gas fuelled, refillable and non refillable) under Chapter 96 is revised from "Free" to Prohibited, subject to a conditional allowance where the CIF valuation meets a specified per unit threshold; Customs officers are directed to implement the change and issue notices or standing orders accordingly.

Authorised officers designation under FSS Act and Import Regulation updates PoE assignments; customs instructed to sensitize officers.
Notification updates designation of Authorised Officers under Section 25 read with Section 47(5) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Regulation 13(1) of the FSS (Import) Regulation, 2017 for import control of food at Points of Entry, identifying 161 PoEs and specifying which are to be manned by Customs officers as authorised officers and which by FSSAI officials, with an annexed list and direction to sensitize officers and modify the earlier instruction accordingly.

HS code correlation required: align Certificate of Origin tariff with Bill of Entry tariff to secure CEPA customs preference.
For Customs clearance under India Japan CEPA, the HS code shown in the Certificate of Origin (HS 2007) must be correlated with the HS code recorded in the Bill of Entry (HS 2022) at the time of clearance; Customs formations and National Assessment Centres are to implement this procedure to enable application of the CEPA tariff preference.