Customs cargo service provider appointment: port authority named custodian for liquid cargo, subject to compliance review.
The Commissioner of Customs (General) appoints M/s Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority as Custodian of imported liquid cargo unloaded at Liquid Berth LB03/04 and designates it as Customs Cargo Service Provider for that berth under the Customs Act and the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009, subject to compliance with those statutory and regulatory provisions and to review and possible revocation by the Commissioner for failure to comply or as per Government directions.

Procedure for filing and processing Bill of Entry amendment requests: online filing, e Sanchit uploads, and approval rules.
Procedure permits importers or customs brokers to file Bill of Entry amendment requests online via the Common Portal or Service Centre and to upload supporting documents in e Sanchit. Supplementation of Bill of Lading details and additions to supporting documents are auto approved by the Customs automated system pursuant to Section 149; all other amendments require proper officer approval and are routed by the system according to whether they are filed before assessment, after assessment but before Out of Charge, or after Out of Charge, with specified requirements for document uploads and approvals.

Empanelment of Chartered Engineers for valuation of second hand machinery at JNCH; applications and documents required by 29 March 2024.
Invitation for empanelment of Chartered Engineers for appraisal, inspection and valuation of second hand, old and used machinery and capital goods at JNCH Mumbai Zone II. Applicants authorised by the Institution of Engineers (India) must apply using the prescribed proforma with supporting certificates, GST registration if applicable, experience records and an undertaking. Applications will be scrutinised, vetted for adverse records, verified by certificate issuing authorities and shortlisted candidates interviewed by a panel before empanelment and publication. Empanelled engineers must submit half yearly self appraisals; fees are payable by importers/CHAs; false information attracts penalties.

Declaration of additional customs area for M/s Triway Container Freight Station increases CFS to 31.415 acres.
The Commissioner of Customs, exercising powers under Section 8(b) of the Customs Act, 1962, declared an additional 1.57 acres of denotified area and 7.415 acres of new adjoining land as Customs Area for M/s Triway Container Freight Station Pvt. Ltd., increasing the total CFS area to 31.415 acres for handling import and export cargo; survey numbers and boundary bearings are specified and the notice is effective from 22-02-2024.

Average Export Obligation relief: EPCG Annual EO for affected product groups to be proportionately reduced.
Regional Authorities must re-fix the Annual Average EO for EPCG Authorizations for 2022-23 by proportionately reducing the Average Export Obligation where a sector/product group recorded more than a five percent decline in exports in 2022-23 versus 2021-22; reductions must be endorsed in licence files and amendment sheets. Before issuing demand notices or EODC actions for EO shortfall, RAs must consider earlier policy circulars (para 5.11.2 HBP 2009-14 and para 5.19 HBP 2015-20) and include this requirement in the EODC check-sheet. An annex lists the affected product groups.

Transparency in liquidation: liquidators must share quarterly progress reports with SCC members after confidentiality undertakings.
Liquidators must share quarterly progress reports filed under Regulation 15 with Stakeholders' Consultation Committee members after obtaining confidentiality undertakings, continue such reporting until filing the final report, seek and consider SCC suggestions when preparing the Preliminary Report under Regulation 13, and submit the final report with Form H and the process closure/dissolution order to the Board by email under powers conferred by section 196.

Unclaimed dividends withdrawal: liquidator may apply to the Board for release to a verified stakeholder using prescribed particulars.
Liquidators must deposit unclaimed dividends and undistributed proceeds into the Corporate Liquidation Account and notify the Board. If a stakeholder claims entitlement before dissolution, the liquidator, after verification, shall apply to the Board for release using the prescribed annexure, which requires detailed particulars of the corporate debtor, deposit and request dates, acknowledgement number, amounts, stakeholder identity and position, reasons for non-distribution, justification, beneficiary bank details with supporting cheque, and the liquidator's certification.

Interest Equalization Scheme extended for rupee export credit, with bank participation conditioned on average lending rate compliance and DGFT undertakings.
Extension of the Interest Equalization Scheme until June 30, 2024 continues support for pre and post shipment rupee export credit with differentiated equalization rates and an annual subvention cap measured from April 1, 2023. Banks whose average pre subvention lending rate exceeds the permitted band will be identified by DGFT, must provide a prescribed undertaking to participate, will be restricted from the Scheme until compliance, and face potential debarment on further breaches; DGFT will monitor compliance and require specified documentation.

Suspension of SIONs: numerous inoperative norms to be suspended, with reinstatement representations permitted by specified deadline.
The Director General of Foreign Trade, under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023, suspends Standard Input-Output Norms (SION) listed in Annexure "A" with effect from 1st April, 2024 because they have been inoperative over the last five years. Representations for reinstatement must be emailed to the designated address and received by the deadline of 15th March, 2024. The notice effects automatic suspension of the enumerated SION codes from the effective date unless otherwise notified.

Value declaration requirements for Linear Alkyl Benzene require specific documentary submissions and compliance checks during customs assessment.
Linear Alkyl Benzene (HS 38170011) is designated as identified goods requiring use of the Kilogram unique quantity code in the bill of entry; importers must produce a test certificate, manufacturer's invoice, purchase order or contract, and manufacturing process documentation, and customs officers shall verify compliance with the Linear Alkyl Benzene (Quality Control) Order, 2022 during assessment.

FATCA and CRS centralization at KRAs streamlines reporting; intermediaries must upload client certifications and ensure compliance.
Intermediaries who are reporting financial institutions must upload FATCA and CRS client self certifications onto KRA systems from July 01, 2024; certifications obtained earlier must be uploaded within 90 days of implementation. Intermediaries remain responsible for obtaining and reporting certifications, must confirm their reasonableness using account opening and PMLA documentation, and must update certifications on client notification. KRAs shall develop coordinated systems and uniform guidelines in consultation with SEBI.

KYC requirement for customs bonds: importers must provide PAN, GSTIN, contact, bank account and Aadhaar details.
Importers executing bonds under the Customs Act must furnish KYC details at bond execution, including PAN, GSTIN, company bank account details, authorised person contact numbers, and Aadhaar details of the proprietor/managing partner/director, using the annexure format prescribed in the public notice to facilitate contact when time bound bonds expire.

Processing-to-nonprocessing conversion under Rule 11B requires full repayment of duties and tax-benefit reconciliation.
Board extended validity of developer formal approvals and unit LoAs, approved FTWZ formal approval, granted multiple Co-developer statuses and area adjustments, and sanctioned demarcation of processing to non-processing areas under Rule 11B subject to full repayment of proportionate customs, excise, GST and other levies, repayment of tax benefits attributable to common infrastructure, and undertakings to remit any differential duties or tax benefits if determined; Assessing Officer retained rights to examine taxability and lease periods to follow DoC instructions.

E-office submission requirement: SLP proposals accepted only through specified e office node and LIMBS ID as valid proposals.
Instruction rescinds the 30.08.2023 Instruction and amends the 14.03.2022 Instruction by revising the designated e office entry to SEENA-CBIC-SUP(S)-CX-8A SECTION - CX-8A Section. It requires that SLP proposals be forwarded only via e office mode to be treated as valid, accompanied by all relevant documents per the Board Circular, and that field formations follow specified prior Instructions while sensitising staff to the e office and LIMBS identifiers provided.

Imported boric acid consignments must comply with BIS standard; customs to ensure specification, packaging and testing.
Imported consignments of Boric Acid (Technical Grade) must conform to the Indian Standard for boric acid and bear the Standard Mark under a BIS licence; customs officers are instructed to check imported consignments for strict compliance with the specification, including compositional limits for polishing compounds (chloride and sulphate) and packing requirements (jute bags with liners). BIS is the certifying and enforcing authority and the Standard prescribes grades, analytical methods, sampling, testing procedures and lot-conformity criteria.

Change Request Form use limited to exceptional circumstances; misuse will not replace statutory filing requirements.
The Change Request Form (CRF) on MCA 21 V3 is a limited web based mechanism to request RoC intervention only in exceptional circumstances where existing forms or functionalities cannot resolve issues. It is not a substitute for statutory reporting, applications, approvals, registrations, or help desk procedures; such uses may be summarily rejected. Intended uses include master data correction and complying with court or tribunal directions. RoCs must process CRFs within three days and then forward to the Joint Director (e governance cell) for decision within seven days.

Export policy mapping to eight-digit ITCHS codes clarifies applicable export controls and confirms no substantive policy change.
Notification No. 60 administratively maps existing export policy to eight-digit ITCHS codes for the specified Schedule 2 chapters, clarifying which export policy applies to each code without changing substantive policy. The mapping is intended as a trade facilitation measure to enable ICEGATE integration and a fully online export licensing system, reduce compliance burden, and improve ease of doing business, while existing policies remain operative and further mapping for remaining chapters is planned.

Mandatory RFN generation requires State Tax officers to identify non-system communications, enabling taxpayer verification through the portal.
Mandatory Reference Number generation applies to communications issued by State Tax Officers that are not generated through the GST portal system and are intended for taxpayers. Officers must generate an RFN through the BO Portal and include it in the communication. Taxpayers may verify officer-generated RFNs before or after login through the Verify RFN service, while officers may search RFNs previously generated by them. The requirement takes effect from issuance of the instruction.

IGST refund drive enables exporters to rectify shipping bill errors and submit required documents to clear pending refunds.
A time-bound IGST refund drive at Chennai Customs prioritises processing of shipping bills with validation error codes (SB001-SB006) by enabling exporters to verify ICEGATE error responses and submit prescribed rectification documents. Dedicated refund cells and a nodal Additional Commissioner are appointed to handle EGM errors, GSTIN mismatches and invalid invoice corrections; remedies require specified documentary proof, EDI job numbers or TR6 challans as applicable, and submission options include in-person during the drive or at the Sevottam Desk for offline filings.

Arrest and incident reporting: mandatory revised formats and immediate email submission to central compliance for risk-based targeting.
Revised Annexure-I and Annexure-II templates mandate uniform email reporting to a specified recipient list to support national risk-based targeting. Intimation of arrest must be sent by the Chief Commissioner/Director General through email within the prescribed short timeframe, while Commissioners/ADGs must immediately email incident reports where arrests are not made. The formats and filling guide require standardized capture of offence category, mode and direction, documentary references, commodity and seizure details, identity particulars, and a concise modus operandi to enable integration into a centralized database for early detection of smuggling syndicates.