Amendments during final assessment permitted for bulk cargo, allowing officers to revise invoice details and recalculate assessable value.
Updated EDI functionality allows officers, during final assessment of bills of entry for bulk and liquid bulk cargo, to amend unit price, quantity, invoice number, freight and miscellaneous charges; the system will recalculate the assessable/invoice value based on the amended unit price and amended quantity. The capability is limited to bulk and liquid bulk consignments and is effective as a standing order for officers, with specified helpdesk contacts for issues.

DPD registration contact update: authorities will align registered emails and mobiles with IEC records and require OTP verification.
DPD Registration contact details will be aligned with Importer IEC records and the online OTDI module will verify authenticity by sending an OTP to the registered mobile; on successful verification, change-of-CFS requests update in real time. Suspected duplicate e-mail usage prompted a suo-moto update using IEC data, while importers may request changes with requisite documents via their registered e-mail and report issues to the Additional Commissioner; officers must treat this as a standing order.

Container scanning portal status check now available at csd.jnpa.in; enter container, IGM number and date.
A new container scanning status portal (csd.jnpa.in) enables stakeholders to check whether a container is selected for scanning and whether it has been scanned and examined by entering the container number, IGM number and IGM date in the "Check Container Status" tab.

Late fee waiver for Bills of Entry affected by system downtime, applying to vessel entries and treated as standing order.
Waiver of late fees is authorised for Bills of Entry affected by electronic filing unavailability during the Union Budget updation; it applies to Late Fee under the Bill of Entry (Forms) Amendment Regulations, 2017 for Bills of Entry for vessels with entry inward at INTUT1 and for those filed on or before restoration, and the Public Notice is issued as a Standing Order with implementation difficulties to be reported to the Commissioner of Customs.

Extension of e BRC submission deadline to facilitate exporters, conditional on compliance with Public Notice 21/2024.
The deadline for submission of electronic Bank Realisation Certificates (e-BRCs) by exporters is extended from 31.01.2025 to 15.02.2025, conditional on compliance with documentary requirements specified in Public Notice No. 21/2024 dated 31.12.2024. Exporters and brokers must submit proof of realisation of sale proceeds within the extended period. A dedicated BRC Cell with contact email [email protected] and named officers is designated to handle pending cases and provide assistance; implementation difficulties should be referred to the Assistant Commissioner, BRC Cell, ACC.

Waiver of late fees for bills of entry affected by system downtime, subject to specified vessel entries and filing deadline.
Waiver of late fees is granted for Bills of Entry that could not be filed due to ICEGATE system unavailability during the Union Budget updation. The waiver covers Bills of Entry for vessels with entry inwards at INMAA1, INKAT1 and INENR1 on 1 February 2025, where those Bills are filed on or before 2 February 2025, notwithstanding the late fee provisions in the Bill of Entry (Forms) Amendment Regulations, 2017.

Voluntary payment facility on ICEGATE enables self-initiated challans and online settlement without routine officer approval.
Enables electronic collection of Voluntary/Self Initiated Payments (SIP) on ICEGATE, permitting registered users to generate self initiated challans and pay online without officer approval, replacing manual TR 6 payments for past import/export obligations. Payments may be made from the Electronic Cash Ledger or challan wise through specified banking channels, NEFT/RTGS, and payment aggregators; remaining banks will be enabled after testing. Officers must not accept manual TR 6 except with explicit higher level approval, and users must submit proof of payment for field action and verification.

Uploading supporting documents for classification: attach technical catalogs and link e Sanchit to expedite customs assessment.
Importers must upload comprehensive technical documentation-Catalogue, Technical Write-up, End use details, Product Data Sheet, User Manual-and images to e Sanchit, linking each document's IRN to the corresponding Bill of Entry so faceless Assessment Groups can verify self-assessment; absence of such material often causes reclassification queries and delays, as illustrated by an LED chip import where lack of uploaded documentation led to proposed reclassification later resolved after clarification.

Customs tariff revisions and legislative amendments announced; provisional duty changes effective immediately, wider Customs, Excise and GST reforms proposed.
Proposed Union Budget 2025 measures revise customs tariff lines and rates and amend customs, central excise and CGST law. Key features include provisional notifications bringing specified duty changes into immediate effect, a two year limit (with limited extension) for finalisation of provisional assessments, a new voluntary post clearance revision mechanism for import/export entries, abolition and transitional replacement of the Settlement Commission by Interim Boards, GST provisions enabling a Track and Trace mechanism and ITC distribution rules for reverse charge inter state supplies, and a chapter wise review and renewal of conditional exemptions.

Provisional assessment requests may now be made at bill of entry filing to avoid recalling RMS facilitated entries.
A new system field "Prov" requires importers or CHAs to mark "Y" at bill of entry filing to request provisional assessment, eliminating the need to recall RMS facilitated bills; ICEGATE will host the facility shortly. Officers must treat the change as a standing order and report technical problems to the provided email, while traders may use the helpdesk address.

Bill of Entry filing suspension for system updates due to budget changes; collect any new export levies manually.
Bill of Entry filing will be suspended in ICES from 11:00 on the Budget presentation day to allow updation of Notifications and Tariff Directories; filings and approvals made before suspension will be processed but must be monitored for changes in duty liability before clearance. Shipping Bill filing continues; any export duties or cesses announced in the Budget must be tracked and collected manually for Shipping Bills given on or after the Budget date until directory updates are completed. System availability for BE filing resumes after updation, generally within 48 hours absent substantial new levies.

Application fee for extension of time must be paid per application, not per shipping bill, under Drawback Rules.
The Board clarifies that when an exporter applies for extension of time to submit an application for fixation of the rate of duty drawback under the Drawback Rules, the application fee is payable on a per application basis, not per shipping bill, notwithstanding that a single application may include multiple shipping bills; exporters and stakeholders must comply with this per-application fee requirement.

ICES budget updates suspend Bill of Entry filing while export assessments continue with manual collection of revised levies.
Budget-related ICES updates will suspend filing of Bills of Entry and section 48 approvals from 11:00 hours on 01.02.2025 until system changes are completed. Other ICEGATE services and officer functions will continue. Prior Bills of Entry must be checked for changed duty liability before out-of-charge clearance. Shipping Bill filing and assessment will continue, with altered export duty, cess or other levies manually collected until online directory updates are made. Bill of Entry processing will resume after ICES updation.

ICES budget updation temporarily suspends Bills of Entry filing while requiring manual collection of newly affected export levies.
ICES notifications and tariff directories will be updated after the Union Budget 2025-26. Bills of Entry filing and Section 48 approvals will be suspended from 11:00 hours on 1 February 2025 until system updates are completed, although other ICEGATE services will continue. Export Shipping Bills may continue to be filed and assessed; affected export levies must be tracked and collected manually pending online updates. Prior Bills of Entry require verification of revised duty liability before out-of-charge. Trade participants should schedule clearances around the update period.

Declaration of synthetic diamond qualifiers voluntary for exports of lab-grown diamonds below set weight threshold, others remain mandatory.
Declaration of additional qualifiers for synthetic or reconstructed diamonds remains mandatory generally to aid identification and assessment; however, for exports of lab-grown diamonds (HPHT/CVD) below the small-diamond weight threshold the Board has made such additional qualifiers voluntary, while mandatory qualifiers continue to apply in all other cases as per prior circular, and a public notice will be issued for trade guidance.

Export proceeds realisation: exporters must submit e BRCs or face drawback recovery with applicable interest and repayment obligations.
The notice requires exporters listed on the Chennai Customs portal to submit electronic Bank Realisation Certificates (e BRCs) for shipping bills recorded as unrealised, warns that drawback amounts will be recoverable with interest where export proceeds are not realised within the permitted period, and directs repayment via ICEGATE with proof of payment to the BRC Cell; ICEGATE and RBI EDPMS facilities are available for verification and rectification and the BRC Section will prioritise verification and case closure for valid submissions.

Concessional duty eligibility: IGCR benefits may be availed alongside MOOWR when prescribed conditions and timelines are complied with.
Units operating under MOOWR may concurrently avail IGCR concessions if the scheme permits and the importer complies with additional conditions in the Concessional Notification and IGCR Rules, including time-limits and MOOWR stipulations. The phrase "for use in manufacture of cellular mobile phones" requires that a component be used in the manufacturing process; intermediate MOOWR manufacturers who import components, add value, and supply final manufacturers are eligible for IGCR concessional rates provided all documentation, transfer procedures and conditions are met.

Transshipment Bonds for bonded warehouse transfers require physical acceptance, ICES bond generation, and continuing owner-surety liability for customs duties.
Bond-to-bond transfer of warehoused cargo requires physical submission and acceptance of a Transshipment Bond at the source warehouse before its particulars are generated in ICES. Importers or authorised Customs Brokers must submit the accepted TP Bond to the dedicated TSK cell, which creates a job number and, after approval, generates the bond number in ICES. The bond secures safe removal, re-warehousing or satisfactory accounting of goods and payment of applicable customs duties, with joint and several liability of the owner and surety.

Sea Cargo Manifest rules: SAM message new format mandatory; electronic filing required with outreach support for traders.
SCMTR implementation requires electronic filing of the SAM message in the new prescribed format; an interim extension at ports outside the initial rollout prevents penalisation while stakeholders transition. Weekly outreach sessions will be held for issue resolution and stakeholders should report filing difficulties to the SCMTR Cell and ICEGATE helpdesk.

Union Budget 2025-26: Bills of Entry filing suspended from 11:00 on Feb 1 until ICES update.
Filing of Bills of Entry will be unavailable from 11:00 hours on 1 February 2025 until ICES notifications and tariff directories are updated; approvals under the pre budget approval mechanism will also be stopped after that time. Shipping Bill filing and assessment will continue, but export duties or cesses introduced or changed by the Budget for Shipping Bills given on or after 1 February 2025 should be monitored and collected manually until directory changes are applied. The system will resume BE filing only after ICES update, generally within 48 hours if no substantial new levies are notified.