Merchant Overtime Charges exemption for cruise passenger clearance at notified customs ports under 24x7 operations.
Merchant Overtime (MOT) charges are not to be levied for customs services rendered in relation to the clearance of international cruise passengers and their accompanied baggage at customs locations notified for 24x7 operations. The measure is intended to ensure uniform implementation of the customs clearance framework for cruise operations, and field formations are required to ensure strict compliance.

Compulsory registration for standalone hard disk drives is amended, while USB external drives remain under existing notified provisions.
Amends the Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2021 by substituting the entry at Serial No. 50 with Standalone Hard Disk Drives. USB Type External Hard Disk Drives continue under the existing notified provisions, while all other standalone HDDs are brought under the Order from 5th November.

Exemption for Highly Specialized Equipment under compulsory registration rules applies to limited-volume imports and manufacturing.
Highly Specialized Equipment (HSE) is exempted from the Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2021 where a specific exemption is issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the equipment is manufactured or imported in less than 100 units per model per year. The exemption covers equipment powered by three-phase supply, single-phase supply above 16 Ampere, equipment exceeding specified dimensions, and equipment weighing more than 80 Kg. The amendment takes effect from 15 June 2026.

Container scanning hours extended to improve cargo clearance and preserve existing customs procedures for specified container movements.
Operational hours of the Container Scanning Facility at Syama Prasad Mookherjee Port, Kolkata, are extended with immediate effect by revising the working window for both the Drive Through Container Scanner and the Mobile X-ray Container Scanner from 10:00 hrs to 18:00 hrs to 10:00 hrs to 22:00 hrs on all working days. The existing procedures for DPD containers, containers destined for ICDs, and Nepal/Bhutan-bound CTD containers remain unchanged and continue under the earlier public notices governing scanner operations and related customs handling.

Allowed for Shipment Request and stuffing cancellation messages are made live for transshipment under SCMTR compliance.
Pan India implementation of the ASR (Allowed for Shipment Request) message and the SFCN (Stuffing Cancellation) message under SCMTR, 2018 is brought into effect from 25.05.2026. The ASR message is made live for shipment readiness in transshipment operations, to be filed by the Authorized Transhipper after the Custodian files the SF message. The SFCN message is introduced to enable custodians to reset an already filed SF message.

Allowed for Shipment Request messaging now advances transhipment Shipping Bills after stuffing, while cancellation enables custodians to reset stuffing records.
Allowed for Shipment Request and Stuffing Cancellation messages under the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 are operational pan-India from 25 May 2026. After a custodian files the container-wise Stuffing message, an Authorized Transhipper must file the Shipping Bill-wise ASR message to indicate cargo readiness for transhipment; successful filing moves the Shipping Bill to the next queue. The SFCN message permits custodians to reset a submitted Stuffing message. Subsequent export-leg messages depend on SF and ASR operationalisation.

Customs area approval for BMCTPL access road extends custodian and cargo service provider responsibilities under customs law.
Approval is granted for an access road area admeasuring 118,089.89 sq. mtrs. as a place for unloading imported goods and loading export goods. The area is specified by boundary vertices and forms part of the BMCTPL notified customs area. M/s Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal Pvt. Ltd. is appointed custodian of imported goods and export cargo in the area, and M/s BMCT Pvt. Ltd. is appointed as a Customs Cargo Service Provider subject to compliance with the Customs Act, 1962 and the Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009.

System-based e-scheduling of cargo examination streamlines import cargo handling with transparent, rule-based electronic coordination.
System-based e-scheduling of cargo examination through ICEGATE 2.0 enables importers, IEC holders and authorised Customs Brokers to electronically schedule, view and reschedule examination of registered imported goods, with automated notifications to stakeholders and system-based allocation of examination slots. Customs Brokers and importers must ensure correct Bill of Entry and Custodian/CFS details, custodians must place goods as per the generated schedule, and Customs officers must map examiners, conduct examination through the assigned officer and manage reassignment or rescheduling where necessary.

Out of Charge-based DPD conversion allowed without separate Customs permission, subject to fully facilitated Bills of Entry.
Importers of fully facilitated Bills of Entry granted Out of Charge by the RMS Facilitation Centre may convert containers from DPD-CFS to DPD-DPD without separate Customs permission. Shipping lines and terminals may act on the importer's request once OOC is generated, subject to the condition that the Bills of Entry are fully facilitated and any scanning has not raised suspicion.

Out of Charge cancellation procedure requires importer request, CFS confirmation, and approval where goods are unavailable.
Procedure is prescribed for cancellation of Out of Charge (OOC) for imported goods. An importer or customs broker must submit a request letter or email stating the grounds for cancellation to the DC/AC (Import Assessment) or DE, with a copy to the CFS where the goods are lying. The CFS must confirm that the goods are physically available in the CFS. The AC/DC then examines the request, cancels the OOC, and communicates the cancellation to the importer and the CFS.

Central Public Information Officer designations are revised, with appeals against information officers routed to the designated appellate officer.
Assistant Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and the Chief Accounts Officer are designated as Central Public Information Officers for their respective charges following a partial modification of an earlier public notice. A person aggrieved by a Central Public Information Officer may prefer an appeal to the Joint Commissioner of Customs (Airport and Administration) under the Right to Information Act, 2005. Implementation-related difficulties may be brought to the notice of the issuing office.

Mandatory re-assessment for Customs refund claims is required before filing through the ICEGATE refund module.
Prior re-assessment of the Bill of Entry is a mandatory pre-condition for refund of excess Customs duty paid, wherever re-assessment is required. Refund claims must be filed through the integrated "Re-assessment cum Refund" module on ICEGATE 2.0, which provides for electronic submission of the reassessment request, generation of a pre-filled refund application after reassessment, and further processing by the Centralized Refund Cell. Applications filed without prior re-assessment are treated as incomplete and may attract a deficiency memo.

Export manifest compliance and EGM error rectification affect processing of export incentives and post-export benefits.
Customs authorities issued a public notice identifying EGM errors for May 2026 and reiterated the requirement under Section 41 of the Customs Act, 1962 for delivery of the departure manifest before departure. The notice states that incorrect or missing departure manifests may delay export incentives and directs exporters, customs brokers, shipping lines and others to rectify the errors in accordance with the specified standing orders or file the departure manifests as applicable.

Test report validity streamlining enables final assessment of Bills of Entry and reduces provisional assessment for identical imported goods.
Import assessment of goods covered by prescribed test reports is streamlined by treating a valid test report issued by CRCL or other accredited laboratories as valid for six months for identical goods matching grade, specifications, country of origin and supplier. Where such a report is available and not older than six months, Bills of Entry are to be assessed finally and provisional assessment is not to be made solely because a fresh report is unavailable. The procedure does not apply where Partner Government Agencies themselves draw the sample.

Bank guarantee exemption for Advance Authorisation and EPCG licences depends on truthful disclosure of past penalties.
Authorisation holders and Customs Brokers seeking exemption from bank guarantee or cash security for registration of Advance Authorisation and EPCG licences must submit a complete, true, and correct declaration or affidavit regarding penalty history. The exemption is available only if the licence holder has not been penalized under the Customs Act, the Central Excise Act, FEMA, or the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act during the previous three financial years. Any false or misleading declaration may attract penal action under the Customs Act, including section 117.

Custodian appointment for import, export and transshipped goods at Haldia Dock Complex under customs law.
Appointment of Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, formerly Kolkata Port Trust, as the Custodian for import, export and transshipped goods handled at the Haldia Dock Complex (INHAL1) under Section 45 of the Customs Act, 1962. The notice assigns responsibility for custody of cargo at the specified customs facility.

Customs area de-notification follows relocation of CFS operations to a newly notified site.
De-notification of a customs area follows the shifting of a container freight station's operations from its earlier premises to a new notified location. The entity had previously been appointed as custodian and customs cargo service provider for the old CFS site, and its name had been changed from the earlier corporate name to the present one. A separate customs area and custodianship were already notified for the new location where operations had commenced, and the former premises had become non-operational and unusable for CFS activities. In exercise of powers under Section 8(a) of the Customs Act, 1962, the customs area measuring 36,456 square meters at the old Palaspe premises is de-notified.

Allow for Shipment procedure streamlined for pending SEZ export FCL containers under Export Transhipment Permit.
Pending Shipping Bills for SEZ export FCL containers moved under Export Transhipment Permit require submission of the Shipping Bill with Let Export Order, E-Gate Pass, Bill of Lading, and an undertaking that the container has not been taken back to town. The documents may be filed with the Superintendent, Preventive General (Tech), JNCH, by email or physically where required. The notice is meant to expedite disposal of pending cases, while the procedure in Public Notice No. 21/2025 continues for regular cases.

Risk-based selective vessel boarding streamlines customs clearance while preserving strict declaration compliance and boarding accountability.
Risk-based selective boarding of vessels at Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House is to be carried out on advance risk profiling instead of as a routine requirement. The screening is to consider compliance history, voyage details, last port of call, current itinerary, cargo profile and declarations relating to ship stores, crew effects and vessel satellite devices, so that discrepancies, unusual quantities and unauthorized equipment can be identified. Terminal operators must send a weekly tentative vessel list, the Superintendent (Admin) must grant boarding clearance after document review and report weekly on boardings and reasons, and the Master and shipping agent must ensure strict compliance and accurate advance declarations where a vessel is not boarded.

Customs pass digitisation extends manual pass validity while preserving existing terms and conditions.
Manual Customs Passes issued under categories F, G and H are to be replaced with digitally verifiable passes issued through the Customs Brokers Licensing Management System (CBLMS) online portal. The validity of manual Customs Passes, earlier due to become invalid after 31.05.2026, is extended up to 30.06.2026, while all other facilities, terms and conditions under the earlier public notice remain unchanged.