Late filing relief for import Bills of Entry from China granted where delay due to non receipt of documents.
Relief is provided for delayed filing of import Bills of Entry for consignments from China where delay is due to non receipt of basic import documents; a letter from the importer or customs broker stating that cause will prevent levy of late fee, and the public notice operates as a standing order with escalation to ADC/JC for difficulties.

Continuous cargo clearance facility enables after hours assessment and clearance upon stakeholder intimation to a dedicated helpline.
A 24X7 clearance mechanism at Air Cargo Complex, Sahar implements an after hours assessment and clearance process via a dedicated mobile number held by the Superintendent Batch (IFO - Customs) as single point contact, who records all intimations. Importers/CBs must provide Bill of Entry number, country of origin, product description and party details. Additional/Joint Commissioners will assign officers to ensure prompt handling and legal compliance. Partner agencies are being approached to support the facility, which will be reviewed in ten days and adjusted with trade and custodian input; difficulties may be raised with ADC/JC, Import Commissionerate, ACC, Mumbai.

Expert valuation of precious stones requires prior assessment approval, supervised examination, and recorded referral details for imported consignments.
Expert valuers empanelled by Customs are to be consulted where specialist opinion is required for valuation or examination of precious and semi-precious stones. Referral for consignment valuation requires prior approval from the designated Assessment Group or Dock officer, and examination may be conducted under officer supervision. The Appraising Group must maintain a register recording Bills of Entry, valuer details, observations and remarks for each referral.

Twenty-four-hour customs clearance expands assessment, examination, release and laboratory operations to reduce congestion and trade delays.
Customs clearance operates on a 24x7 basis through import facilitation centres, export parking plazas, extended Assessment Group working and continuous preventive staffing at port-terminal gates, container freight stations and the boarding office. Assessment, examination, Out of Charge and laboratory operations may be extended to address congestion, delays or operational surges, with implementation treated as a Standing Order for officers.

Late fee waiver for delayed import filings due to missing China documents, subject to approval and supporting letter.
Import and export consignments to and from China will receive expedited handling with Air Cargo Complex and CRCL functioning continuously; late-filed Bills of Entry for imports from China may be considered for waiver of late fee upon a letter from the importer or customs broker attributing delay to non receipt of requisite China documents, subject to Additional Commissioner approval, and a dedicated Help Desk is provided for stakeholder assistance and escalation.

Appointment of Customs Cargo Service Provider establishes custodial responsibility for courier consignments pending customs clearance.
The Commissioner of Customs appoints a private courier operator as Customs Cargo Service Provider and custodian for its own courier consignments at the designated terminal, with consignments to remain under custody until clearance for home consumption or export. Express Industry Council of India is appointed custodian for other courier consignments at the New Courier Terminal, with a short transitional arrangement to allow clearance of the new operator's in-transit consignments. Custodians must comply with statutory and regulatory obligations, standing instructions, and the conditions of undertakings executed before the Commissioner.

Round the clock customs clearance introduced to manage supply chain disruption and expedite import export processing.
Introduction of round the clock customs clearance at Ludhiana and specified ICDs/CFSs, coordinated via a Special Cell at the Commissioner of Customs and an additional cell at ICD Dappar; two shift staffing with night duties by Special Cell deputees and continuous CRCL laboratory services. Custodians must ensure 24x7 logistics support (machinery, cranes, labour, infrastructure). Trade participants should file shipping bills and bills of entry in advance to avoid EDI congestion. No merchant overtime fee shall be collected at designated 24x7 ports for Customs services.

Round-the-clock customs clearance enables priority assessment for shipments linked to China, with email requests and designated appraisers.
A round-the-clock customs clearance facility at New Customs House, Mumbai Zone I enables priority assessment and clearance of Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills related to imports from and exports to China. Importers, exporters or customs brokers may request priority assessment by email in a prescribed format; duty officers will list and transfer such cases online to designated appraisers. Designated DC/AC/Appraisers will assess only requests linked to China, applying Customs and allied law, and the facility covers Import I, Import II, Export and ICD Mulund commissionerates.

Foreign investment caps in insurance updated; equity limits and control conditions govern insurers and intermediaries under automatic route.
The Press Note revises the insurance-sector FDI framework: Indian insurance companies are limited to forty-nine percent total foreign investment, allowed via the automatic route subject to IRDAI verification, Insurance Act compliance and RBI pricing rules for increases; foreign portfolio investment follows FEMA and SEBI FPI regulations. Intermediaries (brokers, consultants, corporate agents, TPAs, surveyors and loss assessors) may have full foreign equity under the automatic route but must satisfy corporate form, resident Indian senior officer, dividend repatriation permission, disclosure and board/management composition requirements prescribed by regulators.

Customs Transit Declaration requirement governs transit through foreign territory, mandating CTD, bond, sealing and electronic filing transition.
The regulations supersede the 1965 rules and govern transit of goods through foreign territory under the agreed port and inland waterway arrangements; every transit shipment must be accompanied by a Customs Transit Declaration (CTD) and a customs bond, sealed with a customs one time lock at Indian exit, endorsed at each entry/exit point, and presented on re entry for verification and bond closure; manual CTD filing will operate initially with a transition to electronic EDI filing, and Cross Border Certificate requirement is waived for movements under these regulations.

Export data reporting: District and State origin required in shipping bills; GSTIN mandatory for registered taxpayers.
Electronic Shipping Bills must include, for each item, the State of Origin and District of Origin, applicable Preferential Agreement details, and the Standard Unit Quantity Code (SQC) for the relevant tariff heading; additionally, GST-registered importers and exporters must declare their GSTIN in import/export documents.

Late fee waiver for delayed import filings due to document delays from China - requires importer declaration to avoid charges.
Customs permits waiver of late fee for Bills of Entry filed late for consignments from China where delay arose from non receipt of basic import documents due to the coronavirus outbreak, conditional on a written statement by the importer or Customs Broker; the measure is issued as a standing order for officers and provides escalation to ADC/JC or DC/AC, Appraising Main (Import), NS I for any difficulties.

Transportation of goods via foreign territory requires a Customs Transit Declaration, bond, one-time-lock sealing and EDI transition.
The Transportation of Goods (Through Foreign Territory) Regulations, 2020 supersede the 1965 rules and cover India-to-India transit through Bangladesh under the ACMP and PIWTT and land routes partly over foreign territory; consignors, carriers or authorised agents must file a prescribed Customs Transit Declaration and bond, seal cargo with a customs one-time-lock, and follow endorsement, retention and copy-distribution procedures at exit, entry and re-entry ports, with manual CTD filing to be replaced by EDI when developed and electronic arrival entries acceptable for bond crediting/closure.

Electronic RFID sealing requirement for bonded warehouse movements mandates vendor certified seals and Reader data capture for tracking and inspection.
Electronic RFID anti-tamper one-time-locks are mandated where warehousing regulations require a one-time-lock for deposit into or removal from Customs bonded warehouses; RFID seals must be procured from CBIC-listed vendors, conform to prescribed ISO specifications, be linked to warehouse codes and serial numbers, and be scanned by prescribed Readers with specified data elements captured in a web-application. Licencees must procure Readers and seals for supply or use, vendors must maintain seal and TID linkages and enable uploads, tamper detection triggers refusal of unloading and customs examination, and specified exceptions to RFID use remain.

24x7 customs clearance instituted to manage supply-chain disruptions, requiring continuous staffing, extended lab testing, and daily reporting.
CBIC directed implementation of 24x7 Customs clearance at all Customs formations, with CRCL laboratories operating round-the-clock, requiring Chief Commissioners to deploy sufficient staff, maintain station-wise records of BEs/SBs filed beyond normal hours, and report daily to the Board by email; existing designated 24x7 ports/airports to continue, with the measures scheduled to remain in effect until end of May 2020.

Reverse charge mechanism for rented immovable property requires mandatory GST registration and zone-wise compliance reporting.
Renting of immovable property is treated as a supply of services, and the general registration threshold for service providers is Rs. 20 lakh per annum. Renting services provided by the Central Government, State Government, Union Territory, or local authority to a business entity are taxable under the reverse charge mechanism, and where tax liability arises under reverse charge, the usual registration threshold does not apply and GST registration is mandatory.

Line of Credit support enables export financing with minimum Indian content and Export Declaration Form compliance.
Exim Bank's Government of India supported Line of Credit to Suriname finances rehabilitation of a milk processing plant, requiring at least 75 per cent of contract value to be supplied from India and permitting up to 25 per cent procurement abroad. The agreement is effective from January 27, 2020 with a terminal utilization period of 60 months after project completion. Shipments must be declared in the Export Declaration Form; no agency commission is payable under the LoC though exporters may use own resources or EEFC balances after realization, subject to AD Category I bank compliance and FEMA directions.

Exporters must include State and District of Origin, SQC, PTA/FTA details, GSTIN, and eSanchit IRN in Shipping Bills.
The electronic Shipping Bill must include for every item the State and District of Origin (district code linked to the declared state), SQC with actual quantity, Preferential/FTA details where applicable, and mandatory GSTIN declaration; GST Compensation Cess must be separately reported. Invoices must be uploaded to eSanchit and the eSanchit IRN and relevant document code provided in the Shipping Bill.

Pre-shipment inspection exemption: metallic scrap from listed safe regions may enter via designated ports, subject to supplier certification and scans.
Amendment adds Kattupalli to the list of designated ports where pre-shipment inspection certificate (PSIC) is not required for metallic waste and scrap from the USA, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the EU, provided consignments are cleared through those ports with supplier/scrap yard certification of absence of radioactive materials and explosives; such consignments remain subject to radiation and explosive checks via portal monitors and container scanners, and trans-shipments through those regions are not eligible for the exemption.

Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies issued as electronic duty credit scrips to offset customs and excise duties.
RoSCTL and an Additional Ad hoc Incentive for garments and made ups replace prior RoSL and MEIS benefits; rebates and incentives are issued as electronic duty credit scrips, freely transferable and usable for payment of specified Customs and Central Excise duties, issued as a single electronic scrip for exports within prescribed LEO date ranges, with procedures for issue, use and recovery for over claims or mis declaration set out in the notifications and accompanying guidance.