Document exchange under SASEC enables cross-border sharing of specified export declarations by email for verification and compliance.
Exchange under SASEC mandates email transmission of export declarations above a value threshold of USD 15000 between designated nodal officers at Agartala and Akhaura LCSs, listing consignor/consignee, goods description, HS code, FOB value, quantity, unit, and bill of export number and date; other declaration details may be shared on request. The scheme starts 01.04.2019, requires retention of printed email records, and permits use of the received data to verify corresponding Bills of Entry and obtain further consignment details.

Self-registration of imports enables pre-payment Customs Compliance Verification and system-triggered electronic clearance upon duty payment.
Importers may self-register imported goods on ICEGATE after arrival using electronic integrated declarations and digital signatures. A system-based Customs Compliance Verification (CCV) will permit proper officers to perform statutory verifications before duty payment; upon CCV completion the System will provide electronic clearance after duty payment under Section 47(1). ICES 1.5 retains RMS and agency interdictions, excludes interdicted Bills from automated clearance, and introduces automated FIFO queuing and CFS User Mapping to allocate Bills to OOC officers, including a designated group for facilitated consignments.

Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations compliance requires stakeholders to apply via ICEGATE and complete entity approval steps.
Applications to operate under the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations must be submitted by the master applicant entity via the ICEGATE portal, listing authorized persons, intended operations and attaching supporting documents. Submitted applications will be routed to ICES for approval by the jurisdictional officer using the ENT APR role, which permits verification, approval or raising queries. Guidance notes and application materials are available on ICEGATE and the port customs website, and IEC holders should register on ICEGATE for e seal use.

Rebate of state and central taxes and levies: new RoSCTL replaces prior scheme with duty credit scrips and transitional claim rules.
RoSCTL replaces the prior Rebate of State Levies scheme with rebate rates notified by the Ministry of Textiles; claims under the old scheme are to be processed only for shipping bills with LEO dates up to the day before RoSCTL's commencement. DGFT will issue benefits as MEIS type duty credit scrips and detailed claiming, issuance and usage procedures are being finalised; until then, claims filed under existing scheme codes will be treated as RoSCTL claims. Systems updates are underway and staff must follow these instructions as standing orders.

Real estate GST: 1% affordable, 5% other, option for ongoing projects to retain old rates or adopt pro rata transition.
The Council implemented the 33rd Meeting decisions for Real Estate: effective GST at 1% (affordable) and 5% (other than affordable) without ITC; definitions from RERA; 80% procurement from registered suppliers or tax on shortfall under RCM (cement at higher RCM); creation of related 18%/18% entries for unregistered supplies to promoters; RCM and timing shifts for TDR/FSI/long term lease; amendments to ITC apportionment rules; transitional pro rata ITC formula for ongoing projects; one time option for ongoing projects to remain under old rates; and notifications effective 1 April 2019 subject to legal vetting.

Online filing requirement for restricted item exports shifts applications and consultations online, centralising authorisations with central authority.
Online filing is mandated for export authorisations of Restricted items (Non-SCOMET) via the DGFT E-COM module with required uploads (purchase orders, ANF 1 and specified documents); hard copies are not needed and a transition period allows offline submissions until the cut-off. From the transition end, export authorisations will be issued centrally by the Export Cell at DGFT Headquarters, while Regional Authorities will handle revalidation and penal matters and will issue authorisations only for permissions granted before the cut-off.

Eligible Foreign Investor participation in commodity derivatives limited to non-agricultural, cash settled, foreign currency denominated contracts based on overseas settlement prices.
EFIs may participate in IFSC commodity derivatives only in non-agricultural commodities; contracts must be cash settled based on settlement prices determined on overseas exchanges; and all transactions must be denominated in foreign currency. Exchanges must amend bye laws, rules and regulations and notify members and publish the provisions on their websites to implement these conditions.

Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies introduced for garment exports, replacing prior rebate scheme with new rates.
RoSCTL for rebate of State and Central taxes and levies on garment and made ups exports was notified and came into effect on 7 March 2019; rebate rates under RoSCTL have been notified and the prior Rebate of State Levies (RoSL) scheme for garments and made ups has been discontinued from that date. Stakeholders are referred to the circular and ministry notification for details and may report implementation difficulties to the issuing office.

Preventive vigilance by CBIC: intensify checks, form mobile squads, share intelligence, and seize illicit cash and contraband during elections.
CBIC field formations are directed to enhance the preventive vigilance mechanism during the 17th Lok Sabha election period by intensifying checking, surveillance and targeted enforcement against illicit movement of currency, liquor, gold, fake currency, narcotics and other contraband; constituting mobile squads and special teams; tasking intelligence units to develop actionable information; maintaining strict vigil on domestic and cross border movements; sharing detection and seizure intelligence with other government agencies and election authorities in real time; and reporting detections and results to the Board daily.

Effective tribunal representation requires prior case preparation, coordinated State Representation, and structured review of revenue-significant appeals.
Effective representation before the Commercial Tax Tribunal requires prior study of hearing-listed cases, proper coordination among nominated officers, and continuity in State Representation. Where no regular State Representative is available, the senior-most and experienced Deputy Commissioner should be assigned long-term duty, and in revenue-significant matters the concerned Deputy Commissioner may also assist. Earlier headquarters instructions for zonal committee-based scrutiny of appeals, identification of legal issues, and preparation of written submissions are reiterated, with regular compliance and reporting to the Case Section.

IGST refund processing requires rectifying EGM, GSTIN and invoice mismatches to enable crediting to exporters' bank accounts.
Rectification of EGM, GSTIN, invoice number and Shipping Bill detail mismatches is required to enable processing of IGST refunds; exporters must ensure correct EGM filing before departure, submit reconciliatory documents and approach the IGST Refund Cell or Export Department Help Desk for corrections, with annexed lists of affected Shipping Bills provided for each error category.

GST taxpayer facilitation centre monitoring and issue redressal assigned through a designated officer and email mechanism.
Authorization is issued for monitoring the District Level Service/Facilitation Centre at Kar Bhavan, Agartala, and for handling the specified email-id so that GST-related issues raised by taxpayers can be received and resolved through the facilitation mechanism. The order is made in consequence of the transfer of the earlier Superintendent of Taxes and supersedes the previous order dated 05.01.2019.

Nature of supply of Priority Sector Lending Certificates clarified; states directed to adopt central circular for uniform GST treatment.
The Department of Revenue, Tax Research Unit issued a clarification on the GST characterisation of Priority Sector Lending Certificates (PSLC) to ensure consistent treatment across field formations; the Chief Commissioner of State Tax directs all state tax officers to follow that circular for uniform implementation in assessment, registration and other GST processes concerning PSLCs.

Online import licensing mandatory for restricted items; applicants must file via DGFT eCom with IEC and required approvals.
The DGFT requires mandatory online filing via the eCOM module for import licences for restricted items using the revised ANF 2M; applicants must authenticate by OTP, provide IEC (or listed permanent IEC where applicable), complete data fields, upload signed PDF documents, pay online and select the jurisdictional Regional Authority. Multiple items may be combined subject to a single Port of Registration which cannot be changed after licence issuance; imports through non EDI ports are prohibited. Applications must include mandatory category specific approvals and documents as listed.

Coastal carriage through foreign territory requires harmonised transit procedures, documentation, marking and sealing requirements to permit movement and verification.
Movement of coastal cargo through Sri Lanka and Bangladesh is allowed under a harmonised procedure using the Transportation of Goods (Through Foreign Territory) Regulations, 1965 with waiver of Bill of Coastal Goods filing for such transits; transit documents must include GSTIN or alternative tax identifiers and invoice references, containers and goods must be marked and sealed "For Coastal Carriage through foreign territory", masters require proper officer clearance and endorsed transit manifests, destination customs must verify discharge and seals, and tampering or discrepancies are subject to customs adjudication and applicable prohibitions.

Rebate of State and Central Taxes converted to RoSCTL, replacing RoSL and enabling MEIS type duty credit scrip issuance.
RoSCTL replaces the earlier RoSL scheme for garments and made ups, with notified rebate rates and an operative cutoff for processing RoSL claims. Administrative systems will be updated, and benefits under RoSCTL will be delivered as MEIS type duty credit scrips; detailed claiming, issuance and usage procedures are being finalised. Transitional claims filed under existing RoSL scheme codes will be treated as RoSCTL claims until the new procedures are in place.

Customs Compliance Verification enables pre payment registration and system based clearance upon CCV completion and subsequent duty payment.
Turant Customs enables importers or authorised persons to self register imported goods and supporting documents on ICEGATE pre payment; a system based Customs Compliance Verification will permit officers to complete statutory checks under Sections 17/18 and Section 47(1) while payment is pending, and upon CCV completion the automated system will grant clearance after duty payment, subject to RMS interdictions and agency alerts. ICES 1.5 also implements an automated FIFO OOC queue and CFS group mapping to route Bills of Entry to designated officers.

Deferred import duty payment deadlines updated, imposing mid month, month start and March end schedules for returned bills.
The amendment to rule 5 prescribes payment deadlines: duties on Bills of Entry returned in the first half of a month are payable by the 16th of that month; those returned in the latter half of any month other than March are payable by the first day of the next month; and those returned in the latter half of March are payable by the last day of March. The amendment takes effect on Gazette publication and non-compliance issues should be raised with the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner, Appraising Main (Import), NS-III. Compliance is a standing order for officers.

Rebate scheme transition: new RoSCTL replaces prior RoSL and converts claims into duty credit scrips.
The Ministry of Textiles has established the RoSCTL scheme effective 7 March 2019, replacing the prior RoSL scheme for garments and made-ups; RoSL claims will be processed only for shipping bills with LEO dates up to 6 March 2019. Benefits under RoSCTL will be administered as DGFT-issued duty credit scrips on the MEIS model; detailed claiming, issuance, and usage procedures are pending, and existing claims filed under RoSL scheme codes will be treated as RoSCTL claims during transition.

Customs Compliance Verification enables pre-payment goods registration and system clearance after duty payment via ICEGATE automated queuing.
Importers may self-register goods on ICEGATE before duty payment and upload electronic integrated declarations with digital signature. After registration the proper officer will perform Customs Compliance Verification and, upon recording CCV completion and subsequent payment of duty, the Customs Automated System will grant electronic clearance. RMS interdictions, agency alerts and local contingencies will continue to block electronic clearance. ICES 1.5 implements an automated FIFO queuing for Out of Charge processing and a CFS User Mapping to route Bills of Entry to designated officers, including a Facilitated CFS group for RMS-facilitated entries.