Authorised CFS access restricts cargo clearance and handling activities to designated cardholders and self-pass holding importers or exporters.
Cargo clearance at Container Freight Stations must be undertaken only by duly authorised persons, including specified card holders, Port Trust ID Card holders, and importers or exporters holding a self Customs Pass. Container Freight Stations must enforce the entry restriction. Unauthorised involvement in documentation, entry, delivery, financial transactions, or other cargo-handling activities constitutes non-compliance and may attract remedial action under the cargo-handling regulations.

Green channel customs clearance speeds pollution response equipment movement for oil and HNS spill emergencies.
Establishment of a green channel for customs clearance supports urgent import, export, temporary import, temporary export, re-import and re-export of pollution response equipment and materials for oil and HNS spill response operations. Customs Zones must appoint a senior Nodal Officer to coordinate with the Indian Coast Guard and other stakeholders, ensure expeditious clearance under the Customs Act, maintain contact details, facilitate priority processing on a 24x7 basis where required, and act as the single point of contact for customs issues.

Digital Section 49 warehousing applications enable online submission, queries, approvals, status tracking, and storage extensions.
Section 49 warehousing is digitised through an online ICEGATE and Customs EDI workflow for imported goods awaiting clearance. Importers may submit fresh applications with validated Bill of Entry particulars, warehouse details and supporting documents, receive a request number, track status, and reply to Customs queries online. Customs officers may examine records, record remarks, approve applications or raise queries. Approved applicants may seek extensions of storage permission, granted for 30 days and extendable in successive 30-day periods with officer approval.

Right to Information Act designation of First Appellate Authority for Chennai VII Air Cargo Commissionerate under customs administration.
Designation of the First Appellate Authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005 for the Office of the Principal Commissioner of Customs, Chennai VII (Air Cargo) Commissionerate. In exercise of powers under Sections 4(1) and 5(1) of the Act, Smt. Radhika Venugopalan, Joint Commissioner of Customs, is designated as the First Appellate Authority for the Chennai VII (Air Cargo) Commissionerate, with the stated office location and contact details for RTI appellate matters.

ICEGATE orders and notices module mandated for electronic communication of customs notices, orders and departmental correspondence.
Use of the ICEGATE Orders and Notices module is mandated for electronic communication of Show Cause Notices, Orders-in-Original, Orders-in-Appeal and other departmental communications, while the applicable statutory provisions governing issue and service continue to apply independently. Officers must upload accurate and complete communications through ICEGATE using valid login credentials, proper document categorisation, correct DIN and officer particulars, legible PDFs, and a clear subject or gist, while supervisory officers monitor uploaded communications through dashboard functions for verification, monitoring and record management.

Sea Cargo Manifest filing through SCMTR becomes mandatory as legacy IGM/EGM filings are phased out.
Mandatory filing of manifest and transhipment data through the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations (SCMTR) platform is directed for all relevant stakeholders. The notice states that supplementary IGM/EGM filings create duplication and data inconsistency, and that legacy filings are to be phased out. Kolkata Customs Sea Port is identified as a port where the supplementary facility will be disabled from 30.06.2026, after which filings must be made only through SCMTR, subject to limited verified system-failure exceptions.

Electronic sealing permission remains valid subject to review every three years and prescribed exporter documentation.
Self-sealing permission for electronic sealing (RFID) of containerized export cargo at factory or warehouse premises remains valid unless withdrawn, suspended or cancelled for non-compliance, misuse of the facility or any other valid reason. All such permissions are to be reflected in the EDI system and are subject to review every three years. For review, exporters must submit the prescribed documents, including the request letter, existing permission, authorization, valid IEC, PAN, GSTN registration, ownership or lease proof, declaration of previous cases, and export-goods particulars with HSN code.

Auto transshipment of SEZ-bound cargo streamlines customs processing by replacing manual approval with system-generated transshipment details.
Auto transshipment of SEZ-bound cargo from gateway ports has been enabled in the customs system to digitise manual processes and facilitate smoother container movement. Once the Bill of Entry is assessed, the system will automatically generate the Transshipment number and send a copy to the registered email address. Manual approval by officers is no longer required, and the relevant details will appear automatically in the supporting documents.

Uniform DIGIT-reg data entry rules prescribe offence categories, stage-wise reporting, timelines, and nodal oversight for customs enforcement.
Uniform data entry in DIGIT-reg is prescribed for specified offence cases, including outright smuggling, commercial fraud and cases under NDPS and allied laws, with the principal statute determining the category. Data must be entered at defined stages such as search, summons, seizure, arrest, investigation, adjudication, post-adjudication and prosecution, within prescribed timelines. A three-tier nodal officer structure, monthly reconciliation with the Monthly Performance Report, and electronic handling of DIGIT-related requests are also mandated.

Transshipment cargo reworking at Mundra Port requires approved CFSs, simplified documentation, and stricter safeguards for shipping-line changes.
Reworking and re-containerisation of international transshipment cargo at Mundra Port is permitted only at CFSs specifically approved by the Commissioner of Customs on a limited first-come-first-served basis. Requests for reworking or cross-stuffing are to be considered case by case, with simplified documentation for same-line transfers and additional NOCs and confirmed booking where a change of shipping line is involved. Perishable cargo is to receive priority, seal opening is restricted, videography is mandatory, and no transshipment permit fee is to be levied.

LCL export transhipment by sealed trucks is operationalised with Customs supervision, bond control, and gateway port verification.
Introduces a procedure for LCL export transhipment by Closed Body Trucks from ICD HALCON, Janori to a gateway port under Customs seal. The process requires electronic filing of Shipping Bills, completion of assessment and clearances at ICD Janori, issuance of an Export Transhipment Permit, stuffing and sealing of the truck under Customs supervision, and verification at the gateway port CFS. It also provides for EGM reconciliation, bond re-credit, drawback and IGST refund processing, weekly reporting by the custodian, and custodian responsibility for transit integrity and compliance.

RTI officer appointments and appellate channels are notified for Customs Commissionerate Kolkata under the transparency law.
Appointment of Central Public Information Officers and First Appellate Authorities is notified for the Commissionerate of Customs (Port), Kolkata under the RTI Act, 2005, following redistribution of charges and supersession of earlier public notices. The notice assigns officers to specified jurisdictions and states the procedure for filing RTI applications and appeals, including the designated RTI Cell for applications received by post or by hand and the corresponding appellate authority for each jurisdiction.

Foreign Trade Policy interpretation issues must follow the prescribed channel, with no direct DGFT references and expedited clearance encouraged.
Uniform handling of interpretational issues under the Foreign Trade Policy is to follow a prescribed internal channel, and officers are not to make direct references to DGFT authorities for clarification. Issues arising during assessment, examination or clearance must first be examined at the Group or Section level, escalated through the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner, and forwarded for policy-level clarification only after due examination through the prescribed CBIC route, with commodity-specific matters referred only after NAC examination where applicable.

Export consignment testing recognizes accredited laboratory reports for compliance, while risk-based cases still follow existing sample procedures.
NABL-accredited laboratories, laboratories recognised by Export Promotion Councils, or other recognised agencies may be used by exporters for testing export consignments for the destination country's regulatory requirements. Where such reports are submitted for compliance purposes and there is no risk-based intervention or intelligence, the proper officer is to consider them without mandatorily sending samples to CRCL. Risk-based intervention continues to follow the existing procedure.

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.