Warehouse recordkeeping amended to require ex-bond Bill of Entry/Shipping Bill details and date for removals for home consumption or export.
A new column, Column No. 25A, has been inserted into Form A to record the "Ex-Bond Bill of Entry No and date/Shipping Bill No. and Date". Warehouse licensees must use the amended form to capture these document numbers and dates when goods are removed from the warehouse for home consumption, export or similar purposes, linking removal records to the corresponding ex-bond Bill of Entry or Shipping Bill for customs recordkeeping and compliance.

Electronic export declaration: booking post offices authorised to e file Postal Bill of Export under new regulations for postal exports.
Designation of specified Booking Post Offices and their mapped Foreign Post Offices as authorised points for electronic filing of the Postal Bill of Export under the Postal Export (Electronic Declaration and Processing) Regulations, 2022; other high volume offices may be proposed for authorisation in consultation with Customs.

E-sanchit upload requirement: All supporting documents and attested Chartered Engineer certificates must be uploaded before assessment.
Importers, customs brokers, and examination officers must upload all supporting documents, including attested Chartered Engineer certificates, to the CBIC e sanchit system with an image reference number before preparing the examination report and forwarding the bill of entry to the FAG for assessment; this requirement is issued as a standing order to improve transparency, reduce dwell time, and avoid delays from missing attested CE certificates, with trade associations instructed to publicize the notice and implementation issues to be reported to the Additional Commissioner.

Launch of Indian Customs EDI system expands electronic processing of import and export documentation at ICD Morbi, with support channels provided.
Computerized processing under the Indian Customs EDI (ICES) system will commence at ICD Morbi from 01.03.2023. The ICD at M/s Navkar Corporation Ltd., Village Vadharva, Taluka Malya, District Morbi has been notified as an Inland Container Depot, declared a customs area and appointed custodian for containerized import and export cargo; a location code has been allocated and pre-production EDI trials completed. State Bank of India is authorized for duty collection and drawback payment under EDI, and specified helpdesk contacts and customs officers are provided for operational support.

Offence case reporting: centralised DIGIT entry requires staged, timely recording of customs detection, seizure, adjudication and prosecution.
These instructions mandate entry of qualifying customs offence cases into the national repository DIGIT, limited to categories such as smuggling, import/export violations and NDPS offences, and defined by investigative actions like recording of information, seizure, arrest, search, summons or related detections. Entries must be made at prescribed stages-detection, arrest, seizure, investigation conclusion (including upload of SCNs or complaint/closure records), adjudication (upload of Orders-in-Original), and prosecution (including sanction and complaint details)-and within specified timelines. Commissionerates and DRI Zonal Units must appoint DIGIT Nodal Officers to manage user access, ensure accuracy and reconcile DIGIT data with Monthly Performance Reports; modifications require sanctioned requests to the national nodal officer.

Add OPS Employee requirement: Customs brokers must record Other Policy Section staff in CBLMS rather than submit Form C.
After Parent Policy Section validation of the CB Profile on CBLMS, customs brokers already operating under Form C must add employee details for other policy sections via the Add OPS Employee tab in their existing CB Profile and refrain from filing an Intimation under Form-C application, which is reserved for new notifications to operate in a different policy section; SOPs are available on the portal and adding OPS employee details is required before making other CBLMS applications.

Manifest delivery obligation: incorrect EGMs must be corrected to prevent delays in access to post export incentives.
Section 41 requires delivery of the manifest (EGM) to the proper officer before departure; incorrect or omitted EGMs recorded in the EDI system have delayed export incentives. A monthly Public Notice lists specific EGM errors and directs exporters, customs brokers and custodians to coordinate with the concerned airlines to remove listed EGM errors so exporters may avail post export benefits, with implementation difficulties to be reported to Customs, Export, ACC, Mumbai.

Customs broker licensing moved online via CBLMS - brokers must validate profiles and use portal for license and pass applications.
Launch of new CBLMS e-applications requires customs brokers to use the portal for licensing processes including issuance, renewal, pass management, surrender, reconstitution, authorized person replacement and partner/director changes; these functions are available only for brokers whose departmental profiles are validated, and brokers must ensure complete profile validation and promptly reply to any deficiencies or queries raised by policy sections to activate the e-applications.

Antecedent verification must be timebound to ensure prompt completion and strict compliance with warehousing licensing requirements.
The amendment requires that antecedent verification for licence applicants under the Public, Private and Special Warehousing Licensing Regulations be completed within 45 days of receipt of the application to prevent unreasonable delays. The Board, citing CAG Report No. 19 of 2022, requires that officers ensure strict compliance with prescribed application details, annual renewal of solvency certificates and risk insurance policies, and corrective action on irregular storage, with each specific CAG-identified case to be addressed on priority.

Ex-bond documentation requirement: Form A amended to record ex-bond bill or shipping bill details on removal.
The amendment inserts a new Column No. 25A in Form A titled "Ex. Bond Bill of Entry No. and date/ Shipping Bill No. and date" to require warehouse licensees to record the ex-bond bill of entry or shipping bill identifying number and date when goods are removed from the warehouse for home consumption or export, enhancing documentary traceability linked to customs removal instruments.

Provisional assessment finalization: priority administrative drive requires submission at Customs Facilitation Centre with acknowledgement and status updates.
A time-limited administrative drive instructs importers and customs brokers to submit pending provisional assessment finalization requests at the Customs Facilitation Centre with required documents; submissions receive an acknowledgement and will be prioritised for disposal, with request statuses uploaded weekly on the JNCH website and designated nodal officers available for assistance; the notice is a standing order and implementation difficulties must be reported to the Additional Commissioner by email.

Customs Broker Licensing: new e-application suite requires brokers to validate profiles and process license tasks online.
The Customs Broker Licensing Management System (CBLMS) portal now hosts e applications for examination and licensing, issuance and renewal of broker licences, customs pass issuance/renewal/cancellation, security applications, surrender and reconstitution of licences, authorized person replacement, partner/director changes, and miscellaneous applications. These functionalities are available only for brokers whose departmental profiles are validated. Brokers under regulation 7(2) or 7(3) are requested to process applications via the portal and promptly address any departmental deficiencies to ensure profile validation.

EPCG authorisation holders must submit EODC/Redemption letters or proof of payment for bond/BG cancellation.
Holders of EPCG Authorisations registered at Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House (Zone II) must submit copies of Export Obligation Discharge Certificate/Redemption Letter or, if EO is incomplete, pay the commensurate amount and provide proof, to enable cancellation of bonds/bank guarantees. Required documents for cancellation are listed in Annexure B (including original EODC/Redemption Letter, ANF 5B certified by CA, installation certificate, original authorisation, shipping bills/ARE 1, BRC, and third party export documents). Submissions are to be made at Room No. 702, 7th floor, C Wing, JNCH, Nhava Sheva.

High-risk food imports are subject to a designated-port regime covering dairy, egg, meat, infant foods and nutraceuticals.
Import of specified high-risk food products is restricted to designated ports from 1 March 2023. The requirement covers milk and milk products, egg powder, meat and meat products including poultry and fish, infant nutrition and infant foods, and nutraceuticals, health supplements, dietary-use foods, probiotic and prebiotic foods, and foods for special medical purposes. Existing port-entry restrictions are modified accordingly, and implementation is to be treated as a standing order for customs officers and staff.

Customs broker licensing portal now requires brokers to file specified e-applications online and validate profiles before processing.
CBLMS now provides online e-applications for examination and license issuance, new license issuance, Form C intimations, customs pass issuance/renewal/cancellation, security/deposit applications, surrender and reconstitution of licenses, authorized-person replacement, partner/director changes and miscellaneous applications. Brokers must process these matters via the portal and ensure their CB profiles are validated by the Department, promptly addressing any deficiencies or queries from policy sections so applications become operationally processable.

Customs Broker License Management: new e-applications enable online filing for licences, passes and related broker regulatory actions.
The CBLMS portal now supports electronic filing for exams, issuance and renewal of customs broker licences and customs passes, Form C intimations, security applications, surrender, reconstitution, authorized person replacement, partner/director changes and miscellaneous applications. Use of these e-applications is limited to brokers whose profiles have been validated by the department. Brokers governed by regulation 7(2) or 7(3) of the CBLR, 2018 or earlier regulations are requested to process applications on CBLMS and promptly address any departmental deficiencies to ensure full profile validation.

Defending revenue interests before corporate tribunals urged; empanelled counsels must represent effectively, with local counsel preferred.
Empanelment orders for Senior and Junior Standing Counsels include representation before corporate tribunals, requiring sensitization to ensure diligent defence of revenue interests; laxity may prompt critical review and recommended action by Zonal Chief Commissioners/Director Generals to the Board. Commissionerates/Directorates should, where practicable, appoint locally available counsels at tribunal bench locations to improve coordination and effective representation.

Transhipment of Bangladesh export cargo to Delhi Air Cargo allowed from 15 Feb 2023 under prescribed customs procedure.
Transhipment by road of Bangladesh export cargo from LCS Petrapole to Air Cargo Complex, Delhi is permitted from 15.02.2023 under the existing transhipment procedure: filing a Bill of Transshipment in triplicate by the shipping line/airline or authorised representative, use of ECTS seals with seal numbers recorded, submission of a Transshipment Bond equal to twice the goods' value, customs supervision for transfer and verification of seal integrity via the ECTS web application, recording of export manifest details and generation of a trip report for bond action.

Toy safety compliance: importers must verify BIS licences and record manufacturer details to ensure conformity with Indian Standards.
The Toys Quality Control Order requires imported toys and toy parts to conform to specified Indian Standards and bear the Standard Mark under a BIS licence. Customs officers must verify compliance using BIS online portals and the BIS Care app. The QCO's definition of toys covers parts, including CKD and SKD, and where other technical regulations apply those provisions govern. Importers must record manufacturer details and BIS licence information at item level in the Bill of Entry, and DG Systems will advise on data-entry procedures.

Transshipment procedure for SEZ cargo: mandatory one-time-lock sealing, Bill of Entry endorsement, and reporting of seal discrepancies.
Procedure requires sealed FCLs to be transferred to SEZ on the basis of the registered or assessed Bill of Entry after seal verification without customs escort, while other cargo may move under escort or transshipment at the SEZ importer's option; no separate transshipment bond or documents are required and transshipment permission is stamped on the fifth copy of the Bill of Entry. Sealing rules mandate durable bags or serially numbered one-time-lock customs bottle seals provided at declarant/transporter cost, with the OTL number, date/time and truck number endorsed on the Bill of Entry and discrepancies reported to the transshipment section.