Customs refund processing requires assessment review before disposal, without rejecting claims solely for absence of a re-assessment order.
Customs refund applications requiring modification of a Bill of Entry assessment must not be rejected for want of a prior re-assessment order. The Appraising Refund Section must refer such claims to the concerned Appraising Group, which must determine whether re-assessment under Section 17 or amendment under Section 149 is permissible on the basis of import-time documentary evidence. Following receipt of the re-assessment order or communication that it cannot be issued, the Refund Section must dispose of the claim within the applicable permissible period.

Right to Information designations assign CPIO and appellate authority roles across customs jurisdictions with link officers for absence.
Designation of Central Public Information Officers and First Appellate Authorities under the Right to Information Act, 2005 in the Office of the Principal Commissioner of Customs (Airport & ACC). The notice assigns specified officers as CPIOs and FAAs for defined jurisdictions set out in Annexure-A, and provides that link officers will act as the respective CPIO or FAA during leave or absence. It also states that appeals may be filed before the designated First Appellate Authority under the RTI Act.

Section 49 cargo storage and detention waiver procedures are streamlined to reduce delays and logistics costs.
Facilitation is prescribed for the early use of Section 49 of the Customs Act, 1962 where imported goods are delayed due to investigation, examination, testing, verification, approval by Participating Government Agencies, issuance of NOCs, or other Customs or statutory processes. Requests under Section 49 are to be processed expeditiously, with consultation where necessary, and reasons for refusal must be recorded in writing and communicated. The notice also streamlines detention and demurrage waiver certificates, requiring verification of facts and records and specification of the relevant detention period and process status.

Anti-dumping duty on Glufosinate imports requires provisional assessment, guarantee coverage, and Minimum Import Price compliance.
Provisional assessment is directed for imports of Glufosinate and its salt originating in or exported from China PR, pending completion of the anti-absorption review, and customs officers are to obtain sufficient guarantee to secure any increase in anti-dumping duty. The instruction also requires compliance with the applicable Minimum Import Price, while the existing anti-dumping duty continues to be levied and collected under the earlier notification.

Provisional assessment and anti-dumping guarantee for Insoluble Sulphur imports pending review of China-origin goods
Provisional assessment is directed for imports of Insoluble Sulphur originating in or exported from the People's Republic of China, pending an anti-absorption review, and customs officers are to obtain a sufficient guarantee to cover any increase in anti-dumping duty indicated by the Designated Authority. The guarantee is in addition to the existing anti-dumping duty already leviable under the earlier notification. Anti-dumping duty on Insoluble Sulphur from China PR and Japan is prescribed at country- and producer-specific rates and is stated to apply for five years unless revoked, superseded, or amended earlier.

Unpaid securities pledge rules tightened: automatic CUSPA pledge, client notice, release limits, and narrow extension windows apply.
Trading members must route unpaid securities directly to the client's demat account and create an automatic pledge in favour of a separate CUSPA account, with client notice of the payment obligation and the right of sale on default. A client-facing policy must prescribe the invocation, release and liquidation framework, including a maximum payment period of five trading days, daily monitoring of excess pledge, no exposure based on pledged unpaid securities, automatic release after the sixth trading day if unused, and restricted extensions only in specified exceptional circumstances.

Duty credit scrip re-credit determines drawback and refund treatment for imported goods, with cash payment excluded in these cases.
Re-credit mechanism governs drawback under section 74 and refund under section 27 of the Customs Act, 1962 where import duty was paid through duty credit scrips. Where duty was paid through RoDTEP or RoSCTL scrips, the admissible amount is to be granted by re-credit into the electronic credit ledger of the IEC holder, not in cash. For legacy schemes such as MEIS and SEIS, where re-credit is not feasible, Customs is to issue a re-credit certificate for DGFT revalidation with details of the utilised scrip, import date, and debit amount.

Export consignment testing accepts recognised laboratory reports unless risk-based intervention or intelligence requires sampling under existing procedures.
Exporters may submit voluntary test reports from NABL-accredited laboratories, laboratories accredited or recognised by Export Promotion Councils, or other recognised agencies to meet importing-country regulatory requirements. Where no risk-based intervention or intelligence exists, the proper officer must consider those reports without mandatory referral of samples to the Central Revenue Control Laboratory. Cases involving risk or intelligence remain subject to existing sample withdrawal and testing procedures. Import-consignment sampling and testing procedures are unchanged.

Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations move to pan-India electronic filing with extended transitional support and no penal action period.
Pan-India implementation of the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 has been operationalised through the electronic message framework for sea cargo movement, gateway port arrivals and departures, and transhipment movements. Stakeholders are required to file the relevant electronic declarations through the online mechanism in complete, accurate and timely form. The transitional provisions under SCMTR, 2018 have been extended up to 31.08.2026, and no penal action is to be initiated for technical or procedural difficulties faced in online filing during this period.

Transshipment Bonds enable regulated bond-to-bond warehouse transfers through document scrutiny, ICES approval, re-warehousing accountability and duty security.
Bond-to-bond transfer of warehoused imported goods requires a Transshipment Bond processed through the ICEGATE Warehouse Module. After acceptance of the transfer request by the proper officer at the source warehouse, the importer or authorised Customs Broker must submit the prescribed bond and supporting documents to the Turant Suvidha Kendra. Following scrutiny, a Job Number is generated in ICES and approved by the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner, after which a Transshipment Bond Number is issued. The bond secures safe removal, re-warehousing or satisfactory accounting of goods, and payment of customs duty where demanded.

Courier-based SEZ import automation streamlines manifest filing, shipment validation, X-ray processing, and customs clearance through integrated systems.
Automation of Special Economic Zone import consignments through the courier mode is introduced through an integrated ECCS-ICEGATE-ICES workflow. The arrangement covers courier movement from arrival at the International Courier Terminal to processing and onward movement to the SEZ, with ECCS handling operational processing and ICEGATE-ICES facilitating declaration and transmission of shipment data. Specific responsibilities are assigned to airlines, couriers, customs officers, the SEZ unit, and the custodian for manifest filing, package validation, X-ray, goods registration, out-of-charge formalities, Bill of Entry filing, and exit scan capture.

Condonation of delay in Form No. 10AB filing allows late 80G renewal applications to be decided on merits.
Condonation of delay is provided for electronic filing of Form No. 10AB for renewal of approval under clause (ii) of the first proviso to section 80G(5), where the prescribed application was furnished between 01.10.2025 and 31.03.2026. The jurisdictional Principal Commissioner of Income-tax or Commissioner of Income-tax is authorised to dispose of such applications on merits and pass orders on or before 31.12.2026. No automatic entitlement to approval follows from this condonation.

Export quota re-allocation for wheat flour turns on utilisation levels, supporting documents, and timely portal submission.
Review and re-allocation of export quota for wheat flour and related products requires exporters to submit a Chartered Accountant's utilisation certificate, shipping bill details, and any request for additional quantity or surrender of unutilised quota with justification and supporting contracts or purchase orders. Requests for additional quantity must also be filed on the online portal within the stated deadline, failing which they may be rejected. Authorisations with more than 50% utilisation may be considered for further re-allocation, while lower utilisation may lead to transfer of unutilised quota to the common pool.

Export promotion compliance support revised with higher MSME reimbursement, staged disbursement, and stricter claim timelines.
Financial assistance under EPM - Niryat Disha is revised through a dynamic, periodically reviewed list of eligible testing, inspections and certifications, a differentiated support structure for Micro and Small Enterprises and Medium Enterprises, and an increased reimbursement ceiling per IEC per financial year. Approved support is payable in two instalments, linked first to completion of certification and then to exports connected with the relevant certification, while reimbursement claims are split into RC-1 and RC-2 stages. Time limits for filing claims and submitting export evidence are prescribed, with lapse and recovery consequences for non-compliance.

Market Access Support guidelines now require smaller delegations and timely refund of advance grants on cancellation.
The Market Access Support guidelines under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) - Niryat Disha are amended to reduce the recommended minimum delegation size for a business support mission from 50 participants to 25 participants. A new operational condition requires any advance grant released to be refunded within 15 days of cancellation of an event or withdrawal from participation, failing which the amount must be refunded with simple interest at 10% per annum from the date of communication of cancellation or withdrawal. All other provisions remain unchanged.

LCL import cargo handling permission enables designated warehouse operations at the container freight station under applicable customs cargo regulations.
Handling of LCL import cargo is permitted at M/s. Apollo World Connect Limited Container Freight Station under the Customs Act, 1962 and the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009. An identified area within the existing warehouse is allocated for this purpose. Handling must comply with extant instructions, and the facility remains effective from issuance of the public notice until further orders.

SCMTR filing becomes mandatory for manifest and transhipment transactions, replacing supplementary IGM/EGM and legacy filing processes.
SCMTR filing is mandatory for stakeholders operating at New Mangalore and Karwar Ports. Following the proposed disabling of supplementary IGM/EGM processing from 16 June 2026, manifest and transhipment filings must be made only through the SCMTR module. Manual, automated and legacy-format filings for SCMTR-covered modules are not accepted, except in exceptional system-failure circumstances verified by the local Systems Manager.

Sea cargo manifest compliance eases as phased electronic message rollout and transitional filing relief continue nationwide.
Pan-India implementation of the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations (SCMTR), 2018 is being rolled out through phased deployment of electronic messages for cargo movement, with arrival, departure and export transhipment messages stated to be operational nationwide and the remaining non-import transhipment message developments becoming fully operational from 1 July 2026. Transitional provisions are extended up to 31 August 2026, and no penal action is to be initiated for technical or procedural difficulties in online filing during that period.

TRQ authorisation validity for gold imports under India-UAE CEPA is automatically extended without separate application or endorsement.
Validity of TRQ Authorisations for import of gold under India-UAE CEPA relating to CTH 7108, issued in FY 2025-26, is extended from 30.06.2026 to 30.09.2026. The extension operates automatically for the covered authorisations, and no separate application, composition fee, amendment, or endorsement is required.

Import FCL cargo handling is permitted at O' Yard CFS, subject to prevailing Customs procedures and allocated facility space.
Customs permission is granted to O' Yard CFS, Chennai Container Terminal Limited, to handle regular import Full Container Load (FCL) cargo under the Customs Act, 1962 and the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009. Of the customs area previously allocated for the LCL warehouse, 1,972.65 sq. m. is allocated for import FCL cargo and 532.35 sq. m. remains for LCL cargo. FCL handling is subject to prevailing Customs procedures and instructions and remains effective until further orders.