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.

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.

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.

No-incentive certificate requirement: importers must produce DGFT certification on re-import to enable recovery of export incentives.
Importers must submit a no-incentive certificate from the Regional Authority of DGFT at the time of re-import of previously exported goods. Past re-import cases should be reviewed and recovery action coordinated with DGFT where duty credit under Chapter 3 reward and incentive schemes was inadmissibly availed; the requirement is reiterated as a standing order and trade stakeholders are asked to publicize the instruction.

AEO holders to receive streamlined customs facilitation, tiered operational benefits, and reduced bank guarantees under Pune Customs.
Standing Order No.05/2020 directs Pune Customs officers to ensure seamless extension of prescribed AEO benefits and remove implementation hurdles; it prescribes tiered operational facilitation by AEO category (T1, T2, T3 and LO) including expedited cargo release, Direct Port Delivery/Entry, reduced or waived bank guarantees, prioritized scanning and assessments, periodic onsite PCAs, paperless declarations, Client Relationship Managers, and specified refund timelines, and requires outreach to listed top non-AEO importers/exporters with reporting to the AEO Programme Manager.

Customs brokers EODB score card introduced to track advance B/E, e Sanchit uploads, assessment/payment and registration dwell times.
A mandatory EODB score card will be implemented for customs brokers using a weighted four parameter model on a five point scale: Advance/Prior B/Es filed, average e Sanchit documents per B/E, assessment to payment dwell time, and payment to registration dwell time. Monthly scorecards, showing individual and top parameter scores, will be emailed privately to brokers for self monitoring; JNCH served as a pilot and sample reporting formats (BE counts, prior BE, e Sanchit averages, dwell times) are provided.

Shipping Bill data requirements mandate origin, quantity, trade-agreement and cess declarations, alongside eSanchit invoice references for exports.
Shipping Bill filings must include mandatory item-level declarations of State and District of Origin, Standard Unit Quantity Code, preferential trade agreement status, and GST Compensation Cess in the Single Window table. District codes must correspond to the declared State of Origin, and SQC must be separately declared even where it matches the commercial unit. Every Shipping Bill invoice must be uploaded through eSanchit, with its Image Reference Number and the relevant invoice or invoice-cum-packing-list document code declared in the Shipping Bill.

Custodian appointment renewed with Customs Cargo Services Provider approval, subject to regulatory compliance and review rights.
Renewal of the Custodian appointment and Customs Cargo Services Provider approval for M/s. Central Warehousing Corporation, Logistic Park covers the Container Freight Station at Bhendkal, Dronagiri Node, for approximately 29.8 hectares; the custodian will hold imported goods until clearance, warehousing, or transshipment and manage export cargo examination and stuffing. The approval is subject to compliance with the Customs Act and the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009, is granted for a fixed term commencing mid March 2020, and is reviewable or withdrawable by the Commissioner for non compliance or government direction.

Paperless Processing under PGA e SANCHIT: beneficiaries barred from uploading LPCOs; PGAs must upload recent authorizations.
e SANCHIT requires PGAs to upload digitally signed LPCOs on the platform; beneficiaries' ability to upload LPCOs will be deactivated at the cut off. PGAs must upload LPCOs issued during the 15 days before the cut off and may upload earlier LPCOs to enable beneficiary use. Communication and IRNs will be sent to email addresses registered in ICEGATE; beneficiaries must ensure correct email registration, including use of simplified auto registration based on GST email ids for limited e SANCHIT functions without digital signatures. The notice functions as a standing order and operational issues should be reported to the Appraising Main officials.

Customs pass issuance requirements updated: documentation, verification, transfer and surrender obligations with set processing timelines.
Issuance, transfer, renewal and replacement of H, G and Self category customs passes under Regulation 13 of the CBLR 2018 require specified documentary submissions (identity, education, ICEGATE, IEC/GST, appointment, business volume), police/CID verification and, for G category, exam result; transfers need cancellation from the previous employer and affidavits where gaps exceed six months. Applications are scrutinised with deficiency memos issued within fifteen working days and cards issued within forty five working days if complete; renewals require submission at least thirty days before expiry and passes must be surrendered on termination.

Social Welfare Surcharge must be paid in cash on imports; duty credit scrips cannot discharge the surcharge.
Levy of Social Welfare Surcharge (SWS) applies on imported goods even when Basic and Additional Customs Duties are debited through duty credit scrips under export incentive schemes; SWS is a distinct customs duty under the Finance Act and is not exempted by the Foreign Trade Policy or exemption notifications. Duty credit scrips are a mode of payment for specified duties but do not cover SWS, which must be paid in cash prospectively. Past debits of SWS to duty credit scrips will be accepted and no recoveries will be insisted for those cases.

Drawback claim compliance: exporters must respond to EDI queries promptly or claims will be processed as zero.
Exporters, brokers and custodians must reply to EDI queries on pending duty drawback claims promptly to trigger automatic disbursement; claim status is available on the ICEGATE portal. If replies are not submitted or are unsatisfactory within the prescribed period, the claim will be rejected and processed as zero, after which exporters may file supplementary claims under the applicable drawback rules with requisite documents. Contact the jurisdictional Deputy/Assistant Commissioner for assistance.

E-waste management: bulk consumers must channelize waste to authorized recyclers and file annual returns.
Bulk consumers must channelize e waste to authorised collection centres, dismantlers or recyclers or designated take back services; maintain records of e waste in Form 2 and make them available to the State Pollution Control Board; file an annual return in Form 3 to the concerned State Pollution Control Board by June 30 following the financial year; ensure e waste is not admixed with radioactive material; and ensure dismantlers and recyclers hold SPCB/Committee authorisation.

Registration under Sea Cargo Manifest Regulations required for all stakeholders to file new-format manifests and complete ICEGATE enrollment.
All stakeholders must register on ICEGATE and apply from within their ICEGATE login to obtain permissions to file entity specific messages under the Sea Cargo Manifest Regulations. During the interim testing phase stakeholders must send manifests in both existing and new formats; entity types are listed with message obligations and specific requirements (for example, National Surety Bond registration for certain carriers), while some roles receive automatic approval. Separate applications are required for multiple roles; online replies to officer queries are permitted but additional documents must be produced manually; self attested no pending case declarations are acceptable unless contradicted.

PGA eSANCHIT paperless processing: beneficiaries cannot upload LPCOs from 28 Feb; PGAs must upload recent LPCOs.
Implementation of PGA eSANCHIT brings three additional PGAs onboard, making fifty enabled PGAs. Beneficiaries will be barred from uploading previously issued LPCOs on eSANCHIT from 28.02.2020; PGAs must upload LPCOs issued during the 15 days prior to the cut-off and may also upload earlier LPCOs to enable beneficiary use. PGAs will communicate via email addresses registered in ICEGATE, leveraging the simplified auto-registration for limited eSANCHIT purposes without digital signatures; stakeholders must ensure correct ICEGATE email registration and report implementation difficulties to the Assistant Commissioner (EDI).

Automated clearance enabled: electronic Bill of Entry clearance follows verified customs compliance and confirmed duty payment.
The notice implements an automated clearance workflow under the first proviso to Section 47(1), whereby the Customs Automated System will electronically clear Bills of Entry after the designated proper officer confirms completion of Customs Compliance Verification (CCV) and the system confirms payment of applicable duty; CCV remains the officer's responsibility and may be performed while duty payment is pending. The pilot rollout is confined to ICES/EDI locations with functional RMS and begins at two customs houses, with planned PAN India expansion.

Mandatory export data fields require state and district of origin plus GSTIN and trade agreement details in shipping bills.
Shipping Bills must include the State and District of Origin for each item, details of applicable Preferential Trade Agreements, and the Standard Unit Quantity Code (SQC) for the relevant Customs Tariff Heading; GSTIN declaration is mandatory for taxpayers registered under GST. These additions supplement the electronic integrated declaration under the Shipping Bill (Electronic Integrated Declaration and Paperless Processing) Regulations and align customs export data with GSTN records, with implementation supported by ICES advisory materials and annexures.