Import of gifts prohibition bars courier and post gift imports except lifesaving drugs and Rakhi; duties apply.
Imports presented as gifts through post or courier are prohibited except for life saving drugs/medicines and Rakhi; goods offered as gifts may be imported only on payment of full applicable customs and integrated tax. Prior value cap instructions on personal imports have been rescinded. Officers must apply customs valuation law and rules to curb undervaluation of courier and post imports, and the notice is to be treated as a standing order.

Import testing requirement for toys mandates randomized sampling, NABL laboratory testing and conditional clearance subject to bonding and compliance.
Procedural amendment mandates first-check assessment of imported toys with randomized representative sampling for NABL testing (minimum ten percent by item category), documented via Part A and Part B Test Memos; sealed samples and memos are handed to importer representatives. Importers may warehouse goods pending results, removal only after successful testing. Laboratories send duplicate sealed reports to Customs Group VI and importers produce originals at assessment; conforming consignments are cleared. AEOs may obtain provisional clearance on a No Use bond, cancelled after successful testing. Failed samples trigger further testing of other models; nonconforming goods must be re-exported or destroyed at importer's cost.

Social welfare surcharge must be levied on imports and cannot be paid through export duty credit scrips going forward.
Social Welfare Surcharge is an additional customs duty calculated on the aggregate of duties, taxes and cesses and is not exempt under the Foreign Trade Policy or related exemption notifications. Duty credit scrips operate only as a mode of payment for specified customs and excise duties and do not permit debiting of SWS; therefore SWS must be paid in cash going forward, while past debits through scrips up to the transitional cut-off will be accepted administratively.

Paperless processing of PGA licenses via SWIFT requires stakeholder compliance; report implementation difficulties promptly to Customs.
Implementation of PGA e-SANCHIT mandates paperless processing of Licenses, Permits, Certificates and Other Authorizations (LPCOs) via SWIFT uploads by PGAs, pursuant to Board Circular No. 03/2020 dated 15.01.2020; importers, exporters and customs brokers are directed to comply and to report any implementation difficulties to the Customs office.

Bill of Entry filing suspension in ICES during budget directory updation; Shipping Bill processing continues, Section 48 approvals paused.
ICES directory updation after the Union Budget will require temporary changes: Bill of Entry filing in ICES will be suspended from 2000 hrs on 1 February 2020 and Section 48 approvals stopped at that time; the system will remain available for other functions with ticker notifications on CITRIX, CBIC and ICEGATE. Shipping Bill filing and processing will continue, and export duty/cess announced during the budget should be tracked for Shipping Bills filed on or after 1 February, with manual collection until directories are updated online. Bills of Entry filed before the suspension time will continue to be processed.

Import and export access through Ghasuapara LCS expands under amended customs notification, subject to specific prohibitions and restrictions.
Amendment to the customs notification governing Ghasuapara Land Customs Station removes the earlier export-only restriction and extends the station's scope to import and export purposes. Accordingly, all goods may be exported and imported through Ghasuapara LCS, subject to any specific prohibition or restriction applicable to particular goods.

Revision of All Industry Rates updates duty drawback rates and caps, prescribing suffix rules to claim revised drawback.
Revision of All Industry Rates (AIRs) of Duty Drawback establishes revised AIRs and appropriate caps for tariff items effective 04.02.2020, requires use of suffix 'B' to claim AIRs and suffix 'D' for alternate AIRs under Special Advance Authorization Scheme, introduces and revises tariff items, increases or rationalizes rates across multiple sectors due to changes in duties, CIF/FOB values and import intensity, and directs field formations to exercise due diligence, monitor valuation and drawback outgo, prevent misuse, and report trends or cap review proposals to the Board.

Grievance Redressal Committee established to address GST taxpayer grievances, with zonal/state composition and referral powers.
Constitution of a Grievance Redressal Committee for Hyderabad Zone/Telangana State comprising Central and State Tax co-chairs, secretaries, nodal officers and stakeholder members for a two-year term. The Committee shall examine and resolve GST taxpayer grievances, including procedural and IT-related issues, and refer matters requiring legislative or instructional change to the GST Council Secretariat and the Policy Wing of the CBIC. It will convene at least quarterly or as decided by co-chairs, and stakeholders may send grievances to the two named Secretaries at the specified contact addresses and emails.

Grievance redressal committee for GST grievances, with quarterly meetings to resolve taxpayer issues and refer policy reforms.
Constitution of a Grievance Redressal Committee for Hyderabad Zone/Telangana with Central and State co-chairs, nominated members from tax administration and stakeholders, and two-year member terms. The Committee will examine and resolve GST taxpayer grievances (including procedural and IT issues) and refer matters requiring changes in laws, rules, notifications, forms or circulars to the GST Council Secretariat and the CBIC policy wing. It will meet quarterly or as determined by co-chairs; stakeholders may send grievances to the designated secretaries using the provided contact details.

Paperless processing under SWIFT: mandatory PGA upload of LPCOs; beneficiary uploads deactivated after cut-off, ensure email registration.
PGAs must upload digitally signed Licenses/Permits/Certificates/Other Authorizations (LPCOs) onto the e-SANCHIT platform; beneficiary self-uploading of previously issued LPCOs is deactivated after the cut-off, while PGAs are required to upload LPCOs issued during the prior fifteen-day window and may upload earlier LPCOs. PGAs will communicate IRNs and LPCO information via ICEGATE-registered email addresses using the Board's simplified auto-registration for limited e-SANCHIT functions.

Social Welfare Surcharge not payable via duty credit scrips; importers must pay surcharge in cash going forward.
SWS is a surcharge on customs duties and must be levied and collected on imported goods; duty credit scrips under export incentive schemes are a mode of payment for Basic and Additional Customs Duties but do not authorize debit of SWS as no exemption for SWS exists in the FTP or exemption notifications. Applying the judicial principle that exemptions for additional duties require specific notifications, SWS must be paid in cash going forward; past debits of SWS via scrips will be accepted and not recovered.

Sea Cargo Manifest registration requires ICEGATE enrolment and phased testing before mandatory use of new message formats.
Registration under the Sea Cargo Manifest Regulations must be completed via ICEGATE and stakeholders must apply from within their ICEGATE login. A phased testing period mandates submission of messages in both existing and new formats until full switchover; a matrix lists entity-specific messages and registration prerequisites, including a National Surety Bond for certain carriers and auto-approval for certain operators. Separate applications are required for multiple roles, queries from officers must be answered online without electronic document upload, and a dashboard and checklists are provided for monitoring readiness.

Paperless Processing under e SANCHIT: beneficiary uploads disabled; PGAs must promptly upload recent LPCOs for use.
e-SANCHIT requires PGAs to upload digitally signed LPCOs on the customs platform for paperless processing; beneficiary uploading of previously issued LPCOs is barred from 31/01/2020, while PGAs must upload LPCOs issued in the 15 days before the cut off and may upload earlier unutilized LPCOs to enable beneficiary use. Communication will proceed via ICEGATE registered email addresses and beneficiaries must ensure correct registration.

Automated clearance allows electronic Bill of Entry clearance after CCV and confirmation of duty payment.
Automated clearance under the first proviso to Section 47(1) enables electronic clearance of Bills of Entry by the Customs Automated System after risk-based Customs Compliance Verification (CCV) by designated officers and confirmation of duty payment; the facility applies only where RMS is enabled in ICES and will be initially piloted at two EDI locations, with DG Systems effecting required ICES changes and operational issues to be reported to designated Appraising Main (Import) NS-I officers.

Terminal handling charge transparency enables AEO-status exporters to pay port terminals directly rather than through shipping lines.
Exporters holding AEO status may pay Terminal Handling Charges directly to terminal operators instead of through shipping lines. Eligible exporters with existing P.D. Accounts may use those accounts for direct payment, while those without such accounts may open them with the relevant ports or terminals. Ports and terminals are requested to issue Terminal Handling Charge invoices directly to eligible and willing exporters.

Automated clearance enabled: ICES to permit electronic release after CCV confirmation and duty payment verification.
Automated electronic clearance under the first proviso to Section 47(1) operates by permitting ICES to clear Bills of Entry after completion and confirmation of Customs Compliance Verification (CCV) by the designated proper officer and confirmation of duty payment; CCV obligations remain mandatory and operate even while payment is pending, and the facility is limited to RMS enabled ICES locations during initial pilot rollout.

Online module for 72 hrs prior intimation and OTDI submissions mandatory from 11 Feb 2020.
An online module requires DPD importers to submit 72 hours prior intimation for CFS change and to declare or change One Time Default Intimation via the DPD JNCH website, with OTP authentication; only importers with OTDI may submit prior intimation, submissions update in real time and remain for 96 hours from expected vessel arrival, shipping lines must verify module data or OTDI before moving containers and reflect CFS changes in the final IGM.

Sea cargo manifest transhipment regulations: stakeholders must register on ICEGATE and commence testing before implementation.
Implementation of Sea Cargo Manifest Transhipment Regulations (SCMTR) requires stakeholders to register on ICEGATE and participate in a phased testing regime in which new SCMTR message formats will be submitted (in parallel with existing formats) prior to the regulations taking effect. A matrix specifies entity categories and the exact messages/manifests to be filed, with some registrations auto approved and others subject to officer approval and prerequisites such as a National Surety Bond or prior onboarding to specified data-transfer facilities. Separate applications are required for distinct roles; responses to officer queries occur via ICEGATE and paper documents may be produced if needed.

Social Welfare Surcharge must be paid in cash on imports even when customs duties are debited through duty credit scrips.
Social Welfare Surcharge (SWS) is an additional customs duty calculated on the aggregate of duties, taxes and cesses and is not covered by the duty credit scrip mechanism; debit of Basic or Additional Customs Duty in duty credit scrips does not constitute exemption of SWS. Judicial principle requires specific notification to exempt additional duties, the legal view supports levy of SWS, and while past debits of SWS to scrips will be accepted, SWS must be paid in cash on imports going forward.

Paperless LPCO processing: PGAs must upload digitally signed authorizations on e SANCHIT; beneficiary uploads will be disabled.
Mandatory electronic uploading of digitally signed LPCOs by PGAs on e-SANCHIT via SWIFT is required; four additional PGAs are enabled and beneficiary uploading of previously issued LPCOs will be disabled after the cut-off. PGAs must upload LPCOs issued in the immediate pre-cut-off period and may upload earlier documents to enable beneficiary use. Communication will occur through ICEGATE-registered email addresses using a simplified auto-registration process without digital signatures for e-SANCHIT viewing; beneficiaries must ensure correct ICEGATE email registration.