Exemption from late filing charges for bills of entry where portal failures prevented timely filing, subject to documentation and review.
Late-filing charges for Bills of Entry impacted by e-Sanchit/ICEGATE technical failures are waived for consignments within the specified failure period, with waivers to be processed by the Additional/Joint Commissioner; delayed filings after that period require evidence of attempted submission (job numbers, screenshots, ICEGATE messages) for waiver consideration and the notice is to be treated as a Standing Order.

Sea cargo manifest compliance requires authorised carriers to register on ICEGATE and stakeholders to comply with new regulations
Authorised carriers filing arrival and departure manifests must register through the ICEGATE portal under the amended Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 before the Regulations come into force on 1 August 2019; all importers, exporters, agents, shipping lines and other stakeholders must take cognisance and comply, and may report difficulties in compliance to the issuing office.

Paperless LPCO submission: PGA uploading required, beneficiary uploads disabled and ICEGATE email registration needed for access.
PGAs must upload digitally signed Licenses/Permits/Certificates/Other Authorizations (LPCOs) onto eSANCHIT; beneficiaries will be barred from uploading previously issued LPCOs once PGA uploading is fully enabled. PGAs are required to upload LPCOs issued during the prior 15-day window and may upload earlier LPCOs to enable beneficiary use. Communication of LPCO details and IRNs must be via email addresses registered in ICEGATE, utilising a simplified auto-registration process for limited eSANCHIT functions without digital signatures; customs formations must ensure correct beneficiary email registration and issue public notices.

Partial discharge of bonds: proportionate online crediting as export obligations are fulfilled, streamlining bond release.
Partial discharge of bonds and bank guarantees for gold imports will be credited proportionately as export obligations are fulfilled through an online mechanism in ICES 1.5, subject to prescribed documentation evidencing export fulfilment and application of existing standard operating procedures and timelines for expeditious bond discharge.

Late filing exemption for Bill of Entry due to portal failure, conditional waiver granted upon evidence and discretion.
Exemption from late-filing charges for presentation of the Bill of Entry is authorised for consignments with entry inward dates on 08.07.2019 and 09.07.2019 and corresponding Bill of Entry dates within that period; waivers for such late presentation will be processed by the respective Deputy/Assistant Commissioners. Delays in BE generation after 10.07.2019 must be supported by evidence of attempted electronic submission-job numbers, screenshots or ICEGATE messages-to enable consideration of discretionary waivers on merits.

Export cargo security: CFS custodians must allow sample drawals only on authorised customs letters and face liability.
CFS custodians are responsible for secure custody of export cargo and must permit sampling only when a Customs officer or authorised agency draws samples in the presence of the exporter or representative and on production of a letter from the concerned AC/DC (CFS). Custodians must maintain records of samples and authorising letters; non-compliance in sampling or record-keeping makes the custodian liable for pilferage or shortages and requires reporting such incidents to the Docks (Administration).

Electronic Out of Charge transmission enables custodians to issue gate pass without hard copy; manual order if system fails.
Custodians shall issue the Gate Pass/Delivery Order on electronic transmission of Out of Charge (OOC) through ICEGATE without insisting on the hard copy of the Out of Charge. If electronic transmission is not possible due to system failure or technical problems, custodians may issue a Manual Delivery Order signed by the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner (Import Shed), which must be regularized in the system by the next working day.

Waiver of Late Filing Penalty for bills of entry affected by e Sanchit outage; charges waived subject to verification.
Late filing penalties for Bills of Entry affected by the e Sanchit outage will be waived where the IGM and Bill of Entry dates fall within the affected window; such waivers will be administered by the respective Deputy/Assistant Commissioners. For Bills filed after the disrupted period but linked to entries during the outage, applicants must furnish ICEGATE job numbers, screenshots or messages to evidence attempted filing, and those cases will be considered on merits.

Exemption from late filing charges granted for delayed Bill of Entry filings due to portal failures; waivers available on evidence.
Exemption from late filing charges is authorized where e Sanchit/ICEGATE delays prevented timely Bill of Entry filings. The waiver covers consignments with entry inward dates 08.07.2019 and 09.07.2019 and Bills of Entry dated 08.07.2019-10.07.2019 and will be handled by the respective Deputy/Assistant Commissioners. For filings after 10.07.2019 relating to those entry dates, applicants must submit Job numbers, screenshots or ICEGATE messages to show attempted submissions; waivers will be considered on merits.

Mandatory e-storage of export documents requires digitally signed uploads at shipping bill filing; physical supporting documents disallowed.
Mandatory implementation of eSANCHIT requires exporters or their authorized persons to upload digitally signed supporting documents on ICEGATE at the time of filing the Shipping Bill; physical supporting documents are prohibited. A Shipping Bill is deemed filed and self-assessment completed when ICEGATE generates the Shipping Bill number. Clearance orders after assessment, payment and examination may be recorded and conveyed electronically. The authorized person must retain the assessed copy of the Shipping Bill and original supporting documents for the prescribed retention period and produce them when required; noncompliance attracts penal liability.

Expert trade panel for gemstone and jewellery valuation established; membership subject to specified qualifications and commissioner discretion.
Constitution of an Expert Trade Panel is invited for valuation, identification, classification and examination of diamonds, precious and semi precious stones, pearls and gold/silver jewellery for import/export clearance. Applicants must show relevant trade expertise and experience, submit membership or institutional certification, a solvency certificate, and have no pending legal action. Panel members must give on the spot opinions when called; fees are payable by the importer/exporter. Selection follows committee recommendation, but inclusion is at the Commissioner's discretion; applications must be submitted by the stated deadline.

Project imports module now mandates system registration and PI bond linkage before import declarations can be filed.
The ICES Project Imports module requires digital project registration via the LIC/APR workflow producing a project number to be quoted in Bills of Entry; registration mandates entry of all imported items with quantity and CIF in foreign currency, mandatory PI bond details, sponsoring authority data, and limits on value and quantity. A new national provisional bond category PI is introduced for use across ports; project-linked provisional BES filings will record item wise debits against the project/bond, and finalisation via FAO/FDC roles will re credit the bond. Filing without a project number will be disallowed once changes are implemented.

Customs duty revisions and procedural Customs Act amendments effective immediately, altering tariff classifications and levy structures.
Immediate indirect tax measures follow introduction of the Finance (No.2) Bill, 2019 by declaration under the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act: chapter wise revisions to Basic Customs Duty (increases, reductions, selective exemptions and new nominal duties on petroleum crude and tobacco), tariff reclassification to align with HSN, withdrawal of certain end use exemptions, procedural and enforcement amendments to the Customs Act, anti circumvention insertion for Countervailing Duty, changes to safeguard appeal jurisdiction, GST compliance and appellate reforms, and Central Excise adjustments to duties on tobacco and petroleum.

Partial discharge of bonds enabled, allowing proportional crediting of bonds and bank guarantees as export obligations are fulfilled.
Partial discharge of bonds and corresponding bank guarantees for imported gold will be effected by proportionate online crediting in ICES 1.5 as export obligations are met, based on prescribed documentation submitted to jurisdictional customs authorities; the existing standard operating procedure and timelines for bond discharge apply mutatis mutandis, and a system advisory will provide details of the new functionality.

Mandatory digital submission: exporters must upload digitally signed supporting documents on e-SANCHIT when filing shipping bills.
Exporters and customs brokers must upload all supporting documents as digitally signed files on e-SANCHIT when filing Shipping Bills under the Shipping Bill (Electronic Integrated Declaration and Paperless Processing) Regulations, 2019; hard copy supporting documents will not be accepted and implementation issues must be reported to the Commissioner.

Jurisdiction of reorganized customs formations: offences allocated where export Shipping Bills or import Bills of Entry are not filed.
Amendments to Annexure A reallocate jurisdiction for cases of offence and other matters where required export or import filings are absent: the export entry is amended to cover goods in the port area or already exported when Shipping Bills have not been filed, and a new preventive-commissionerate point addresses goods landed by import where Bills of Entry have not been filed. The changes apply to trade stakeholders and are effective from the notice date until further orders.

Timely response to dock queries required to prevent escalation to system queries and ensure faster cargo clearance.
Goods must be presented for examination at CFS on the day of online bill of entry registration. Docks officers shall record document queries on the physical docket, hand the docket to the authorised CHA/CB pass holder or authorised importer representative with acknowledgement, retain a photocopy for records, and obtain endorsation of replies with date and time. If a docketed query is not answered within the prescribed period, the officer will raise it in the EDI system and report to the Deputy Commissioner/Assistant Commissioner (Docks).

Permanent Trade Facilitation Committee reconstituted to coordinate stakeholders and resolve import export clearance and infrastructure issues.
Permanent Trade Facilitation Committee for Shillong Customs is reconstituted under CBIC guidance to include customs, trade associations, logistics operators and brokers; members listed will meet periodically to identify and attempt to resolve import-export clearance problems and infrastructural bottlenecks, and must submit agenda points with background notes so concerned agencies can attend.

Sea cargo manifest rules change: stakeholders face new filing duties and customs officers must attend mandated training on revised procedures.
The Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 take effect 01.08.2019, altering manifest filing and advance-declaration obligations and reallocating responsibilities among shipping lines, agents, freight forwarders, custodians and terminal operators; Customs requires training for officers and stakeholders, with a compulsory session for Customs officials on 04.07.2019 at New Custom House, Mumbai to cover revised procedures and compliance duties.

Composition taxable person must display prescribed bill and signboard statements; noncompliance may attract GST enforcement and penalties.
Composition levy taxpayers must print "COMPOSITION TAXABLE PERSON, NOT ELIGIBLE TO COLLECT TAX ON SUPPLIES" on every bill of supply and display "COMPOSITION TAXABLE PERSON" on prominent notices or signboards at their principal and additional places of business; non compliance may lead to enforcement action and attract penalties, fines or prosecution under GST law.