eSANCHIT mandatory uploads: digitally signed export supporting documents must accompany shipping bill filings.
Mandatory use of eSANCHIT requires exporters and customs brokers to upload digitally signed supporting documents at the time of filing shipping bills; hard copies are no longer permitted. The measure supersedes prior voluntary arrangements and the earlier regulation, directs trade bodies to publicise the change, and invites reporting of any difficulties to the issuing office.

Bonded warehouse manufacturing requires integrated licensing, unified digital records, and GST/duty treatment on resultant supplies.
Applicants for manufacturing or other operations under section 65 must file a unified application integrating private bonded warehouse licensing under section 58 (Annexure A). Licensees shall maintain a single consolidated digital record format (Annexure B) combining MOOWR, 1966 and Warehouse (Custody and Handling of Goods) Regulations, 2016 and submit monthly returns; execute a triple duty bond as per Annexure C. Exported resultant products require a shipping bill and GST invoice with no import duty on contained imported inputs; domestic clearance requires GST payment and ex-bond Bill of Entry with duty on imported inputs.

Forged Office Order: stakeholders warned not to rely on a counterfeit cancellation of the Beach Sand Minerals export notification.
A forged Office Order claiming to cancel Notification No. 26/2015-2020 (Export Policy for Beach Sand Minerals) is not genuine and was not issued by DGFT. DGFT has not revised or amended the original notification dated 21.08.2018. Stakeholders - including importers, exporters, custodians and customs brokers - are advised not to rely on or act upon the forged Office Order and to await any authorised communication for genuine amendments.

Mandatory e-SANCHIT filing: digitally signed export supporting documents must be uploaded; hard copies will not be accepted.
Exporters, Customs Brokers and other stakeholders must upload digitally signed supporting documents on e-SANCHIT at the time of filing shipping bills; hard copy supporting documents will not be accepted and any implementation difficulties should be reported to the issuing office.

Forged administrative order exposed; original export notification for beach sand minerals remains in force, stakeholders warned.
A forged Office Order purportedly cancelling Notification No. 26/2015-2020 on the export policy for Beach Sand Minerals has been confirmed as not issued by DGFT; DGFT and the Drawback Division, CBIC, state the original notification remains in force, and stakeholders must continue to comply with the extant export policy while reporting implementation difficulties to the customs office.

Forgery of cancellation order: purported revocation of beach sand minerals export policy is invalid and original notification remains operative.
The notice declares an alleged DGFT Office Order purporting to cancel the export policy for Beach Sand Minerals to be forged and not issued by the DGFT; no amendment or revision has been made to the original export Notification, which therefore remains in force.

Import of pesticides and hazardous chemicals must await CIB permit; warehousing in bonded facilities is not permitted.
Import consignments of pesticides, fungicides and other Chapter 38 items requiring a CIB permit must be imported only after obtaining CIB permission in advance; warehousing of such hazardous chemicals in bonded/private bonded warehouses in the DTA is not permitted under the FTP, and the directive is to be treated as a standing order for officers, with implementation difficulties to be reported to the Appraising Main (Import) Deputy/Assistant Commissioner.

Mandatory e-SANCHIT uploads required-exporters must submit digitally signed supporting documents when filing shipping bills.
Exporters and customs brokers must upload digitally signed supporting documents to e-SANCHIT at the time of filing shipping bills; hard-copy supporting documents will no longer be accepted at EDI locations and implementation issues should be reported to the issuing office.

Time Release Study prompts procedural reforms to reduce cargo dwell time and adopt electronic scrip and manifest processes.
The Time Release Study for February-April 2019 showed increased RMS facilitated bills with no assessment/examination, limited registration of goods within 24 hours of duty payment, and an improving but still elevated dwell time; stakeholders were directed to use online registration to reduce dwell time. Administrative measures include immediate receipt of Sevottam submissions, creation of a facilitation cell under Turant Customs to clear facilitated Bills of Entry across sites, electronic transmission of MEIS/SEIS duty credit scrips to Customs via ICES, and compliance with the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment (Amendment) Regulations, 2019.

Bonded warehouses: duty deferred until domestic clearance, centralized approvals and zero-rating for exports streamline operations.
Approval for manufacturing in bonded warehouses is centralized with the jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs; imports of capital goods and inputs are allowed without duty payment until clearance to the domestic tariff area, exports of resultants are zero-rated, there is no limit on export or domestic clearance and no mandatory minimum export obligation, and compliance is to be managed through a single digitalized account with nodal officers designated for stakeholder outreach.

Prosecution timing for foreign currency and foreign national offences permits launching prosecution promptly, even prior to service of notice.
Prosecution timing under the Customs Act normally follows completion of adjudication, but for specified contraband items - such as gold, foreign currency, FICN, arms, explosives, antiques, art treasures, and protected wildlife and flora - prosecution is preferred immediately after issuance of a Show Cause Notice. For cases involving foreign nationals, prosecution may be launched at the earliest, even before issuance of the Show Cause Notice, to mitigate difficulties in securing accused presence and service of process.

Assessment practice for petroleum products: second check allowed with valid PTR; otherwise first check with mandatory lab testing.
Revised assessment practice for petroleum imports under CTH 27101960 and 27101990: manufacturer importers who are actual users with an overseas manufacturer supplier and a valid PTR may obtain final assessment on second check where manufacturer and supplier credentials and PTR details are uploaded to e sanchit. Manufacturer importers with non manufacturer foreign suppliers may obtain provisional second check assessment with samples sent to DYCC/designated laboratory if a valid PTR is uploaded and declared. All other cases, including non manufacturer importers or lack of valid PTR, require first check assessment with mandatory laboratory testing.

Manufacturing in bonded warehouses: combined recordkeeping and export/domestic clearance rules with GST and duty obligations.
Applicants for manufacturing or other operations in bonded warehouses must hold a private bonded warehouse licence and use a single application process; licensees must maintain consolidated digital accounts in the Annexure B format (combining MOOWR and Warehouse Regulations data), execute the prescribed triple duty bond, and submit monthly returns. Exported resultant products require a shipping bill and warehoused removal procedures with no import duty on contained inputs; domestic clearance is a taxable supply under GST, requiring an ex-bond bill of entry, payment of GST and import duties on contained inputs, and reflection of transactions in Annexure B.

Mandatory eSANCHIT upload: digitally signed supporting documents required at filing of shipping bills; hard copies disallowed.
Mandatory uploading of digitally signed supporting documents on eSANCHIT is required at the time of filing Shipping Bills; exporters and customs brokers must submit documents electronically and hard copies will no longer be accepted.

Drawback claims pending due to PFMS bank account mismatches; exporters must amend PFMS details to enable payment.
Drawback claims in the SCROLL_IN queue are pending as "PFMS rejected" due to incorrect bank account data submitted in PFMS that mismatches ICEGATE; exporters listed in Annexure A must amend their PFMS bank details so payments can be processed and may approach the Assistant Commissioner, DBK & IGST Refund Section, Air Cargo Complex, Kolkata for assistance (telephone and email provided).

Customs jurisdiction change creates new preventive and export facilitation unit and directs exporters to apply for self sealing.
The Customs Preventive Unit at Sullurpet is merged into the Customs Preventive Unit, Nellore, which will handle preventive, anti smuggling and coastal patrolling for SPSR Nellore District. A new Customs Preventive Unit at Kurnool is established with jurisdiction over Kadapa, Kurnool and Ananthapur Districts and is designated as an Export Facilitation Unit for those districts; its office address is provided. Exporters in those districts are requested to apply to the Kurnool unit to avail the self sealing export procedure under the procedures set out in the Trade Facilitation Circulars.

Authorised Sea Carrier registration required; ICEGATE filing of arrival/departure manifests and inland manifest enables e seal cargo tracking.
The Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 require Indian representatives to register as Authorised Sea Carriers (ASC) and their agents as Authorised Sea Agents (ASA), and to submit electronic Arrival and Departure Manifests via ICEGATE prior to departures. ICEGATE now accepts registration and applications routed through ICES to the Appraising Officer (EDI) for verification and approval. The Customs Inland Manifest (CIM) is operational for e Sealed export cargo and must be filed before cargo leaves exporter premises; CIM data on vehicles, containers and e seals will be shared with RMS and verified by preventive officers to support tracking and risk based facilitation.

Examination facility for DPD containers introduced to enable on terminal inspections and reduce import dwell time.
An on terminal examination facility for Direct Port Delivery (DPD) containers at BMCT will allow Customs to conduct open examinations and sampling within a clearly demarcated area, subject to provision of EDI enabled office infrastructure, logistics and equipment comparable to CFSs, and compliance with custodian obligations. Containers will be shifted to the examination area on request after advance Bill of Entry filing and payment of terminal charges; Customs, Customs Broker and terminal staff will attend examinations; containers return to yard post inspection and are delivered only after Customs Out of Charge and delivery order requirements are met.

Direct Port Delivery limited to AEO holders; shipping lines may manifest DPD only after verified AEO and advance notice.
Direct Port Delivery (DPD) is limited to importers with a valid Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) certificate. Shipping lines shall manifest the IGM as DPDDPD or DPD CFS only after AEO certificate verification and receipt of the importer's advance intimation, and DPD CFS must be manifested only to the CFS attached to the respective port, following the procedure in Circular No. 22/2017.

Customs Inland Manifest requirement for eSealed export cargo mandates pre departure filing and real time tracking verification.
Exporters using eSeal must file a Customs Inland Manifest (CIM) on ICEGATE before goods leave their premises; the CIM, filed per rail or truck movement and quoting Shipping Bill numbers, must record vehicle, container and eSeal details. Technical guidance, message formats and an Excel utility to generate the required JSON are available on ICEGATE. CIM data will be shared with RMS for tracking and risk analysis, and Preventive Officers at port may verify CIM details in ICES, record match/mismatch and tamper status, and report results in specified fields.