Coastal carriage through foreign territory: harmonised transit procedure requires marking, seals, manifests and GST documentation for shipments.
Movement of coastal goods through Sri Lanka and Bangladesh is permitted under a harmonised procedure using the Transportation of Goods (Through Foreign Territory) Regulations, 1965 with specified relaxations: no Bill of Coastal Goods filing where goods transit via foreign territory; consignor/consignee GSTIN (or VAT/PAN) and invoice details must be recorded; consignments must be marked and sealed "For Coastal Carriage through foreign territory"; masters must obtain the passed transit bill, prepare manifests and provide e Way Bill/container/seal details; tampering triggers inspection, adjudication and possible security; prohibited exports cannot transit.

Entity Registration under new sea cargo manifest rules requires ICEGATE applications and customs approval before operating.
Registration under the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations requires master applicants to apply via ICEGATE, providing details of the master entity, authorised persons, intended operations and supporting documents; applications will be routed to ICES for jurisdictional customs approval with verification and queries handled by the Apprising Officer (EDI), and a detailed guidance note is available on ICEGATE.

Sea Cargo Manifest regulations: commencement date deferred, altering compliance timeline for carriers and trade stakeholders.
Amendment notifies a deferment of commencement for The Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018, postponing their operation from the previously announced date to 1 August 2019 and altering the compliance timeline for Main Line Operators, steamer agents, importers, exporters, customs brokers and other trade stakeholders.

Customs Compliance Verification enables pre-duty self-registration and automated electronic clearance via the ICEGATE portal upon payment.
Turant Customs enables importers to self-register goods on the ICEGATE portal after arrival, before duty payment, and establishes Customs Compliance Verification whereby a proper officer completes statutory verifications post-registration; upon CCV confirmation and subsequent duty payment the Customs Automated System will electronically grant clearance, subject to Risk Management System interdictions and agency alerts, and ICES 1.5 provides an automated queue for officers to grant clearance without manual presentation of Bill of Entry details.

Customs Brokers Licensing Examination to be conducted online by authorized academy with MCQ test, pass threshold and oral follow-up.
An online computer based multiple choice licensing examination for customs brokers will be administered by NACIN under the Regulations; it comprises a three hour MCQ test with specified pass marks and mandates an oral examination for those who qualify. The statutory syllabus governs content. Practice question papers and admit card download links are posted on CBIC and NACIN websites, admit cards will be emailed in advance, and candidates must use the published centre lists and helpline email for issues.

Commencement of Sea Cargo Manifest Regulations postponed, notifying stakeholders of a revised operative start under amended notification.
Board Notification No. 17/2019 amends the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 by postponing their commencement: previously notified to commence on 1 March 2019, the Regulations are now directed to come into force on 1 August 2019. The public notice communicates this change to steamer agents, importers, customs brokers and consolidators.

Customs Broker Examination moved online by NACIN under licensing rules, computer based MCQ format with subsequent oral assessment.
The Customs Broker licensing examination will be administered by NACIN as a computer based bilingual MCQ test with a fixed duration, a stipulated pass mark and no negative marking; those who qualify will proceed to an oral examination. Practice question paper and admit card downloads are available on CBIC and NACIN websites, and candidates should report any issues to the provided helpline.

Coastal cargo transit through foreign territory allowed with prescribed marking, sealing, invoicing and manifesting requirements.
Movement of coastal goods through Sri Lanka and Bangladesh shall follow the Transportation of Goods (Through Foreign Territory) Regulations, 1965 with added requirements: consignor and vessel person in charge follow the transit procedure without filing a Bill of Coastal Goods; appendices must include GSTIN (or VAT/PAN) and invoice details; containers must be marked and sealed; manifests and e Way Bill details submitted; destination officers verify discharge and seals; tampering triggers adjudication. Imported containers under notification No. 104/94 may be used for domestic cargo during the permitted temporary period, and domesticated ISO containers may be used for EXIM cargo with procedural parity for export/import clearance.

Electronic Authorisations for Advance/EPCG: physical security-paper copies discontinued; ICES records will govern customs verification and debits.
DGFT will discontinue printing Advance and EPCG Authorisations on security paper for registrations at EDI ports and will transmit Authorisation details electronically to the Customs ICES server. Authorisations, amendments and invalidations will be visible in ICES and relied upon for registration, assessment, examination, debits and export clearances; bond/bank guarantee requirements remain determined as before, and no physical Authorisation need be presented.

Discontinuation of security-paper authorisations for EDI-registered export authorisations streamlines issuance and requires stakeholder attention.
DGFT has discontinued issuing Advance and EPCG Authorisations on security paper for authorisations with EDI ports of registration, under Policy Circular 19/2015-2020 as communicated by Board Circular No. 07/2019-Customs; the change, intended to enhance ease of doing business, takes effect for authorisations issued from 01.03.2019 onwards, and stakeholders are asked to report any implementation difficulties to the customs office.

Execution of Triple Duty Bond required for bond to bond warehouse transfers; buyer must file bond and port notified for monitoring.
Purchasers of warehoused imported goods must execute a consignment specific Triple duty bond with applicable security at the port of import before bond to bond transfer. The buyer's application to the port Bond Section must include seller confirmation, warehouse bill of entry details, description, value and duty, warehouse identity and the executed bond. Where EDI cannot receive subsequent buyer bonds the port will accept bonds manually and record them in a Bond Register, and will notify the Bond Officer of the warehouse of bond details; transfer at the warehouse follows verification and issuance of Annexure recording bond particulars.

AEO programme digitization enables online AEO T1 filing while permitting temporary manual filing to ensure a smooth transition.
A web-based application for online filing and processing of AEO T1 applications has been launched to digitize the AEO Programme while manual filing will continue during a defined transition period. Changes synchronize certificate validity and oversight cycles: AEO certificate validity for T1 and T2 is extended and review/onsite PCA intervals for AEO-T1 and AEO-T2 are set to a three-year cycle, with the Directorate empowered to initiate reviews outside those intervals if compliance concerns arise.

AEO Programme digitization enables online T1 application processing and synchronises certificate validity with periodic onsite compliance reviews.
An online web application for AEO T1 applications has been launched to enable digital filing, processing and issuance of AEO certificates while manual filing remains available for a limited transition period. AEO T1 and T2 certificate validity and the frequency of periodic review and onsite PCA are synchronised and extended to three years, with the Directorate empowered to initiate review any time if compliance appears compromised. Stakeholders are urged to adopt the web portal and report issues to the AEO Cell.

Entity registration under Sea Cargo Manifest regulations requires ICEGATE applications and customs approval for shipping stakeholders and exporters.
The Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment Regulations require entity registration and ICEGATE filing by shipping lines, agents and exporters; master applicants must submit authorised persons, intended operations and supporting documents via ICEGATE, after which jurisdictional customs officers in ICES will verify, approve, or raise queries. A technical guidance note and application materials are available on ICEGATE, and unregistered entities-notably E Seal users-are advised to register.

Customs self-registration expedites clearance by enabling electronic registration, automated CCV and system-driven release upon duty payment.
Turant Customs authorises importer self-registration of goods on ICEGATE after arrival but before duty payment; supporting documents and digital signature requirements remain. A system-enabled Customs Compliance Verification permits officers to complete statutory verifications after registration while duty is pending; once CCV is recorded and duty is paid, the automated system issues electronic clearance, subject to RMS interdictions and agency alerts. ICES enhancements provide an automated queue routing Bills of Entry ready for clearance to mapped officers for system-based release.

Electronic authorisation transmission replaces security paper Advance and EPCG authorisations, with ICES handling registration and debits.
Advance and EPCG authorisations issued with EDI ports will cease to be printed on security paper and will be transmitted electronically by DGFT to the Customs server; ICES will display authorisation details for registration, assessment, examination and debiting, while bond/bank guarantee determination and registration procedures remain unchanged and physical presentation of the authorisation is not required.

Outside laboratory testing for specified customs samples temporarily addresses laboratory backlogs, with importers and owners bearing testing costs.
Customs sample testing for specified goods is temporarily facilitated through designated outside laboratories to address pending test reports. Extra virgin olive oil, petroleum products and vitamins in feed may be tested by Bombay Test House Pvt. Ltd.; organic chemicals, dyes and dye intermediates, pigments, pharmaceutical products and certain metal samples may be tested by Paralab Pvt. Ltd. Importers or owners must bear the testing costs, and implementation directions are to be treated as a standing order.

Mandatory e-SANCHT implementation requires electronic upload of export supporting documents, streamlining clearances and reducing compliance costs.
Mandatory electronic uploading of digitally signed export supporting documents via e-SANCHT is required for shipping bills filed from 1 January 2019, using the procedure previously prescribed by CBIC. Trade participants, including exporters and customs brokers, must use the ICES-integrated facility for all export clearances to reduce costs and expedite processing. The notice operates as a standing order for ICD Mulund (Export) staff and provides EDI contact points for reporting difficulties.

Electronic authorisations: Advance and EPCG authorisations will be transmitted to customs electronically; printed security-paper copies discontinued.
DGFT will discontinue printed Advance and EPCG authorisations for registrations at EDI ports; such authorisations will be transmitted electronically to the Customs ICES server and visible to officers handling registration, assessment, examination, debits and shipping processes. Holders need not present physical copies but must provide IEC and authorisation numbers to designated port officers; bond/bank guarantee determination and registration procedures remain unchanged and special conditions will be reflected in ICES. Amendments and invalidations will likewise be updated electronically, and the prior Customs ARO/invalidation procedure is withdrawn.

Public grievance mechanism nominated for Chennai II customs, designating an officer as grievance officer with contact for redressal.
Nomination of a Public Grievance Officer for Chennai II Commissionerate under IS 15700:2005. The Assistant Commissioner of Customs (Admin.) is designated as the officer responsible for redressal, with specified office address, telephone and email. The Commissioner of Customs, Chennai II is designated as Head of the Public Grievance Mechanism to oversee grievance handling and accountability within the Commissionerate.