Acceptance of undertaking in lieu of bond extended during lockdown, with deferred deadline for filing the required bond.
The Board has extended the temporary facility to accept an undertaking in lieu of the bond required under section 143AA of the Customs Act for clearance during the lockdown, with a deferred deadline for submission of the proper bond in respect of such undertakings. All conditions specified in the original circular remain unchanged, the measure will be reviewed at the end of the lockdown, implementation difficulties may be reported, and the Public Notice is to be treated as a Standing Order for officers.

Undertaking in lieu of bond extended to facilitate customs clearance during lockdown; bond submission deadline deferred.
Acceptance of an undertaking in lieu of a bond under Section 143AA is extended until 15.06.2020, with the deadline to submit the proper bond deferred until 30.06.2020; prior conditions from Circular No. 17/2020 remain in force and the Board will review the relaxation at the end of the lockdown period.

Bill of Entry amendment process made contactless and paperless with online filing, electronic fee payment, and tablet-based examination.
The Bill of Entry amendment process is now contactless: amendments may be filed online via the portal and remote filing software, queued to the proper officer with additions to supporting documents auto-approved while deletions/modifications require officer approval. A mandatory amendment-fee field in the approval form ensures fees (zero if none) are captured and, upon approval, automatically included in the duty challan for electronic payment; the system sends email notices to the importer or customs broker on approval/rejection and fee levying. Tablet-based tools enable paperless cargo examination, report submission, and photo uploads.

Brand Rate fixation: special drive to clear pending applications and expedite provisional and final rates for exporters.
A special administrative drive requires Customs to expedite disposal of pending applications for fixation of Brand Rate of duty drawback, prioritizing final fixation and provisional relief, minimizing physical contact by electronic submissions, offering provisional Brand Rate or AIR where appropriate, allowing eligible exporters to switch to the Revised Simplified Scheme for faster provisional decisions, accepting prior Central Excise verifications unless further inquiry is justified, and validating Brand Rate data on the designated portal.

Waiver of late filing charges withdrawn; limited relief only for Bill of Entry tied to earlier inwards dates, with cessation.
The general waiver of late filing charges for delayed Bills of Entry is withdrawn: it will not apply to Bills of Entry for IGMs with entry inwards dates after 31.05.2020; for IGMs with entry inwards dates up to 31.05.2020 the waiver will cease for Bills of Entry filed after 08.06.2020. The withdrawal is issued as a standing order for officers and staff and affected stakeholders may raise specific difficulties to the Deputy/Additional Commissioner, Appraising Main (IMPORT) via the provided email.

Bank account validation: Exporters must reconcile PFMS bank details to enable disbursal of drawback and IGST refunds.
Mismatch between exporters' bank details and Public Financial Management System (PFMS) records is preventing PFMS validation of accounts and blocking disbursal of drawback and IGST refund claims. Exporters listed must submit a request letter to the Deputy Commissioner (Drawback/Statistics/EDI), a bank certification of account details, IEC copy, and PAN, either by post or by designated email addresses; the list of affected IECs is posted on the customs office website and stakeholders should take immediate remedial action.

Contactless Bill of Entry amendments enable online filing and electronic fee payment, streamlining customs amendment processing.
Enables a contactless Bill of Entry amendment process by permitting online filing via ICEGATE, queuing amendments for officer approval, auto-approving additions to supporting documents, requiring officer approval for deletions/modifications, and incorporating a mandatory amendment-fee field whose approved fees are automatically included in the electronic duty challan; the System sends email notifications of approval/rejection and fees. ICETAB deployment enables paperless examinations with PDF reference, report entry, and photo upload.

Online Bill of Entry amendment process becomes contactless with electronic fee levy and ICETAB-enabled paperless examinations.
Measures enable online filing of Bill of Entry amendments via ICEGATE and upgraded remote filing software, with system queuing for officer approval and auto approval limited to additions in the supporting documents table. Amendment fees are entered in a mandatory fee field, editable by designated officers, and upon approval are automatically included in the duty challan for electronic payment through ICEGATE; the System will notify importers/customers of approval or rejection and fees levied. ICETAB tablets and a forthcoming app will support paperless cargo examination and direct upload of reports and images into ICES.

Contactless bill of entry amendment process enables online filing and electronic fee payment with mobile paperless examination.
The Bill of Entry amendment process is now electronic: amendments may be filed via ICEGATE or upgraded remote filing software, queued for officer approval with supporting-document additions auto-approved, and other changes requiring officer approval. An amendment-fee field in the approval form records fees levied by the Appraiser (editable by Group AC/DC and mandatory with zero if none); approved amendments have fees automatically included in the duty challan for electronic payment through ICEGATE and the System emails importers/customs brokers about approval or rejection and any fees or reasons for rejection.

Incidence of National Calamity Contingent Duty clarified for Brand Rate duty drawback calculations; stakeholders urged to follow CBIC instruction.
Instruction communicates that National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) must be accounted for in calculating the Brand Rate for duty drawback and directs importers, exporters and other stakeholders to consult Instruction No. 5/2020-Cus dated 12.05.2020 issued by the Joint Commissioner (Drawback), CBIC. Stakeholders are asked to implement the prescribed treatment and report any difficulties to the Deputy Commissioner, Customs (Prev.), Jamnagar.

Acceptance of undertaking in lieu of bond extended; upload to e Sanchit required and bond submission deadline deferred.
Temporary acceptance of an undertaking in lieu of a customs bond under Section 143AA is extended and the deadline for submission of the proper bond is further extended; the relaxation will be reviewed by the CBIC at the end of the lockdown. The undertaking must be submitted from the registered email ID of the IEC holder or authorised customs broker and must also be uploaded on e Sanchit. All other conditions in Circular No.17/2020 remain unchanged; the notice is to be publicised and treated as a standing order, with implementation difficulties to be reported to the Additional/Joint Commissioner of Customs.

Import of milk and milk products into India must be accompanied by a veterinary certificate with specified attestations.
All consignments of milk and milk products, including edible lactose, must be accompanied by a veterinary certificate from the exporting country's competent authority attesting that source animals were not fed ruminant-derived meat or bone meal, that animal rennet was not used, that processing achieved temperatures to destroy specified zoonoses, that animals were not exposed to BGH/BST or recent estrogenic treatment, and that residues and toxins comply with Codex limits; customs must insist on the certificate at all entry points, examine consignments on arrival, take samples, and the Department of Animal Husbandry will act at the importer's cost for nonconformity.

Paperless import clearance: PGA LPCOs must be uploaded on e SANCHIT; beneficiary uploads barred after cut off.
The notice adds two Registrar of Newspapers document types to e-SANCHIT and requires PGAs to upload digitally signed LPCOs, centralising LPCO uploads with PGAs. Beneficiary uploads on e-SANCHIT are deactivated from the stated cut-off, although the newly enabled PGA must upload LPCOs issued within the prior 15-day window and may upload earlier LPCOs to enable beneficiary use. Beneficiaries must ensure correct ICEGATE e-mail registration because PGAs will communicate LPCO information and IRNs via those addresses; the Public Notice 02/2020 is modified accordingly.

e-SANCHIT electronic LPCO submission: RNI must upload authorizations; beneficiary uploads disabled, ensure ICEGATE email registration.
RNI is added as a PGA on e-SANCHIT to upload digitally signed LPCOs; beneficiary uploads of previously issued LPCOs are disabled from 31.05.2020. RNI must upload LPCOs issued during the 15 days prior to the cut-off and may upload earlier documents to enable beneficiary use. Beneficiaries must ensure correct email addresses in ICEGATE because PGAs will communicate LPCO information via those registered emails; Board's email-based auto registration for limited e-SANCHIT functions applies.

Electronic sealing requirement for customs bonded warehouses rescinded pending fresh comprehensive public consultation and review of modalities.
The Board has rescinded previously issued but not yet operationalised circulars mandating RFID and other electronic sealing for deposit in and removal of goods from Customs bonded warehouses, and will prepare a comprehensive circular placing revised modalities on the public domain for stakeholder inputs prior to finalisation.

Upload Drug Controller licence in eSanchit to secure online clearance of pharmaceutical imports and avoid processing delays.
Importers and customs brokers must upload Drug Controller licences, NOCs and related approvals into eSanchit for clearance of pharmaceutical consignments requiring Assistant Drug Controller approval; the measure relies on the Single Window/automated customs data routing to eliminate physical interface, reduce dwell time and avoid queries, and trade associations are asked to publicize the requirement with a contact provided for implementation difficulties.

Provisional assessment permits conditional release of imports pending COO verification with reduced security for qualifying importers.
Provisional assessment allows conditional release of consignments from China claiming duty exemption under an APTA Country of Origin Certificate pending verification of COO signatures and seals; releases shall follow Circular No. 38/2016 and security under Section 18 of the Customs Act. Designated categories (Authorized Economic Operator, Status Holder, specified manufacturers and institutional actual users importing pharmaceuticals, personal protection equipment and hygiene products) are exempt from security (0%), other importers of those goods face 25% security of the differential duty, and all other importers remain at 100%. Eligible importers may furnish a Bond or an Undertaking in lieu of Bond, which must be replaced by a proper Bond as required, and Appraising Groups must maintain records of relaxations.

PGA e-SANCHIT expansion requires agencies to upload digital LPCOs, shifting upload responsibility from beneficiaries to PGAs.
PGA e-SANCHIT now requires PGAs to upload digitally signed LPCOs; RNI is added as a PGA with two document types and the total enabled PGAs becomes fifty-one. Beneficiaries will be barred from uploading previously issued LPCOs after the deactivation cut-off, and RNI must upload LPCOs issued during the 15-day window (and may upload earlier LPCOs) to allow beneficiary use. PGAs will communicate via ICEGATE-registered email addresses; stakeholders must ensure correct emails because beneficiary upload capability will be deactivated.

National Calamity Contingent Duty inclusion required in Brand Rate duty drawback calculation under customs law.
Clarifies that the incidence of National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) on inputs used in export manufacture must be factored into calculation of the Brand Rate of duty drawback; explains NCCD's levy as an excise and customs duty under the Finance Acts and that central excise and customs provisions (including refunds and exemptions) apply; notes Drawback Committee inclusion of NCCD in All Industry Rates and directs stakeholders to report implementation difficulties to the Deputy Commissioner (Technical).

Paperless LPCO uploads: Registrar of Newspapers must upload authorizations on e SANCHIT and beneficiary uploads will be disabled.
RNI is enabled to upload digitally signed LPCOs (Certificate of Registration and Self Declaration Certificate for Import) on e-SANCHIT, centralizing issuance for beneficiaries. Beneficiary uploading of previously issued LPCOs will be disabled after the cut-off; RNI must upload LPCOs from the prior fifteen days and may upload earlier documents. ICEGATE-registered email addresses will be used for IRN communication; formations must ensure correct beneficiary email registration and issue public notices. Feedback to [email protected].