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.

Drawback claim compliance: exporters must respond to EDI queries or claims will be processed as zero.
Directs exporters to monitor Drawback claim status on the ICEGATE EDI system and to submit complete replies and supporting documents to queries in the "Query Raised" queue; failure to provide satisfactory responses within the prescribed period will result in those claims being processed as zero drawback. Exporters may thereafter file supplementary Drawback claims under the Drawback Rules and may contact the Drawback office for assistance.

Online complaints module for AEO and DPD clients enables filing and tracking DPD-related complaints via the DPD JNCH website.
An online complaints module on www.dpdjnch.com enables AEO and DPD importers or their authorised customs brokers to file complaints limited to DPD matters by using the Complaints > Write tab, providing contact details, selecting the concerned agency, and uploading supporting documents; complainants can monitor status via the Complaint View tab and escalate issues to the Deputy Commissioner in charge of the AEO/DPD Cell via the provided e-mail.

Transhipment procedures for gift shipments clarified; bond, manifest, sealing, screening and acknowledgement requirements set and recordkeeping enforced.
Transhipment of gift consignments under CBE XII is permitted to nearby courier terminals outside the Northern Zone subject to the Transhipment Regulations. Authorized couriers must execute a Transhipment Bond equivalent to monthly average or projected gift shipment value, file Cargo Transfer Manifests or applications approved by the proper officer, seal and x ray consignments, debit bond value pending destination Customs acknowledgement, and maintain records; a fee per application is chargeable.

Forgery alert: forged office order cancelling export policy for beach sand minerals declared invalid; original notification remains operative.
A circulated Office Order purporting to cancel Notification No. 26/2015-2020 for the export policy of Beach Sand Minerals is a forged document and was not issued by the relevant trade authority; the original Notification No. 26/2015-2020 dated 21.08.2018 remains unchanged and in force, and trade stakeholders are advised to rely only on official communications.

Paperless duty credit scrips: electronic issuance and ICES-only debits, but not usable at non-EDI ports.
DGFT will issue MEIS/SEIS duty credit scrips electronically for EDI ports and transmit them to Customs for visibility in ICES. Owners or authorized representatives must present scrip identifiers to the proper officer while ownership will be verified on the DGFT website. All debits for these paperless scrips will be effected only in ICES; no physical debits or TRA will be available for paperless scrips, which therefore cannot be used at non-EDI ports. Physical scrips on security paper will continue for non-EDI ports.

IGST export refunds: officer interface available for resolving invoice mismatches; RRR facility limited to earlier shipping bills.
Officer-interface relief for resolving invoice mismatches (SB 005) in respect of IGST export refunds is available only for Shipping Bills filed up to 15.11.2018, per referenced Board circulars. The facility to submit a Revised Refund Request (RRR) to claim differential IGST refund amounts is available only for Shipping Bills filed up to 30.06.2018.

Out of Charge procedure revised: endorsement waived while gate verification of marks, seals and weight remains mandatory.
Turant Customs removes the requirement to present Bills of Entry to OOC Officers for endorsement; OOC stamping is waived. Preventive Officers at CFS and port gates will continue mandatory verification of marks and numbers, container number, seal number and weight prior to delivery of all cargo, except DPDCFS cargo. Trade may report difficulties to the Joint Commissioner of Customs (RMSFC) at the provided contact.

Empanelment deadline extension for Chartered Engineers allows later applications for valuation of secondhand imported machinery and equipment.
Extension of the empanelment application deadline for Chartered Engineers to value secondhand and used imported machinery, equipment and parts; applications originally invited under Public Notice No.01/2019 (cutoff 01.02.2019) may now be submitted until 10.05.2019 up to 1600 hours, with no consideration of late submissions. Trade stakeholders are asked to publicise the corrigendum and the public notice and proforma are available on the Pune Customs website.

BRC data non-receipt: exporters must clear EDPMS pendency within one month or face IEC alert and adjudication.
Exporters must verify BRC integration via ICEGATE and coordinate with AD Banks to upload or regularise BRC entries in the RBI EDPMS module within one month; where foreign exchange is not realized and pendency remains uncleared, the shipping bills will be treated as not realized, triggering an IEC alert in ICES, issuance of a SCN, and initiation of adjudication proceedings, while exporters can alternatively remit drawback with interest to regularise cases.

Simplification of payment procedure: manual challans accepted without officer signatures, streamlining customs duty and fee payments.
No customs officer signature is required on manual challans for payment of customs duty, interest, amendment fees or other government dues; the Cash Section will accept such payments from importers or Customs Brokers and the payer shall submit the receipted copy of the manual challan to the concerned Group or Section. The exception for surrender of MEIS benefits persists under the procedure in Public Notice No.07/2019.

MEIS benefit repayment procedure clarified for obtaining No Incentive Certificate; assessment groups to verify and generate EDD challans.
Only when MEIS scrips were issued and utilized for payment of duty must the importer deposit proportionate MEIS benefits with interest; where MEIS was not applied for or scrips were issued but not utilized, no deposit is required but a DGFT No Incentive Certificate must be produced. Importers may submit supporting documents to the Assessment Group, whose Appraiser will verify amounts and generate an Extra Duty Demand (EDD) Challan in the system the same day, or accept payment via Manual Challan where system generation is not possible.

Export General Manifest filing: electronic submission on ICEGATE required before vessel departure; hard-copy submissions discontinued.
Shipping lines and shipping agents must file the Export General Manifest electronically on ICEGATE under Section 41 before vessel departure; hard copies already filed electronically are no longer required, and shipping lines/agents bear responsibility for correct, error-free submission and must report implementation difficulties to the Commissioner of Customs (Port).

IGST refund processing for exports depends on correcting EGM, invoice and GSTIN mismatches to enable final scroll migration.
IGST refund on exports under Rule 96 of the CGST Rules, 2017 requires Shipping Bills to migrate from the IGST Temporary Scroll to the final Scroll; EGM/Stuffing errors (SB002), invalid invoice numbers (SB005), GSTIN mismatches (SB003) and Shipping Bill detail mismatches (SB001) block refund processing. Exporters must correct EGMs before vessel departure, rectify GSTR-1/GSTR-3B entries, submit reconciliatory documents and, where applicable, a Revised Refund Request. Manual officer-interface processing for SB003/SB005/supplementary refunds applies only to Shipping Bills filed up to 15.11.2018.

Coastal carriage through foreign territory: harmonised procedures require marking, sealing, manifesting and Customs verification for transit.
Movement of coastal cargo transiting through Sri Lanka or Bangladesh must follow the Transportation of Goods (Through Foreign Territory) Regulations, 1965 with added documentary requirements including GSTIN or alternative tax identifiers and invoice references; consignments must be marked "For Coastal Carriage through Foreign Territory" and containers sealed with tamper proof seals. The Superintendent may pass the prescribed Bill and order examinations; the Master must carry the passed Bill and prepare triplicate manifests with container and seal details; Customs will inspect at origin and destination, verify discharge and seals, and report tampering for further action, while prohibited exports remain ineligible.

Routing of self-sealed export containers through CFSs permitted subject to equipment, storage, charge transparency and reporting requirements.
Permission to route DPE self-sealed export containers through CFSs is subject to CFSs procuring handheld RFID readers from approved vendors, maintaining a separate covered storage area with CCTV and internet, applying only to containers offloaded from trailers, displaying transparent charges limited to specified services, deploying additional staff as necessary, and submitting daily and monthly reports in prescribed formats; non-compliance may result in disallowance from handling DPE cargo.