Entry Inwards procedure at Paradip Port now allows earlier customs approval to reduce delay before cargo unloading after berthing.
Customs procedure at Paradip Port now delinks Entry Inwards from physical boarding of the vessel to reduce delay between berthing and cargo discharge. After pilot boarding at the pilot station, the Port Traffic Control Room must record and electronically communicate vessel arrival to Customs, while vessel or steamer agents must submit arrival information and relevant documents. This enables Customs to grant Entry Inwards at the reporting stage so unloading can begin immediately after berthing. Boarding Officers must still complete verification and checks after berthing and may act on any variation, shortcoming, or misdeclaration.

Customs control of marine services requires supervised supplies, crew baggage clearance, hazardous-waste monitoring, transshipment safeguards, and returnable equipment tracking.
Customs procedures at Vizhinjam International Seaport govern supplies to foreign-going vessels, crew sign-on and sign-off, hazardous vessel-waste clearance, transshipment of imported ship stores, and other marine services. Supplies require Shipping Bill assessment, gate entry, examination and supervised loading. Crew baggage requires customs examination and a gate pass. Hazardous sludge, waste oil and waste water require pollution-control licensing, monitoring, sampling and testing, with foreign-going vessel waste subject to import clearance and duty where applicable. Transshipment requires bonds, sealing, permit controls and supervised delivery. Returnable repair equipment requires prior permission, special gate passes and entry-exit verification.

Union Budget 2026 revises customs duties, consolidates exemptions, tariffises lines, and amends GST and customs procedures.
Union Budget 2026 proposes amendments to customs, central excise and GST by the Finance Bill, 2026 and accompanying notifications: widespread BCD rate revisions, tariff consolidation/tariffisation into the First Schedule, creation of new tariff items, extensions/lapses of numerous exemptions (many extended to 31 March 2028 or lapsed 31 March 2026), selected specific and ad valorem duty adjustments, addition of medicines and rare diseases to exemption lists, procedural changes to deferred duty payment and baggage rules, amendments to Customs Act (including fishing beyond territorial waters and advance ruling validity), central excise valuation and NCCD adjustments, and GST amendments on discounts, refunds and advance ruling appeal mechanism.

Import cargo examination now requires e-scheduling and mandatory body worn camera recordings retained for two years.
Mandatory use of Body Worn Cameras (BWC) requires officers to record import cargo examinations from before opening containers/packages through completion, capturing interactions and critical examination stages; recordings must be securely stored and retained for two years and preserved for investigations, disputes or litigation. A system-based e-Scheduling application on ICEGATE 2.0 will schedule physical examinations to create an auditable digital trail; DG Systems will issue an advisory and full rollout is to be implemented by 01.04.2026, with field formations required to ensure officer sensitisation and compliance monitoring.

Automation of customs processes introduces auto goods registration, auto out of charge and auto let export order with risk based controls.
CBIC implements automated clearance: Auto Goods Registration and Auto Out of Charge for specified importers (AEO T2/T3, Eligible Manufacturer Importers, longstanding supply chains, DPD) and online/e seal based auto goods registration for exports; Auto Let Export Order will be granted on risk based evaluation for facilitated Shipping Bills not selected for examination, with no PGA NOC requirement and duty/cess paid, subject to officer override via system HOLD.

SWIFT 2.0 onboarding of PGAs streamlines EXIM clearances via unified data fields, document codes and digital certificates.
SWIFT 2.0 will serve as a unified Single Touch Point for EXIM clearances by standardising PGA data fields, document requirements and document codes; CDSCO and WCCB are newly integrated, MeitY and the Textile Committee are digitally linked, and annexed mappings specify mandatory/conditional fields, LPCO/NOC codes and standard declarations. PGA officers are collocated on Customs IT for live NOC processing; phased onboarding and stakeholder feedback precede mandatory rollout.

Baggage Rules 2026: electronic declaration, risk based verification, duty free allowances, and procedures for passenger baggage clearance including unaccompanied baggage.
Baggage Rules, 2026 require electronic or permitted alternative declarations for dutiable or prohibited accompanied and unaccompanied baggage (via Atithi/ICEGATE), impose risk based verification, and prescribe duty free allowances, transfer of residence benefits and special jewellery treatment; goods in commercial quantity are excluded from bona fide baggage and subject to Customs Act adjudication, while temporary export/import certificates, detention receipts, sealing, transhipment conditions and supervisory, time bound clearance procedures are mandated to ensure passenger facilitation and revenue protection.

Deferred import duty payments extended to 30 days; eligible manufacturer importers added and can apply from March 1.
Rule 4 of the Deferred Payment of Import Duty Rules, 2016 is amended to extend the deferred payment period from 15 to 30 days: duties for Bills of Entry returned in months other than March are payable by the 1st of the following month, and duties for Bills of Entry returned in March are payable by 31st March. The amended limits apply from 01.03.2026. A new class, "Eligible Manufacturer Importer," approved by the Directorate of International Customs and able to apply from 01.03.2026, may avail the facility until 31st March, 2028.

RPA imports for military use exempt from BCD and IGST when imported by defence entities with authorised certificate.
The circular confirms that RPA (Remote Pilot Aircraft) includes drones, UAVs and UAS, and that exemption from Basic Customs Duty and IGST under S. No. 59 of Table II of notification No.45/2025-Customs applies only when imported into India by the Ministry of Defence, Defence forces, Defence PSUs, other PSUs, or any other entity for the Defence forces, subject to a certificate from a Ministry of Defence officer not below Joint Secretary rank.

Temporary ICES Bill of Entry suspension enables Budget-related tariff updates while export filing and assessment continue normally.
Bills of Entry cannot be filed in ICES during the temporary system-update period following the Union Budget presentation, and related approvals are also suspended. Other ICEGATE services and Shipping Bill filing and assessment continue normally. Export-related levies introduced through Budget changes are to be monitored and, where applicable, collected manually until directory updates are made online. Prior Bills of Entry must be checked for changed duty liability before Out of Charge, and Bill of Entry filing resumes once ICES updates are completed.

ICES budget updation temporarily suspends Bills of Entry filing and requires duty review of prior filings before out-of-charge.
ICES will temporarily suspend filing of Bills of Entry from 11:00 hours on 1 February 2026 while budget-related notifications and tariff directories are updated. Section 48 approvals will also stop, although other ICEGATE services and officer functions in ICES will continue. Bills of Entry filed earlier may be processed, subject to checking prior filings for changed duty liability before out-of-charge. Filing and processing will resume after system updation, generally within 48 hours where no substantial new levies are notified.

RTI officer appointments and appeal routing are notified for Customs (Port), Kolkata with jurisdiction-wise allocation of charges.
Appointment of Central Public Information Officers and First Appellate Authorities for the Commissionerate of Customs (Port), Kolkata is notified under the RTI Act, 2005, with jurisdiction-wise allocation of charges to officers named in the annexure. The notice supersedes the earlier public notice on the subject and provides that first appeals may be filed before the corresponding First Appellate Authority under the statutory appeal mechanism. It also sets out the operational process for RTI applications, including online filing, submission by post or by hand, and fee payment to the notified account.

Designation of Central Assistant Public Information Officer for Chennai Customs Zone under the RTI Act appointed.
Designation under Sec 5(2) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 appoints Smt. Kamakshi Muralidharan, Superintendent of Customs, as Central Assistant Public Information Officer for the Office of the Chief Commissioner of Customs, Chennai Zone, with the office address and telephone contact provided for public access.

Entry Inwards procedures enable cargo discharge immediately after berthing through remote verification of Pilot On Board vessel information.
Entry Inwards is delinked from completion of physical boarding formalities to reduce the interval between berthing and cargo discharge. After a vessel reports at the Pilot Station or the pilot is confirmed on board, relevant vessel details must be sent to the Customs Docks Office by port control, vessel traffic services, and the vessel or steamer agent. Following verification, the Boarding Officer may grant Entry Inwards in ICES by email, which authorises commencement of cargo discharge. Physical document verification and boarding checks continue, and discrepancies or misdeclarations remain subject to action under the Customs Act.

HSNS Cess accounting heads designated for payment, interest, penalty and other receipts to facilitate compliance.
Specific eight digit accounting head codes are prescribed for payments under the HSNS Cess: separate codes for cess receipts, interest, penalties and other payments. These codes are to be circulated to field formations, trade and the public to ensure correct allocation and accounting of remittances arising under the HSNS Cess levy.

HSNS Cess registration and payment procedure: portal enrolment, challan generation and electronic payment via ICEGATE required.
Registration and payment for HSNS Cess are effected via the CBIC taxpayer portal and ICEGATE. Taxpayers must enroll by PAN validation, obtain a 15 character ERN, complete Form HSNS REG 01 with business, premises, promoter, authorized signatory and bank details, upload prescribed documents, and receive a Temporary Registration Number used to access the dashboard. Monthly cess is paid electronically using generated challans (CTIN) selecting accounting codes (major head 0045) and payable via ICEGATE through NEFT/RTGS, net banking or payment gateway; payments produce system e receipts and challan status updates.

IGST refund cases: verify PFMS bank validation and submit rejected Shipping Bills via ICEGATE or designated Customs email.
PFMS integration verifies AD Code and bank account details for IGST refund credits; failures due to improper AD Code or incorrect bank details produce PFMS error codes. An automated reversal returns failed transactions from PFMS to ICEGATE, and officers must follow ICES Advisory No. 18/2020 to process rejected Shipping Bills and generate fresh refund scrolls. Exporters should verify PFMS validation, update ICEGATE, and submit lists of affected Shipping Bills or those marked "Rejected" with port codes to the designated Customs email or Sevottam for rectification.

Authorized Economic Operator helpdesk established to expedite application processing and resolve deficiency-related applicant queries.
A dedicated Help Desk at the Export Commissionerate, Air Cargo Complex, Mumbai is established to assist stakeholders with AEO application filing and resolution of deficiency-related queries, with nominated officers available physically and by email; an escalation email is provided for unresolved grievances and the arrangement is declared a Standing Order for staff.

Sea Arrival Manifest compliance requires timely Bill of Lading data, replacing pre-entry supplementary manifest amendments with designated amendment messages.
Supplementary Import General Manifest amendments before Sea Entry Inwards are to be disabled from 20 February 2026. Timely House Bill of Lading declaration through Cargo Summary Notification messages is required so that Sea Arrival Manifests contain mandatory data for risk analysis and trade facilitation. Before Sea Entry Inwards, Bill of Lading additions or amendments must use Sea Arrival Amendment or Sea Cargo Amendment messages without officer routing. Post-entry amendments will require officer routing, with reasons for delayed inclusion potentially sought and supplementary amendment charges leviable under existing procedures.

Vessel berthing: Entry Inwards can be granted on pilot report enabling immediate unloading of cargo upon berthing.
Entry Inwards may be granted when the vessel reports at pilot station based on pilot boarding notification transmitted electronically by the Port Traffic Control Room, enabling immediate cargo discharge subject to submission of relevant documents and existing Advance IGM/Bill of Entry requirements; boarding officers will complete post berthing verifications and address any discrepancies even after Entry Inwards is granted.