Special warehouse licensing: new rules lock notified goods, enable record-based controls and one-time-lock movements.
Amendments to Chapter IX and regulations notified on 14 May 2016 create licensing regimes for public, private and special warehouses, replace prior removal regulations, prescribe new warehousing bonds, and shift certain movement controls from physical escort to serially numbered one-time-locks. Transitional provisions permit migration to record-based controls; special warehouses must be licensed to store specified notified goods and remain under customs lock. Licensee responsibilities include record-keeping, computerisation and recording of regulatory samples, with procedures for clearance, removal and consequences of licence suspension or cancellation.

Duty bond requirement for warehoused imports secures payment obligations and covers movement, storage accounting and recovery mechanisms.
Amendment requires an importer to execute a duty bond at the customs station of import for warehoused goods equal to three times the duty assessed; the bond covers movement to and between warehouses, accounting during storage, continues until clearance for home consumption or export, and may be enforced and recovered by customs officers. The circular prescribes consignment and general bond formats and supersedes the earlier 1978 bond formats.

One-time-lock requirement for customs-to-warehouse removals mandates serial-numbered seals, endorsed records, and inspection before unloading.
Affixation of a serially numbered one-time-lock (OTL) on containers or transport for removal from customs stations to warehouses is mandatory; the OTL number and date/time must be endorsed on the bill of entry and transport document, seals must be inspected at the warehouse before unloading, and customs stations must record OTL numbers alongside vehicle/container identifiers and officer details. Procurement of serially numbered OTLs is to be arranged by Commissionerates; exceptions may be permitted by Commissioners where affixation is impracticable.

Extension of re-export period: customs may allow additional time for durable containers subject to satisfactory justification.
Extensions of the six-month re-export period for durable containers may be granted by the Commissioner of Customs for up to twelve months from the end of the initial six months upon submission of genuine reasons satisfactory to the Commissioner; failure to secure an extension will render the container liable for applicable duty and interest. Off-hiring is generally not an acceptable reason. Extension requests for laden containers awaiting clearance must include specific import identifiers, and detailed container particulars and bond information must accompany any movement or extension request, with non-compliance attracting bond enforcement and penal action under the Customs Act, 1962.

Identity and use verification required for re export under Customs Act; examination reports must be explicit and separate.
Re export drawback claims must include a separate, self contained examination report on the shipping bill that explicitly addresses the identity of the goods and their use. Vague or cryptic phrases are unacceptable. Each re export case must be decided by the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner in a speaking, reasoned, appealable order to permit Commissioner review and ensure compliance with drawback rules.

Coastal manifest requirement applies to vessels at import/export berths, mandating pre-arrival or pre-departure filing.
Sections 30 and 41 apply to exclusively coastal vessels using berths for import/export traffic, and the person in charge or agent must submit a coastal manifest to the proper officer prior to arrival or departure in the prescribed Form specifying vessel identifiers, voyage and port details, an itemised list of packages with shipper/consignee, cargo description, invoice/challan, container/vehicle and seal numbers, weights, ports of discharge, and a certification declaration of accuracy.

Coastal manifest requirement: mandatory pre arrival/pre departure filing with vessel and package details for coastal cargo operations.
The notice mandates that customs provisions apply to vessels carrying exclusively coastal goods from berths used for import or export traffic and requires the person in charge or agent to deliver a coastal manifest prior to arrival or departure in a prescribed form. The form requires vessel/port particulars, detailed package level cargo information including shipper and consignee details, container/vehicle and seal numbers, weights, port of discharge, and a declarant's certification of accuracy; parcel services must supply service provider details in shipper and consignee fields.

DAK/Tapals handling procedure mandates centralized acknowledgement, designated staff posting, register entry and distribution; grievances routed to Tax Payers Service Centre.
The notice mandates that all DAK/Tapals/Correspondence be acknowledged at the DOS/Admn Section and received by three designated STAs/TAs posted at the P&E Section for Export, Import and General Commissionerate matters; each item must be entered in a register, numbered, and distributed to the relevant section. Grievances and taxpayer service correspondences received at Admn are to be forwarded to the Tax Payers Service Centre for action as per the specified office order, and all staff and trade members are directed to comply immediately.

Scheme Code 81 enables simultaneous use of DFIA and brand rate drawback for exported items in EDI filings.
Introduction of Scheme Code 81 permits exporters to claim both Duty Free Import Authorisation (DFIA) and the brand rate of drawback for the same exported item within a single EDI shipping bill; manual documents are no longer to be accepted for such goods, as the EDI scheme code enables combined entitlement recording.

Customs duty exemption for aircraft fuel available to all Indian airlines, not confined to the former national carrier.
The Board confirmed that the Customs duty exemption for fuel in aircraft tanks under Notification No. 151/94 Cus is not limited to the erstwhile Indian Airlines and is available to any Indian airline; stakeholders may report difficulties to the issuing office.

Boarding and rummaging procedures require shipping agents to notify authorities, assist officers, and enable detention of prohibited goods.
Procedure mandates that designated Superintendents depute Preventive Officers as Boarding Officers for specified ports and anchorages; shipping agents must give advance notice, board with the Boarding Officer and Rummaging Team to assist without obstruction, and make logistical arrangements. Boarding Officers perform statutory duties under the Customs Act and manuals; prohibited, restricted or undeclared goods found during rummaging are detained or seized by Panchanama in the presence of two independent witnesses and the Master, with notification to the Superintendent Rummaging & Discipline.

ATA Carnet clearance requires centralized register and monitoring; failure to submit re-export proof triggers customs duty recovery measures.
Imports under ATA Carnet, exempt from duty under Notification No. 157/1990-Cus, must be entered in a centralized register at AC/DC (Import Group), ACC, NSCBI, Kolkata with specified fields. Consignments are examined only after register entry; the register serial number must be noted on the Carnet bill of entry copy and forwarded to AC/DC for monitoring closure within the notification's time limit. Failure to submit proof of re-export within the prescribed period will result in recovery of customs duty leviable as on the date of import.

Monitoring of informer reward pendency ensures timely disbursal via mandatory registers, certified abstracts and consolidated reporting.
A mandatory monitoring framework requires each Commissionerate and Zone to maintain a prescribed Register of Rewards-Informers for pending informer reward cases, with all pending cases entered and certified by the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner. Monthly abstracts must be prepared and certified, registers reviewed by Principal Commissioners semi annually, and six monthly numerical reports submitted by Chief Commissioners to the respective Directors General, who consolidate zonal information; reports must omit case details and preserve informer confidentiality.

Tax administration simplification improves electronic procedures and credit flows, easing compliance and export facilitation.
Measures to simplify tax administration emphasise publicising reforms to trade, standardising procedures and electronic facilitation. Export measures include electronic and provisional drawback payments, transferability of duty credit scrips, exemption from certain excise payments against advance authorisations, eased temporary import procedures for exhibitions, reduced documentary verification of export realisation, and allowance of private chartered engineer certificates. Central Excise and Service Tax reforms include acceptance of electronic records and digitally signed invoices, expanded CENVAT credit and simplified apportionment, extended time for credit claims, consolidation and revision of returns, simplified input-output ratio fixation, and reduced interest on late payments.

Charge assignment of senior customs posts: officers given immediate additional charge pending further administrative orders.
Immediate administrative assignment of additional charge of specified senior Customs and Central Excise posts to designated officers has been ordered, to operate in addition to their present duties and to remain effective until further orders. The Principal Commissioner, DGHRD, Delhi is assigned charge of the Director General, NACEN, Delhi; and the Principal Commissioner, ICD (Import), Tughlakabad, Delhi is assigned charge of the Chief Commissioner Customs (Preventive), Delhi and the Chief Commissioner Customs, Delhi.

Factory stuffing permission: consolidated LoFSP procedure requires sealed Central Excise verification and specified documentation for exporters.
Consolidated procedure issues a one time Letter of Factory Stuffing Permission (LoFSP) to exporters with valid IECs on submission of the prescribed application and enclosures and on receipt of sealed NOC and verification reports from jurisdictional Central Excise confirming genuineness, existence, suitability and functioning of exporter and/or stuffing premises. Status holders may receive a provisional time limited LoFSP pending sealed reports. LoFSPs are valid for exports from any customs station except prohibited goods, require specified documentation, permit Central Excise supervised examination, and are subject to cancellation or suspension on adverse findings.

Customs broker licence renewal requires specified declarations, documents and formal fee payment before endorsement.
Renewal of Customs Broker Licence requires submission at least ninety days before expiry of a complete application accompanied only by specified documents: declarations on constitution/address, time-expired/inoperative cards, maintenance of accounts, pending judicial/quasi-judicial cases and arrears; self-attested Form B licence; list of Photo Identity Card holders (Forms F/G/H) with numbers and validity; self-attested association membership certificate where applicable; and self-attested PAN if not previously submitted. Processing will normally complete within sixty working days from receipt of a complete application, followed by fee payment via TR-6 challan and submission of the endorsed receipt for renewal endorsement.

Coastal carriage exemption simplifies documentation and mandates coastal manifests and marking for eligible vessels while allowing limited preventive checks.
Vessels exclusively carrying coastal goods and operating from coastal or EXIM berths are exempted from Sections 92, 93, 94, 95, 97 and sub-section (1) of Section 98 of the Customs Act; where loading/unloading occurs at EXIM berths, Sections 30 and 41 apply and a new coastal manifest format requires Masters or agents to submit arrival and departure manifests in duplicate. Containers and non-containerised cargo must be marked for coastal carriage and sealed; preventive officers may carry out random checks with prior approval.

Consent to Operate requirement continues as validity for BISN Jetty notice is extended for exporters.
Validity of Public Notice No. 02/2005 for BISN Jetty of the Inland Waterways Authority of India was extended up to 31.03.2021, and exporters were directed to submit renewal of Consent to Operate from the West Bengal Pollution Control Board as a continuing compliance requirement.

Relaxed KYC norms allow courier-recorded delivery address plus ID to satisfy KYC for certain individual import consignments.
Authorised courier companies may accept the delivery address recorded by the courier together with the proof of identity taken at delivery as sufficient proof of address for KYC when an individual lacks a current address document, applicable to imports of documents, gifts, samples and low value dutiable consignments up to the prescribed CIF limit. Courier companies must exercise due diligence and maintain records of delivery addresses as evidence for KYC verification.