Direct Port Delivery enables expedited importer-led withdrawal of full containers with system-based IGM amendments and round-the-clock OOC.
Direct Port Delivery (DPD) is authorised for importers under the Vijayawada Customs Commissionerate to permit expedited delivery of Full Cargo Load containers directly from terminals, subject to conditions: non-AEO importers only for facilitated Bills of Entry with no assessment or examination, AEO importers also for non-facilitated Bills of Entry; containers must be taken within a prescribed time or be moved to the designated CFS. Procedures require advance Bills of Entry, payment of duties, blank CFS code in IGM for DPD, system-based IGM amendment for non-facilitated consignments, and round-the-clock Out of Charge by docks examination.

Supervised stuffing of reefer containers required application and officer supervision, with RFID e seals and limited examination exceptions.
Permission is granted for supervised stuffing and sealing of factory stuffed refrigerated containers for temperature sensitive export goods where exporters apply to the Commissioner and port lacks suitable examination facilities; officers will supervise stuffing, ensure cargo matches declared lists, endorse invoices, and require RFID e seals with data upload by exporters, while RMCC/CFS authorities should avoid further examination unless selected by RMS, intelligence, random checks, tampering, or other valid reasons, with waivers considered by the Dy./Asstt. Commissioner.

IGST refund sanction: pending claims to be processed where GSTN records not transmitted, with extended clearance drive.
Sanction of pending IGST refund claims is to proceed in cases where records have not been transmitted from GSTN to DG Systems; an extension of the IGST refund clearance drive is announced to enable processing of such pending claims, and exporters are instructed to report difficulties to the IGST Refund Cell or the designated email for resolution.

Designation of CPIOs and First Appellate Authorities for Customs Airport & Administration, Kolkata; RTI appeal procedure available to aggrieved requesters.
Specified Joint, Deputy and Assistant Commissioners are designated as Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) and First Appellate Authority for defined jurisdictions and charges within the Airport & Administration Commissionerate, Kolkata; aggrieved persons may appeal CPIO decisions to the designated First Appellate Authority following the statutory RTI appeal procedure, and implementation issues may be reported to the Commissioner.

Export manifest filing required before departure; failure to file attracts penalty and will bar vessel departure.
The Export General Manifest (EGM) must be electronically presented by the person in charge of a conveyance or their agent before the vessel departs a customs station; failure to file timely, without sufficient cause, attracts penalties and precludes the proper officer from issuing an order permitting departure. Agents accepted by customs are liable for fulfilment of obligations and for penalties and confiscations. The previous seven day post sailing filing concession is withdrawn and compliance is now required prior to sailing.

ICES application migration suspends declaration filing and Section 48 approvals during scheduled system downtime; users await further advisory and helpdesk support.
ICES application migration to a new Solaris platform will cause planned unavailability of the application during the migration and subsequent user testing. The filing of declarations (Bill of Entry, Shipping Bill, Import General Manifest and Export General Manifest) must be halted before the migration window and consignments cleared by the prescribed cutoff; Section 48 approvals are to be stopped prior to outage. Users should coordinate via their system managers, await post migration testing, and contact the helpdesk for clarifications.

Postal Bill of Export use permitted for multiple low value e commerce shipments, clarifying export procedure and documentation.
The Board permits use of the Postal Bill of Export II for e commerce exports comprising multiple low value small shipments sent through post where a single payment is received by the exporter from an e commerce portal; paragraph 4.3 of the earlier circular is modified to this extent to clarify export procedure and documentation for such consignments.

Adjudication powers clarified: circular revising monetary limits withdrawn and SCN framework restored to prevent adjudication delays.
Because implementing the circular imposing monetary limits would require corrigenda to existing show-cause notices and risk delaying adjudication, the Board has decided to withdraw those instructions so adjudication under Chapter XIV remains answerable to Principal Commissioner/Commissioner/Joint Commissioner without value limits and to avoid delay in proceedings.

Transhipment procedure: Krishnapatnam Port must certify intact container seals and provide digital photos for gateway transhipments.
Transhipment at Krishnapatnam requires M/S KSPL to inspect and certify intact seals on containers, submit digital photographs of seals, and provide an undertaking that containers will arrive at destination ports with seals intact; destination ports must verify seals and M/S KSPL will be held responsible for tampering or missing cargo absent cogent evidence against destination port authorities, upon which Customs may permit transhipment based on KSPL's certificate.

Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations require registration and compliance by parties delivering vessel manifests.
The Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 consolidate and supersede earlier rules on delivery of sea cargo manifests, require steamer agents, importers, customs brokers and consolidators to register with the jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs under Regulation 3, and mandate compliance with the Regulations from the stated commencement date; stakeholders are directed to seek implementation guidance from the Assistant Commissioner of Imports & Exports.

Customs broker licensing reforms: updated eligibility, expanded exam scope, tenure and tiered disciplinary framework instituted.
Customs broker licensing is restructured: eligibility requires Aadhaar and PAN and absence of specified tax penalties; the definition of broker includes audit and F/G/H card categories. Applications pay a prescribed fee and face a capped number of exam attempts with an expanded syllabus. Licences are issued in distinct forms for individuals and entities, require payment within a set period after passing, carry a ten-year validity with increased renewal fees and possible late renewal, and impose recordkeeping, cooperation and succession obligations. Tiered penalties, ID surrender, appeal routes, and association membership rules are prescribed.

E commerce export procedure: IEC holders may use foreign post offices to obtain zero rating for exports under prescribed postal bills.
Exporters with valid IEC codes may export through Foreign Post Offices and obtain Zero rating of exports via IGST refunds or LUT; Customs Brokers may operate at FPOs. E commerce exports must be filed on the prescribed Postal Bill of Export (PBE) forms-PBE I for e commerce (allowing multiple shipments) and PBE II for non e commerce (single consignee). Manual processing at FPOs will be supplemented by ICAN data upload for GST. MEIS related e commerce continues under existing MEIS guidance using PBE I. Natural persons exporting for personal use need not file PBEs.

Supervised stuffing and sealing of reefer containers permitted, subject to Commissioner approval, RFID e-seals, and verification procedures.
Exporters of temperature-sensitive goods may apply at least 24 hours prior for Commissioner permission to factory-stuff and seal reefer containers under Customs supervision; approved stuffing must use exporter-procured RFID e-Seals with required data uploads and payment of applicable MOT charges. Commissioners will notify RMCC and the port, provide monthly exporter-wise container details for RMCC verification, and permissions may be reviewed if discrepancies or non-compliance arise. Containers remain subject to scanning or examination on intelligence, random selection, or seal-tamper indications.

Refund of IGST on exports: SB005 extended to 30.04.2018; SB003 corrected where GSTINs differ but PAN matches.
The alternate mechanism to resolve SB005 invoice mismatches is extended to shipping bills filed up to 30.04.2018 and requires submission of a shipping bill-wise Concordance Table (Annexure A). For SB003 errors arising from differing GSTINs where both entities share the same PAN, Customs permits correction if the shipping bill filer submits a joint undertaking (Annexure B) signed by authorised persons of both entities stating the IGST paying office will not claim refund; such SB003 cases will be processed like SB005 rectifications.

IGST refund correction: officer-assisted mechanism extended and PAN-based GSTIN correction enables refund processing with required undertakings.
A correction facility addresses SB003 errors where GSTIN in the shipping bill differs but PAN is identical: the shipping bill filer must submit a jointly signed undertaking that the other office which paid IGST will not claim refund or benefit; this undertaking is submitted to the Customs Officer at the port. DG Systems has developed a utility, similar to the SB005 tool, to enable processing of IGST refund claims stuck due to SB003; exporters should align export invoices between Customs and GST returns and may report implementation difficulties to the Assistant Commissioner, Drawback and IGST Refund Section, NSCBI Airport, Kolkata.

Import ban on de-husked and fresh coconuts from Kerala; traders must comply pending further notice.
A temporary ban by the Kingdom of Bahrain applies to imports of de-husked and fresh coconuts originating from Kerala, extending a prior restriction on fruits and vegetables; this origin-based phytosanitary prohibition remains in force until further notice and exporters, customs brokers and traders are advised to comply.

Adjudication limits updated to allocate higher value confiscation cases to senior customs officers for faster disposal.
The circular prescribes revised adjudication limits for confiscation cases, assigning Principal Commissioners/Commissioners jurisdiction for cases above the upper monetary band without limit, and Additional Commissioners/Joint Commissioners jurisdiction for cases within the intermediate band above a specified lower threshold, with the stated aim of improving disposal rates in the customs confiscation regime.

IGST refund on exports: officer assisted correction for invoice and GSTIN PAN mismatches enables processing of stalled claims.
CBIC extends the officer interface for resolving SB005 invoice mismatches to facilitate IGST refund processing and advises exporters to align Customs and GST invoice data. For SB003 errors caused by differing GSTINs with the same PAN, a correction facility permits refund sanction where both entities submit a jointly signed undertaking that the IGST-paying unit will not claim refund; an online correction utility has been deployed and the undertaking must be submitted to the Customs Officer at the port of export.

Liquid cargo assessment basis: use shore tank or tank outturn quantities to determine customs duty liability.
Customs duty on imported liquid bulk cargo is to be assessed primarily on shore tank receipt or bonded warehouse tank outturn quantities into which cargo is pumped from the ship; where such tank receipts are unavailable and cargo is transferred to tank lorries, barges or tanks outside the Customs area, assessment may be on the ship's ullage survey at discharge. Advanced bills of entry must be amended to reflect actual received quantities, custodianship or equivalent insurance is required for shore tanks, pipeline unloading to bonded tanks requires prior permission, and supervised ullage and outturn surveys with signed reports and sampling are mandatory.

IGST refund correction: officer-interface extended for invoice mismatches and undertaking required where GSTIN differs but PAN matches.
Extension of an officer-mediated correction mechanism for IGST refund claims arising from SB005 invoice mismatches is provided for shipping bills filed up to 30.04.2018; exporters must align invoice details with GST filings. A correction facility is also permitted for SB003 errors where GSTINs differ but PANs are the same, subject to an undertaking by the refund claimant that the other office which paid IGST will not claim the refund; the signed undertaking must be submitted to the Assistant Commissioner (Drawback), Custom House, Visakhapatnam. A DG Systems correction tool will facilitate processing.