Currency denomination restriction withdrawn; foreign-going vessels may carry Indian currency of any denomination for crew disbursement.
Customs removes the earlier limited-denomination requirement for Indian currency carried for crew wage disbursement on foreign-going vessels; in view of revised Reserve Bank of India guidance that does not impose a denomination restriction for Indian travellers or ship masters, the prior restriction in the earlier CBEC circular is withdrawn and stakeholders should follow the current RBI position reflected in CBEC advisories.

Taxpayer service through social media enables local trade queries, information sharing and stakeholder engagement, excluding policy and assessment matters.
Taxpayer service through a zonal Twitter handle enables transparent, user-friendly engagement with importers, exporters and stakeholders. The platform supports digital governance, information sharing, stakeholder suggestions, taxpayer services and trade facilitation. It may address local queries, issues and operational problems comparable to e-helplines, but does not entertain policy or assessment-related queries.

Insistence on registration documents: officers told not to demand them for products outside the scope of the Legal Metrology Act.
Officers are directed not to require registration documents for imported goods that are not covered by the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 or its rules, and staff should be sensitized to avoid unnecessary delays; any implementation difficulties should be reported to the Board.

Re-crediting of bond value must be ensured promptly at destination air cargo complexes to prevent delays in transshipment processing.
Re-crediting of bond value for transshipped cargo in the ICES transshipment module is to be performed promptly at the destination Air Cargo Complex; the module debits the online running bond when bonded trucks move between air cargo complexes, and reported delays in re-crediting at destination complexes must be remedied to ensure timely restoration of the online running bond balance.

Tariff and procedural reform to promote domestic manufacturing and streamline customs and indirect tax compliance.
Measures combine tariff adjustments and targeted exemptions to promote domestic manufacturing, alongside customs and indirect tax procedural reforms to reduce compliance costs. Customs modernization includes expanded electronic filing, Single Window message exchange with regulatory agencies, mandatory digital signatures, reduced documentary requirements and Customs Clearance Facilitation Committees. Central Excise and Service Tax reforms provide expedited registration, electronic invoicing and records, extended CENVAT time limits, e-payment of refunds and instalment payment of arrears. Governance measures include upgraded web services, raised appeal thresholds, audit rationalisation, penalty rationalisation and expansion of Advance Ruling eligibility.

Maintenance of public records: require recorded hearings and speaking orders to ensure lawful quasi judicial decision making.
Instruction directs that quasi judicial and appellate authorities must maintain authentic, signed and dated order sheets; fix and record personal hearings under the authority's signature; note reasons and submissions on the file; and issue reasoned, speaking orders. CBEC is asked to issue guidelines to ensure public orders are made transparently and that sample verification of adjudication and appellate records is carried out to secure compliance.

Mandatory measurement units required in trade documents to ensure legal metrology compliance and consistent customs declarations.
Declaration of measurements in trade documentation is mandatory: weight, volume, length, area and similar measurements must be stated in units approved under the Legal Metrology Act, and these measurements must appear in both the Bill of Entry and the Shipping Bill for all importers, exporters and customs brokers; earlier public notices inconsistent with the Legal Metrology Act are amended accordingly.

Staff reallocation for post-clearance audit urged to strengthen customs audit and investigative oversight and reduce case pendency.
Directive to competent authorities to review staff distribution and reallocate additional manpower within commissionerates to strengthen Post-Clearance Audit (PCA) and Special Investigation and Intelligence Branch (SIIB) in Customs Houses, in response to PAC observations that staff shortages and non implementation of redeployment have increased pendency and reduced scrutiny of RMS-selected consignments.

Plant quarantine regulation expands to include industrial imports of sand and similar materials, requiring inspection and clearance before import.
Import consignments of sand and various mineral and soil-derived materials for industrial and non agricultural purposes are included within the Plant Quarantine regulatory scope, covering items such as silica sands, clays, rock aggregates, ores, vermiculite, perlite, gypsum and similar materials; such consignments require Plant Quarantine inspection and clearance prior to import, and importers and associated stakeholders must comply with the Plant Quarantine orders when presenting these goods for Customs processing.

Prohibition on importing mobile phones with duplicate or fake IMEIs: GSMA IMEI certificates and Customs ICDR verification required.
Imports of mobile handsets are prohibited if devices bear duplicate, fake, non genuine, or all zero IMEI/ESN/MEID; importers must obtain GSMA/MSAI IMEI certificates following TAC/IMEI allocation and submit consignment wise certificates to Customs. Customs will verify certificates via the ICDR system for genuineness, correct allocation to the Type Allocation Holder, matching make/model/form factor, and absence of prior entry into India, validate consignments on a 100% basis with limited random physical sampling for green channel consignments, and treat ICDR red marked shipments as improper imports subject to penal provisions and confiscation.

Import/export of gifts by courier: follow extant instructions and report refusals to ensure clearance of bona fide gift consignments.
Indian Customs identifies refusals by foreign courier agencies to book bona fide gift consignments for export to India citing non-clearance or embargo, and directs that extant instructions on import of bonafide gift items through Post/Courier be scrupulously followed; any such incidents should be reported to the undersigned for remedial action.

Mandatory full testing of imported limestone at designated laboratory; importers must provide samples and bear testing costs.
Import consignments of limestone must undergo full testing to verify parameters in IS:10345 of 2004 because the prior laboratory could not perform certain determinations; samples shall be forwarded to the designated external testing facility in Kolkata capable of conducting the complete test matrix (items (i)-(vi) of table 1, clauses 5, 6.1.1 and 7). Importers shall bear testing costs, submit the prescribed sample quantity for a full test, and pay fees by Demand Draft at submission.

Legal Metrology labelling and measurement rules require supplier contact details on packages and approved unit declarations in trade filings.
The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 amendments redefine industrial consumer and institutional consumer and adopt the Food Safety Act definition for retail food package; require every package to display the name, address, telephone number and e mail of a contact for consumer complaints effective 1 January 2016; and mandate that importers, exporters and customs brokers declare all measurements in Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills only in units approved under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, with earlier related public notices amended as applicable.

Customs exemption availability clarified as applicable to all Indian airlines, prompting public notices and administrative dissemination.
The customs exemption under Notification No. 151/94-Cus (Serial No. 1) is clarified to apply to any Indian airline, not limited to the former Indian Airlines, and public notices or standing orders should be issued to inform stakeholders and departmental officers; implementation difficulties are to be reported to the Board.

Ease of Doing Business measures streamline customs and indirect tax procedures, enhancing trade facilitation and electronic compliance.
Measures comprise tariff revisions, targeted exemptions and anti dumping/safeguard duties to correct duty inversion and support domestic manufacturing, coupled with procedural trade facilitation: 24x7 customs clearance, a Single Window electronic message exchange for regulatory agencies, mandatory Digital Signature filings, reduced mandatory documentation, Customs Clearance Facilitation Committees, and an upgraded CBEC website. Central Excise and Service Tax reforms include expedited registration, electronic records and invoicing, extended CENVAT credit timelines, e refunds, instalment payments of arrears, simplification of reverse charge taxation and expansion of Advance Ruling eligibility.

Ease of Doing Business measures streamline customs procedures and digital filings to expedite clearance and reduce compliance costs.
Measures to improve ease of doing business concentrate on tariff and procedural reforms: targeted Customs Duty and SAD adjustments to correct duty inversion and support domestic industry; imposition of protective duties where necessary; exemptions for specified inputs. Procedural reforms include EDI based online filing with 24x7 clearance for specified consignments, a Single Window electronic message exchange with regulatory agencies, mandatory digital signatures for most stakeholders, reduced mandatory documentation, a Special Notified Zone for rough diamonds, an upgraded CBEC portal and a customs mobile app. Institutional changes include CCFCs at major ports, raised appeal thresholds, penalty rationalisation, Advance Ruling expansion and integrated audits.

Customs area approval enables regulated loading and unloading at the Inland Container Depot, Borkhedi within specified bonded limits.
Approval designates the Inland Container Depot, Borkhedi, as a Customs Area for loading and unloading import and export cargo under customs statutory authority; it specifies a total customs bonded area of 15,750 square meters and describes the site's boundaries by survey numbers and adjoining ownership to delimit the customs-controlled zone.

Authorised Dealer Code requirement: AD Code must be declared in the Bill of Entry to validate outward remittance and filing.
Declaration of an Authorised Dealer (AD) Code is mandatory in the Bill of Entry main table (a seven digit code) though prior registration is not required; UCR fields may be left blank pending notification. The Enduse field is converted from free text to a coded value from published directories and must be entered as code only. Payment Method Code is mandatory with a default transaction indicator. Multiple new fields and tables (third party payee, manufacturer/source/transit country, HSS preceding level, INFO_TYPE/INFO_QUALIFIER/INFO_CODE, control codes) are introduced, with several fields permitted to remain blank until agency guidance is issued.

Vehicle registration in EDI system mandatory for handling custom transit cargo to Nepal; registration and approval required.
Registration in the EDI system is mandatory for handling Custom Transit Declaration cargo to Nepal; transporters, CHAs and importers must submit transporter name, address, vehicle number, chassis number, engine number and supporting documents to the designated Preventive Officer of the Nepal & Bhutan Unit, who will enter details in the EDI system for approval by the concerned Deputy/Assistant Commissioner.

Drawback claims processing relocated to Precious Cargo Customs Clearance Centre; exporters and CHAs must file and pursue claims there.
Drawback claims for gold and silver jewellery filed and processed under section 75 of the Customs Act, 1962 are relocated to the Precious Cargo Customs Clearance Centre (PCCCC), G Block, Bharat Diamond Bourse, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai; all existing claims held at the Drawback Section, Air Cargo Complex (Exports), Sahar, Mumbai are being transferred to PCCCC for processing and stakeholders must submit future claims there.