KYC verification for first-time importers streamlines document submission, mandates limited KYC documents and digital ID creation to ease imports.
KYC verification for first time importers creates a dedicated KYC cell to accept IEC plus specified Category I identity/entity documents and one Category II financial document, generate a unique digital ID, and coordinate verification with SIIB including address and bank checks; adverse findings trigger alerts against the IEC and supervisory escalation.

Steel Import Monitoring System registration required for iron and steel imports; obtain advance online registration and declare it.
Importation of certain goods under Chapters 72, 73 and 86 is made free subject to compulsory registration under the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS), requiring advance online submission and obtainment of an automatic registration number; ICES has been updated and Bills of Entry must include the SIMS registration number as mandated by the applicable ICES advisory.

Steel Import Monitoring System registration now required for specified iron and steel imports; advance online registration and SIMS number mandatory.
Import policy for specified iron and steel items under Chapters 72, 73 and 86 has been amended to require compulsory registration under the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS); importers must submit advance information online, obtain an advance automatic registration number on payment of the prescribed fee, and declare the SIMS registration number in Bills of Entry filed through ICES, while Customs officers shall not insist on further documentary proof of registration during verification.

Disaster Recovery Drill will temporarily suspend ICES document filing and set limited availability windows for transactions.
A Disaster Recovery Drill for the ICES customs system will suspend document filing at Service Centres and through RES at the drill start; users must stop or complete ICES work before suspension. ICES will be available only during prescribed operational windows, and officers and Service Centre Operators must be present during those availability periods to carry out transactions, requiring importers, exporters, customs brokers and trade formations to plan filings accordingly.

Steel import monitoring system requires advance online registration and declaration in import filings; certain exemptions apply.
Import classifications for certain items in Chapters 72, 73 and 86 have been amended to be free subject to compulsory registration under Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS). Importers must submit advance online information, obtain an automatic SIMS registration number on payment of the fee, and declare that registration in the Bills of Entry filed in ICES; Customs officers should not demand further documentary proof. SIMS excludes air freight consignments, covers multiple consignments per registration, applies to Advance Authorisation/DFIA/SEZ imports, and excludes temporary/FOC returnable steel racks.

Duty drawback on FOB allowed without deducting foreign bank charges, but deductions beyond allowed limit must be adjusted.
Duty drawback may be granted on the FOB value without deducting foreign bank charges; foreign bank service charges and agency commission are allowable only within an overall limit of 1.25% of the FOB value, and any amounts exceeding that limit must be deducted from the FOB value when granting duty drawback. Prior show cause notices and requests to regularise short realisation due to foreign bank charges, supported by documentary evidence, are to be considered on merit.

KYC verification for first-time exporters streamlines identity and address checks and issues a unique digital identifier after SIIB verification.
KYC verification of first-time exporters is conducted by a dedicated KYC cell at ICD-Export TKD requiring an IDC Certificate plus prescribed Category-I identity/formation documents and one Category-II document (tax return or banker's certificate). The KYC cell opens individual files, records file numbers on shipping bills, and forwards lists for zonal upload. SIIB verifies details including address checks and bank confirmation; verified exporters receive a unique Digital ID and results are maintained in a register with adverse reports escalated for preventive action.

Mandatory upload of import documents in e SANCHIT requires IRN references for invoices and bills of lading.
Mandatory uploading of specified import documents in e-SANCHIT requires that for every Bill of Entry the supporting documents required by law-specifically Invoice (Invoice or Invoice cum Packing List) and Transport Contract (various Bills of Lading and airway/waybills)-be uploaded and the generated IRN reference with the corresponding document code declared in the Bill of Entry.

Inclusion of cesses in Brand Rate of duty drawback clarified: certain cesses included, stowage excise excluded.
Clarification directs inclusion of Education cess, Secondary and Higher Education cess, Social Welfare Surcharge, and Clean Environment cess in the calculation of the Brand Rate of duty drawback because these levies are treated as duties of Customs/Excise and subject to applicable refund/drawback provisions; Stowage Excise duty under the Coal Mines Act is excluded since those statutes do not make drawback/refund provisions applicable to it.

Steel Import Monitoring System registration required; SIMS details must be declared in Bill of Entry Single Window with prescribed INFO fields.
Compulsory registration under the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) is required for imports of certain goods under Chapters 72, 73 and 86; importers or CHAs must declare the SIMS registration number and expiry in the Bill of Entry Single Window. DGFT excludes air shipments and returnable racks from SIMS. Required Single Window fields are: Info_type = PNM; INFO_QFR = SIU; INFO_CODE = SIUNAPL; INFO_Text to reference the relevant circular or notice.

Manufacture in bonded warehouses under section 65 requires integrated licence, prescribed records, bond and GST/duty treatment.
Applicants seeking manufacture or other operations in bonded warehouses must hold or obtain a private bonded warehouse licence under section 58 and permission under section 65 via an integrated application; they must maintain prescribed digital accounts and records, execute the bond satisfying section 59 requirements, comply with security and insurance conditions, and follow MOOWR, 2019. Resultant products exported require shipping bills and GST invoices with no duty on contained imported goods under section 69; domestic clearances are treated as supply under the CGST framework with payment of GST and import duty on contained inputs at ex-bond clearance.

Steel Import Monitoring System registration now mandatory in bill of entry filings; e Sanchit invoice and bill of lading IRNs required.
Declaration of Steel Import Monitoring System registration must be entered in the Single Window Bill of Entry for specified goods using prescribed INFO_CODE/INFO_Text formats, with alternative codes for air shipments and returnable racks. Additionally, Invoice and Bill of Lading must be uploaded to e-Sanchit and the generated IRN and specified document codes recorded in the Bill of Entry for each declared document.

DIN requirement for CBIC communications: electronic DIN must be generated, quoted, and verifiable; missing DIN renders communication invalid.
The Board mandates electronic generation and quoting of a Document Identification Number (DIN) on search authorisations, summons, arrest memos, inspection notices and enquiry letters; communications without an electronically generated DIN, absent narrow exceptions for technical or urgent exigencies (with reasons recorded and an express statement), are invalid. Exigent communications must be regularised within 15 working days by post-facto superior approval, subsequent electronic DIN generation and filing. Authorised officers must be mapped and use the DDM portal with OTP verification to generate a non-editable DIN for each submission; recipients can verify DIN validity on the CBIC website. DIN format is CBIC-YYYY MM ZCDR NNNNNN.

Amendment to Sea Cargo Manifest Regulations revises commencement and requires trade and officers to comply under Customs Act authority.
Amendment to the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 substitutes a revised commencement date for Regulation 15(2), is issued under powers conferred by section 157 read with specified provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette; actions mandated by this Public Notice are to be treated as standing orders for officers and staff and must be complied with by trade stakeholders.

Import manifest amendment process simplified for short landing shipments; shipping lines must submit certificate, reports and email application promptly.
The notice requires shipping lines to notify the Boarding Office at off loading and obtain a Short Landing Certificate backed by reports from the Master and the Terminal Operator; the Shipping Line must then email an amendment application to the Deputy Commissioner (Import Noting Section) attaching those reports, the Short Landing Certificate or endorsement and proof of payment of amendment fees, with the Import Noting Section disposing of requests the same working day and shipping lines registering contact details for official communications.

DPD Scheme: importers must file Annexure A with default stacking choice and undertake operational DPD conditions before clearance.
Importers must submit Annexure A including a one time Default Stacking code and preferred CFS where applicable, plus IEC/GST/registration details, import history, commodities requiring tests/NOCs, contact and address information, and required enclosures; applicants must undertake operational conditions for DPD such as engaging own trailers, clearing containers within 24 hours, filing advance bill of entry and paying duty before vessel arrival, providing container details to authorities, producing containers for scanning, notifying AEO/IEC status changes, and making a self declaration regarding past mis declarations or prosecutions.

Special Notified Zone for rough diamonds enables air-only import, on-site viewing and sale with customs-controlled sealing and re-export procedures.
A Special Notified Zone at Gujarat Hira Bourse, Surat is authorised for air-only import, viewing, auction/sale and re-export of rough diamonds under customs supervision. Facility plans and security arrangements must be approved by the jurisdictional customs authority; consignors must be those permitted under the RBI circular. Imported parcels must carry invoice, packing list, insurance and Kimberley Process Certificate, be transhipped from Sahar Mumbai, examined, sealed and placed in the SNZ strong room. Sales occur only by lot, with repacking and resealing within sixty days; sold lots use the mining company sale invoice as the declaration of value under Section 14, and unsold lots must be exported under a shipping bill within seventy-five days.

Brand Rate duty drawback: specified cesses included in calculation while stowage excise is excluded from rebate.
Education cess, Secondary and Higher Education cess, Social Welfare Surcharge, and Clean Energy/Environment cess (where collected as additional Customs duty) are required to be included in the Brand Rate calculation for duty drawback under the Drawback Rules, 2017; Stowage Excise duty under the Coal Mines Act, 1974 is excluded because refund/drawback provisions of Customs/Central Excise do not apply to it. Field formations must apply this clarification in fixing Brand Rates and circulate it to trade bodies, treating the directions as a standing order.

Duty drawback: foreign bank charges not to reduce FOB where documented, subject to overall allowed commission limit.
Duty drawback may be allowed on FOB value without deducting documented foreign bank charges; such foreign bank charges are permissible within the overall allowance for agency commission and, together with agency commission, must not exceed that overall limit, otherwise the excess must be deducted from FOB. Field formations should regularise short realisation claims based on documentary evidence such as export invoices and bank confirmations.

Faceless assessment extended to specified import goods, enabling virtual FIFO assessment with no direct stakeholder interface.
Faceless assessment is extended under the Turant Customs scheme to Bills of Entry for goods in Chapters 50 to 71; such bills will be system-marked to a Virtual Group and allocated to nominated officers on a first-cum-first-served basis for assessment without direct interface with stakeholders. The Virtual Group will scrutinise for assessment and import permissibility, forward consignments to Docks/CFS for examination and sample drawing, and handle queries/orders via Dock/CFS officers. Existing filing procedures remain unchanged and ancillary functions in local Group 3 continue except direct assessment. Importers must upload documents via e-Sanchit to facilitate quick assessment.