Electronic integrated declaration mandates digital signatures, five-year record retention and capped late-presentation charges.
Importers or customs brokers must submit the electronic integrated declaration and supporting documents on the Customs Automated System with a digital signature or via service centres; late-presentation charges are capped at the duty payable or, where no duty is payable, at fifty thousand rupees (waiver possible by the proper officer); assessed bills and original supporting documents must be retained for five years and produced for Customs proceedings; non-compliance may attract a penalty up to fifty thousand rupees.

EPCG Scheme authorization permits imports at ICD Chinchwad, expanding eligible depots for import clearance under customs rules.
ICD Chinchwad, Pune is designated as an authorised inland container depot for import clearance under the EPCG Scheme, expanding locations where imports against EPCG authorizations may be permitted pursuant to Notification No. 16/2015-Customs; stakeholders are directed to the customs website for the trade notice and to report operational difficulties to the Commissioner of Customs.

Duty free import procedure clarified: port customs may accept EOU submissions without prior jurisdictional approval for exemptions.
EOUs must submit duplicate information on estimated quantity and value to their Jurisdictional DC/AC and one set to the DC/AC at the Customs Station of importation; the submission to the DC/AC at the import station is sufficient to obtain duty free import under the exemption notification and does not require prior approval from the Jurisdictional DC/AC. The Jurisdictional DC/AC must scrutinize eligible intimation, forward one copy to the import station, and the import station DC/AC shall reconcile imports and report discrepancies to the Jurisdictional DC/AC.

Direct port delivery extension to qualified importers based on compliance criteria; procedures unchanged, report implementation difficulties.
Extension of the Direct Port Delivery facility to additional main importers listed in Annexure A is authorised based on past compliance, percentage of RMS-facilitated Bills of Entry, container volumes and the assessing office's evaluation; procedural requirements and conditions of Public Notice No. 14/2018 remain unchanged and stakeholders must report implementation difficulties to the Commissioner's office.

Land Customs Station operationalisation: Valmikinagar to function as Non EDI port allowing customs clearance subject to statutory formalities.
Valmikinagar has been made operational as a Land Customs Station to permit clearance of export and import consignments upon fulfillment of formalities under the Customs Act, 1962. The LCS will function as a Non-EDI port until EDI connectivity is provided; trade facilitation arrangements are in place to enable clearance during the Non-EDI period. Any difficulties faced by trade should be reported to the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner, Customs (P) Division, Motihari as the nodal officer.

Basic Customs Duty clarified as the operative "duty" for import prohibitions under the Export From India Scheme.
The term Duty in Appendix-3A must be read as Basic Customs Duty only, excluding other customs levies; Appendix-3A identifies categories of agricultural, horticultural, plantation and certain industrial goods barred from import under Export From India Schemes by reference to customs duty incidence and ITC (HS) classification, and the clarification is to be treated as a standing order for officials.

Document Management System discontinuation: import docket scanning suspended as electronic e-Sanchit uploads made mandatory, and DMS coupons no longer required
Scanning of import dockets at the Document Management System (DMS) is discontinued because mandatory e Sanchit electronic uploads render DMS scanning redundant; DMS coupons for import dockets are no longer required to be purchased or affixed. The existing DMS procedure for export dockets remains in force until further orders. The DMS had been used to store and retrieve dockets for refunds, drawback, reimport/re export, amendments under section 149 and investigations, and the notice is to be treated as a standing order for officers and staff.

Change of Focal Point Bank shifts customs duty collection and drawback payment mapping to a new PAO under EDI.
Change of Focal Point Bank from SBI Vizag to SBI Treasury Branch, Guntur, for customs duty collection and duty drawback payment under the EDI system for Kakinada Custom House; transfer of the revenue account mapping from Pay & Accounts Officer, CGST & Customs, Vizag to Pay & Accounts Officer, CGST & Customs, Guntur; identification of authorised bank branches, BSR codes, specified officer for cheque issuance for drawback payment, and effective implementation from the date of the Public Notice.

Waiver of Penalty for late bill submissions after system outage exempts affected import consignments from late charges.
Administrative waiver of penalty for late filing of Bills of Entry due to non functioning of the E Sanchit module: consignments with IGM filed on 19 and 20 May and Bills of Entry filed on 21 and 22 May will not attract late presentation charges; earlier Public Notice No. 17/2018 (dated 22 May 2018) is withdrawn and affected parties may report difficulties to the issuing office.

Banking authorisation for customs duty collection and drawback payment at a land customs station under EDI-enabled arrangements.
Authorization designates the State Bank of India, Rangiya Branch as the authorised bank for collection of Customs duty and payment of duty drawback at the Darranga Land Customs Station under Physical and EDI systems, effective from the date of the facility notice, linking the banking role to the station's location code and advising stakeholders to process collections and drawback payments through the prescribed bank arrangements.

Advance authorisation flexibility allows additional inputs via self-declaration, subject to norms committee approval and conditions.
Regional Authorities may grant Advance Authorisations where no SION or valid Ad hoc norms exist or where additional inputs are proposed, based on applicant self-declaration and subject to wastage norms determined by the Norms Committee; Annual Requirement authorisations require SIONs or valid Ad hoc norms and exclude inputs listed in Appendix-4J. Exports/deemed exports in anticipation of or after authorisation may discharge export obligation if shipping bills/tax invoices show EDI file or authorisation number and inputs consumed; authorisations are issued on norms in force on receipt, with proportionate issuance if norms change; SCOMET items and pre-import inputs have specified restrictions. ANF-4F/4G permit EP copy or self-attested exporter copy where EP copy unavailable.

Bill of Entry electronic filing and late-presentation charges require timely digital declarations and allow waiver procedure.
The regulations require authorised persons to enter and digitally sign electronic integrated declarations and supporting documents on the customs automated system or via service centres; a bill of entry is deemed filed when a unique bill of entry number is generated by the Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange System. Late presentation attracts daily charges subject to a cap linked to duty payable, with a distinct maximum where no duty is payable. The Additional/Joint Commissioner of the Appraising Group is the proper officer for waiver of late charges, which must be decided and recorded promptly. Assessed copies and originals of supporting documents must be retained and produced on demand.

IGST refund failed-after-success procedure: corrected beneficiary bank details must be updated in ICES and emailed for reprocessing.
An interim procedure for Failed-after-Success IGST refund cases requires the ePAO to send a daily report with transaction and beneficiary bank details to ICEGATE and the Central DDO; the Central DDO forwards cases to the Commissionerate and ICEGATE sysmgr. The System Manager secures verified corrected bank details from the sanctioning authority, updates ICES in the CLK role, and returns a signed correction matrix to [email protected]. The Central DDO then forwards the scanned verification to the PAO/e-PAO to correct account records and reprocess the failed payment.

High Seas Sale registration procedure replaced by on assessment verification of contracts, invoices, bill of lading and broker authority.
Removes prior registration of High Seas Sale agreements at the Import Noting Section and requires the Bill of Entry to include complete HSS buyer/seller details and commission; mandates production of a notarized or banker attested HSS contract, authenticated bill of lading, High Seas Sale and commercial invoices, broker authority or buyer application, and IEC copies, with the proper officer to verify these particulars during assessment or before out of charge, including where multiple HSS agreements exist.

Sea cargo manifest rules require carriers to register and file electronic arrival/departure manifests and furnish bonds for transshipment.
The Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment Regulations, 2018 require authorised carriers to register (Form I) and electronically file standardized arrival and departure manifests (Forms II-V, VIA/VIB, VIIA/VIIB, VIII), mandate bonds or sureties for transshipment and transit through designated foreign routes (Forms IX-X), impose carrier responsibilities including recordkeeping, track-and-trace and electronic delivery orders, and provide procedures for amendment, suspension, revocation, penalties (up to Rs.50,000) and appeals under section 129A.

Paperless processing via e-SANCHIT replaces originals for most import documents while preserving limited verification and retention obligations.
Paperless processing mandates digitally signed supporting documents be uploaded via e-SANCHIT under the Bill of Entry (Electronic Integrated Declaration and Paperless Processing) Regulations, 2018; originals are not required except where specified for verification, defacement, or debit of quantity/value, and all supporting documents-including those to be presented in hard copy-must still be uploaded. Where debits are made on hardcopy, the latest debit sheet must be uploaded for subsequent entries. The authorised person must retain the assessed bill of entry and original supporting documents for five years and produce them to Customs on demand.

Customs brokers licensing regulations require exams, bond and security, obligations, identity cards, penalties, and renewal procedures.
The Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018 require licensing for persons acting as Customs Brokers, set eligibility (citizenship, Aadhaar, PAN, qualifications/experience, financial viability), mandate written and oral examinations, prescribe grant procedures including payment of fee, execution of bond and furnishing of Rs. 5,00,000 security, define license forms and inter-station intimation, set ten-year validity with renewal rules, enumerate broker obligations and staff identity-card regimes (F/G/H), and provide for suspension, revocation, penalties and appeals with specified procedures.

Assessment reallocation for export benefit entries: centralised license and bond monitoring instituted to manage export obligation compliance.
Assessment of Bills of Entry under export-promotion schemes has been reallocated from the discontinued Group-VII to Assessing Groups I-VI based on classification of the highest assessable item. A centralized Export Promotion Monitoring Cell (EPMC) and License Monitoring Cell will register licences and scrips, monitor Bonds and Bank Guarantees, and track fulfilment of export obligations. Assessing Group officers decide Bond/BG quantum; accepted Bonds/BGs are forwarded daily to the monitoring cells, which coordinate EODC processing. Duty Credit Scrip entries do not require Bonds/BGs, and legacy work will be handled by EPMC during transition.

Export proceeds monitoring: new RBI-BRC module mandated and manual BRC certificates no longer accepted for affected shipping bills.
The Commissionerate requires use of the RBI-BRC Module for monitoring realization of export proceeds for EDI shipping bills with LEO dates on or after the module's effective implementation; manual negative statements or certificates from authorized dealers/chartered accountants for such shipping bills will not be accepted. Exporters must verify BRC integration via ICEGATE or coordinate with their authorized dealer bank to transmit BRC data to the RBI portal. Prior shipping bills remain subject to existing circulars and instructions, and implementation difficulties should be reported to the Assistant Commissioner in-charge of the BRC Drawback Section.

Assessment group discontinuation shifts export-scheme import assessments to standard groups; electronic payments and mandatory PFMS validation follow.
All Bills of Entry under export schemes and licences filed on or after 08.05.2018 will be allotted to Groups I-VI based on the item of highest assessable value and processed under the First-in-First-out rule; Bills filed on or before 07.05.2018 pending assessment remain in the erstwhile Group VII. Registration and monitoring of scrips/licences, Bonds/BGs and Export Obligation discharge will continue to be maintained at the erstwhile Group VII section. E-payment via ICEGATE is operational for export duty/cess and PFMS bank account validation is mandatory for Drawback processing.