E-Sanchit implementation requires digital upload of supporting import documents and dispenses manual officer signatures for out-of-charge.
Manual signature on out-of-charge documents is dispensed with where the officer's SSOID appears in the Bill of Entry and custodians rely on the EDI Out-of-Charge message to issue gate passes. E-Sanchit is mandatory for supporting import documents; all supporting documents must be uploaded digitally, latest debit sheets uploaded for subsequent Bills of Entry when hard-copy debits occur, and originals must be produced in the shed for debiting before out-of-charge.

Abolition of Appraising Group VII reallocates Bills of Entry to groups one to six by highest assessable value; FIFO applies.
Abolition of Appraising Group VII in the ICES system effective 08.05.2018 discontinues that group for new assessments; pending Bills of Entry filed before that date remain in the erstwhile group. New License/Scheme Bills of Entry will be allotted to Groups one to six based on the item with the highest assessable value and will follow the regular first-in, first-out processing rule. Stakeholders are to note changes in ICES 1.5 and report difficulties to the Additional Commissioner of Customs (EDI Systems Manager).

Direct Port Delivery expanded to specified importers with advance filing, duty prepayment, 48 hour evacuation and verification rules.
Extension of the Direct Port Delivery (DPD) facility to listed importers is authorised for FCL containers covered by RMS-facilitated Bills of Entry or where no examination is required, subject to advance filing of Bills of Entry, advance payment of customs duties and charges, advance electronic delivery orders, and verification of container and seal numbers by Port Terminal or Preventive Officers; DPD permission may be withdrawn for non-compliance, selected consignments remain subject to examination, importers must evacuate DPD containers within 48 hours or have them moved to CFS/APM Yard, and importers must submit monthly performance reports while RMS facilitation operates 24x7.

Paperless customs processing: upload digitally signed supporting documents, verify originals at Central Original Document Verification Cell, obtain IRN.
Authorized persons must have originals of specified Certificates verified and debited/defaced at the Central Original Document Verification Cell; thereafter the verified/debited/defaced Certificates must be uploaded on ICEGATE e SANCHIT, an Image Reference Number (IRN) obtained, and that IRN linked to the corresponding Bill of Entry by submitting an amendment at the Service Center; once an IRN/DRN is generated the uploaded document cannot be removed.

Forwarding of samples for testing: additional designated external laboratories added and public notices required.
The Board expands the roster of approved outside laboratories, as identified by CRCL, for testing specified categories of customs samples and provides an annexure mapping sample types to suggested laboratories. Principal Commissioners and Commissioners of Customs must publish Public Notices to inform stakeholders of the added testing destinations, and report any implementation difficulties to the Board, thereby operationalising forwarding of samples to the designated external laboratories.

Extended Producer Responsibility authorization required for import of listed electrical and electronic equipment; produce CPCB authorization at import.
Importers of electrical and electronic equipment, components, consumables, parts and spares listed in Schedule I must obtain and produce an Extended Producer Responsibility Authorization from the Central Pollution Control Board when importing such items; the notice treats importers as Producers for these purposes and requires presentation of the CPCB EPR Authorization at import, with implementation issues to be reported to the issuing office.

EPCG authorisations: submit Redemption Certificate/EODC to enable bond/BG cancellation and cargo clearance.
Holders of listed EPCG authorisations registered at JNCH Nhava Sheva must submit copies of Redemption Certificate/EODC without delay to allow bond/BG cancellation and timely clearance of consignments; submissions may be sent by email, registered/speed post or delivered in person to the EPCG Monitoring Cell. EPCG holders must also ensure installation certificates are filed within six months of import and, for authorisations not in the list, provide evidence of submission of the first block export obligation to the Joint DGFT as per S.O. 70/2016.

Container movement procedure now requires pre movement e mail intimation and bond adequacy verification before terminal release.
Removal of the prior requirement for Container Cell permission is replaced by a pre movement e mail intimation to the Assistant Commissioner, Container Cell, containing container identifiers, vessel/rotation/IGM details, a self declaration of continuity bond number, validity and balance (with break up), and destination CFS/warehouse/ICD; the same intimation must be sent to the port terminal, a written request submitted to the Container Cell by the next working day for reconciliation, and steamer agents/importers must ensure sufficient bond balance or face bond enforcement and penal action.

Validity of Chapter 3 Duty Credit Scrips extended; applies irrespective of FTP period, revalidation generally not permitted.
Duty Credit Scrips issued on or after 01.01.2016 under Chapter 3 shall be valid for 24 months from date of issue and must be valid on the date of actual debit; revalidation is not permitted except as covered under paragraph 2.20(c) of the Handbook of Procedures. This rule applies to all Chapter 3 scrips irrespective of the Foreign Trade Policy period, and trade is advised to avail the benefit with officers treating this Public Notice as standing order.

Jurisdiction of Customs Preventive Divisions updated to map CPUs, GST ranges, PIN clusters and coastal jurisdictions.
Corrigendum 4 amends Public Notice No.01/2018 to specify and reassign jurisdictional boundaries of Customs Preventive Divisions and their Customs Preventive Units in the Thiruvananthapuram Zone under the Customs Act, 1962. It identifies formation names, CPU locations, GST range areas, indicative PIN code clusters and town lists, adds narcotics units where designated, includes coastal and marine jurisdictions, and extends the Kochi CPD to administer the Union Territory of Lakshadweep including Kavaratti.

Brand rate fixation: Brand Rate Cell at ICD Mulund to process Drawback Rules applications under GST; reapplication for post-GST exports
A dedicated Brand Rate Cell has been established at ICD Mulund to fix brand rates of drawback under the Drawback Rules in the GST regime; pending central excise applications filed before the GST transition will be transferred to the Customs Commissionerate having jurisdiction over the place of export (exporter may choose among multiple export places). Post-transition exports require fresh brand rate applications as previously fixed rates do not apply; verification of application data will be done by the Customs formation having jurisdiction over the manufacturing factory, and earlier circulars apply mutatis mutandis.

Transshipment permission for air cargo enables electronic ICES movement with bond, Customs supervision and liability for shortages.
Permission authorizes M/s InterGlobe Aviation Limited to effect export and import transshipment of general cargo from APTPC bonded warehouse via electronic documentation on ICES for one year from bond acceptance, subject to Chapter VIII of the Customs Act and relevant CBEC circulars. Carriers must file IGM/EGM, use CTM/TP/ACTM, secure Customs escort and supervision, obtain destination acknowledgements to debit/re credit the transhipment bond, and comply with sealing, weight matching, register maintenance, custody instructions and proof of export requirements. A transhipment bond and bank guarantee have been furnished and the carrier is liable for shortages, duties and related charges.

Provisional NOC for imported pre-packaged retail food enables storage transfer pending final clearance, subject to Form 13A conditions.
The amendments permit the Authorized Officer, after visual inspection and sampling, to issue a provisional no objection certificate allowing imported pre-packaged retail food consignments to be moved to a secure storage facility on the basis of an importer declaration in Form 13A. Goods must remain in that facility until final NOC is given; Customs and the food authority may inspect. The facility, formerly limited to items with shelf-life under seven days, is extended to all imported pre-packaged retail food articles, subject to compliance, possible re-export/destruction on breach, and disqualification for future use upon non-compliance.

Abolition of group-based customs allocation prompts reassignment to remaining groups and mandates electronic export payment and PFMS validation.
Abolition of Group VII in ICES means only pre-cutoff Bills of Entry remain in that group; all new licence/scheme Bills will be allocated to Groups I-VI based on item classification with highest assessable value and will follow the First-In-First-Out rule. Export measures include electronic payment of export duty/cess via ICEGATE and mandatory PFMS bank-account validation for Drawback, withholding SBS availability for final drawback scroll until PFMS acceptance, as part of transitioning Drawback, IGST refund and RoSL payments to fully electronic processing.

RFID E-seal verification requirement: seal integrity checks determine routing to CFS and LEO issuance for export clearance.
Prescribes procedures at BMCT requiring preventive officers to verify RFID E-seal integrity and encoded container data at parking plaza entry; any tamper or mismatch mandates routing to CFS for open and examination and issuance of LEO from that CFS. Post-verification, shipping bills are registered in the Document Processing Area and LEO entered into TOS; multi-bill and multi-container contingencies, special handling for reefer and perishable cargo, carrier bond modification for rail-linked movements, and terminal gate ticketing and monitoring requirements are also specified.

Abolition of Import Appraisement Group VII reallocates bills to groups with FIFO; export duty and drawback move to electronic payment.
Abolition of Import Appraisement Group VII removes that group from the electronic customs system; bills filed before discontinuation remain in the former group while new licence/scheme bills are allotted to remaining groups based on classification with the highest assessable value and will follow the FIFO rule. Export measures enable e-payment for export duty via the electronic gateway and mandate PFMS bank account validation for drawback processing, making drawback disbursal contingent on PFMS acceptance.

Drawback claim authorization: Deputy/Assistant Commissioners may sanction and disburse claims with SEZ disclaimer and officer certification.
Deputy/Assistant Commissioners of Customs are authorised to sanction and disburse Drawback Claims filed by DTA suppliers for supplies to SEZ units or developers. Such claims must be supported by a disclaimer certificate from the SEZ unit or developer and a certificate from the specified SEZ officer confirming that drawback has not been availed or claimed on the goods.

Paperless document submission required: supporting documents must be uploaded to eSANCHIT and linked to the Bill of Entry.
All supporting documents required for Bill of Entry processing and any additional documents sought by the Appraising Group must be uploaded via eSANCHIT on ICEGATE, IRNs generated for each upload, and those IRNs must be linked to the Bill of Entry by amending the BE. The BE amendment requires initiation (via the Service Centre) and online approval by the appraising officer. The department will retain the BE docket and supporting documents in digital form and will not accept hardcopy submissions.

Abolition of ICES Group 7 prompts reassignment of bills and mandates e-payment with PFMS validation for Drawback processing.
Abolition of Group 7 in ICES relegates only pre-existing pending Bills of Entry to the discontinued group while new licence/scheme bills are allocated to Groups I-VI by highest assessable value and processed under the regular FIFO rule. Exports-related changes require ICEGATE e-payment for export duty/cess and mandatory PFMS bank-account validation for Drawback, preventing Shipping Bills from final drawback scrolling unless PFMS-accepted, aligning Drawback payments with other electronic disbursal mechanisms.

Track and Trace requirement: barcoded tertiary and secondary packaging plus portal data upload required for eligible pharmaceutical exports.
Implementation of a Track and Trace system requires exporters to upload prescribed packaging relationship and barcode data to the Central Portal; drugs manufactured before the transitional cut-off are exempt from three-level Parent-Child packaging data upload, while drugs manufactured after the cut-off may be exported only if tertiary and secondary packaging carry barcoding and the prescribed data is uploaded.