Indirect Tax Ombudsman complaint mechanism allows conciliation or binding awards to resolve grievances against customs and indirect tax officials.
The Indirect Tax Ombudsman resolves grievances against Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax authorities by facilitating conciliation or issuing a binding speaking award. Complainants must first approach the department's grievance cell or a superior officer and may file with the Ombudsman when no response is received within one month, a complaint is rejected, or the reply is unsatisfactory. Grounds include delays in refunds and adjudication, failure to implement appellate orders, release of seized assets, non-adherence to refund/disbursement rules, rude official conduct, non-acknowledgement of documents, and breach of administrative instructions. Proceedings are summary and confidentiality is maintained.

Weighment discrepancy rule: declared weight may be accepted when deviation is below threshold, streamlining customs assessment.
A representation noted conflict between Public Notice No.17/2010 and the Customs Appraising Manual regarding minor weighment discrepancies. The Appraising Manual permits acceptance of declared weight where average discrepancy is not more than one percent or where duty on excess weight is nominal; accordingly para 3(i) of Public Notice No.17/2010 is amended to allow acceptance of declared weight for such de minimis deviations.

Custodian appointment under Section 45 imposes bond, insurance, handling, security and compliance obligations for CFS operations.
M/s. Apeejay Infralogistics Pvt. Ltd. is appointed custodian under Section 45 of the Customs Act for containers and related cargo at the specified Container Freight Station declared as a "Customs Area", subject to execution of a bond and bank guarantee, compliance with handling, insurance, recordkeeping, security, EDI and transit-time obligations, liability for loss or pilferage (including duty and charges), cost-recovery for Customs officers, prohibition on charging demurrage for Customs-detained goods, restrictions on subletting without prior approval, and periodic review and termination rights reserved to the Commissioner.

Factory stuffing permission: exporters require Central Excise verification and Technical commissionerate issuance for supervised stuffing.
Exporters apply in duplicate on Annexure A to the jurisdictional Assistant/Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise Division with certified identity, registration and status documents; Central Excise forwards a signed feasibility/verification report in Annexure B within seven working days to the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner (Technical), Customs (Preventive), who, if satisfied, issues the FSP in Annexure C within seven working days, assigns a unique serial number, circulates it to the recommending Excise division and nominated customs stations, and requires Central Excise supervision of examination and filing of Annexure E reports; FSPs are non transferable, limited to specified premises, excluded for free shipping bills under self sealing, and subject to monitoring and cancellation for misuse.

Food testing laboratory authorization under FSS Act permits analysis of imported food samples for designated regional jurisdiction.
The State Public Health Food Testing Laboratory, Imphal, Manipur, has been notified by the competent authority to carry out analysis of imported food samples by food analysts under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, thereby authorising the laboratory to perform official analytical functions for imported consignments.

Customs revenue collection: designated bank branch authorized for TR-6 payments, with EDI and e-payment integration planned.
A State Bank of India branch is authorized to collect physical TR-6 Challans for Customs revenue at the Nhava-Sheva location, with a planned migration to EDI Challans integrated with ICES and e-payment via ICEGATE when connectivity is available. The branch will operate on specified weekday and Saturday hours, exclude Sundays and bank holidays, and must transmit daily scrolls and challans via the existing Focal Point Branch to the Pay & Accounts Office, Customs, Nhava-Sheva. This service is an additional option to existing payment facilities.

Round the clock customs clearance pilot enables facilitated imports and factory stuffed exports to be processed outside normal hours.
Pilot provision of round-the-clock customs clearance at specified Air Cargo Complexes and Seaports limited to facilitated Bills of Entry not requiring examination and assessment, and factory stuffed export containers and consignments covered by Free Shipping Bills. Implementation depends on redeployment of existing staff facilitated by self assessment and risk management, coordination with custodians and CHAs, confirmation of customs duty payment, and submission of fortnightly reports detailing documents filed and container/package movements in normal and extended hours.

Accredited Client Programme enables declaration-based customs clearance with limited RMS or intelligence-based exceptions for compliant traders.
The Accredited Client Programme creates a category of registered importers and exporters eligible for assured facilitation, allowing clearance based on declaration without routine physical examination, subject to exceptions identified by the Risk Management System, specific intelligence, or patterns of non-compliance; benefits apply at all ports where EDI and RMS operate, and eligible trade participants are directed to register under the scheme in accordance with existing procedural guidance.

Exemption scope for sports goods clarified: comprehensive coverage of equipment and accessories, subject to certification and undertaking.
Notification No.146/94-Customs exempts two categories: "sports goods, sports equipments and sports requisites" and their "spares, accessories and consumables"; classification by tariff chapter does not affect eligibility. The exemption requires a certificate from specified sports bodies for use in national or international competition and an importer undertaking. Both specialized equipment and optional accessories are covered, while exclusion is limited mainly to general purpose machines.

SAD refund documentation procedure: originals verified and endorsed, photocopies retained for processing and audit purposes.
Refund procedure for SAD refund claims requires production of the importer's duplicate Bill of Entry and corresponding TR 6 Challan; originals are verified, endorsed with a dated stamp and processing officer's signature, then returned to the importer while the endorsed photocopies are retained for processing, audit and review. For postal claims, originals accompany photocopies and are returned by post after endorsement, with photocopies kept on file.

Additional Duty of Customs: leviable on EOU stock transfers to DTA when goods are exempt from sales tax or VAT.
Where an EOU effects stock transfer into the Domestic Tariff Area and the goods cleared into DTA are exempt from Sales Tax or VAT, such transfers are treated as DTA clearances and the Additional Duty of Customs under Sub section (5) of Section 3 of the Customs Tariff Act is leviable and must be included in the aggregate of customs duties at the prescribed rate.

Foreign Trade Policy changes modify EPCG rules, duty credit scrip use, and export obligation requirements for incentive schemes.
Revisions to the Foreign Trade Policy permit extended duty free import of embellishments, broaden use and limited transferability of duty credit scrips under the Status Holder Incentive Scheme, extend zero duty EPCG authorizations with adjusted eligibility and interaction rules with TUFS and SHIS benefits, modify EPCG export obligations for green technologies and certain regions, relax Common Service Provider bank guarantee and reporting requirements, and tighten value addition, validity and drawback endorsement rules for Advance Authorization and DFIA schemes.

Export certificate for jewellery enables duty-free reimport if items are presented to customs and properly valued before departure.
The notice reiterates that passengers taking jewellery and other high value articles out of the country should obtain an export certificate by presenting items to customs at Mangalore International Airport in advance for valuation or by producing purchase invoices/valuation certificates from an authorized valuer, so that duty need not be paid on re-import.

Transshipment procedure: bond and documentation requirements now govern container movements, sealing and landing-certificate obligations at Kattupalli Port.
Procedure prescribes electronic IGM/EGM/Consol filing via ICEGATE for Kattupalli Port and requires container-specific Container Bonds and Transshipment Bonds (TP) with prescribed bond rates. Carriers and transhippers must register continuity bonds, open PLA accounts, and where applicable execute running bonds with Bank Guarantees equal to 15% of bond value for 12 months. The Container Movement Facilitation Cell (CMFC) issues transshipment approvals, coordinates Customs One Time Seals, debits bond/BG limits on inward entry and requires certified landing certificates from destination customs within 30 days, failing which bonds/BGs will be enforced.

Mandatory container weighment required to enforce weight based valuation and export incentive compliance before clearance.
CFSs must install and operate weighbridges and mandatorily weigh all containers before clearance where weight governs valuation, duty rate, or export incentives-specifically for scraps, metals and products, secondhand machinery, and in cases prompted by intelligence or enforcement. CFSs must report difficulties to the customs authority to ensure compliance with weight based regulatory and investigative requirements.

Classification of mouse pads: treat them as goods by constituent material, not as parts or accessories of computer mice.
Mouse pads are not parts or accessories of computer mice because they are neither intended to be assembled into or incorporated into such articles nor do they adapt, extend, or perform a service relative to an ADP mouse. Consequently, mouse pads should be classified according to their constituent material (e.g., plastics, rubber, hard rubber) under the appropriate headings rather than under the heading for parts and accessories of ADP machines, and field formations are directed to finalize pending assessments accordingly.

Served From India Scheme import eligibility clarified: professional equipment vehicles permitted for service providers; personal vehicles excluded from SFIS scrips.
Vehicles structurally pre-designed and pre-fitted for specific professional uses-including Ambulances, Sewage Disposal Trucks, Refuse Disposal Vehicles and off-highway Dumpers-may be imported against SFIS scrips as they cannot reasonably be repurposed for general or personal use; personal vehicles such as motor cars, SUVs and MUVs remain excluded, and no change is made to Notification No. 91/2009-Customs or other aspects of para (4) of Circular No. 38/2010-Customs.

Verification of genuineness of duty credit scrips continues before registration despite EDI system not being operational.
Verification of genuineness of duty credit scrips under Chapter 3 of the FTP shall continue to be done prior to registration because online EDI transmission of validated scrips is not operational. Field formations must verify issuing authority signatures, cross-check scrip particulars against the Regional Authority's official website, retain printouts or obtain written confirmation where online records are absent, and may carry out random verification of shipping bills. Quarterly reports on verification outcomes and discrepancies must be forwarded to the Board.

Import General Manifest requirement: vessels and cargo often require IGM/Bill of Entry even where duty exemptions apply.
Filing of an Import General Manifest (IGM) and a Bill of Entry is required even where goods or vessels are duty-exempt, depending on vessel category and use. Foreign-flag vessels used only as conveyances need no vessel-level IGM or Bill of Entry, but manifests for goods or passengers must be filed. Indian-flag vessels, vessels converted to coastal trade, and vessels imported for breaking up must have IGM/Bill of Entry filings, fresh Bills of Entry on conversion or breaking up, and may be liable for applicable duties; non-compliance may be adjudicated and penalised.

Drawback claim processing efficiency: tighten specificity of queries and monitoring to prevent delays and excess refunds.
Directives require tightening of drawback claim processing by eliminating generalized queries, holding officers and supervisors responsible for specificity, and instituting monthly monitoring of EGM pendency, stuffing reports and dwell time to meet citizens' charter norms. Officers must scrutinise shipping bill declarations to prevent excess drawback caused by mismatched units, quantities or RITC/drawback serials. Supplementary claims and brand rate sanctions must include speaking departmental comments that allow mathematical calculation of drawback amounts. For technical products, departmental audit should randomly verify expert certified data against original production records and report to the Board.