Empanelment of Chartered Engineers for valuation of second hand imported machinery; reports advisory and service charges borne by importers.
Invitation for empanelment of Chartered Engineers to value imported second hand machinery and related goods; applicants must be affiliated with the Institution of Engineers (India), demonstrate relevant specialization and submit documentary proof. Empanelment is valid for one year, reports must follow circular instructions on second hand valuation, certificates are advisory, service charges are borne by importers, shortlisted candidates will be interviewed, and empanelled engineers must submit yearly self appraisal reports; false or incomplete information may lead to cancellation and penal action.

Brand rate mechanism strengthened: soliciting measures to boost exporter confidence while preserving drawback principles and revenue integrity.
Solicit measures to strengthen exporter confidence in the brand rate mechanism consistent with drawback based on actual duty, emphasizing reliability, simplicity and workability. Commissioners must consult applicants and report proposed changes with justification and implementation details; flagged issues include delays from requiring yearly audited accounts for inventory verification and difficulties in producing bills of entry for inputs sourced from independent dealers. Reports must follow the specified format and be compiled and submitted to the designated Commissioner for onward transmission to the Ministry with enclosures.

Quality control order implementation reiterated: customs must strictly follow prior instructions on pneumatic tyres and tubes compliance.
Implementation of the Pneumatic Tyres and Tubes for Automotive Vehicles (Quality Control) Order, 2009 must follow the earlier CBEC instruction of 15 December 2011. All customs and central excise offices are directed to implement that instruction strictly in letter and spirit for processing and enforcement of imported pneumatic tyres and tubes.

Trade facilitation monitoring of pending bills of entry requires Commissioners to review delays over seventy-two hours and escalate as needed.
Commissioners must implement an operating procedure to identify and review all Bills of Entry pending for more than 72 hours from the later of 'entry inwards' or filing, with each case examined by the Commissioner and Appraising Group to determine delay causes and evaluate queries. Chief Commissioners must review Bills of Entry not cleared within seven days with Commissioners and Groups, pursue remedial measures for systemic faults, place interdepartmental coordination issues on facilitation committee agendas, refer Ministry-level matters upward, and monitor monthly dwell time reductions.

Delivery of goods: importers may de-stuff RMS facilitated containers at Dock or CFS premises and take delivery.
Where Bills of Entry are facilitated under RMS, containers are not normally opened by Dock Officers and delivery ordinarily follows matching container numbers with declarations; importers may either take loaded containers away to de stuff at their premises or de stuff at Dock/CFS premises. Importers are expressly permitted to de stuff RMS facilitated containers at Dock or CFS premises and take delivery of the de stuffed goods, and any implementation difficulties should be reported to the office.

Duty drawback AIR revision updates composite and customs rates and clarifies brand-rate provisional payment and shipping-bill declarations.
Revision of the All Industry Rates (AIR) updates composite and customs drawback rates, adds and rewords tariff entries, aligns legacy items with residuary rates, and introduces or adjusts drawback caps. Amendments to Drawback Rules permit provisional payment of the Customs component for brand-rate claims where exporters declare a new shipping-bill identifier and tariff item; Central Excise fixation of brand rate later determines final entitlement, with EDI and transitional procedures specified. Authorities must ensure due diligence to prevent misuse and provide public guidance.

Taxpayer Service Centre established to handle importer/exporter queries with on the spot acknowledgements and Commissioner level monitoring to improve ease of doing business.
A Taxpayer Service Centre for the Bangalore Air Customs Commissionerate is established as a single window system for accepting and handling importers', exporters', customs brokers' and other trade stakeholders' queries, complaints and grievances, with on the spot generation of a unique acknowledgement number and Commissioner level monitoring of disposal; the Centre is operational immediately and specific officers have been nominated to attend its functions.

Container clearance procedures require CFS verification of Out of Charge status and specified documents before gate release.
CFS clearance requires verification of Out of Charge status through periodic authenticated lists from Shed Appraising Officers or via ICEGATE; CFS authorized persons must confirm original Bill of Entry, Out of Charge copy and original duty payment challan and ensure collectors hold valid customs passes before issuing gate passes. Where EDI is non-functional or a Bill of Entry is not updated, clearance is allowed only after DC/AC (EDI) approval communicated by official email, copied to AC (Docks). CFSs must monitor and report suspicious movements to DC/AC (Docks).

Advance Authorization registration clarified: bond and BG conditions, one-time bond option, and EDI registration requirements for importers.
Registration at the DEEC Monitoring Cell requires physical submission of the Advance Authorization and documents; the DMC examines prior pendency and enters accepted authorisations in the EDI system. The notice permits a one-time bond per authorization for future imports at the port with joint liability for co-licensees, two-copy execution with debit sheets, system entry and debits at clearance, and production of the debited bond copy at out-of-charge. For pre-export authorisations, Bond/BG scrutiny and EDI acceptance jobs are generated, and BG exemptions are decided expeditiously by supervisory officers.

Drawback pendency clearance requires exporters to check ICEGATE status and promptly answer EDI queries to finalise claims.
Drawback pendency clearance requires exporters using drawback shipping bills to check pending claim status through ICEGATE and promptly furnish replies where a shipping bill remains in the exporter's queue. Unanswered queries prevent finalisation of drawback claims. Required replies are to be submitted through the EDI system, with assistance available from the Customs Drawback and Export office.

Container scanning requirement: selected import containers must undergo mandatory X ray screening and prescribed hold and examination procedures.
A dedicated Container Scanning Division (CSD) will operate a fixed X ray facility at Mumbai Port where import containers selected by the IGM based Targeting Module must report for mandatory scanning. Containers are check in verified, scanned, and classified as SCANNED CLEAN or SCANNED SUSPICIOUS on EIR or Gate Pass; suspicious consignments are placed on CSD HOLD and examined under DC/Docks or CSD supervision with CSD NOC required before clearance. CFSs must endorse and communicate scanning status and comply with release and downtime protocols.

Arrest guidelines under Customs law limit arrests to exceptional high value or specified item smuggling cases and require reporting.
The circular restricts arrest under the Customs Act to exceptional situations by prescribing value based triggers for categories such as unauthorized importation in baggage, outright smuggling of high value or restricted items, importation appraising cases involving wilful mis declaration or concealment, and fraudulent availment of drawback or duty exemptions; FOB/CIF valuation points apply for import/export appraising cases. It exempts certain sensitive items (counterfeit currency, arms, explosives, antiques, art treasures, wildlife and endangered species) from the value thresholds, permitting arrest on the facts and circumstances irrespective of value.

Thresholds for prosecution: evidence-based initiation and strict mens rea assessment guide criminal proceedings under customs law.
The circular establishes a framework for launching prosecution under the Customs Act, 1962: prosecutions may target natural and legal persons for specified offences but require evidence of guilty knowledge/mens rea; threshold categories and exceptions are defined for smuggling, appraising/commercial frauds and export mis-declaration; compounding and narcotics provisions are addressed; timing and sanctioning authorities are prescribed; and procedural controls-investigation reports, evidence custody, prosecution registers, dedicated Prosecution Cells, monitoring and liaison with enforcement agencies-are mandated to ensure timely, evidence-based prosecution decisions.

Digital signature requirement mandates electronic filing of customs documents by importers, exporters and brokers, replacing physical signatures.
The circular mandates digital signature authentication for electronic submission of core customs documents by importers, exporters, customs brokers, shipping lines and airlines; where documents are digitally signed, customs will not require physical signatures. Accredited Client Programme registrants already faced digital-signature requirements for Bills of Entry, and the circular expands mandatory electronic filing while allowing individual importers or exporters the option to file certain declarations without a digital signature. Chief Commissioners are directed to instruct staff, publicize the change, and report implementation difficulties to the Board.

All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback amended: tariff entries reclassified, rates and caps adjusted; rice eligible under brand rate route.
Amendments to the All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback establish separate tariff entries for specified goods, adjust drawback rates and caps for multiple tariff items, prescribe a 1% rate for optical fibre cable, and enable drawback under the brand rate route for rice exports; stakeholders are asked to publicize the changes.

Bonded warehouse licensing: streamlined application and delegated discharge permissions to expedite clearance while ensuring compliance.
Prescribes a uniform framework for grant, renewal and administration of licenses for Public and Private Bonded Warehouses under Sections 57-59 of the Customs Act, 1962, requiring scrutiny of financial viability, past compliance, premises suitability, security measures and comprehensive insurance. Private operators handling sensitive goods must furnish additional cash deposit or bank guarantee equal to 25% of duty on maximum stored quantity, and the importer must execute a warehousing bond for twice the assessed duty. Licensing decisions are to be completed within seven working days and approved licensees need not seek Commissioner approval for routine transactions absent material changes.

Second hand machinery valuation: use price paid where applicable; otherwise apply sequential Valuation Rules and Rule 9 with expert inspection reports.
Valuation of imported second hand machinery is based on the price paid or payable where Rule 3 requirements are met; where post sale reconditioning, refurbishment or buyer incurred pre shipment costs affect the goods the proper officer must include those elements and, if Rule 3 is inapplicable, proceed sequentially through Rules 4-9, applying the residual method under Rule 9 when necessary and using inspection/appraisement reports from overseas chartered engineers (Form A) or DGFT notified Indian agencies/locally empaneled chartered engineers (Form B) to assess depreciation, condition and additional charges.

Service charges for Customs EDI services revised; vendor authorised to collect fees and applicable service tax from users.
The Directorate General of Systems and Data Management has engaged M/s Xeam Ventures Pvt. Ltd. to operate the Customs EDI Service Centre at the Inland Container Depot, Whitefield; the vendor is authorised to collect revised maximum service charges for document digitisation and RES-related services. The notice sets out fees for bills of entry, shipping bills, IGM/EGM, amendment blocks, printing and query charges, and confirms that the listed rates exclude Service Tax, which the vendor must collect from users and remit to the government, effective 1 October 2015.

Entry Inward and Outward procedure mandates officers verify last port clearance and ILH dues before EDI entry is granted.
Procedure prescribes that the section officer boarding a vessel verify last port clearance and ILH dues, ascertain berthing time, and sign the Entry Inward/Outward applications; the Agent's representative must bring these to Jubilee Gate where the Main Gate Officer feeds the details into the EDI System and grants Entry Inward/Outward using his SSOID; implementation difficulties should be notified to the Assistant Commissioner (Prev.).

Revised EDI service charges and mandatory service-tax collection for customs document processing at the air cargo complex.
Revision of fees and service-tax collection rules for EDI Service Centre operations at the Air Cargo Complex, Devanahalli: M/S Xeam Ventures Pvt. Ltd. is contracted to operate Customs EDI Service Centres and authorised to collect revised maximum service charges for digitisation and processing of customs documents (including bills of entry, shipping bills, IGM/EGM, amendments, printing and remote filings). The notice specifies fee categories, notes that charges exclude Service Tax and other taxes, and requires the vendor to collect and remit applicable Service Tax. The revised schedule is effective from 1 October 2015.