Container scanning: risk selected imports must be marked, moved and scanned; noncompliance attracts customs regulatory penalties.
Drive through X ray scanning at Hazira Port is instituted with a Container Scanning Division; the Risk Management Center selects containers and notifies terminal operators, custodians and CSD. Terminal operators must endorse selected containers "Selected for Scanning" in red on the EIR and custodians must move selected containers to the scanner; failure to comply attracts penalties under the Customs Act and Handling of Cargo in Customs Area Regulations. Scanned containers receive EIR stamps: SCANNED CLEAN (blue), SCANNED MISMATCH (red) requiring 100% examination, or NOT SCANNED for ODC/empty/coastal/over weight; reefers are prioritised and post scan examination protocols and communication requirements govern clearance at CFSs.

Provisional assessment security: full differential duty must be furnished when origin inquiry or verification is initiated under CAROTAR.
Where an importer requests provisional assessment and an origin inquiry under Rule 5 or a verification under Rule 6(1)(a) or 6(1)(b) of CAROTAR, 2020 is initiated, all classes of importers, including Authorised Economic Operators, are required to furnish the full differential customs duty as security. The amendment updates table entries in Circular 38/2016 to align security requirements for AEO categories and directs officers to follow the revised guidelines in implementing CAROTAR.

Certificate of Origin requirements: item wise COO details, eSanchit upload with IRN, CUF02 declaration, and mandatory defacement.
Importers claiming preferential duty must enter item wise COO details and the CUF02 self declaration in the Bill of Entry; upload the COO to eSanchit and declare its IRN per item; indicate transit country as issuing country or intervening country code; and ensure each uploaded COO is marked defaced in the system before Out of Charge, per ICES changes effective 21.09.2020 and Annexures mapping notifications to COO document codes.

Manufacturing and other operations in a Warehouse Regulations: ICES updated for mapping, Ex Bond BE fields, and interest waiver.
ICES now requires IEC-warehouse mapping and updated BE declarations for Ex Bond Bills of Entry for goods manufactured in Sec 65 warehouses: the system validates IEC and 10 digit warehouse code mapping; BE_ITEM_SW_CTRL must record warehousing date, GST invoice number and date, finished product description, quantity and unit code for each item; multiple invoices may be entered via serial controls. Items cleared from the mapped Sec 65 warehouse will attract no interest. A re crediting option for the Warehouse BE ledger on re export via Shipping Bill entry has been enabled.

E-office adoption encourages electronic submissions in searchable PDF with contact details for acknowledgement and diary tracking.
Launch of e-office in the Customs Commissionerate, ICD PPG and other ICDs to establish paperless electronic office work; taxpayers are encouraged to submit communications in PDF (preferably searchable), include mobile and email for immediate mail/SMS acknowledgement, and use the allotted Diary Number as a reference. Trade associations and advisory members must circulate the notice and report difficulties or suggestions.

Preferential origin declaration required when claiming FTA benefits; importer must sign and upload certified origin details at filing.
Where an FTA/PTA notification is claimed in the Bill of Entry, the importer must sign and upload the Annexure I Preferential Origin Declaration to e Sanchit at filing, including importer name, designation and stamp. Annexure I requires statements on invoice accuracy, absence or disclosure of alternative information affecting price or quantity, transaction basis, seller imposed restrictions, post import price adjustments, additional payments affecting valuation, related party status and SVB examination, and full particulars necessary to establish originating status under the applicable trade agreement.

Verification of Rules of Origin: importers must document origin criteria and customs may seek exporting country verification to validate preferential claims.
Implementation of section 28DA and CAROTAR 2020 requires importers to retain and provide minimum information demonstrating compliance with Rules of Origin; customs officers must first seek this information from the importer before initiating verification with exporting countries. Verification requests must be complete, representative where multiple certificates exist, approved by the jurisdictional principal authority, and accompanied by legible COO, invoice and transport documents. Repeated failure to provide information or exercise reasonable care leads to compulsory verification of subsequent consignments until adequate controls are shown. A central nodal point and specimen repository support authentication and communications with partner countries.

Customs drawbacks: pending claims to be processed; exporter replies and EGMs due by 02-11-2020 or claims decided on records.
A "Special Refund and Drawback Disposal Drive" mandates priority disposal of all refund/drawback claims pending as on 31-08-2020. Exporters/CHAs must reply to queries by 02-11-2020 or claims will be decided on available records; EGM non-filing and EGM errors must be rectified and BRCs produced by 02-11-2020 or claims processed at zero drawback with rights to file supplementary claims preserved. Approval for EGM error rectification is delegated to the EGM Superintendent, subject to random checks; affected lists are uploaded on the customs website and the Notice is a standing order for staff.

Unit Quantity Code standardization: SBs must use prescribed UQCs; temporary relaxation allows license-SB UQC mismatch for legacy licenses.
Only prescribed Unit Quantity Codes (UQCs) are accepted in Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills, with Statistical Quantity Codes mandatory in item-level declarations. A temporary relaxation permits filing License Shipping Bills where the Shipping Bill item UQC (which must be a prescribed standard code) does not match the UQC recorded in an existing license; the license table should retain the license UQC while item declarations use standard UQCs.

Special warehouse manufacturing requires Section 58A/65 permission, bonds, digital records, security, and GST/duty compliance.
The circular sets the procedure for permitting manufacture and other operations in a special warehouse under Section 65, requiring an integrated application for Section 58A licence and Section 65 permission, execution of prescribed bond and bank guarantee, maintenance of digital, time stamped records per Annexure B, secure premises with CCTV and fire safety, customs verification and locking of the strong room, and specified tax treatment: exports require shipping bill and GST invoice with no import duty on incorporated goods, while domestic clearances attract GST/IGST and import duties via ex bond Bill of Entry.

Certificate of Origin details must be uploaded, declared and defaced in the Bill of Entry to claim preferential duty treatment.
Importers claiming preferential rates must enter item-wise COO details in the Bill of Entry (BE_SW_INFO_TYPE), upload the relevant Certificate of Origin to e Sanchit and declare its IRN, file the self-declaration codified as CUF02 in BE_STATEMENT, populate specified COO fields (issuing country code, COO number|issue date, origin criteria codes, accumulation indicator), enter appropriate transit country codes, and ensure mandatory electronic defacement of each COO before Out of Charge; Annexure 2 maps PTA/FTA notifications to COO document codes. These ICES changes took effect 21.09.2020.

Manufacturing in warehouse: ICES now maps IEC warehouses and updates BE fields so Ex Bond BEs attract no interest for home clearance.
ICES changes require mapping importer IECs to licensed Sec 65 warehouse codes and an updated BE message format with BE_ITEM_SW_CTRL item-level fields (fixed 'SEC65' control code, warehouse code, warehousing date, GST invoice number and date, finished goods description, quantity, UQC and CTH fragment) to validate Ex-Bond Bills of Entry for home clearance after manufacturing in a Sec 65 warehouse so that such Ex-Bond BEs attract no interest; a system option also allows re-crediting the Warehouse BE ledger on re-export.

Ex-bond bill validation under Section 61: new ICES mapping and BE message requirements prevent interest on home-clearance after warehouse manufacturing.
ICES changes require IEC-warehouse mapping to record warehouses licensed under MOOWR and validate Ex-Bond Bills of Entry filed with a Section 65 declaration so items cleared for home consumption after manufacturing attract no interest; the BE_ITEM_SW_CTRL table and updated BE message format must be used for each item, and ACB role functionality allows re-crediting the Warehouse BE ledger on export by entering Shipping Bill details.

Unit of Quantity Code mismatch relief allows filing of export shipping bills despite non matching licence UQCs during a transitional period.
The system now permits filing of Shipping Bills where the item UQC does not match the UQC in the corresponding licence, subject to a limited transitional relaxation. Exporters must declare standard UQCs in the Shipping Bill item table while recording quantities in the licence table in the licence's UQC. Affected licences are to be amended and retransmitted with standard UQCs; operational issues should be reported to the Additional Commissioner and the measure is a standing order for officers.

Unit of Quantity Code flexibility allows filing of export Shipping Bills despite UQC mismatch, with standard UQCs required in item entries.
Customs has permitted filing of export Shipping Bills even when the item UQC in the Shipping Bill does not match the UQC shown in the associated licence by modifying system validations; exporters must nevertheless declare standard UQCs in the Shipping Bill item table and record licence quantities in the licence table using the licence UQC. The concession is time-limited to licence Shipping Bills filed within the announced relaxation period, with future licences to use standard UQCs and operational issues reportable to the Additional Commissioner.

Customs rules require importers to provide detailed origin information and enable verification of Certificates of Origin for preferential claims.
Guidelines implement section 28DA and CAROTAR, 2020 requiring importers claiming preferential rates to hold and furnish specified information and COO support demonstrating compliance with Rules of Origin; customs must first request information from importers and may then seek verification from the Board's nodal point when doubts on genuineness or origin persist. Procedural requirements include representative COO selection, Commissioner approval for verification requests, prescribed timelines, referral to Risk Management Centre for non-compliance, and mandatory ICES data fields, eSanchit COO upload with IRN, and defacement of COOs before out-of-charge.

Import documentation: ICES mandates COO upload with IRN, CUF02 declaration, defacement marking; Sec65 Ex Bond items exempt from interest.
ICES requires IEC Warehouse mapping to validate Ex Bond Bills of Entry for goods manufactured in Section 65 warehouses; new BE item fields must be furnished item wise so such Ex Bond BE filings attract no interest. ICES also mandates item level declarations and mandatory upload of the Certificate of Origin with IRN when claiming preferential rates, a CUF02 self declaration per item, and system marking of COO defacement before Out of Charge. These operational changes take effect 21.09.2020.

Certificate of Origin requirements: upload COO with IRN, itemwise declarations, and mandatory defacement before release.
Importers claiming a preferential rate under trade agreements must make itemwise declarations in the Bill of Entry and upload the corresponding Certificate of Origin (COO) to eSanchit with IRN. Bills must record issuing country code, COO number and issue date, origin criterion (COWO/COOG/COOP) and accumulation/cumulation status; transit country must be declared when applicable. A mandatory system marking of COO defacement is required before Out of Charge; these measures take effect from 21.09.2020.

Importer duty of care for origin documentation requires provision of information and may trigger compulsory verifications.
Section 28DA and CAROTAR, 2020 require importers to retain and supply prescribed minimum information supporting a claim for preferential tariff treatment; authorities must call for that information before initiating verification with partner countries. Mere presentation of a Certificate of Origin does not absolve the importer of the duty to exercise reasonable care; failure to provide information or exercise reasonable care will be reported to RMCC and may result in compulsory verification of subsequent consignments until adequate controls are demonstrated.

Manufacturing and other operations in a Warehouse Regulations: ICES updated to waive interest on Ex Bond home clearances.
ICES has been updated to support MOOWR interest waiver for Ex Bond Bills of Entry from Section 65 warehouses by adding an IEC-Warehouse mapping option under the AC (Bonds) role to validate Sec 65 declarations, and by uploading a revised Bill of Entry message format with item level BE ITEM SW CTRL fields (Annexure I). Items properly declared under the new format will not attract interest. A re crediting option for the Warehouse BE ledger on re export via Exports details of WHBE has been added. Changes are effective from 21.09.2020.