Change of custodianship of a CFS substitutes the custodian name while prior Public Notices remain in effect.
Substitution of the CFS custodian from M/S. L & T Shipbuilding Ltd. to M/S. Marine Infrastructure Developer Pvt. Ltd. is effected; the premises retain their status as a Customs Area and all prior public notices and conditions remain in force except for the change of custodian name, which shall be used in all documents and takes immediate effect.

Jurisdictional Customs authority responsible for refunds, demands and adjudication under Rule 47(5) following prescribed SOPs.
Amendment by insertion of Rule 47(5) assigns refund, demand, adjudication, review and appeal functions to jurisdictional Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax or GST authorities, to be applied prospectively. SOPs require SEZ units/developers to file refund claims with jurisdictional DC/AC (Policy/Technical), permit the jurisdictional office to seek Development Commissioner comments within two weeks, and mandate speaking orders on refunds. Draft demands are prepared by Development Commissioner's officers and transferred to jurisdictional DC/AC at least eight weeks before time bar; adjudication, review and appeal follow respective enactments, with Development Commissioner assisting recovery where BLUT exists.

Export of carpets: customs to use expert panels, complete market enquiries within 15 days and avoid damaging goods.
Export consignments of carpets must be examined for composition and value via expert panels or the Textiles Committee, with market enquiries completed within fifteen days; withholding export benefits beyond fifteen days requires written Commissioner approval and exports should not be stopped. Customs officers must avoid damaging, destroying or cutting carpets during inspection or sampling, and the public notice operates as a standing order with contact details provided for escalation.

Customs Act amendments clarified by CBEC circular and notification; trade associations asked to circulate guidance to stakeholders.
Clarification concerning amendments to the Customs Act, 1962 effected through measures processed in the Finance Bill, 2017, highlights CBEC Circular No. 12/2017-Customs and Notification No. 26/2017-CUS(NT) dated 31 March 2017 as the administrative instruments explaining the legislative changes and directs Trade Associations and Chambers of Commerce to circulate these instruments to their members for compliance and operational guidance.

Levy of Fees amendment revises the customs document fee schedule, updating charges for amendments, cancellations and certified copies.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs issues the Levy of Fees (Customs Documents) Amendment Regulations, 2017 under Sections 157 and 158 of the Customs Act, 1962, effective on Gazette publication, substituting regulation 3 with a new table that prescribes fees for amendment of import/export manifests, shipping bills (vessel name and other particulars), port clearance and outward entry applications, supplementation of short shipment notices, cancellations, and supply of certified copies; and provides a nil fee for amendment of a prior bill of entry filed under the proviso to subsection (3) of section 46.

Risk Management System enables self assessed import bills to be cleared without routine examination, subject to targeted assessment and PCA.
The Risk Management System (RMS) will process electronically filed Bills of Entry and IGMs in ICES to decide whether a B/E is cleared out of charge after duty payment without officer assessment/examination, or selected for assessment and/or physical examination based on risk parameters, random selection or intelligence. AEO importers meeting compliance criteria will receive facilitation with predominant waiver of assessment/examination, subject to Compulsory Compliance Requirements and occasional selection for assessment, while concurrent audit is replaced by Post Clearance Audit.

Late presentation charges waiver for delayed bills of entry due to EDI outage; relief limited to affected consignments.
The notice records an ICEGATE EDI outage that prevented timely filing of Bills of Entry under Customs Act provisions and the Bill of Entry (Forms) Regulations. As trade facilitation, exemption from late presentation charges is granted for consignments with the affected entry inward dates, limited to an administratively specified cutoff; filings after that cutoff will not be exempt. Stakeholders may report further difficulties to the issuing office.

Empanelment of Chartered Engineers permits importers to obtain listed agencies' inspection/appraisement when overseas reports are unavailable.
Amendment identifies specific Chartered Engineer and valuer firms empanelled under Appendix-2G of the Handbook of Procedure for valuation of second-hand machinery at the Bangalore port and provides that if an importer fails to procure an overseas inspection/appraisement report, the importer may obtain inspection and appraisement from any of the listed recognized firms to satisfy customs valuation requirements.

Centralized KYC cell streamlines KYC submission and verification for first-time importers, with assessing groups forwarding documents centrally.
First-time importers must submit specified KYC documents (IEC, VAT/Sales Tax registration, bank certificate confirming account and signatures, proof of payment, previous year balance sheet if applicable, and last income tax/VAT/Sales Tax return) to the concerned assessing group, which will check and forward them to the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Centralized KYC cell for central processing and verification.

Diplomatic engagement on customs procedures: administrative instruction to senior customs officials to coordinate with foreign missions on operational matters.
Meeting arrangements and procedural engagement with representatives of foreign missions regarding customs administration and related operational coordination, directing senior customs leadership and directorates to facilitate consultations and to disseminate guidance via circulars, trade notices, public notices and office orders so that Commissioners and directorates can implement liaison protocols, information exchange and operational clarifications for handling diplomatic consignments and mission-related customs queries.

Project goods classification under 9801: rescission of advisory circular after judicial acceptance of individual notification benefits.
Board previously directed that imports under contracts for plant setup or expansion be treated as project goods assessed under CTH 9801, losing individual identity and precluding application of exemption notifications; judicial authority subsequently permitted benefit of individual notifications for such imports, and the Board has rescinded Circular F. No. 528/213/87-Cus. (T.U.) dated 08.08.1987 accordingly.

Levy of Fees amendment updates fee schedule for customs document alterations and certified copy requests, standardising administrative charges.
Amendment substitutes the fee table in the Levy of Fees (Customs Documents) Regulations, 1970, setting fixed administrative charges for amendments, cancellations and supply of certified copies of customs and shipping documents, while providing nil treatment for a specific category of prior-filed bill of entry amendments and prescribing fees for other bill of entry amendments.

Waiver of merchant overtime fees: customs policy removes MOT collection at continuously operating ports and airports.
Waiver of Merchant Overtime Fee (MOT) applies where customs officers provide services at continuously operating ports and airports, pursuant to a Board circular interpreting the Customs (Fee for Rendering Service by Customs Officers) Regulations, 1998; the public notice directs cessation of MOT collection at the specified air cargo complex.

Jurisdiction for SEZ refunds and demands now lies with jurisdictional customs authorities, with SOPs for filing and adjudication.
Amendment to SEZ Rules vests responsibility for refunds, demands, adjudication, review and appeal with jurisdictional Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax or GST authorities prospectively. SOPs require SEZ units to file refunds with jurisdictional DC/AC (Policy/Technical), permit Development Commissioner comments within two weeks, and mandate speaking orders on sanction. Draft demands are prepared by Development Commissioner offices and transferred with relied-upon documents to jurisdictional DC/AC for issuance if time-bar and sponsorship conditions are met. Adjudication and appeals follow the applicable statutory procedures; past refundable claims meeting limitation and merit should be processed by Customs officers, and duties on exit-stock are recoverable by jurisdictional authorities with Development Commissioner assistance for realization.

Amendment to Customs notification updates import procedures and directs guidance to importers and clearing agents online.
Amendment to Customs notification: Notification No. 35/2017 Customs (N.T.) seeks to further amend Notification No. 40/2012 Customs, changing regulatory provisions relating to import procedures. The amendment is communicated by public notice for the guidance of importers, clearing agents and the trading public and the full text is made available on the Central Board of Excise and Customs website.

Import manifest filing: guidance issued on handling delayed, incomplete or incorrect filings under customs procedures.
The Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue issued a circular giving guidance to importers, clearing agents and the trading public on compliance with import manifest filing requirements and corrective steps for delayed, incomplete or incorrect filings; the circular is publicly available on the central customs website and has been circulated by the Office of the Commissioner of Customs, Chennai-II.

DTA clearance duty charging clarified for goods from indigenous sources affecting EOUs, EHTP and STP units under new circular.
Clarifies the charging of duty on DTA clearances of goods procured by EOUs, EHTP and STP units from indigenous sources, transmitting Circular No. 13/2017 that sets out procedural guidance and compliance obligations for affected units, importers and clearing agents and directing reliance on the circular available on the customs website.

Levy of Fees (Customs Documents) amendment issues guidance to importers and clearing agents, accessible on the customs website.
Amendment to the Levy of Fees (Customs Documents) Regulations, 1970 is issued by notification, revising the fee framework and administrative mechanism for customs documentation. The notification is circulated for the guidance of importers, clearing agents and the trading public and is made available on the official customs website for consultation and implementation.

Tariff Rate Quota expansion permits duty free raw sugar imports under an amended customs notification until mid June.
Amendment permits duty free importation of raw sugar under the Tariff Rate Quota by modifying Notification No.12/2012 Customs; it authorises import up to the specified TRQ quantity until the stated end date and exempts qualifying consignments from basic customs duty under the TRQ scheme, with procedural guidance issued to importers and clearing agents via Public Notice No.79/2017.

IJCEPA tariff concessions expanded for specified imports, enabling deeper preferential duties under amended customs notification.
Amendment modifies Notification No. 69/2011 Customs to provide deeper preferential tariff treatment for specified goods imported under the India Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Notification No. 11/2017 Customs gives effect to these changes and is circulated to inform importers, clearing agents and the trading public, with the full text made available on the central board website for guidance on claiming the preferential treatment.