Know Your Customer norms: specified identity documents accepted for courier imports/exports; GSTIN, UIN or PAN accepted for entities.
For courier imports and exports, individuals may use Aadhaar, Passport, PAN or Voter ID for KYC with recording of delivery address; firms and institutions registered under GST may use GSTIN, and where not registered, UIN or PAN shall suffice. Packages containing only letters or documents are exempt from KYC but must be x-rayed to confirm contents.

Reorganization of customs commissionerate jurisdiction to align customs administration with GST implementation and transition arrangements.
Reorganization of Customs Commissionerate jurisdictions aligns customs administration with GST implementation per CBEC notification and its amendments, assigning specified operational responsibilities and ICES codes to the Principal Commissionerate of Airport & Air Cargo Complex Bengaluru and Bangalore City Commissionerate. Bangalore City Commissionerate retains Customs Broker Establishment and Disposal Section functions and assumes certain export promotion duties previously handled by Central Excise/Central Tax formations. Mangalore Commissionerate's jurisdiction follows the amended notification with its ICES code unchanged. Both commissionerates must assume customs work from Central Excise/Central Tax formations and issue public notices and standing orders to effect a smooth transition.

Customs jurisdiction change: newly formed Export Promotion Cell to assume customs work and related files from Central Tax authorities.
Customs jurisdiction for Bangalore City Customs has been redefined and the newly formed Export Promotion Cell will assume customs functions previously performed by Central Excise/GST officers, take over related files from Central Tax Commissionerates, and operate from an initial office in Banashankari under the Assistant Commissioner (Technical); trade and stakeholders are asked to use the Cell and report difficulties.

Extended Producer Responsibility Authorization required for import clearance; Customs must verify and notify the Pollution Control Board on violations.
Import of electrical and electronic equipment requires mandatory verification of a valid Extended Producer Responsibility Authorization on the Pollution Control Board website before Customs clearance. Customs officers must check EPRA during bill of entry registration and goods examination, notify the Pollution Control Board of any violations observed before out of charge, and initiate action under the Customs Act together with the E Waste Management Rules. Operational difficulties should be reported to the concerned Assistant/Deputy Commissioner.

Countervailing duties rebatable as drawback, claimable via brand rate where inputs are verified and when exported as such.
Countervailing Duties leviable under the Customs Tariff Act are rebatable as drawback but, since they are excluded from All Industry Rates, their recovery must be claimed through a Brand Rate application under the Drawback Rules; drawback is admissible only where inputs that suffered the duty were actually used in the exported goods as confirmed by verification. If imported goods subject to countervailing duties are exported as such, drawback under the Customs Act will include the incidence of those duties as part of total duties paid, subject to other conditions.

Direct Port Delivery for AEO clients permitted with advance filing, prepayment, delivery orders and gate verification requirements.
Extension of the Direct Port Delivery facility to AEO clients is permitted only for FCL containers under RMS-facilitated bills of entry with no system-prescribed assessment or examination. Designated importers must file advance bills of entry, prepay duties and charges, obtain advance delivery orders, and be ready for immediate receipt; shipping lines/agents must issue invoices and delivery orders in advance. A DPD Wing will register bills, scrutinize documents and grant printed signed "Out of Charge" authorisations noting container and seal verification at the Container Terminal gate; discrepancies, tampered seals, or selected consignments will be shifted to CFSs and handled under normal procedures.

Jurisdictional reorganisation in Customs preventive zone assigns airports and inland container depots to Trichy customs control.
Reorganisation establishes jurisdiction of the Office of the Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Tiruchirappalli, effective 15 January 2018, covering Tamil Nadu subject to specified Chennai exclusions, Puducherry with limited exceptions, and the adjacent continental shelf and exclusive economic zone. Specified airports and inland container depots are transferred under Tiruchirappalli's administrative control, and a catalogue of Customs functions (warehousing, procurement and installation certificates, brand rate fixation, acceptance of bonds/LUT/B-17, duty-free import concessions, etc.) formerly handled by various Central Excise & GST formations will henceforth be managed by designated Customs (Preventive) units in Trichy.

IGST refund: exporters eligible under Rule 96 may seek Helpdesk assistance to resolve system-related refund processing errors.
Exporters who paid IGST on exports are eligible for refund once EGMs are filed correctly; many claims are pending due to integration and PFMS errors. The Commissionerate introduced EDI modules to produce shipping bill/IEC status reports, upload pending statuses to its website, and generate successful scrolls. A Helpdesk at Customs House is established to assist trade in resolving errors preventing sanction of IGST refunds and lists the venue, officers, and technical support for reporting difficulties.

Sale of seized gold authorised at additional authorised banking and public sector centres under existing disposal conditions.
Guidelines authorize the sale of seized/confiscated gold at additional authorised centres including all centres of State Bank of India, approved Public Sector Banks, and specified government trading entities that hold internal authorisation, subject to continued compliance with the procedural conditions set out in the Ministry's earlier letter and the Board's circular; Custom Houses are directed to urgently implement these disposal arrangements.

Electronic filing requirement for unaccompanied baggage exports: shipping bills must be submitted in EDI with prescribed procedural checks.
All exports of unaccompanied baggage from ICD TKD must be filed electronically in the Customs EDI system; manual shipping bills are discontinued except with prior Commissioner approval. Passengers must use the designated IEC code and the baggage export scheme code. Assessing and examining officers will apply the same checks as for other goods. Passengers may self submit or engage a CHA, provide prescribed documents, have the superintendent verify and sign the Baggage Declaration, and use the EDI Service Centre to enter details and obtain checklists. Sampling physical examination applies, with full examination if discrepancies are found or on RMS instruction.

AEO programme digitization enables online filing and processing of AEO T1 applications and extends review intervals.
Establishes an online platform (aeoindia.gov.in) for filing and digital processing of AEO-T1 applications per Circular 51/2018-Cus, directs immediate use of the web-based application by applicants and Customs officials, and provides the AEO Cell email for reporting difficulties; it also extends the interval for reviews and onsite PCA of AEO-T1 certified entities from two years to three years.

Indian Customs EDI (ICES 1.5) launched at APM Terminals ICD Pune enabling mandatory electronic import/export processing.
Launch of ICES 1.5 at M/s APM Terminals ICD Pune establishes electronic processing for imports/exports: the ICD is notified for cargo handling, APM Terminals is appointed Custodian and CCSP and must display/collect prescribed charges. Mandatory EDI filing via ICES/ICEGATE with registrations (IE Code, brokers, shipping lines, DGFT licenses), digital signatures, prescribed code usages, and centralized Bond Management are required. Automated workflows cover self assessment on B/E generation, appraisal, RMS facilitation, examinations, duty payment (including e payment), license/TRA debits and bond linkage for conditional exemptions and provisional assessments.

Finished leather classification and CLRI testing determine export licensing and duty applicability; appeal available within thirty days.
The reply confirms prior provision of item-wise shipping bill numbers and states that items listed under the DGFT public notice constitute finished leather exportable without licence; new types require CLRI testing and certification. To prevent misclassification, consignments are sampled with CLRI, tested, and LEO issued only after NOC from CLRI or a leather expert, which negates applicability of the claimed duty. An administrative appeal may be filed within 30 days.

Sample drawal procedure for imported toys: sealed samples to be tested at NABL labs with Test Bond and warehousing steps.
Importers must apply to draw test samples of toys, nominate a NABL accredited laboratory, specify pieces and tests, and justify requests for more than two pieces. Appraising officers will draw up to three pieces per item in the presence of the importer, seal them, and hand them over in sealed condition; the importer must submit the NABL laboratory's acknowledgment of sealed sample receipt within fifteen days. The importer must furnish a Test Bond equal to the value of the goods and may warehouse the remainder. After lab reports, the importer shall file an ex-bond bill of entry and follow the public notice warehousing procedure.

Surety and security requirement eased for concessional-duty imports, with graded bank guarantee limits and conditions.
Clarification sets graded norms for surety, bank guarantee or cash security to obtain concessional-duty benefits: government entities are exempt; Authorized Economic Operators and compliant GST-registered manufacturers/service providers must provide surety equal to duty foregone or a bank guarantee/cash security up to 5% of duty foregone if surety is unavailable; other importers face up to 25% bank guarantee/cash security. Duty foregone is computed by reference to duties absent the concessional procedure. Commissioner may direct higher security up to 100% with written reasons; relaxed terms require no prosecutions in the prior three financial years. Consignment-wise guarantees and self-renewal clauses are permitted.

Recovery of drawback for non realization of export proceeds - exporters urged to seek personal hearing or face adjudication on records.
Recovery of drawback is being pursued against exporters who failed to furnish proof of realization of export proceeds as required by prior circulars; notices under the Drawback Rules were issued, many returned undelivered. Exporters listed in the annexure must contact the Deputy Commissioner, Drawback BRC Monitoring Cell, Chennai IV for personal hearing during the stated period or the show cause notices will be decided on available records. Contact numbers for the BRC cell and officers are provided for clarifications.

Self sealing and e sealing procedure extension: effective period for implementation has been extended; compliance guidance issued.
The procedure authorizing self sealing and e sealing of containerized export cargo at factory and approved warehouse premises under paragraph 6(iii) of the Public Notice is extended, maintaining the described mechanism for obtaining and applying self seals/e seals. This extension aligns with administrative amendments to Customs reorganisation timelines and stakeholders are asked to report implementation difficulties to the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner, FSP Cell, JNCH.

Sample forwarding to designated outside laboratories: direct transmission allowed, subject to prescribed sampling and procedural requirements.
Samples for testing of specified items may be forwarded directly by Customs field formations to designated outside laboratories as listed in the circular's annexure; field formations must follow the procedure in Para (3) and adhere to sampling instructions issued by the Commissionerate when dispatching samples.

Delegation of recovery powers to Assistant Commissioner enables initiation of recovery under Customs Act and Finance Act.
The Commissioner of GST & Central Excise, Aurangabad delegated authority to the Assistant Commissioner, Tax Recovery Cell to initiate recovery proceedings for Central Excise arrears under the Customs Act and for Service Tax arrears under the Finance Act, to expedite arrears collection within the GST & Central Excise office in Aurangabad.

All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback amended with enhanced rates for select goods and reclassification for polypropylene mats.
Amendments adjust the All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback effective from 25.01.2018, increasing rates/caps for specified marine products, selected rubber articles, leather goods, wool yarns and fabrics, glass handicrafts, bicycles, and certain man made textile nets; reducing rates/caps for specified chemicals; and deleting tariff item 391802 so polypropylene mats are reclassified under tariff item 460101 with the existing rate/cap.