Empanelment suspension of a chartered engineer pending further notice; stakeholders advised to avoid inconvenience regarding valuation assignments.
The empanelment of Shri. Ajith P, listed in the earlier public notice for empanelled chartered engineers conducting examination and valuation of imported second hand machinery, is suspended until further notice, and stakeholders are advised to take note to avoid inconvenience.

SEZ work allocation centralises jurisdiction and designates officers for nodal coordination, adjudication, refunds, appeals and bonded warehouses.
Allocation of responsibility for SEZ related matters assigns a nodal Assistant Commissioner in the SEZ Cell for SEZ work including correspondences, demands/SCNs, adjudication, review and appeal work, refunds, audit and coordination with Specified Officers and SEZ units; separate Assistant Commissioners handle Review (review and appeal), Refunds (SEZ), Legal (appeals to higher courts) and Bonds (public and private bonded warehouses attached to MEPZ-SEZ at Chennai Airport). Adjudication will be exercised by officers as per powers under Section 122 of the Customs Act, 1962 and Customs Circular 24/2011.

GST migration delays and a proposed locking mechanism for GSTR-1/GSTR-2A require technical escalation and policy review.
Delay in GST migration was raised where submitted portal data remained "Submitted and pending for verification" beyond normal processing; the Chair asked affected taxpayers to provide migration token numbers and requested trade members to e-mail migration difficulties so the Commissionerate could escalate technical cases. A representation sought a procedural facility to permit "locking" of GSTR-1 data based on recipient-validated Form GSTR-2A entries; the Chair observed this required a policy change and advised taking the matter to higher authorities with formal written representations for recommendation.

Electronic Delivery Order System promotes faster cargo clearance by permitting inspection without manual delivery orders, release still requires DO.
Inspection of imported goods may be carried out by Customs officers without insisting on a physical Delivery Order, though cargo will only be released upon production of the Delivery Order. Stakeholders are requested to adopt the electronic Delivery Order System, enabling electronic generation, receipt, invoicing, and payment of delivery-order charges; this does not change existing Customs procedures or custodians' verification and out-of-charge requirements.

Round-the-clock customs clearance extended to all bills of entry and MOT charges exempt at attached CFSs.
Round the clock customs clearance is extended to all bills of entry at designated 24x7 ports and air cargo complexes and MOT is exempted for services rendered by customs officers at those locations. CFSs attached exclusively to 24x7 sea ports are treated as an extension of the port, and no MOT shall be collected for customs services performed within such CFSs, including for factory stuffed containers and exports under free shipping bills or where benefits are claimed.

First time importer document verification: assessment proceeds but Out of Charge withheld until Group NOC confirms document acceptance.
Group Assessing Officers will raise queries for prescribed documents from first time importers; they will assess bills of entry without awaiting those documents but must instruct the Import Shed Officer to withhold grant of Out of Charge until a Group NOC confirming acceptance of the prescribed documents is produced. First time importers may alternatively obtain pre-filing scrutiny from the Assessment Group; if proof of payment is unavailable pre-filing, remaining documents may be scrutinized and the missing proof treated under the post-filing procedure. RMS-facilitated entries require submission of documents to the Shed Officer.

Direct Port Delivery facility for Authorised Economic Operators enables expedited release of import and export containers pending port verification.
AEO certificate holders may apply to the Principal Commissioner of Customs, Ahmedabad for Direct Port Delivery/Direct Port Entry; permission is to be granted within seven working days, subject to verification of import/export container volumes by the relevant port, with 100% EOUs to follow the prior Public Notice procedure.

Custodianship of the Perishable Cargo Terminal extended, subject to statutory conditions and bank guarantee validity.
Extension of custodianship of the Perishable Cargo Terminal at Air Cargo Complex, Sahar, Andheri, Mumbai is granted to M/s Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd. under Section 45(2) of the Customs Act until the validity of the bank guarantee. The custodian has executed a bond and furnished a bank guarantee as security for safe custody of perishable export cargo. Operations will be governed by Chapter VIII of the Customs Act, the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, prior notification terms, and other applicable rules, and the Commissioner may terminate the appointment after assigning reasons and hearing the custodian.

Cabotage relaxation permission allows foreign-flag passenger ships to call multiple Indian ports subject to customs duties and baggage rules.
Granting cabotage relaxation permission permits foreign-flag passenger ships to call at multiple Indian ports for domestic passengers, with jurisdictional discretion to deploy escort officers. There is no exemption from customs duty for alcohol or products consumed onboard within Indian waters; domestic passengers cannot purchase duty-free onboard and must pay duty on any on-board purchases when disembarking. International passengers are entitled to baggage allowances under the applicable baggage rules.

Checkpoint screening requirement: public entry limited to a designated entrance with metal detector and baggage scanning enforced.
A checkpoint screening facility using a RAPISCAN 620 DV and metal detector has been installed; all public and stakeholders must enter the New Custom House via the designated main entrance where hand baggage will be screened and persons will pass through metal detectors. Entry to the Annexe Gate is restricted to officials and staff only, who must carry no bags and produce Customs-issued identification. Implementation issues must be reported to the Additional Commissioner of Customs/Prev. (General).

Manual SMTP issuance for rail bound ICD cargo mandates email/SMS notification and immediate manual generation when system fails.
When system failures prevent electronic Entry Inward or SMTP generation for cargo destined to ICDs by rail, the Boarding Officer must email CONCOR, the terminal operator and designated customs officers with the date and time of Entry Inward and send an SMS to a responsible CONCOR officer requesting manual SMTP generation. Manual SMTPs must be provided immediately on site and are issued without waiting for full vessel discharge. Delays must be reported to designated customs officers by phone or email, the Boarding Office must submit a daily proforma report with vessel and timing details, and operational difficulties escalated to the Additional/Joint Commissioner in charge of Preventive General.

Endorsement of ARE-1 may be carried out by the Superintendent granting LEO after EGM, with no document production required.
Pending Board instructions, ARE-1 endorsement may be performed at all CFSs by any Superintendent responsible for granting LEO after the EGM has been filed; no supporting documents need be provided because export details can be verified using ICES 1.5. The Customs House has implemented interim arrangements for EP copy printing and temporary deployment of officers at Punjab Conware, and has referred the larger question of discontinuing ARE-1 endorsement to the Board.

DPD facility stacking rules clarified: advance intimation and stacking code determine container placement and terminal responsibilities.
Importers availing the DPD facility must send an advance intimation by official email to the shipping line containing Bill of Lading, consignment details, the DPD Client Code and preferred CFS/transport stacking code, with copies to Customs, the CFS/Transporter and the Terminal Operator; stacking will follow the indicated Stacking Code, CFS-stacked containers will not attract shifting charges if Out of Charge is obtained before removal, and where no advance intimation exists terminals will provisionally assign DPD codes, stack separately and apply the specified clearance and time-limit procedures.

Seizure orders under Section 110: formal written orders required alongside panchnama and statutory timelines must be met.
Proper officers must pass formal seizure orders alongside panchnama stating reasons to believe goods are liable for confiscation; if seizure is impracticable, serve an order prohibiting the owner from dealing with the goods and fast-track investigations to decide seizure or release. Statutory time limits for issuing show cause notices apply regardless of provisional release. Circulate these guidelines and report implementation difficulties to the Board.

Authorized Economic Operator programme expands trade facilitation with tiered certification and enhanced customs procedural benefits.
The notice introduces a unified Authorized Economic Operator programme with tiered certification for importers/exporters and other operators, making eligible entities-including certain small and medium businesses-that demonstrate internal controls and compliance. It lists operative benefits including Direct Port Delivery and Direct Port Entry, acceptance of self certified certificates, paperless declarations, request based inspections, accelerated drawback/refund/adjudication processes, export facilitation, and deferred payment of customs duties, and identifies client relation managers for trade assistance.

Mandatory bill of entry filing imposed, with late charges and accelerated duty payment and streamlined refund treatment.
Amendments in the Finance Bill, 2017 require filing the Bill of Entry by the end of the next day after arrival at the customs station, authorize prescribed late charges for delayed filing, mandate same day payment of duty for self assessed Bills of Entry and one day payment after return for reassessed or provisional entries with interest liability, and provide that refunds of excess duty evident in self assessed or reassessed Bills of Entry are outside the scope of unjust enrichment.

Printing of Export Promotion copies limited to eligible shipping bills; exceptional printouts provided on demand to facilitate trade.
Printed Export Promotion (EP) copies will be available only for shipping bills filed on or before the cutoff; an EP Copies Print Section at Punjab Convare is operational to clear pending printouts. Routine printing of transactional documents has been discontinued per the Board Circular, but exceptional printouts (e.g., manual BoEs or on insistence of importer/exporter) will be provided on demand. Other contents of the original Public Notice remain unchanged.

Rebate of State Levies on exports: CBEC issues implementation guidance for exporters, clearing agents and trade compliance.
Rebate of State Levies (ROSL) on export of made-up articles is being implemented through an administrative circular which provides procedural direction for operationalising ROSL; customs officers are to follow the circular's measures and exporters, clearing agents and the trading public are directed to consult the departmental website for the full text and guidance.

Amendment to customs notification implements budgetary changes, requiring importers and clearing agents to follow issued guidance.
Seeks amendment of Notification No. 12/2012-Customs to implement budgetary changes through Notification No. 06/2017, which is issued for guidance to importers, clearing agents and the trading public and made available on the departmental website.

Customs duty reduction on machinery for fuel cell and biogas systems facilitates importation for setup and demonstration.
Basic Customs Duty reduced to 5% on machinery for initial setting up of fuel cell based power or demonstration systems and on balance of system components operating on biogas, bio methane or by product hydrogen; the change is notified by Notification No. 05/2017 customs and published for guidance of importers, clearing agents and the trading public via the Department of Revenue/CBEC website.