Export manifest compliance and EGM error rectification affect processing of export incentives and post-export benefits.
Customs authorities issued a public notice identifying EGM errors for May 2026 and reiterated the requirement under Section 41 of the Customs Act, 1962 for delivery of the departure manifest before departure. The notice states that incorrect or missing departure manifests may delay export incentives and directs exporters, customs brokers, shipping lines and others to rectify the errors in accordance with the specified standing orders or file the departure manifests as applicable.

Test report validity streamlining enables final assessment of Bills of Entry and reduces provisional assessment for identical imported goods.
Import assessment of goods covered by prescribed test reports is streamlined by treating a valid test report issued by CRCL or other accredited laboratories as valid for six months for identical goods matching grade, specifications, country of origin and supplier. Where such a report is available and not older than six months, Bills of Entry are to be assessed finally and provisional assessment is not to be made solely because a fresh report is unavailable. The procedure does not apply where Partner Government Agencies themselves draw the sample.

Bank guarantee exemption for Advance Authorisation and EPCG licences depends on truthful disclosure of past penalties.
Authorisation holders and Customs Brokers seeking exemption from bank guarantee or cash security for registration of Advance Authorisation and EPCG licences must submit a complete, true, and correct declaration or affidavit regarding penalty history. The exemption is available only if the licence holder has not been penalized under the Customs Act, the Central Excise Act, FEMA, or the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act during the previous three financial years. Any false or misleading declaration may attract penal action under the Customs Act, including section 117.

Custodian appointment for import, export and transshipped goods at Haldia Dock Complex under customs law.
Appointment of Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, formerly Kolkata Port Trust, as the Custodian for import, export and transshipped goods handled at the Haldia Dock Complex (INHAL1) under Section 45 of the Customs Act, 1962. The notice assigns responsibility for custody of cargo at the specified customs facility.

Customs area de-notification follows relocation of CFS operations to a newly notified site.
De-notification of a customs area follows the shifting of a container freight station's operations from its earlier premises to a new notified location. The entity had previously been appointed as custodian and customs cargo service provider for the old CFS site, and its name had been changed from the earlier corporate name to the present one. A separate customs area and custodianship were already notified for the new location where operations had commenced, and the former premises had become non-operational and unusable for CFS activities. In exercise of powers under Section 8(a) of the Customs Act, 1962, the customs area measuring 36,456 square meters at the old Palaspe premises is de-notified.

Allow for Shipment procedure streamlined for pending SEZ export FCL containers under Export Transhipment Permit.
Pending Shipping Bills for SEZ export FCL containers moved under Export Transhipment Permit require submission of the Shipping Bill with Let Export Order, E-Gate Pass, Bill of Lading, and an undertaking that the container has not been taken back to town. The documents may be filed with the Superintendent, Preventive General (Tech), JNCH, by email or physically where required. The notice is meant to expedite disposal of pending cases, while the procedure in Public Notice No. 21/2025 continues for regular cases.

Risk-based selective vessel boarding streamlines customs clearance while preserving strict declaration compliance and boarding accountability.
Risk-based selective boarding of vessels at Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House is to be carried out on advance risk profiling instead of as a routine requirement. The screening is to consider compliance history, voyage details, last port of call, current itinerary, cargo profile and declarations relating to ship stores, crew effects and vessel satellite devices, so that discrepancies, unusual quantities and unauthorized equipment can be identified. Terminal operators must send a weekly tentative vessel list, the Superintendent (Admin) must grant boarding clearance after document review and report weekly on boardings and reasons, and the Master and shipping agent must ensure strict compliance and accurate advance declarations where a vessel is not boarded.

Customs pass digitisation extends manual pass validity while preserving existing terms and conditions.
Manual Customs Passes issued under categories F, G and H are to be replaced with digitally verifiable passes issued through the Customs Brokers Licensing Management System (CBLMS) online portal. The validity of manual Customs Passes, earlier due to become invalid after 31.05.2026, is extended up to 30.06.2026, while all other facilities, terms and conditions under the earlier public notice remain unchanged.

E-seal verification at export gates enables ICEGATE validation, automated clearance, and fallback physical checks for unreadable seals.
Universal e-seal readers at New Mangalore Port enable real-time scanning of export container e-seals, ICEGATE validation of exporter-entered data, and gate-entry confirmation for verification. The system supports auto-goods registration and auto-out of charge for eligible export shipping bills, while unreadable e-seals are subject to physical verification by Customs officers using handheld devices. The custodian must provide weekly reporting on scanned, unmapped, and physically verified e-seals.

Credential sharing prohibition governs access to protected systems, with strict password discipline and mandatory compromise reporting.
Sharing of user IDs, passwords, one-time passwords and other authentication factors for access to CBIC protected systems is strictly prohibited. The authorised user must keep credentials under exclusive personal control, must not record, store, transmit or leave them accessible to others, and must not share them with colleagues, vendors, contractual support personnel or helpdesk resources. On suspected or actual compromise, the user must disable the user identifier, report the incident, and preserve the device and records for investigation. Sharing credentials or using another person's credentials may attract penal action under the relevant laws and service rules.

Customs Brokers' Association membership becomes mandatory for brokers operating where a recognised association exists within their jurisdiction.
Customs Brokers operating in a jurisdiction with a registered and recognised Customs Brokers' Association must enrol as members of that association and cannot hold membership in more than one association within the same jurisdiction. The Board may extend the time for compliance where circumstances beyond control prevent timely fulfilment of obligations and other conditions are satisfied. Customs Brokers under Hyderabad Customs jurisdiction must enrol with the recognised association and submit a registration certificate as proof of compliance by the specified deadline.

Foreign Trade Policy clarification requests must follow a routed mechanism, with direct field correspondence to DGFT disallowed.
Foreign Trade Policy interpretational issues arising in Customs field formations are to be routed through a streamlined mechanism to ensure institutional consistency, uniformity in implementation and prompt resolution. Customs officers are directed not to correspond directly with DGFT Headquarters or Regional Authorities for clarification on FTP provisions or related policy conditions; such issues must first be examined at the Commissionerate or Zonal level, and only matters requiring policy-level clarification after due examination may be referred to the Board by the concerned Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner.

Custodianship and customs cargo service provider approval renewed for Central Warehousing Corporation Impex Park CFS.
Custodianship and Customs Cargo Service Provider approval for Central Warehousing Corporation, Impex Park CFS are renewed for five years from 01.04.2026. The custodian appointment covers imported goods until clearance, warehousing, or transhipment, and export cargo until export through Jawaharlal Nehru Port. The approval is subject to compliance with the Customs Act, 1962, the Handling of Cargo in Customs Area Regulations, 2009, and related instruments, and remains liable to review for non-compliance.

Cargo examination e-scheduling streamlines import processing with transparent slot allocation, notifications and online rescheduling through ICEGATE.
System-based e-scheduling of cargo examination through ICEGATE 2.0 allows importers, IEC holders and authorised Customs Brokers to electronically schedule, view and reschedule examination of registered imported goods, with automated notifications and audit trails. The facility allocates examination slots by system availability, enables custodians to plan cargo placement in advance, and requires system managers to assign examiners to custodian codes so that scheduling can function for cargo under those custodians. Assistant/Deputy Commissioners may modify, reschedule or remove requests, while assigned examiners may mark examinations complete or incomplete and record examination time.

Part delivery of import consignments follows a consolidated customs procedure with ICES recording, examination, and final Out of Charge.
Consolidated customs procedure governs part delivery of import consignments where container(s) have landed at the port terminal and only part of the consignment has reached the CFS. Importers must apply to the Dy./Assistant Commissioner (Docks) with documentary evidence, container-wise packing list and proof of duty payment, after which permission may be granted on merits and the approved application uploaded on e-Sanchit in ICES. Examination, record maintenance, endorsements in ICES, and final Out of Charge are prescribed for successive part clearances.

Direct port delivery conversion facility extended for eligible containers to ease evacuation from terminals.
Conversion of DPD-CFS status containers to DPD-DPD status containers is available for importers or their agents seeking direct lifting of cargo from the import yard because of temporary evacuation difficulties at terminals. The request must be emailed to the DPD-RMS Cell and is limited to fully facilitated Bills of Entry, where any scanned container is not found suspicious. Requests are to be processed on top priority the same day, with approval updated on the JNCH website.

Cargo handling during customs examination must be careful, supervised, and supported by adequate custodian facilities and advance cargo disclosure.
Customs stakeholders were advised to ensure careful handling of cargo during examination, including de-stuffing, opening of packages, re-packing and stuffing back into containers. The custodian must provide adequate infrastructure, equipment and manpower, and the examination process should occur in the presence of the custodian's representative and an importer's representative.

Customs Area declaration enables temporary DPD cargo storage at a segregated parking plaza under strict handling conditions.
A temporarily expanded 9.22-acre land parcel at the Centralized Parking Plaza, JNPA, is declared as a Customs Area for storage of Direct Port Delivery import goods under Section 8(a) of the Customs Act, 1962. The area is to be managed by the authorised operator under the Handling of Cargo in Customs Area Regulations, 2009, with mandatory physical segregation, prohibition on hazardous cargo, and responsibility on the custodian and operator for safe storage and transit of DPD goods.

Late fee waiver for Bills of Entry filed late after ICEGATE Error 999 disrupted trade facilitation under customs procedures.
Late filing of Bills of Entry under AIFTA and SAPTA notifications was linked to Error 999 in the ICEGATE system on 13.05.2026 and 14.05.2026. As a trade facilitation measure, the late fee or penalty for delayed filing caused by that error, for consignments landed or arrived during that period, was waived. Trade members facing difficulty were asked to notify the Department.

Customs facilitation measures for Strait of Hormuz maritime disruptions continue, with existing conditions remaining unchanged through the extended validity period.
Customs facilitation measures issued under Section 143AA of the Customs Act, 1962, to address maritime-route disruptions arising from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, are extended until 30 June 2026. The existing facilities, terms and conditions under the specified Customs circulars remain unchanged. Implementation difficulties may be reported through the designated official email channel.