Customs impersonation alert: Do not pay alleged customs clearance charges for foreign parcel; report the attempt.
The notice warns that third parties contact Indian nationals by phone, e mail and SMS alleging lottery winnings and demanding payment for customs clearance or other charges for foreign parcels, provides bank account details for remittance, and states that the Customs Department is not involved; the public is advised not to pay and may report such demands to law enforcement.

Customs EDI migration centralises document processing and revises submission, payment messaging and issuance procedures.
Migration of ICD, Whitefield operations to a centrally hosted Customs EDI platform will centralize document numbering and electronic duty-payment messaging, require mandatory temporary scroll generation before dbk scroll creation, shift issuance of certain officer-signed documents from service-centre operators to designated customs officers, and impose pre-migration submission and cash-queue clearance obligations to prevent data loss; helpdesk contacts are provided for operational support and manual clearances will cover the cutover interval.

Transaction value: post warehousing sales do not qualify as transaction value for customs assessment under Section 14.
The Board clarifies that under Section 14 the transaction value is the price when goods are sold for export to India for delivery at importation, and a sale effected after warehousing in India is not a sale for export or in the course of international trade and therefore does not qualify as the transaction value; accordingly original value determined at filing of the into bond Bill of Entry need not be redetermined and pending assessments should be finalized in line with this view.

Administrative transfer of EOUs to Central Excise aligns jurisdiction while preserving current procedures; trade to seek clarifications.
Administrative control of 100% EOU/EHTP/STP units is transferred from Customs to the jurisdictional Central Excise Commissionerates effective 1 June 2010; this is an administrative realignment to aid uniform administration and GST transition. Existing procedures, documentation and processing for EOUs will continue unchanged pending written clarifications and designated proper officers will be notified by Trade Notice. Ports and specified cargo complexes remain under Customs. Trade is to submit specific queries within the stipulated period for departmental written clarifications and transitional instructions.

Common adjudicating authority appointed: show cause notice reassigned for adjudication to Commissioner of Central Excise (Adjudication)-I.
The Board, exercising powers under customs notifications and the Customs Act, assigns the show cause notice issued by the Additional Director General, DRI (Hqs), New Delhi in the matter of M/s Nehru Place Hotels Ltd. and others to the Commissioner of Central Excise (Adjudication)-I, New Customs House, New Delhi, directing that Commissioner to adjudicate the notice and take all adjudicatory steps necessary under the applicable adjudication procedure.

Special Public Prosecutor engagement revised: three year appointment, fee schedule, travel allowances, duties, reporting and payment conditions.
SPPs are appointed for three years, renewable once; either side may terminate with one month's notice. The order prescribes appearance fees (district: effective Rs.1,500, non effective Rs.500; High Court: effective Rs.3,000, non effective Rs.1,000), drafting fees (Rs.400/Rs.500), 10% clerkage, out of headquarters daily fee Rs.400, travel and hotel reimbursements (hotel max Rs.400/day, conveyance lump sum Rs.200), consolidated Rs.800 for criminal revision drafting, written opinion Rs.1,000, and a 25% deduction for late provision of certified acquittal judgments. No retainer; duties include record keeping, appearances, assistance to officers, forwarding judgments with comments, reporting, and billing within three months.

Extension of warehousing period under Section 61 requires timely advance applications; non compliance risks debonding and duty interest.
Extension under Section 61 requires complete applications specifying reasons, with first extensions filed at least one month in advance and second or further extensions filed at least two months in advance at the Customs House addressed to the competent authority; goods must be made available for Appraiser and Examiner inspection. Non compliance will lead to non consideration of extension requests and initiation of debonding with duty and interest liability.

Bonded warehouse licensing: prescribed documentary, security and financial guarantees and cost-recovery for officer services required.
Prescribes uniform documentary, site, insurance and financial security requirements for grant and renewal of Customs Bonded Warehouse licences under sections 57/58, including company/partner particulars, title or lease, detailed site plans, comprehensive insurance, a General (Custodian) Bond with corresponding surety and solvency evidence, and additional cash deposit or bank guarantee requirements for sensitive or hazardous goods. Renewal applications must be submitted in advance. For 100% export-oriented units, export-zone permissions, specific bonds, bank guarantees or FDRs, attested lists of plant and IEC documentation are additionally required. Custodians must reimburse Customs officer service charges or pay prescribed MOT/service fees for continuous attendance.

Export documentation completeness: ensure certificates fully match consignments or customs may query or examine shipments.
Exporters and CHAs must ensure full, clear descriptions on Shipping Bills and invoices and must present agency certificates only when complete and directly correlatable to the consignment. Completeness includes identifiable consignment references on the certificate and agency stamps and officer signatures on every page of annexures; absence of such completeness may lead to Customs queries and examination.

Import control for ship breaking requires pre-arrival documentation, NOC, boarding, supervised destruction and provisional duty payment.
Import of vessels for breaking up requires pre-arrival submission of ship particulars and a hazardous-waste assessment for desk review by the Port Trust, State Pollution Control Board and Customs; the Superintendent, Preventive (General) must complete review within two working days and may grant or refuse a NOC for anchorage subject to internal review and appeal. After anchorage, Customs-led boarding verifies submissions, quantifies oil and inventories wireless equipment; beaching permission follows on satisfactory verification. Entry inwards permits filing of the Bill of Entry, provisional duty on first-check examination, a stamped undertaking to submit further documents and destroy wireless equipment, and final assessment after supervised destruction leading to cutting permission.

Customs pass verification: only authorised CHA pass holders may sign or submit customs documents and must be verified.
Only authorised CHA owners or employees holding a valid New Custom House Customs Pass of Category F or G may sign customs-related documents, and must record their cardex number and pass type under the signature. Document submission/handling at Air Cargo Complex, Sahar is restricted to persons holding a CHA Customs Pass valid on the date and linked to the CHA appointed by the importer/exporter; Service Centre staff and Customs officers will verify pass validity and nexus to the CHA.

Assignment of adjudication of a customs show cause notice centralises responsibility with the designated adjudicating commissioner.
The Board, invoking Notification No. 37/2003-Customs (N.T.) under section 4(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, assigns Show Cause Notice F.No. DRI/AZU/INV-19/2008 dated 12.04.2010 issued by the Additional Director General, DRI, Ahmedabad in the matter of M/s. Axiom International and others to the Commissioner of Customs (Adjudication) for adjudication.

Special Additional Duty refund: streamlined acceptance of VAT/ST challans with auditor certificate and consolidated certificate requirement.
Acceptance of copies of VAT/ST challans accompanied by a consolidated statutory auditor/Chartered Accountant certificate in the prescribed proforma will be allowed for sanction of Special Additional Duty refunds, replacing the need for individual certification of each challan; original challans may be examined in doubtful cases. Four previously required auditor certificates are merged into a single Annexure S which must verify sale invoices, correlate VAT/ST payment or input tax adjustments with sales, and certify non-passing of duty burden, while a revised Annexure-A requires import and sale quantities for correct refund calculation.

Delayed filing of import manifests may be authenticated in EDI when penalty is unwarranted; otherwise adjudication and payment required.
Effective practice: where the competent officer finds penalty unwarranted, delayed filing of Import General Manifests and Console General Manifests will be authenticated in the EDI system without issuing an order; where penalty is warranted the officer will adjudicate, a personal hearing will be given, Order in Original will be issued, and delayed filing in EDI will be allowed only after remittance of the penalty. Show cause notices may be waived on request.

Customs warehousing requirement: provisional storage in licensed bonded warehouses pending sealed laboratory test reports for imported food consignments.
Imports of non-perishable food items must comply with the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act and pending test reports may be stored only in public or private bonded warehouses licensed under Sections 57 and 58 or at Section 9 notified warehousing stations. Entry Inwards under Section 31 and appraisal precede mandatory sampling: three sealed samples (one sent to an authorised laboratory with a serially numbered Test Memo; two retained). Storage requires endorsement on the Bill of Entry, custodian oversight, and a Bond and Bank Guarantee; clearance for home consumption follows receipt of a satisfactory sealed test report.

Electronic shipping bill processing under ICES 1.5 centralizes export filing and integrates scheme registrations and drawback credit.
Launch of the ICES 1.5 centralised EDI platform at Magdalla and Dahej ports enables electronic filing and automated processing of export shipping bills, subject to mandatory pre filing registrations (IE Code, CHA/shipping agent, bank account/AD/IFSC, DGFT licences) and standardised coding. The procedure prescribes service center and remote filing through ICEGATE, checklist verification, system generated shipping bill numbers, customs examination and sampling recorded electronically, escalation and query mechanisms, scheme specific rules for Drawback/DEPB/EPCG/DFIA/EOU, and integrated foreign exchange realisation monitoring with specified helpdesk and grievance channels.

Customs EDI system rollout enables centralized electronic filing and automated export shipping bill processing and scheme validation.
Centralized ICES 1.5 electronic processing at ICD The Thar Dry Port mandates pre filing registration of exporters, CHAs, shipping agents, authorised dealer bank accounts and DGFT licences; prescribes electronic filing via Service Centres or Remote EDI with printed checklists, system generated Shipping Bill numbers, officer workflows for physical examination, sampling, "Let Export" approval triggering Shipping Bill printouts, and scheme specific electronic handling for Drawback, DEPB and EPCG/DES including bank registration for direct credit and automated DGFT message exchange.

Access to customs import-export data available on subscription with specified fees, delivery media, and payment procedure required.
Daily lists of import and export consignments through Air Cargo Complex, Sahar, Mumbai will be available to subscribers and will specify key transaction fields (date, origin/destination, description, ITC (HS) code, quantity, value, and carrier). Lists will be issued on CD or pen drive. Subscription is required, subscribers must state intended use, and fees for half yearly and yearly options must be paid by demand draft in favor of the Assistant Commissioner of Customs (EDI) payable at Mumbai, with the draft and subscription letter delivered to the Assistant Commissioner (EDI).

Validity extension of public notice for Inland Waterways Authority of India continued under customs administration.
The validity of Public Notice No. 02/2005, earlier extended by successive notices, is further extended up to 31.03.2011 in respect of M/s. Inland Waterways Authority of India. The notice records a further administrative extension of the public notice for the specified entity.

Exporter genuineness verification required: specified documents must be filed before first exports through the port are permitted.
For exporters exporting through Tuticorin Port for the first time, at least three specified documents must be submitted to the Assessing Officer-examples include VAT/Sales Tax registration, a bank certificate confirming satisfactory account maintenance, past export details, balance sheet, or last tax return-to verify exporter genuineness; Clearing House Agents must assist under Regulation 13 and exports will be permitted once three documents are filed, effective immediately.