Validity extension of public notice for B.I.S.N. Jetty continued under customs administration for the specified inland waterways facility.
Validity of Public Notice No. 02/2005 relating to the B.I.S.N. Jetty of the Inland Waterways Authority of India was extended further up to 31.07.2011. The extension followed an earlier continuation up to 31.03.2011 and maintained the operative effect of the notice for the specified jetty under the customs administration at Kolkata.

Adjudication assignment: transfer of a customs show cause notice to the Commissioner of Customs (Export) for adjudication.
The Board, invoking powers under the Notification issued under sub section (1) of section 4 of the Customs Act, 1962, assigns Show Cause Notice No.DRI/MZU/E/34/2007 dated 1.10.2008 (M/s Shah Trading & Others) issued by the Additional Director General, DRI MZU Mumbai, to the Commissioner of Customs (Export), Chennai for adjudication.

Assignment of Adjudication: transfer of specified customs show cause notices to a different commissionerate for adjudication.
Under Notification No. 15/2002 Customs (N.T.) issued under sub section (1) of section 4 of the Customs Act, 1962, the Board assigns adjudication of Show Cause Notice No. S/IV/17/2009 OS Factory (Imp) and S/IV/17/2009 OS Factory (Seizures), both dated 25.5.2010 in the matter of M/s Hewlett Packard India Sales Pvt. Ltd. & Others, to the Commissioner of Customs, ACC (Import & General), New Custom House, New Delhi for adjudication.

Customs arrival declarations now require declaration of satellite phones and specified foreign exchange thresholds on Form D upon arrival.
The Ministry of Home Affairs' Notification GSR 113(E) revises Form D to require arriving passengers to declare plants/planting material, meat and related products, satellite phones, and specified foreign currency/foreign exchange instruments; customs authorities must ensure correct form use, enforce declarations at the Red Channel, update passenger instructions on allowances and prohibited items, issue standing orders, widely publicise the changes, and report implementation difficulties to the Board.

ICES 1.5 migration: new CFS codes issued; stakeholders must adopt updated codes and report implementation issues.
Migration to ICES 1.5 requires new standardized codes for Container Freight Stations; the notice lists the allocated code for each CFS and directs Port Terminals, CHAs, carriers, shipping agents and console agents to adopt these codes in the customs EDI system, with stakeholders asked to report any implementation difficulties to the issuing office.

ICES transition procedures: manual registration, inspection and out of charge allowed pending system migration and regularisation.
Interim procedures for ICES 1.5 migration permit manual registration, examination and manual Out of Charge where system-generated challans, payment entries or prints are unavailable. Shed AO/Supdts may verify duty payment by receipted bank challan, record examination on the hard copy of the assessed Bill of Entry, endorse the Bill for delivery and maintain a register and supporting documents to regularise records in the system after migration. All manual processes must be regularised post-migration and compliance reports submitted to DC/AC (Import Docks).

Manual IGM filing required during ICES upgrade; EDI re-filing via ICEGATE mandatory when system resumes.
During the ICES 1.5 upgrade outage, manual IGM filing will be used with Import Noting Section issuing sequential manual IGM numbers; manual IGM dates and Entry Inward dates will be legally recognised, but carriers who file manual IGMs must re-file the IGM via ICEGATE when EDI resumes and all manual entries must subsequently be entered into the system. Transshipment permissions will be issued manually following prescribed forms and submission of carrier authorisations and landing certificates for bond re crediting; boarding officers will manually endorse Entry Inwards and Outward Sailing Reports and maintain registers for later reconciliation.

Transshipment procedure: simplified ramp-to-ramp transfer for eligible pre-sorted international cargo under CTM and supervision.
Simplified transshipment permits ramp-to-ramp or tail-to-tail transfer of international transshipment cargo in pre-sorted containers that do not require segregation, under preventive supervision, on payment of MOT and subject to the Cargo Transfer Manifest (CTM) procedure, without routing such consignments to cargo warehouses; containers requiring segregation continue under existing procedures.

Removal of Chartered Engineers Certificate requirement for certain export consignments permits sample testing and accepts inhouse test reports.
The requirement for a Chartered Engineers Certificate for each export consignment under Advance Licence/DEEC Scheme is deleted from the Annexure to Public Notice No.100/2010 and Public Notice No.02/2011. Sealed samples may be sent for testing when necessary, and recognised exporters' inhouse Test Reports will be accepted.

Customs cargo service provider obligations now require specified infrastructure, security, insurance and bonds before handling import or export goods.
Amendments require Customs Cargo Service Providers to fulfil specified infrastructure, security, operational and financial conditions before custody or handling of imported or export goods, including provision of specialized premises and equipment, EDI and office facilities, residential and transport arrangements for Customs staff, insurance, bonds and bank guarantees, publication of a Schedule of Charges including on their website, indemnity to the Commissioner, and strict compliance with safety, security and hazardous goods handling standards and contingency arrangements.

Branded goods levy clarified: tariff valuation, registration duties, and exemptions for returned duty-paid stock established.
Notifications dated 24 March 2011 revise excise and customs treatment: tariff valuation for branded garments/made-ups reduced to 45% of RSP and wholesale price deemed tariff where RSP is undisclosed; returned duty-paid stock exempt up to 10% of prior-year clearances subject to procedure and non-availment of Cenvat; brand owners are primarily liable unless a job-worker is authorised; SSI eligibility computed on tariff value. A one percent excise regime for 130 items includes simplified compliance for exclusive manufacturers; mobile handsets and silicon wafers receive distinct treatments. Customs exemptions, concessional rates for printer parts, CKD kit duty adjustments, and a five percent CVD parity rule where Cenvat is availed are also clarified.

Timely Action Taken Notes must be furnished irrespective of litigation, with mandated internal tracking and reconciliation mechanisms.
The Board prescribes a time bound procedure for preparing and submitting ATNs/ATRs to C&AG irrespective of litigation, with specified internal transmission deadlines, Commissionerate replies in a prescribed proforma, compilation and Member (Customs) approval prior to submission, and follow-up to accommodate C&AG vetting and subsequent queries.

Radioactive contamination testing: additional accredited laboratories approved to screen food imports from Japan before customs clearance.
Monitoring of food imports from Japan for radioactive contamination requires use of accredited testing facilities; two additional laboratories have been granted accreditation to test food items imported from Japan and are to be used alongside existing accredited facilities for sampling, testing and customs screening as part of import compliance procedures.

Project import reporting: mandatory quarterly progress reports and amended registration requirements enable monitoring and risk of de registration.
Projects registered for assessment under CTH 98.01 must be registered for a specified period; reconciliation statements and plant site verification reports with supporting documents are to be submitted within three months of that period's expiry for contract finalisation. An amended Annexure A is prescribed for registration. Beneficiaries must file a prescribed Quarterly Progress Report, with self certified Bills of Entry, reporting CIF values, import and installation status and bill of entry details; quarters run from April each financial year and reports are due within seven days of the month following each quarter. Repeated non submission may lead to de registration.

Centralized Bond Management enables a single bond account across ports for IPR interdictions, requiring BRN and IPR Cell notice.
A web enabled Centralized Bond Management module under ARTS creates a single running Centralized Bond Account with a Bond Registration Number (BRN) usable at all Customs locations for IPR interdiction proceedings. Rights holders with valid UPRNs may migrate by submitting the prescribed centralized bond and security; multiple UPRNs in the same name can be linked to one BRN. Credits (bonds/bank guarantees), debits, and partial re credits are recorded and trigger auto emails. Use of the BRN for interdiction requires written instruction to the IPR Cell and maintenance of sufficient balance, with top ups or supplementary bonds available at the BRN location.

Online transmission of trade licences: DGFT licences auto-populated in Customs EDI, must be quoted on Shipping Bills and Bills of Entry.
Online transmission of DES and EPCG licences from DGFT to Customs via ICES 1.5 is effective at the port from 21.03.2011; DGFT licences issued on or after 1 March 2009 will be automatically available in Customs EDI. Exporters and importers must quote the DGFT file/licence number on Shipping Bills and Bills of Entry respectively. Transitional rules require substitution of manual registration numbers with the DGFT file/licence number for licences issued after 1 March 2009 but before implementation. The prior manual registration procedure remains for licences issued up to the pre-implementation cut-off.

Bond registration requirement: Fresh transit and transhipment bonds required for container movement; bank guarantees may be reused.
Shipping agents, shipping lines and Main Line Operators must register fresh Container Bonds for multiple debits under ICES Version 1.5; existing debited bonds will be reaccredited manually and previously submitted bank guarantees remain usable. For movement to CFSs, acceptable bonds are Transit Bond (TR) or General Bond (GB); for movement to ICDs, Transhipment Bond (TP) is required. Both 1st party and 3rd party bonds are permitted, with a one-time authority required from the 3rd party. Carrier agents/MLOs must open fresh PLA accounts for transhipment fee debits and bond rates remain as previously prescribed.

Customs EDI switchover suspends registration and issuance of Release Advices, advising importers/exporters to refrain from transfers.
Implementation of Customs EDI System version 1.5 requires temporary suspension of registration of Incoming Release Advices and suspension of issuance of Release Advice for licences registered at JNCH until the new version is initialized; importers, exporters and CHAs must not transfer or seek issuance of RAs to or from JNCH during the suspension, and RA/TRA staff must comply while reporting any implementation difficulties to the Commissioner.

Classification of software licenses: paper licenses are documents of title while PUK cards are printed matter, affecting customs valuation and indirect tax treatment.
Paper licenses conveying the right to use software are classifiable as documents of title and should be placed under the tariff item for documents conveying the right to use IT software; PUK cards are printed matter. Packaged software with affixed retail sale price is liable to excise duty/CVD on the combined retail price (software plus license) and exempt from service tax under the IT software category; where RSP is not required and valuation follows section 4 rules, excise duty/CVD excludes the value representing the right to use, which remains subject to service tax.

Radioactive contamination monitoring: Japanese food imports require FSSAI-authorized BRIT testing and No Objection Certificate before clearance.
FSSAI must have authorised officers sample and arrange BRIT testing of food imports from Japan for radioactive contamination, and Customs clearance at ports, airports, ICDs/CFSs and land customs stations is to be granted only after FSSAI issues a No Objection Certificate; a Public Notice and Standing Order should be issued for guidance.