Application fee schedule amended and compliance declarations tightened for import licences under Exim Policy procedures.
The Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) fee schedule is amended to set graduated application charges and reduced rates for electronic filings across import licence types, SSI filings, duplicates, IEC and identity documents, DEPB and EPCG applications; Appendix-34 declarations now require sectoral use, import value limits relative to exports, installation and non-transfer undertakings and penal liability statements; Appendices 36-A and 17-D add a Port of Registration field; Appendix 17-D's declaration is revised for export basis, authorisation, non-duplication of duty entitlement certificates, compliance requirements and certification of installation for capital goods; EPCG licensing powers are reallocated by duty-saved thresholds.

Forward cover restriction: authorised dealers must not offer forward contracts for Resurgent India Bonds to non-resident holders.
Authorised dealers must not offer forward foreign exchange contracts to Non-Resident Indians and Overseas Corporate Bodies for Resurgent India Bonds, as such investments are not eligible for forward cover and the original terms did not envisage availability of forward cover; dealers must notify their constituents and comply with the statutory exchange control directions.

DEPB rate review requires exporters to submit prescribed data to councils for DGFT review or face automatic rate reduction.
Exporters identified as availing elevated DEPB rates must submit prescribed data and documentary evidence to their Export Promotion Councils for onward submission to DGFT; failure to provide the required material will result in reduction of the DEPB rate for the product. Identified exporters must also furnish detailed product consumption and technical documentation, including drawings, catalogues, manufacturing process descriptions and stagewise wastage, to enable review of the SION on which prior rates were fixed.

Mis-handled baggage clearance requires staged storage, mandatory re-scanning, dual custody and Customs disposal for unclaimed items.
Procedure establishes two sequential MHB storage areas-MHB-WH-I for short-term holding and MHB-WH-II for extended holding-with AOC responsible for infrastructure, AOC cards and register entries. Re-scanning is mandatory; suspected contraband or trade-quantity goods require examination, inventory and sealing in presence of witnesses and AOC before storage. Dual custody with separate locks for Customs and AOC governs access. Release requires re-screening and register formalities; authorised agents may clear baggage for passengers. Unclaimed baggage remaining in extended storage beyond the retention period will be inventoried, transferred and disposed of by Customs without further reference to carriers.

Limit on agency commission for exports maintained; commissions above the prescribed RBI limit excluded from FOB for export benefits.
Customs confirms that agency commission up to 12.5% of the f.o.b. value shall be included in f.o.b. valuation for granting export benefits under Duty Drawback, DEPB and related schemes; any agency commission exceeding that limit must be deducted from the f.o.b. value for entitlement calculations under Drawback, DEPB, Advance Licence and DFRC schemes.

Prospective amendment to tariff notification excludes gambier, prior imports eligible for benefit under earlier notification.
Amendment to Notification No. 76/86 by Notification No. 16/2003 excludes gambier prospectively. Because tribunal authority treated katha and gambier as synonymous, past imports and pending provisional assessments are to be finalized extending the benefit of Notification No. 76/86 to gambier; from the amendment date the benefit will not apply to gambier and Public Notices should be issued.

Wrongful DEPB availment on exports using duty exempt inputs prompts recovery and stricter export compliance measures.
M/s. Marina Shoes Limited wrongfully claimed DEPB Credit on leather full shoes after importing unit soles exempt from basic customs duty under the DFRC Scheme; authorities note this misuse and instruct ports and registering offices to prevent recurrence and to make recoveries where DEPB scrips were verified and imports allowed against them.

Royalty payment liberalisation allows companies to pay royalties under the automatic route with registration and prescribed rates.
Liberalisation permits all companies irrespective of foreign equity to remit royalties on the automatic route at prescribed rates for export and domestic receipts, subject to prior registration with the Reserve Bank under the Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transactions) Rules, 2000; the ceiling on lumpsum fee/royalty under the automatic route continues to apply.

Merchanting trade credit restrictions: supplier/buyer short-term credit prohibited; import liability must be cleared by export receipts within prescribed period.
Merchanting trade transactions are not eligible for short term credit by suppliers' or buyers' credit. Authorised dealers must ensure import liabilities are extinguished by export receipts without delay and that the merchanting transaction is completed within six months.

Advance Rulings for non residents provide binding determinations on classification, valuation and exemption applicability for joint ventures.
Non residents and residents forming joint ventures with non residents may obtain binding advance rulings on import/export or manufacture activities under Chapters V B and IIIA of the Customs and Central Excise Acts. The Authority for Advance Rulings issues final determinations on classification, valuation and applicability of exemption notifications; rulings bind the applicant and the jurisdictional Commissioners (subject to statutory exceptions). Applications must comply with prescribed procedural, documentary, verification and fee requirements and are to be pronounced within three months, with confidentiality maintained.

Export container movement through designated land customs stations now includes additional Indo Nepal border crossings for transit.
The circular substitutes the earlier routing provision to permit movement of export container cargo from ICDs/CFSs to Bangladesh and Nepal through designated Land Customs Stations: Petrapole and Gede for Indo-Bangladesh border transit, and Raxaul and Nautanwa (Sonauli) for Indo-Nepal border transit; it directs issuance of Public Notices/Standing Orders and solicits reports of implementation difficulties to the Board.

Arm's Length Price compliance: extended deadline for selection and mandatory reference to Transfer Pricing Officers with confirmation requirement.
Directive requires completion of selection of cases involving international transactions and reference to Transfer Pricing Officers with regard to Arm's Length Price, authorises an extension of the selection timetable, and imposes a mandatory reporting obligation on Chief Commissioners/Directors General to confirm to the Board that selection and references to TPOs have been completed.

Current account liberalisation broadens permissible remittances and simplifies documentation for residents, including medical and consultancy payments.
Authorised dealers may allow remittances up to the revised limits for employment abroad, emigration, maintenance of close relatives abroad and education abroad on the basis of self-declaration with basic transaction details and an Application in Form A2, with payment by cheque, demand draft or debit to the applicant's account; no supporting documents are required. Medical treatment remittances may be released up to an increased non-documentary threshold, and consultancy services remittances are permitted at a raised ceiling subject to documents satisfactory to the authorised dealer. Amendments to the Rules will be notified under the Reserve Bank's FEMA authority.

Bank guarantee exemptions under Advance Licence and EPCG schemes tightened; conditional BG waivers subject to export performance and compliance.
Revised norms prescribe that bonds/BGs under Advance Licence and EPCG schemes follow the specified format, cover ordinarily leviable duty, and may be secured by bank guarantee, cash security or approved financial-institution guarantee. Designated categories of status holders, recognized service providers, qualifying manufacturer-exporters and PSUs are eligible for BG exemption, while others must furnish full BG. Exemptions are conditional on no past defaults or penalization, submission and verification of export-performance or excise-payment certificates, solvency certification of sureties, maintenance of BGs for the full export-obligation period, and Customs' record-keeping and enforcement.

Export-Import Policy amendment updates EOU/SEZ compliance, DTA sale entitlement, NFE treatment and Advance Licence CIF adjustments.
Amendments to the Export-Import Policy Handbook (Vol. I) expand registration data fields, revise EOU/EHTP/STP and SEZ scheme rules to treat DTA sale entitlement in totality, clarify which DTA supplies count for positive NFE, apply replenishment licence procedures, permit transfer or DTA disposal of unused imported goods subject to duties and approvals, require enhanced disclosures and production data, update Agri Export Zones and Export Promotion Council entries, and allow licensing authorities to adjust Advance Licence CIF values subject to value addition and input output norms.

Eligibility of salts and esters clarified: salts and esters of listed drugs qualify for the same customs concession as the parent medicines.
The term drugs and medicines in the tariff notification includes their salts and esters, and bulk drugs used to manufacture those salts and esters qualify for the notification's concessionary treatment when used as inputs to produce the specified medicines.

Eligibility of Ethylene Oxide Sterilizers confirmed as equivalent to Ethylene Sterilizer, permitting coverage under the customs notification.
The circular clarifies that in technical and trade usage the shorter term 'Ethylene Sterilizer' is synonymous with 'Ethylene Oxide Sterilizer', and therefore such apparatus qualify for consideration under Notification No. 21/2002-Cus., Serial 367 read with list 38 (item 10), permitting their examination and treatment under that notification.

Withholding of export incentives until investigations confirm actual garment exports to Russia and firm wise proof is provided.
The Department directs that export incentives in respect of the implicated garment exports to Russia should not be released pending final investigations by the Ministry of Textiles and AEPC; the Ministry is to provide firm wise outcomes and customs officers are to be alerted to implement the withholding instruction.

Mandatory online filing of IEC trade returns required; manual or postal submissions are not accepted, use the eximpol portal.
Mandatory online submission of IEC trade returns is required using the eximpol website and the prescribed format; manual or postal filings are not permitted. Trade must access the IEC (Trade Returns) index on the portal to submit returns and may direct filing queries to the designated contact e mail.

Provisional IEC issuance allows manual customs clearance pending actual PAN submission for importers and exporters.
IECs will be issued with a provisional/dummy PAN when PAN issuance is delayed; applicants must provide proof they have applied for PAN and must submit the actual PAN when issued so the IEC database can be updated and corrected data transmitted for BIN generation, while customs will be asked to allow manual clearance against the provisional IEC.