Special Advance Authorisation enables combined use with AIR drawback through designated shipping bill coding and drawback identifiers.
Special Advanced Authorisation may be combined with AIR drawback: exporters must use the designated export scheme code in the shipping bill, enter Advance Authorisation details in the DEEC table, and apply modified tariff suffixes to indicate Cenvat availed status. Exporters claiming Brand Rate provisional drawback must declare the prescribed identifier followed by the tariff item and marker to enable provisional payment of the Customs portion of the alternative AIRs. The same procedures permit discharge of EPCG obligations in the shipping bill.

Definition of service provider broadened to include job workers for CSP under EPCG, subject to DoR exemption compliance.
The definition of service provider for Common Service Providers under the EPCG scheme includes job workers who perform manufacturing or processing services (e.g., knitting, dyeing, printing, embroidering, labelling, cutting) for multiple exporters without exporting themselves; such arrangements must comply with the Department of Revenue exemption Notification No. 16/2015 Customs.

Authorized Economic Operator programme expanded to merge facilitation schemes and extend trade, clearance, and compliance benefits.
Revision merges the Accredited Client Programme and the Authorized Economic Operator framework into a consolidated AEO programme open to entities with strong internal controls, expanding benefits to imports and exports. Key operational measures include direct port delivery for imports, direct port entry for factory stuffed export containers, request based on site inspections, paperless declarations accepting self certified origin certificates, deferred duty payment decoupled from clearance, faster refunds and drawback processing, and Mutual Recognition with other customs administrations.

EOUs, STPIs and EHTPs: warehousing requirement removed; mandated digital records with audit trail and procurement certificate procedures.
Warehousing requirements under Notification 52/2003-Cus are dispensed for EOUs, STPIs, EHTPs and similar units effective 13 August 2016; units are delicensed as warehouses but remain subject to the notification and FTP conditions. Units must maintain prescribed digital records based on Form A with an audit trail, update records immediately on receipt/removal of imported goods, and provide monthly digital copies to the proper officer. Procurement certificates and submission of bills of entry for reconciliation replace re-warehousing certificates; inter-unit transfers use commercial documents plus procurement certificates with intimation to jurisdictional offices.

Disposal of confiscated goods: limited cooperative access under conditions; higher value lots to proceed by e auction without discounts.
Lower value confiscated consumer goods ready for disposal shall be offered to NCCF/Kendriya Bhandar and other duly registered consumer cooperatives at a uniform rebate, subject to ten year functionality, tax and VAT return evidence, annual verification by an officer not below AC/DC, obligation to sell only to bona fide consumers, no selective item choice, first come first served allocation, and departmental account scrutiny. Higher value lots and all other confiscated goods above the threshold shall be disposed of by e auction or auction cum tender with no rebate available.

Cenvat credit transfer permitted on DTA to EOU conversion, restoring admissibility and withdrawing prior circular.
Un-utilized Cenvat credit held by a DTA unit at the date of conversion into an EOU is admissible for transfer because the current Central Excise Rules and Cenvat Credit Rules permit EOUs to use Cenvat credit for duty payment and allow transfer of unutilized credit on change of ownership; therefore the prior circular directing lapse of such credit is withdrawn.

Provisional assessment under section 18 requires a bond and bank guarantee or cash deposit as security for duty differentials.
Provisional assessment under section 18 requires the importer to execute a bond to pay any deficiency between provisionally assessed duty and the final assessment, and to furnish security in the form of a bank guarantee or cash deposit. The Board rescinded earlier Regulations and set uniform guidelines on security amounts by class of importer-including 0% treatment for certain AEOs and government imports, 100% for specified FTA origin and seal verification cases-and clarified security is based on duty differential, not CIF value.

E-payment of customs refunds via RTGS/NEFT to beneficiary accounts requires bank-certified authorization and reconciliation.
Electronic payment of sanctioned customs refunds/rebates shall be made through authorized banks via RTGS/NEFT; claimants must submit a bank certified one time authorization, refund sanctioning authorities must forward periodic signed statements, a consolidated cheque and soft copy to the bank, and banks will credit beneficiary accounts after deducting applicable charges. Banks will provide UTRs and periodic scrolls for the PAO to reconcile cheques and payments, with discrepancies to be verified by the field formation.

Customs Clearance Facilitation Committee to expedite goods clearance and resolve procedural bottlenecks under specified terms.
CCFCs are to be set up for designated Land Customs Stations and Inland Container Depots, headed by the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner of Customs with senior representatives of relevant agencies as members. Their terms of reference include monitoring expeditious clearance per parent ministry timelines, identifying and resolving bottlenecks, initiating Time Release Studies, recommending best practices, and resolving trade grievances. CCFCs shall meet monthly or as needed; establishment orders and chair contact details must be publicised and endorsed to the Board. Chief Commissioners will review CCFC performance, and ministries must designate members and prepare SOPs with timelines.

MEIS reward rates updated: extensive additions and amendments to Appendix 3B alter eligible goods and rates effective immediately.
The Director General of Foreign Trade, under paragraph 1.03 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020, notifies immediate additions of 2,901 ITC (HS) code lines to Table 2 of Appendix 3B to the MEIS schedule and establishes specified reward rates for those goods; some entries remain subject to export policy restrictions.

Deletion of Non Ferrous Metal entry in public notice alters prior customs instructions and requires trade-wide dissemination.
The public notice partially modifies Public Notice No.21/2016 by deleting the entry for Non Ferrous Metal (including Aluminum) at paragraph 3(a)(vi); trade stakeholders are directed to publicize the change and the notice is valid until 15.12.2016, issued with the Principal Commissioner's approval.

Refund of Terminal Excise Duty allowed where duty paid from CENVAT credit; safeguards required to prevent duplicate claims.
Refund of Terminal Excise Duty (TED) is allowable under FTP where no ab-initio exemption applied and the duty was paid using CENVAT credit, subject to all FTP conditions and safeguards to ensure the TED has not been or will not be claimed by any other mechanism. No refund is permitted where ab-initio exemption existed.

Delivery mechanisms regulated to mandate tendering, allocation, settlement timelines and penalties for delivery defaults in commodity futures.
Exchanges must operate staggered delivery with a tender period, permit marking of delivery intentions, allocate delivery by random methodology with preference to signalled buyers, and complete pay-in/pay-out within prescribed working days. Open positions at expiry become compulsory delivery settled at the Final Settlement Price. Early delivery and early pay-in mechanisms allow matching and deposit of certified goods with settlement timelines; delivery defaults incur penalties combining a percentage of settlement price and replacement cost, with specified apportionment and disciplinary measures. FSP is determined by averaging available polled spot prices per a fallback hierarchy, and exchanges may advance expiry if the physical market is closed.

One-time-lock requirement: affix serially numbered bottle seal and record it on bill of entry and transport document.
The regulations require affixation of a serially numbered one-time-lock (bottle seal) by the proper officer at the customs station when goods are removed for deposit into a warehouse; the OTL number and date/time must be endorsed on the bill of entry and transport document, and customs stations must record OTL number, bill of entry, truck/container number, date/time and the affixing officer's name, designation and telephone number, while warehouse keepers inspect seals and permit unloading only if seals are intact.

Provisional assessment requires a prescribed bond and security by bank guarantee or cash deposit to secure customs duty.
Provisional assessment must follow the statutory procedure, requiring the importer to execute a prescribed bond to cover any duty deficiency and to furnish security-either a bank guarantee or a cash deposit-in amounts indicated by the Board's table; the earlier provisional duty regulations have been rescinded and the Board's circular and annexed forms must be applied uniformly to ensure transparency and predictability.

Immunity withdrawal for non compliance with settlement payment triggers enforcement and requirement to notify the settlement commission.
Non payment of sums under a Settlement Commission order withdraws immunity from prosecution, penalty and fine granted under Section 32K(2) (as applied to service tax and customs). Field formations must monitor compliance with settlement conditions and the jurisdictional Commissioner should notify the Commission and initiate appropriate action under the relevant law in case of violations.

Approval under Section 35(1)(ii) rescinded, removing tax-benefit status for specified research organisations.
Central Government notifications granting approval under Section 35(1)(ii) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 to three Kolkata research organisations have been rescinded retrospectively; the rescissions state that the original approvals shall be deemed not to have been issued for any tax benefits. The approvals had been conditional on utilisation of sums for scientific research, research conducted through faculty or students, maintenance of separate books and audited accounts, and certified statements of donations and applications; the earlier notifications also listed specific grounds on which approval would be withdrawn.

Penalty mitigation under section 273A: declarations under the Income Declaration Scheme may qualify as cooperation, limiting prosecution.
The circular clarifies that a valid declaration under the Income Declaration Scheme for years not under assessment on an identical issue, coupled with an offer to pay tax and interest for the year pending assessment, shall be treated as having cooperated in any enquiry for the purpose of reducing or waiving penalty; revenue officers are advised to take a lenient view on applications for penalty reduction or waiver in such cases, subject to payment of the entire amount payable under the Scheme and appropriate application under the penalty relief mechanism.

Consolidated Account Statement disclosure requires scheme cost, gross distributor commission and average expense ratio in half yearly statements.
Consolidated Account Statement requirements now mandate that each CAS disclose the total purchase value/cost of investment for each scheme, and that half yearly CAS additionally disclose the gross commission paid by AMCs/Mutual Funds to distributors in absolute terms and the scheme's average Total Expense Ratio for the applicable plan(s). Commission includes direct monetary payments and non monetary benefits and must be shown as gross, without netting distributor costs. These half yearly CAS disclosures apply to investors except those with no holdings and where no commission was paid during the period, with an indicative format provided.

Permission for trading in futures contracts allows exchanges to approve and modify specifications subject to prior notice, regulator oversight.
Exchanges must submit proposals for new or renewed futures contracts with complete check list information; continuous trading approvals are conditional on compliance with exchange rules, fixed contract specifications and launch calendars, open position and price fluctuation limits, daily mark to market settlement, delivery procedures, and prevention of speculative cornering. Certain specification parameters may be modified at exchange level (e.g., ticker, trading unit, tick size, delivery centres, quality tolerances) provided exchanges give prior notice and reasons to market participants and the regulator; substantive changes or re launches require prior SEBI approval.