Bank guarantee waiver for exporters and service providers based on export performance or GST payment under revised norms.
Revised norms allow GST-registered manufacturer exporters and service providers to claim Bank Guarantee exemptions under category (d) based on export performance over the preceding years and under category (e) based on GST paid in the preceding financial year. Certification by the Superintendent of Central Excise is no longer required; authorised holders may produce certification from their Export Promotion Council or, if not a member, a certificate authenticated by a practicing Chartered Accountant registered with GST, who must state his GSTIN and registration details. Other provisions remain unchanged.

Unpaid dues compliance required before filing schemes of arrangement, with prescribed reporting and forwarding to regulator.
Listed entities must settle all dues, fines and penalties to regulators, stock exchanges and depositories before filing a draft scheme; if dues remain, they must submit a prescribed Unpaid Dues Report with the draft scheme, which stock exchanges will forward to the regulator before the regulator issues comments; false statements invite punitive action.

Declaration of MEK/2 Butanone content allows bill of entry final assessment on second-check basis when supported by MSDS or PTR.
Trader-importers importing goods under CTH 3215, 3402 and 3814 from manufacturer-suppliers providing MSDS or valid PTR may have their Bills of Entry finally assessed on a second-check basis without departmental testing, by application of Para 4.1 of Public Notice No. 68/2019; all other conditions of PN 68/2019 remain applicable.

Nodal officer nomination for Industries Department meetings takes immediate effect for coordinated State Tax Department participation.
Shri Sujay Prakash Upadhyay, Additional Commissioner of State Tax (Headquarters, Bihar, Patna), is nominated as the Nodal Officer for participation in meetings of the Industries Department. The nomination takes effect immediately.

Rectification facility for SB005 invoice mismatches extended; exporters may avail with prescribed documentation and contact for assistance
A rectification mechanism for SB005 invoice mismatches on Shipping Bills is extended for filings up to 31.07.2019; exporters should avail the officer-assisted facility with required documentation. The mechanism supports IGST export refund processing, includes revised handling and disbursal of compensation cess, and provides contact points for assistance. Trade intermediaries are requested to publicise the notice.

Import deadline for pulses: firm deadline; arrivals must land by end of October, no extensions; final reporting mandated.
Allotted pulse import consignments for fiscal 2019-20 must arrive and land on Indian ports by 31 October 2019; no extensions of the arrival deadline or validity of allotments will be granted. Importers must complete imports by that date and submit a final import report to their Regional Authorities by 7 November 2019, with Regional Authorities forwarding a consolidated report to headquarters by 15 November 2019.

Direct Port Delivery eligibility requires accredited status or sustained compliance; exclusions cover mis-declaration, prosecutions, and full-exam consignments.
Eligibility for Direct Port Delivery (DPD) is confined to importers with AEO accreditation or a clear compliance record coupled with sustained import volume, with possible relaxation of the volume criterion by the Chief Commissioner in deserving cases. Exclusions cover importers with mis-declaration or evasion allegations, those facing prosecution, consignments subject to full examination, and primarily LCL importers. DPD applies only to fully facilitated or unexamined consignments where the importer opens a PD account with the terminal and arranges transport; zones may impose further procedural requirements.

Compulsory licensing limited to specific industries after policy changes; other industrial licensing requirements rendered obsolete and withdrawn.
Press Note No. 17 (1984) concerning environmental clearance conditions for Letters of Intent and Industrial Licences is withdrawn as obsolete following post 1991 policy changes; only four industries remain subject to compulsory licensing (tobacco products, electronic aerospace and defence equipment, industrial explosives, and hazardous chemicals), and the Department does not issue licences outside those categories.

Licensing exemption for defence parts: manufacture permitted without industrial or arms licence unless specifically listed; small arms excluded.
No industrial licence or arms licence is required for manufacture of parts and accessories in the defence sector unless specific items are listed in the Annexures to Press Note 1 (2019 Series); the exemption does not apply to issuance of arms licences for small arms by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Disposal of seized liquor requires FSSAI NOC or destruction, with committee oversight and e auction where permitted.
Seized foreign origin liquor must be reviewed by a constituted Liquor Disposal Committee which shall verify consignments, obtain sampling, testing and a NOC from FSSAI where feasible, and dispose of NOC cleared stock via e auction to bidders complying with State Excise laws; consignments that cannot be sampled or cleared shall be destroyed following NDPS style destruction procedures, with a triplicate Certificate of Destruction and advance notice to the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner for possible inspection.

Recovery of export incentives requires a No Incentive Certificate on re import and verification before customs clearance.
Import clearance for re imported goods requires a No Incentive Certificate from the Regional Authority of DGFT where export incentive or reward credit under Chapter 3 of FTP was availed. Import Groups must verify this certificate before clearance, review past re imports for inadmissible duty credits, and coordinate with DGFT for recovery and reporting to higher authorities.

EGM filing requirements: correct and supplement EGMs to enable IGST refund migration and processing for exporters.
Exporters, CHAs and shipping lines must correct Electronic Goods Manifest (EGM) and ECM errors and file Supplementary EGMs where needed, presenting required documents to the EGM Cell so that claimed IGST refund credits can migrate and refunds be processed; until correct filing or error rectification occurs, IGST credits will not migrate and refunds will not be available.

IGST refund procedure: dedicated drive to process and rectify exporter claims, emphasising correct filing to reduce errors.
A dedicated administrative drive will be conducted by the Customs Commissionerate to process and liquidate exporter IGST refund claims and to enable use of the Board's extended rectification facility, with outreach to importers, exporters and customs brokers to promote correct filing procedures and minimise recurring errors.

Direct Port Delivery eligibility updated for importers, listing inclusion, exclusions, operational conditions, and documentation requirements.
DPD eligibility at Mundra Port is limited to importers who either hold AEO Tier I-III status or demonstrate a clear compliance record with at least 25 FCL TEU imports in the preceding year (subject to discretionary relaxation). Exclusions cover importers with mis declaration or duty evasion allegations in the last five years, those under prosecution, consignments requiring 100% examination, and primarily LCL importers. DPD is permitted only for consignments fully facilitated or not examined; importers must open a PD account, arrange transport, file advance bills of entry and pay duty prior to vessel arrival, and comply with Annexure A undertakings and other Commissionerate procedural formalities.

Recovery of export incentives requires No Incentive Certificate on re-import before customs clearance by customs authorities.
Importers must obtain and present a No Incentive Certificate from the Regional Authority when re-importing exported goods; Customs shall ensure this certificate is produced before permitting clearance so that recovery of export benefits granted under Chapter 3 incentive and reward schemes can be effected.

IGST refund processing for exports is blocked by EGM, GSTN and invoice integration errors; exporters must reconcile records.
Refunds of IGST on exports require correct migration of shipping bills from the IGST temporary scroll to the final scroll; errors in EGM filing, shipping bill identifiers or dates (SB001), GSTIN mismatches (SB003), invalid invoice numbers (SB005), and missing Gateway EGM (SB006) block integration and refunds. Exporters must amend returns, submit supporting GSTR 1/GSTR 3B documentation and concordance tables, file or correct Gateway EGM entries, or submit a Revised Refund Request (RRR) for differential amounts; a Special IGST Refund Drive and annexured lists are provided for rectification.

Product classification of automobile parts must follow principal use and HSN notes, ensuring correct tariff heading for vehicle accessories.
Classification guidance directs that automobile parts solely and principally for motor vehicles must be declared and classified according to their principal use and the HSN Section Notes and Chapter Notes. Items identifiable as motor-vehicle components should not be declared as general articles under unrelated tariff headings but must be classified under the tariff heading dedicated to motor-vehicle pads and accessories, with tariff determinations performed in accordance with the applicable notes and customs classification framework.

Compounding application deadline relaxation permits late filings to competent authority, subject to eligibility and non-compoundable offence exclusions.
One-time relaxation of the 12-month filing requirement for compounding applications allows late filings before the competent authority, excluding offences that are not compoundable. Applications filed by the earlier deadline are deemed timely. Eligible cases include prosecutions pending over twelve months, applications withdrawn solely for late filing, and applications rejected solely for technical reasons. Other compounding procedures and charges remain applicable while a specific guideline paragraph is not applied to these one-time filings.

Prosecution thresholds require collegium approval for lower-value defaults and ITAT confirmation before pursuing certain evasion offences.
The circular sets monetary and temporal thresholds and procedural safeguards for initiating prosecution under Chapter XXII, excluding prosecution in normal circumstances for defaults below specified thresholds or short delays, while requiring prior administrative approval of a collegium of two CCIT/DGIT officers for exceptional or below-threshold cases; prosecution for wilful tax evasion is to follow confirmation of the penalty order by the ITAT. The annexure lists prosecutable sections and the approving authority for each offence.

Information of default delivery: MCA21 and CERSAI approved as statutory repositories for debtor address verification under IU regulations.
Information of default must be delivered to the debtor by hand, post or electronic means at the postal or e-mail address registered with the information utility, failing which at an address recorded with any other statutory repository as approved by the Board, failing which at the address submitted in Form C of the Schedule. The Board approves the MCA21 database and the CERSAI registry as repositories for the purposes of regulation 21(2)(c)(ii).