Certificate of Origin (Preferential) updated: specified agencies authorised to issue CoO under India-Mauritius CECPA.
Director General of Foreign Trade amends Appendix 2B of the Foreign Trade Policy to list the agencies authorised to issue Certificate of Origin (Preferential) for the India-Mauritius CECPA, naming product specific certification authorities (export inspection agencies, marine products authority, textile and silk bodies, spices and coir boards, tobacco board, APEDA), specified SEZs and EOUs within their jurisdictions, and regional certification offices as authorised issuers.

Import quota allocation for pet coke imports requires environmental compliance, licensed application, and strict utilisation and reporting obligations.
Procedure establishes annual import quota allocation and application mechanism for Calcined Pet Coke for aluminum and Raw Pet Coke for CPC manufacturing for 2021-2022, subject to environmental guideline compliance, submission of pollution control board capacity and consent certificates, timely online application with fee, allocation by the designated committee, issuance of authorizations by regional licensing authorities valid till fiscal year end, mandatory reporting of consignments and consolidated post period reports, surrender or notification of unutilised quantity by prescribed cut off, and disqualification or deduction for failure to surrender or utilise allocated quantities.

Annual updation of IEC now exempt from application fee when filed during the April-June updation window each year.
An insertion in Appendix-2K provides that annual updation of IEC submitted during the April-June updation window, pursuant to the Handbook of Procedures provision on updation, shall attract nil application fee; consequently no fee will be charged for updation applications filed in that period under the Scale of Application Fee.

Extension of Handbook of Procedures validity to 30 September 2021 prolongs operative FTP provisions accordingly.
The Public Notice amends the Handbook of Procedures (HBP) 2015-20 by substituting references in para 1.01, para 3.20(a), and the first sentence of para 4.12(vi) to change the operative cut-off date to 30th September, 2021, extending the HBP's validity until that date and taking effect immediately under paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020.

FPI investment limits reaffirmed for corporate bonds and interim treatment for government securities pending revised limits.
The Reserve Bank confirmed FPI investment rules for FY 2021 22: the corporate bond cap remains at 15% of outstanding stock and rounded revised corporate bond ceilings for the year are provided. Revised limits for Central Government securities and State Development Loans will be advised separately and, until then, existing G Sec and SDL ceilings continue to apply. Authorized Dealer Category I banks must inform their constituents. Directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Advance Authorizations closure requires online submission, linked repositories, auto-fetched EDI documents, and limited physical filings.
DGFT requires online filing for closure and Export Obligation fulfilment of Advance Authorizations, enabling Redemption, Surrender, Duty Paid Regularization, Bond Waiver and Clubbing via a licence closure application linked to online Repositories. EDI Shipping Bills and e-BRCs are auto-fetched; Non-EDI bills, GST invoices, CA/CE/CS certificates, TR Challans and BG/LUT must be uploaded by applicants. Certifying authorities may onboard to digitally sign certificates, and TR Challans and Bank Guarantees/LUT/Corporate Guarantees remain subject to limited physical submission recorded and linked by the Regional Authority.

FPI surrender guidelines require DDPs to confirm nil balances, no pending proceedings and promptly close accounts.
Surrender of FPI registration requires the DDP to obtain a No Objection Certificate after confirming that the applicant's FPI accounts have nil balances and are blocked, the applicant's CP code is blocked, no dues or proceedings are pending, and thereafter to close all accounts and deactivate the CP code within ten working days of receiving the NOC.

Advance Bill of Entry filing permits house transport documents and automated master-document updates for import clearance.
Section 46 requires advance filing of Bills of Entry, generally by the end of the day preceding arrival, subject to mode- and consignment-based exceptions. Airport and Land Customs Station imports may be filed by the end of arrival day, while specified seaport consignments receive the same deadline. Late filing attracts late charges. Advance Bills of Entry may be filed with House Bill of Lading or House Airway Bill details where master transport documents are unavailable. The Master Bill of Lading or Master Airway Bill may later be updated through an automated, fee-free online amendment.

Container scanning procedure at MXCS streamlines import movement, verification, endorsements, and examination before Out of Charge.
Mobile X-Ray Container Scanner (MXCS) at JNPCT Terminal has been commissioned for import container scanning selected through RMS risk parameters. Selected containers must remain within the terminal until scanned, with movement responsibilities allocated among terminal operators, shipping lines, CFSs, transporters, importers and customs brokers depending on cargo category. The notice prescribes physical verification, driver safety precautions, endorsement of scanned clean, scanned suspicious or not scanned due to ODC, and downstream 100% examination for suspicious containers before Out of Charge is granted.

Deemed export refund: recipients may claim refund while availing input tax credit, portal debit clarified to prevent dual benefit.
Recipients of deemed export supplies may claim refund while availing input tax credit; the circular removes the prior administrative bar and explains that the portal requires debit of equivalent refundable ITC from the electronic credit ledger to prevent dual benefit. It revises undertaking requirements for recipient claimants. The circular also extends relief for misreported zero-rated supplies in GSTR-3B, allowing refund filings subject to aggregate declared integrated tax/cess, and clarifies that the amended capped valuation of zero-rated goods applies in computing adjusted total turnover under rule 89(4).

Quota allocation by algorithmic lottery: import rights distributed equally among eligible millers/refiners/traders; compliance conditions apply.
Allocation for import of specified pulses is to be granted to millers, refiners, and traders via an algorithm based lottery system; applicants must file separate online ANF-2 M applications through the DGFT Import Management System, one application per IEC with IEC issued prior to the notification date. The Competent Authority will fix the number of applicants, distribute the total quota equally or as applied for, and require that consignments reach Indian ports by the end of the quota period. Importers importing less than half their allotment will be debarred from the next year's allocation; no manual applications or time extensions will be accepted.

Track and Trace system for pharmaceutical exports requires parent child packaging linkage and central portal upload under extended deadline.
The implementation date for the Track and Trace system for export consignments of pharmaceutical drug formulations is deferred by amendment to Para 2.90A of the Handbook of Procedure (2015 20), requiring maintenance of the parent-child relationship across packaging levels and uploading of that information on the Central Portal. The extension applies to both SSI and non SSI manufactured drugs and alters the previously notified compliance deadline.

Advance Bill of Entry filing requires pre-arrival submission, permits house bill references, and enables automated master bill updates.
Advance Bills of Entry must be filed before the end of the day preceding the arrival of imported goods, subject to prescribed transport-specific timelines and system-imposed late filing fees. Where Master Bill of Lading or Master Air Waybill details are unavailable, advance filing may use NOMBL or NOMAWB with mandatory House Bill of Lading details. The missing master reference may later be updated through an online IGM-details amendment, which is automatically approved without late fee, only where the prior or advance Bill of Entry was initially filed using NOMBL or NOMAWB.

Advance Bill of Entry filing enables pre-arrival customs assessment while allowing arrival-day deadlines for specified import movements.
Section 46 requires advance filing of a Bill of Entry for pre-arrival processing and assessment. Subject to exceptions, filing is due by the end of the day preceding arrival, while presentation up to 30 days before expected arrival remains permissible. Sea imports from specified neighbouring countries, all airport imports, and all Land Customs Station imports may be filed by the end of the day of arrival. Imports through Inland Container Depots, and other sea imports, remain subject to the preceding-day deadline.

Advance filing for Bills of Entry requires pre-arrival timelines; HBL/HAWB now sufficient for advance BE filing.
Amendments mandate advance filing of the Bill of Entry by the end of the day preceding arrival (subject to Board-prescribed exceptions not later than end of arrival day), allow filing up to 30 days before arrival, and retain late charge rules. Regulations prescribe differentiated filing timelines by customs station and country of consignment. The requirement for MBL/MAWB at advance filing is removed; HBL/HAWB suffices and ICEGATE will permit auto-approved subsequent updating of MBL/MAWB without officer approval or amendment fees.

Transfer of business by registered intermediaries requires transferee registration and surrender obligations for transferors.
Where a transferee is not registered in the same capacity it must obtain fresh registration from SEBI before transfer; SEBI will issue a new registration number to the transferee when business is transferred through regulatory or non regulatory processes irrespective of whether the transferor continues to exist. Change in control requires prior approval and fresh registration but retains the same registration number when granted to the same legal entity. If the transferor ceases to exist or completely transfers its business it must surrender its certificate of registration; partial transfers permit the transferor to continue holding its certificate.

Advance Bill of Entry filing would enable pre-arrival customs assessment, subject to specified alternative filing deadlines.
Proposed amendments to Section 46 of the Customs Act, 1962 would mandate advance filing of Bills of Entry before the end of the day preceding arrival of imported goods for home consumption or warehousing. The requirement is intended to facilitate pre-arrival processing and assessment and reduce clearance time. The Board may prescribe different deadlines for specified cases, but not later than the end of the day of arrival. Possible relaxation for certain land, airport, neighbouring-country and short-haul imports remains subject to the amendment taking effect.

Natural gas energy measurement now permits Metric Million British Thermal Unit code MBT in customs import and export declarations.
Customs electronic import and export declarations may use Metric Million British Thermal Unit as an accepted commercial unit of quantity under the code MBT. The unit is included in the Customs EDI System for natural-gas transactions measured by energy content, including commercial negotiations, invoices and ship ullage survey reports. Importers, exporters and trade participants may use MBT in their declarations, and implementation is treated as a standing order for customs officers and staff.

Condonation of delay under section 119(2)(b): Form 10B late-filing applications to be disposed within three months.
Condonation of delay under section 119(2)(b) for late filing of Form No. 10B (years prior to AY 2018-19) is to be processed by the Exemption Charges and, per the modified guidance, all pending and new applications shall be disposed of preferably within three months from the end of the month in which the application is received; the modification takes effect from 31st day of March, 2021.

Condonation of delay under section 119(2)(b): administrative disposal of Form 10BB condonation applications within a fixed timeline.
The Board partially amends an earlier circular to require that all pending applications and applications received henceforth for condonation of delay in filing Form No. 10BB under section 119(2)(b) shall be disposed of preferably within three months from the end of the month in which the application is received; the modification takes effect from the effective date specified in the circular.