Mandatory uploading of import/export documents in e-Sanchit updated; many documents now uploadable by IECs and brokers.
The notice revises the list of mandatory documents for upload to e-Sanchit (Annex I) and identifies a limited set of document codes to remain PGA-only (Annex II). All other document codes can be uploaded by the IEC or Customs Broker; PGAs may upload only for IECs registered on ICEGATE. BE Statement amendments claiming exceptions must be filed at item level (Invoice Sl. No. and Item Sl. No.), online using Amend Code S_STMT or via service centre. Systemic checking at OOC is disabled for BEs filed before 23.01.2021.

One-time customs inspection waiver: option to pay duty without physical inspection for debonding IT/ITES SEZ units.
Exiting IT/ITES SEZ units may opt to pay applicable customs duty without physical inspection of duty free goods if they furnish all relevant import and related documents to establish identity; this simplifies de bonding. For goods procured on payment of duty and supplied back to the domestic market after being procured from the domestic tariff area, movement may be on invoice only and filing of a Bill of Entry is not required. However, goods imported into the SEZ on payment of duty and later cleared into the domestic tariff area are treated as imports into the domestic tariff area and require a Bill of Entry.

E-Tariff Rate Quota system mandated for TRQ imports; licences to be issued electronically and shared with customs.
All applicants for Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) must submit and, where applicable, amend applications electronically through the e-Tariff Rate Quota (e-TRQ) module on the DGFT Import Management System; previously submitted applications will be migrated automatically. TRQ licences will be issued only in electronic form and licence data will be transmitted to Customs, with no paper TRQ import licences issued. Support materials and helpdesk channels are provided on the DGFT portal.

Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess introduced on imports and excisable goods; EDI updated and BE notification quoting required.
AIDC has been introduced on imports and certain excisable goods effective 02-02-2021 and is additional to other customs or excise duties. AIDC on imports is calculated on the same value basis as customs duty. Importers must quote relevant notification Sl. Nos. in the Bill of Entry to claim rates or exemptions and set BE_DUTY flags: NOTN TYPE 'C'/'E' with Additional Duty Flag 'A' for Customs/Excise AIDC respectively. Excise AIDC applies only to petrol and high speed diesel. SWS is levied on AIDC except where Notification 13/2021 exempts specified gold and silver headings. Traders should verify duty calculations for entries on 2-3 February 2021.

Electronic import document compliance through e-Sanchit permits item-level exceptions and revised uploader responsibilities for mandatory records.
Mandatory electronic submission of prescribed import documents through e-Sanchit is governed by a revised tariff-heading-based list of document codes. Importers holding an Importer Exporter Code and Customs Brokers may upload all document codes except those temporarily reserved for Participating Government Agency uploading. Agency uploads require ICEGATE registration. Where a required document is inapplicable, the Bill of Entry Statement table may be amended online or through a service centre at item level, identifying the invoice and item serial numbers. Automated mandatory-document checking at the Out-of-Charge stage is disabled for Bills of Entry filed before the specified cut-off date.

Late fee waiver applies to delayed Bills of Entry affected by ICES downtime during Budget updation.
Late fees otherwise imposable for delayed filing of Bills of Entry are waived for consignments covered by Import General Manifests filed on 1 and 2 February 2021, where filing was affected by ICES system downtime for Budget updation. ICES services for Bills of Entry were enabled after updation on 3 February 2021, and implementation is to be treated as a standing order for officers and staff.

Late-fee waiver for delayed Bills of Entry applies where budget system downtime prevented timely filing.
Late fees for delayed Bills of Entry under the Bill of Entry (Forms) Amendment Regulations, 2017 are waived where ICES unavailability during the 2021-2022 budget update prevented timely filing. The waiver is confined to belated Bills of Entry pertaining to Import General Manifests filed on 1 and 2 February 2021, after which ICES services were restored.

Container seal mismatch procedures: certain prefix/leading-zero or interchange discrepancies can be recorded and resealed without full examination.
Standing Order 03/2021 prescribes that where a container's one-time-lock differs from the Bill of Lading due to leading zeros, missing/added carrier prefixes, or interchange among containers under the same Customs Transit Declaration or Bill of Lading, the Shed Superintendent shall record the actual seal number in CINS, apply the prescribed RFID/ECTS seal, and allow movement without 100% examination; other intact mismatches may be cleared on submission of an amended Bill of Lading from the shipping line, while remaining cases continue to be subject to examination and Customs may open seals on specific intelligence.

Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess on imports requires notification citation and specific BE duty flags for correct levy.
AIDC is introduced as an additional customs and, for specified excisable goods, excise levy, calculated using customs valuation and payable in addition to other duties. ICES has been updated and importers must quote relevant notification serial numbers in the Bill of Entry to claim AIDC exemptions; claim is mandatory. Excise AIDC applies only to petrol and high speed diesel. Filers must set BE_DUTY flags (Customs: NOTN TYPE 'C' and Additional Duty Flag 'A'; Excise: NOTN TYPE 'E' and Additional Duty Flag 'A'). SWS is leviable on AIDC with a system exemption for certain gold/silver CTHs.

Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess introduced on imports; EDI filing must quote notification and duty flags for claims.
AIDC is introduced as an additional duty on imports and as excise on specified excisable goods, with valuation aligned to customs valuation rules. ICES/ICEGATE has been updated and importers must quote the relevant notification serial numbers in the Bill of Entry; use NOTN TYPE 'C' with Additional Duty Flag 'CA' for customs AIDC and NOTN TYPE 'E' with Additional Duty Flag 'A' for excise AIDC. SWS is generally levied on AIDC but is exempted for specified gold and silver headings; traders must verify duty calculations and report discrepancies to ICEGATE.

Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess requires mandatory Bill of Entry notification claims and specific system flags for imports.
Introduction of Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) imposes an additional levy on imports and, for excisable scheduled goods, as excise; AIDC value follows customs valuation under section 14. Importers must mandatorily quote the relevant Notification 11/2021 Sl. Nos. in the Bill of Entry, and use specified BE_DUTY flags (NOTN TYPE 'C' or 'E' and Additional Duty Flag 'A') to claim exemptions. Excise AIDC is limited to petrol and HSD. SWS applies to AIDC except where Notification 13/2021 exempts specified CTHs; ICES has been updated and duty calculations should be verified and discrepancies reported.

Surety requirement: proprietors and partners cannot act as sureties for their own EOU bonds; independent entity required.
The Board clarifies that the surety for a B-17 bond executed by an EOU/STP/EHTP must be an independent legal entity distinct from the obligor; proprietors of proprietorship EOUs and partners of partnership EOUs cannot act as sureties for their own firms. The circular recalls that individuals or corporate bodies distinct from limited company EOUs may act as sureties and that solvency of sureties may be certified by chartered accountants or bankers. All B-17 bonds should be reviewed for compliance and difficulties reported to the Board.

Innovation Sandbox enables controlled access to anonymized market test data and environments to foster FinTech innovation under graded eligibility.
Innovation Sandbox provides staged access to anonymized historical securities market test data and enabling organizations' test environments for FinTechs, startups and other applicants; Stage I offers resource-capped access subject to KYC and demonstrable testing need, while Stage II allows expanded access after demonstrated progress, a post-testing plan, investor/market benefit and steering committee approval. Access is delivered via APIs and test platforms, governed by confidentiality/end-user agreements, with IPR claims excluded and lifecycle management through a digital portal.

Limited Purpose Clearing Corporation requirement obliges AMCs to contribute proportionate capital for corporate debt repo clearing
AMCs must participate in establishing a Limited Purpose Clearing Corporation (LPCC) for clearing and settling corporate debt repo transactions, contributing capital in proportion to the Average AUM of specified open-ended debt-oriented schemes for FY 2019-20 as calculated by AMFI. Contributions are obligatory and must comply with networth, conditions and timelines under the SECC Regulations and related circulars, with AMCs required to maintain the networth prescribed under Regulation 21(f) over and above the LPCC contribution.

Mandatory document upload in e-Sanchit: revised codes; online item-level amendments permitted using Amend Code S STMT.
The notice revises the mandatory document code list (Annexure I) and identifies doc codes still uploadable only by PGAs (Annexure II); other codes may be uploaded by IECs or Customs Brokers. PGAs may upload documents only for ICEGATE registered IECs, so importers should obtain ICEGATE registration. Amendments to the BE Statement table for exceptions can be filed at item level via service centre or online using Amend Code S STMT with Invoice Sl No and Item Sl No. Systemic checking at OOC stage is suspended for BEs filed before 23.01.2021.

Search authorization compliance required: searches must follow CrPC procedures and strict panchnama and witness safeguards for integrity.
Search operations must be conducted in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure and statutory search provisions, with search authorizations supported by recorded reasons and a DIN. Authorizations must be executed before search commencement and shown to the person in charge; signatures and timestamps of the person in charge and independent witnesses must be obtained on the search authorization. Panchnama must record time, date, personal searches, lists of recovered items and signatures on each page; statements and annexures must be signed; copies of seized documents may be allowed unless prejudicial to the investigation.

Provision of application copy under Rule 9 enables online submission to the Board with an acknowledgement ID for records.
Applicants initiating insolvency resolution of a personal guarantor must provide the Board a copy of the application as mandated by Rule 9; the Board offers an online portal with a prescribed format capturing applicant and creditor details, corporate debtor and guarantor particulars, IRP/RP information, and a pdf upload, and issues an acknowledgement ID upon submission for record-keeping.

Mandatory uploading in e Sanchit: IECs/Customs brokers can upload most documents; select codes remain PGA only.
The mandatory document code list for e Sanchit has been revised (Annexure I); most document codes may now be uploaded by the IEC or Customs Broker, while specified codes remain PGA only (Annexure II). PGAs can upload documents only for IECs registered on ICEGATE; importers are urged to register. Amendments to the BE Statement table to claim exceptions must be filed at item level using Amend Code S_STMT or via the service centre with Inv SI No and Item SI No. Systemic OOC checking is disabled for BEs filed before 23.01.2021.

Mandatory document upload in e Sanchit: importers must quote IRNs in the BE and amend BE to add post filed documents.
Uploading mandatory documents to e Sanchit is only the first step; importers must quote the system generated IRNs in the corresponding Bill of Entry and, where documents are added after filing, attach them by way of a BE amendment (no officer approval required). Doc codes must be entered at the item level. PGAs may upload certain documents directly, and importers registered on ICEGATE will receive IRN notifications which must be included in the BE. If a mandatory doc code is not applicable, the importer must declare the exception using Statement Type REM with reasons in the BE.

Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess introduced on specified imports, with simultaneous recalibration of customs and excise duties.
The Finance Bill, 2021 effects wide ranging changes: numerous Basic Customs Duty adjustments, introduction of an Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess on specified imports with simultaneous BCD recalibration and SWS treatment, recalibration of excise duties including AIDC on petrol/diesel with compensatory adjustments to other excise components, consolidation and amendment of concessional entries (notably for mobile/ battery/solar and project imports), procedural and time limit reforms in Customs investigations and trade remedial measures (ADD/CVD/safeguards), and amendments to CGST/IGST linking input tax credit to supplier reporting and streamlining annual return and seizure/confiscation procedures.