Waiver of late filing charges withdrawn; limited relief only for Bill of Entry tied to earlier inwards dates, with cessation.
The general waiver of late filing charges for delayed Bills of Entry is withdrawn: it will not apply to Bills of Entry for IGMs with entry inwards dates after 31.05.2020; for IGMs with entry inwards dates up to 31.05.2020 the waiver will cease for Bills of Entry filed after 08.06.2020. The withdrawal is issued as a standing order for officers and staff and affected stakeholders may raise specific difficulties to the Deputy/Additional Commissioner, Appraising Main (IMPORT) via the provided email.

Bank account validation: Exporters must reconcile PFMS bank details to enable disbursal of drawback and IGST refunds.
Mismatch between exporters' bank details and Public Financial Management System (PFMS) records is preventing PFMS validation of accounts and blocking disbursal of drawback and IGST refund claims. Exporters listed must submit a request letter to the Deputy Commissioner (Drawback/Statistics/EDI), a bank certification of account details, IEC copy, and PAN, either by post or by designated email addresses; the list of affected IECs is posted on the customs office website and stakeholders should take immediate remedial action.

GST compliance relief extends insolvency registration, merchant-export export and job-work reporting deadlines during COVID-19 disruption.
GST compliance relief extends the separate-registration deadline for an IRP/RP to 30 days from appointment or 30 June 2020, whichever is later. No separate registration is required where the corporate debtor furnished all pre-appointment FORM GSTR-1 statements and FORM GSTR-3B returns. A change of IRP/RP is treated as a change of authorised signatory. Merchant-exporter export deadlines and FORM GST ITC-04 filing for the quarter ending March 2020 are extended to 30 June 2020 where applicable.

GST compliance relief permits credit-note adjustments, refund-voucher claims, and extended deadlines for LUT, TDS returns and refund applications.
GST paid on cancelled service advances or returned invoiced goods is generally adjusted through a credit note and the relevant return; a refund claim for excess tax payment may be made where no output liability exists for adjustment. Where no invoice was issued for a cancelled advance, a refund voucher is required and refund may be claimed through FORM GST RFD-01. The clarification also extended the time for furnishing LUT, filing the TDS return and depositing deducted tax, and filing refund applications falling within the specified relief period.

COVID-19 GST compliance relief conditionally waives late fees, reduces interest, extends filings, and defers input tax credit reconciliation.
COVID-19 GST compliance relief conditionally reduces or waives interest and late fees while retaining GSTR-3B due dates for February, March and April 2020. Higher-turnover registered persons must file by 24 June 2020 to receive nil interest for the initial delay period and reduced interest thereafter; other eligible persons receive nil interest if they file within prescribed dates. GSTR-1 late fee is waived if filed by 30 June 2020. Rule 36(4) input tax credit compliance applies cumulatively for February to August 2020 in the September return, and specified statutory compliance deadlines are extended to 30 June 2020.

Delivery centre selection guidelines standardize location criteria for commodity derivatives, requiring infrastructure, liquidity, value chain participation and stakeholder review.
Stock exchanges must apply uniform criteria when identifying delivery centres for physically delivered commodity derivatives, assessing demand-supply dynamics, production catchment, contract liquidity, value chain participation, and infrastructure such as warehouses (with WDRA registration where applicable), transport links, assaying facilities and processing plants; they must obtain stakeholder feedback, review existing and potential centres, report assessments to Product Advisory Committees, and submit relevant information to the regulator for contract approvals and renewals.

Contactless Bill of Entry amendments enable online filing and electronic fee payment, streamlining customs amendment processing.
Enables a contactless Bill of Entry amendment process by permitting online filing via ICEGATE, queuing amendments for officer approval, auto-approving additions to supporting documents, requiring officer approval for deletions/modifications, and incorporating a mandatory amendment-fee field whose approved fees are automatically included in the electronic duty challan; the System sends email notifications of approval/rejection and fees. ICETAB deployment enables paperless examinations with PDF reference, report entry, and photo upload.

Appellate tribunal nonconstitution delays tribunal appeals; time limit runs from the date the Tribunal President assumes office.
Clarifies that appeals from adjudicating authorities must be filed to the prescribed Appellate Authority (Joint Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) as applicable) while appeals from those appellate authorities to the Appellate Tribunal will have their limitation period counted from the date the President or State President of the Tribunal enters office under the Ninth Removal of Difficulties Order; appellate authorities should dispose pending appeals expeditiously and taxpayers may submit Annexure-I within fifteen days to indicate intent to appeal to the Tribunal to delay recovery.

Margin pledge requirements clarified; implementation deferred and client confirmation limited to initial pledge and repledging.
Implementation of pledge/re-pledge margin obligations in the depository system is deferred to allow system readiness; trading and clearing members must close existing demat accounts tagged as Client Margin/Collateral within the extended transition period. A Power of Attorney held by a member is not equivalent to collection of margin, effective immediately. Client confirmation by OTP or verifiable mechanism is required only once at initial creation of the pledge; subsequent re-pledging by the member does not require further confirmation.

Preferential Certificate of Origin restored to physical issuance for exports to Thailand and Vietnam under ASEAN India FTA.
Preferential Certificate of Origin issuance for exports to Thailand and Vietnam under the ASEAN India FTA is restored to physical paper format; exporters must submit manual applications to the designated issuing agencies (Export Inspection Agency, MPEDA, Textile Committee). The DGFT e platform will not accept applications for those two destinations but will continue to process CoO applications for other countries under the FTA. This arrangement remains in place until further notice.

Online Bill of Entry amendment process becomes contactless with electronic fee levy and ICETAB-enabled paperless examinations.
Measures enable online filing of Bill of Entry amendments via ICEGATE and upgraded remote filing software, with system queuing for officer approval and auto approval limited to additions in the supporting documents table. Amendment fees are entered in a mandatory fee field, editable by designated officers, and upon approval are automatically included in the duty challan for electronic payment through ICEGATE; the System will notify importers/customers of approval or rejection and fees levied. ICETAB tablets and a forthcoming app will support paperless cargo examination and direct upload of reports and images into ICES.

Contactless bill of entry amendment process enables online filing and electronic fee payment with mobile paperless examination.
The Bill of Entry amendment process is now electronic: amendments may be filed via ICEGATE or upgraded remote filing software, queued for officer approval with supporting-document additions auto-approved, and other changes requiring officer approval. An amendment-fee field in the approval form records fees levied by the Appraiser (editable by Group AC/DC and mandatory with zero if none); approved amendments have fees automatically included in the duty challan for electronic payment through ICEGATE and the System emails importers/customs brokers about approval or rejection and any fees or reasons for rejection.

COVID-19 tax assessment timelines extended, with phased disposal, email notices, and social distancing safeguards for pending VAT cases.
COVID-19 disruption led to extension of the time limit for tax assessment and reassessment proceedings under the U.P. VAT framework. Assessing authorities were directed to classify pending cases, prepare phased disposal plans, and follow social distancing precautions. Where hearings had already been completed before lockdown, no fresh notice was required and orders could be uploaded online. Show-cause notices were to be consolidated where possible, issued by email in suitable cases, and hearings were to be scheduled carefully to avoid repeated office visits.

Import payment timeframe extension: remittance period for normal imports extended due to COVID disruptions, banks must notify constituents.
Remittance completion period for normal imports has been extended from six months to twelve months from shipment date for imports made on or before July 31, 2020 due to COVID 19 disruptions; exclusions include import of gold/diamonds/precious stones/jewellery and cases where amounts are withheld as guarantees. Authorised Dealer Category I banks must notify constituents. Directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management framework and without prejudice to other legal permissions or approvals.

Voluntary Retention Route extension - FPIs granted additional time to meet committed investment threshold and reset retention period.
FPIs allotted VRR investment limits in the noted reopening period are granted an additional three months to invest 75% of their Committed Portfolio Size. Where this extension is used, the retention period for the investments committed at allotment is reset to begin from the date the FPI invests 75% of CPS. The instruction follows prior VRR directions and is issued under the foreign exchange statute, without prejudice to other required permissions.

Port of registration inclusion: Gopalpur added to Sea Ports list, enabling registration under Foreign Trade Policy schemes.
The Director General of Foreign Trade amends Para 4.37 of the Handbook of Procedures 2015-2020 to add Gopalpur to the Sea Ports list, thereby making Gopalpur a recognised port of registration for the schemes administered under the Foreign Trade Policy.

Incidence of National Calamity Contingent Duty clarified for Brand Rate duty drawback calculations; stakeholders urged to follow CBIC instruction.
Instruction communicates that National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) must be accounted for in calculating the Brand Rate for duty drawback and directs importers, exporters and other stakeholders to consult Instruction No. 5/2020-Cus dated 12.05.2020 issued by the Joint Commissioner (Drawback), CBIC. Stakeholders are asked to implement the prescribed treatment and report any difficulties to the Deputy Commissioner, Customs (Prev.), Jamnagar.

Post-default curing period flexibility allows CRAs to upgrade ratings after cure, subject to published policies and oversight.
Revision permits CRAs generally to upgrade a cured default to non-investment grade after a 90-day satisfactory performance period, while allowing case-by-case deviations subject to a detailed, published policy. Deviations must be reported to the Ratings Sub-Committee half-yearly with rationale. CRAs must also publish a policy for upgrading defaults to investment grade and may consider scenarios that fundamentally change credit risk, such as technical defaults, management change, acquisition, large long-term fund inflows, or regulatory benefits.

Acceptance of undertaking in lieu of bond extended; upload to e Sanchit required and bond submission deadline deferred.
Temporary acceptance of an undertaking in lieu of a customs bond under Section 143AA is extended and the deadline for submission of the proper bond is further extended; the relaxation will be reviewed by the CBIC at the end of the lockdown. The undertaking must be submitted from the registered email ID of the IEC holder or authorised customs broker and must also be uploaded on e Sanchit. All other conditions in Circular No.17/2020 remain unchanged; the notice is to be publicised and treated as a standing order, with implementation difficulties to be reported to the Additional/Joint Commissioner of Customs.

Listing of winding-up mutual fund schemes enables optional investor exit via dematerialised trading on stock exchanges with prescribed listing formalities.
Units of mutual fund schemes under the winding-up process shall be listed on recognized stock exchanges as an optional exit route for investors, subject to listing formalities; initial trading will be in dematerialised form and AMCs must enable transfer of units held as Statement of Account or unit certificates.