Late charges waiver permitted when delay due to system failures, subject to proper officer satisfaction and evidentiary proof.
Proper Officers may waive late charges for delayed Bills of Entry where delay is not attributable to the importer and there is sufficient cause, notably system failures. Applicants must submit evidence of filing attempts via ICEGATE-Job Numbers, screenshots or messages showing no ICES acknowledgement-and each request will be adjudicated on merits by the Additional or Joint Commissioner of Customs.

Import of articles of food requires an FSSAI import licence or prescribed Form based declaration for specified exemptions.
Imports of articles of food require a mandatory import licence from the Central Licensing Authority and prior registration in the Food Import Clearance System; exemptions under Regulation 7 (personal use, R&D, 100% export/re export, trade fair display, sports events) require submission of prescribed declarations (Forms 7-11) to the proper officer before Out of Charge, certification of purpose and quantities, and obligations to re export or destroy unused items, with importers liable for any contraventions.

Document verification: mandate to authenticate SEZ unit BOE and Shipping Bills via QR code or SEZ Online EDI status before processing.
All Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills generated on SEZ Online must be authenticated before processing either by scanning the QR code on the printed document using the 'SEZ India' mobile app to display transaction details, or by entering the unique Request ID in the SEZ Online "EDI Status for BE/SB" to retrieve the transaction summary including Request ID, assessment date, BE/SB number and date, SEZ Port Code and Custom House Code.

Electronic sealing for export containers: vendors must certify seals to ISO standard and meet data and reader integration requirements.
Vendors of RFID tamper proof one time bolt container seals must submit self attested manufacturer certificates demonstrating compliance with ISO high security seal standards to the Director (Customs), CBEC; approved vendors will be listed on the Board's website. Vendors must provide manufacturer linkage documentation, notify CBEC on supplier changes, incorporate prescribed data elements in web applications, capture Tag Identification (TID) and link exporter IEC at sale, and supply port/ICD reader availability information to enable customs integration.

Extended operational day for customs assessing groups enables trade facilitation and prevents cargo accumulation by allowing additional clearances.
All assessing groups and docks at Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House under NS I through V, including CEAC and the RMS Facilitation Cell, will operate on 30.09.2017 as an extended weekend working day. Importers, exporters, customs brokers and other stakeholders engaged in processing and clearance are directed to avail this facility for assessment and clearance of import and export cargo to facilitate trade and avoid cargo accumulation at ports and CFSs.

Tax arrear claims in insolvency proceedings must be lodged promptly via IBBI to preserve revenue recovery rights.
Directs Assessing Officers to identify corporates under IBC 2016 from the PAN Directory and IBBI public announcements, obtain Insolvency Professional/Liquidator contact details, and promptly lodge tax arrear claims with proof using the prescribed forms (Form B/Form C), submitting them by email or speed post; AOs must monitor IBBI updates and official email notifications, and give priority to cases with significant outstanding demands or those recommended for liquidation.

Transitional input tax credit on reverse charge: record in ST 3, revise return within allowed window, then migrate via TRAN 1.
Transitional credit arising from payment of service tax on reverse charge after 30 June 2017 but by 5th/6th July 2017 must be declared in Part I of Form ST-3 at specified entries with linked Part H entries; if ST-3 was already filed the credit must be shown in a revised return filed within 45 days. ST-3 returns for the quarter to 30 June filed up to 31 August are deemed filed on 31 August to permit revision, after which details may be carried into Form GST TRAN-1. Non-ACES assessees required to pay service tax post conversion may use non assessee registration to remit tax.

IGST refund validation: exporters must validate bank accounts in PFMS to enable refunds and avoid account changes.
IGST export refunds are treated as filed via the shipping bill once the Export General Manifest is filed and a valid Form GSTR-3 return is furnished. Exporters must validate bank accounts in the Public Financial Management System (PFMS); closed or non-validated accounts cannot receive sanctioned refunds. The customs house has published a list of such accounts and advises exporters to update and avoid changing validated account details during the current financial year.

FPI investment limits in government securities increased, triggering SEBI guidelines and AD Category I compliance obligations.
Revision of FPI investment limits increases permitted holdings in Central Government Securities and State Development Loans for the October-December 2017 quarter, with the revised allocations effective October 3, 2017. SEBI will issue operational guidelines for allocation and monitoring of the revised limits, and AD Category I banks must inform their constituents; the directions are issued under FEMA and subject to other applicable permissions.

Interest rate hedging for mutual funds allows imperfect futures hedges subject to high correlation, limits, and disclosure.
Permits mutual funds to hedge debt portfolio interest rate risk using Interest Rate Futures on a weighted average modified duration basis with a formulaic limit on short positions; allows imperfect hedging exempt from gross exposure up to 20% of scheme net assets provided correlation with the IRF is at least 0.9 (measured over prior 90 days), rebalancing occurs within five working days upon deviation, and net modified duration of the hedged portion remains non negative; excess hedging must be included in gross exposure and scheme characteristics must not be altered.

International transshipment procedures: landing permission waived before berthing, with post-berthing reporting and delayed TSA filing permitted.
Pre-berthing landing permission for international transshipment containers is waived; liners must submit a vessel-wise report to Customs ITP Cell by the next working day after berthing for assignment of Container Bond numbers and dates to monitor re-export within the six-month period. Containers arriving by road or rake from other Indian ports still require prior landing permission. Unloading will be supervised by the Superintendent of Customs (VCTPL) based on the IGM, and TSA filing may be made within two working days after sailing, with liners responsible for validity of re-export.

De-notification of Customs Notified Area: dock sector removed subject to perimeter, liability, lighting and CCTV conditions.
An area of 33,323.92 square meters in Princess and Victoria Docks, from Purple Gate to 14 VD, is de notified from the Mumbai Docks Customs Notified Area to allow coastal passenger transport facilities that do not require customs clearance. The de notification is conditional: the Mumbai Port Trust must construct a permanent perimeter boundary wall for the Customs Notified Area; assume responsibility for incidents until the permanent wall is completed; ensure sufficient night lighting; maintain 24x7 CCTV on the temporary boundary; and make CCTV footage available to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) when required.

Ban on import of fireworks: ensure strict compliance and enforcement under existing import restrictions and licensing regime.
Directive to ensure enforcement of the ban on importation of fireworks by strict compliance with Notification GSR No.64(E) dated 27.01.1992; importation is a restricted item requiring a DGFT licence and no licence under Explosives Rules, 2008 has been issued by PESO for possession or sale. Customs formations are to alert officers and take measures to prevent illegal importation and smuggling.

Challan correction for PMGKY payments to regularize Form 1 filings when procedural errors prevented timely recognition.
The circular permits administrative correction of PMGKY challans where tax and required deposits were paid on time but recorded with incorrect challan particulars, while excluding PMGKD deposit corrections as outside CBDT authority; it prescribes allowable correction types (assessment year, PAN, specified major and minor head changes), requires jurisdictional recommendations assessing bona fides, directs Systems to process corrections and notify declarants, and sets deadlines for subsequent filing of Form 1 and issuance of Form 2 following verification.

Festival-season tax enforcement targets high-value goods, e-way bills, warehouses, and transporters to curb evasion during peak sales.
Festival-season enforcement instructions required intensive checks on high-sales goods, warehouses, transporters, courier-linked consignments, e-commerce transactions, and vehicle movement to curb tax evasion. The circular directed intelligence gathering, bill verification, e-way bill monitoring, and inspection of banks, post offices, wholesale traders, stockists, cold storages, and warehouses, while also covering pan masala, tobacco products, gold, bullion, sweets, dry fruits, electronics, textiles, garments, utensils, gift items, and firecrackers. It further limited special investigation of small traders absent prima facie heavy tax evasion and required written permission for special investigation, along with fortnightly reporting.

Audit authorization through scrutiny module required to ensure uniform processing and avoid duplicative allocations.
All tax audits must be processed and authorized through the scrutiny module using dealer dossier data and required field entries to ensure uniformity and supervisory review. Works contract, input tax credit and entry tax audits are to be prioritized; other audits are to be taken up only in exceptional cases. The scrutiny module must be used to avoid duplicity from parallel VATIS allocations.

E-payment of customs duty required for specified importers; electronic remittance mandated where per bill threshold is met.
E-payment of customs duty is compulsory for importers registered under the Authorised Economic Operator Programme and for importers whose customs duty per bill of entry meets or exceeds the statutory per-bill threshold, pursuant to Notification 80/2017, effective 01.09.2017; prior public notices on implementation and bank scheduling remain applicable.

Full description requirement for imported wood: detailed logs, measurements and measurement method required to support customs assessment.
Bills of Entry for wood under tariff headings 4403 and 4407 must provide full descriptions including wood type, average cubic measure (Avg CFT), girth, length, number of logs/pieces and grade. Importers must produce supplier log lists/packing lists that state the measurement system and formula used for CBM calculation, and suppliers should individually number logs/pieces to allow correlation during cargo examination; importers bear the onus of correct declaration under the self assessment regime.

Proper officer designation under the Haryana GST Act assigns specific tax, refund, enforcement and adjudication functions to officer cadres within jurisdiction.
The order designates specific officer cadres to perform discrete functions under the Haryana GST Act, 2017, mapping registration, amendment, cancellation and revocation tasks, provisional and final assessments, scrutiny, audit, refund administration, inspection, search and seizure, recovery, adjudication and penalty functions to appropriate Excise & Taxation Officers, Assistant Excise & Taxation Officers, Deputy and Joint Excise & Taxation Commissioners, subject to territorial jurisdiction and specified administrative approvals.

Export of services: satellite launch treated as export when place of supply is outside India, making the supply zero-rated.
Where the recipient of a satellite launch service is located outside India and the place of supply is outside India, the supply meets the statutory conditions for export of services (including payment in convertible foreign exchange and distinct persons requirement) and is zero rated under the IGST framework; supplies to persons located in India have place of supply determined by recipient location if registered or handover location if not, and are taxable under CGST/UTGST/IGST as applicable.