Automated clearance for import Bills of Entry enables electronic release after customs verification and payment confirmation.
Automated clearance of import Bills of Entry will be implemented at all ICES locations where RMS is enabled. Designated Customs officers will conduct Customs Compliance Verification even if duty payment is pending; after CCV is recorded as complete by the proper officer and payment is confirmed, the ICES will electronically clear the Bill of Entry. Detailed ICES changes will be issued by DG Systems and the notice's directions shall operate as a standing order for officers and staff.

Expedited GST refunds: process pending refund claims promptly with due diligence and electronic communications.
Pending GST refund claims, including IGST refunds, must be processed immediately while ensuring due diligence and adherence to relevant legal provisions. Communications shall be conducted via official email IDs and physical document submission is not required. Cases of exporters with suspended records continue to follow the previously notified procedure. Zonal and field leadership must monitor daily and prioritize disposal of pending refunds within the administrative timeline.

Priority processing of refunds and drawback claims to expedite disposal and provide immediate relief to business entities.
A Special Refund and Drawback Disposal Drive mandates priority processing and expedited disposal of all pending Customs refund and drawback claims to provide immediate relief to business entities, particularly MSMEs, while requiring due diligence and adherence to applicable legal provisions. Principal Chief Commissioners/Chief Commissioners must monitor daily, guide officers to maximize disposals, use email communication for facilitation, and review deficiency memos to consider refunds or drawbacks on merit.

Lower nil deduction/collection certificates: existing certificates temporarily extended under conditions; new TANs or rate revisions require fresh applications.
Existing lower/nil deduction/collection certificates for F.Y. 2019 20 remain valid for their originally specified period and are additionally valid for the transitional period at the start of the following year subject to original order conditions; threshold limits assigned for 2019 20 apply unchanged for that transitional period. Electronic communications may be used for internal approval and issuance. New/different TAN applications or requests to revise certificate rates are excluded from the relaxation and must be applied for afresh per the annexure procedure.

Charitable donation deduction under section 80G: employer-issued Form 16 suffices for consolidated PM CARES contributions.
Deduction under section 80G for donations to the PM CARES Fund is admissible where employees donate through their employer in consolidated payments; in such cases the Form 16 or certificate issued by the Drawing and Disbursing Officer/employer will suffice as the basis for claiming the deduction.

Skeletal staffing for refund section maintains customs refund processing under existing pandemic trade facility directives.
The Refund section is added to the customs units authorised to operate with skeletal staff under existing trade facility directives, and shall function on the same procedural terms to preserve essential refund-processing while minimising personnel presence; stakeholders may report difficulties to the Commissioner of Customs.

Essential customs services: refund processing to continue with skeletal staff under COVID 19 operational directions; report difficulties to commissioner.
The customs Refund Section is directed to operate with skeletal staff under the COVID 19 measures, aligning its functioning with the directions in Trade Facility No. 09/2020; sections essential for cargo clearance were already ordered to discharge critical functions with minimal personnel, and stakeholders must report any difficulties to the Commissioner of Customs.

Customs bond relaxation permits undertakings to expedite clearance during lockdown, subject to replacement and recordkeeping requirements.
Temporary relaxation permits undertakings in place of prescribed Customs bonds to expedite clearance during the lockdown, subject to conditions including replacement of the undertaking with a proper bond within the stipulated period and maintenance of records by Customs formations for all cases of relaxation.

Extended port gate clearance enables en bloc rail evacuation of import containers under customs verification and custodian controls.
ICD Mulund is declared an Extended Port Gate for DPD-DPD container clearances, with CONCOR providing rail trans-shipment, handling and delivery services. Containers enter ICD Mulund on verification of the Train Loading Summary, container number and seal integrity. Risk Management System-selected containers are inspected or examined at ICD Mulund and re-sealed, with specified Customs officers authorised to grant Out of Charge as an exception. Importers obtain delivery against the Bill of Entry, Out of Charge copy and ICD gate pass, while CONCOR acts as custodian and must facilitate verification, examination, scanning controls and timely delivery.

Temporary online filing of IGM/EGM permitted, subject to undertaking and post-lockdown hard copy submission, and manual submission if amendment needed.
Shipping Lines may temporarily file IGM/EGM exclusively online to reduce physical interaction, provided they furnish an undertaking to the Import Noting Section to submit hard copies within fifteen days after withdrawal of lockdown. The undertaking must also accept that hard copies may be required during the temporary period if manual amendment is necessary. Implementation issues should be reported to the Joint Commissioner of Customs, Import-I, NCH, Mumbai, and actions under the notice are to be treated as a Standing Order for officers.

Provisional assessment allowed on COOC photocopies, subject to bond or undertaking, specified security and later replacement by bond.
Importers unable to produce original Country of Origin Certificates may opt for provisional assessment under Section 18, permitting provisional clearance against photocopies of COOC subject to a Bond or Undertaking and specified security levels by importer class; undertakings must be replaced by formal bonds by the prescribed date and import sections must record all such relaxations, with Bank Guarantee or revenue deposit accepted as security options.

Relaxation of bond requirement: temporary acceptance of undertakings to expedite customs clearance for eligible importers during lockdown.
Customs formations may temporarily accept undertakings in lieu of prescribed bonds to expedite clearance during the COVID-19 lockdown for specified classes of importers (government/PSUs, manufacturer/actual user, AEOs, status holders, and warehouse users) until 30 April 2020. Undertakings must mirror bond content, be signed by the IEC holder and submitted from the registered IEC email, and commit to furnishing the proper notarised bond by 7 May 2020. Undertakings do not replace mandated security; security must be provided as required. Restrictions apply to movement and change of ownership of warehoused goods, and Commissioners may allow case-by-case relaxations with safeguards.

RoSCTL electronic scrips must be registered via DGFT and ownership verified before import duty payment; manual registration prohibited.
RoSCTL scrips are issued electronically to customs via the gateway and must be registered in the License Management module only when transmitted electronically from the issuing portal; manual registration is prohibited. The scrips are transferable and paperless, and ownership must be verified on the issuing portal when scrips are used for import duty payment. All checks and balances applicable to prior electronic export incentive scrips apply to RoSCTL scrips, and these procedures act as a standing order for officers and staff.

Bonded warehouse manufacturing: streamlined permissions, unified application, documentation, bond requirement, and tax treatment for resultant goods.
Integrated procedure requires premises to be licensed as a private bonded warehouse and permission under Section 65; applicants use a single prescribed form that unites Section 58 licensing and Section 65 permission. Licensees must execute the prescribed bond, maintain accounts and records per Annexure B, and follow MOOWR 2019. Resultant products exported need shipping bills and GST invoices with no import duty on contained inputs; resultant products cleared for home consumption attract GST and import duties payable via ex-bond bill of entry. Removal without prior officer permission is permitted where documentation and duty payment are completed.

Relaxation of bond requirements allows undertakings in lieu of bonds to expedite customs clearance during lockdown.
Temporary measures allow acceptance of an undertaking in lieu of bond to expedite customs clearance during the lockdown, available up to 30.04.2020, subject to submission of a proper notarised bond by 07.05.2020. The undertaking must replicate prescribed bond content, be signed by the IEC holder and submitted from the registered IEC email or authorised broker; it does not substitute mandated security, which must be furnished as directed. The facility applies to government entities, manufacturer/actual user importers, Authorized Economic Operators, status holders and warehouse users, while other importers may receive relaxations on a case-by-case basis with safeguards. Field formations must maintain records of relaxations.

COVID-19 GST compliance relief extended filing deadlines, waived late fees, and reduced interest for delayed returns and statements.
Taxpayers under the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax regime were granted COVID-19 compliance relief through notifications covering composition taxpayers, return filing, interest, late fee, input tax credit restrictions, e-way bill validity, and extended compliance deadlines. Reduced or nil interest applied to delayed GSTR-3B filing for February to April 2020, subject to the notified filing dates, while late fee waivers were provided for GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 within specified periods. The circular also extended compliance deadlines for TDS, TCS, input service distributors, non-resident taxable persons, and certain other actions falling during the lockdown period.

Bunching of refund claims: cross financial year clubbing permitted with adjusted refund payment and ITC documentation rules.
Restriction on clubbing refund periods across financial years is removed permitting cross year clubbing; refunds for ITC accumulated solely due to rate reductions on identical inputs/outputs are excluded from the inverted duty refund provision; refunds of tax paid partly through ITC and cash must be allocated proportionately between credit (re credited via FORM GST PMT-03) and cash (sanctioned via FORM GST RFD-06); accumulated ITC refunds are restricted to invoices reflected in the applicant's GSTR 2A; Annexure B is amended to require HSN/SAC codes where applicable.

Virtual meetings and e voting permit companies to transact urgent shareholder business without holding physical general meetings.
Urgent resolutions (other than ordinary business or matters where a person has a right to be heard) should be passed by companies through postal ballot/e voting, without holding a physical general meeting. If an EGM is unavoidable, it may be held through VC/OAVM with safeguards including recorded transcripts, two way participation, remote e voting provision, counting VC/OAVM attendance for quorum, restrictions on proxy appointments, specified access for auditors and independent directors, disclosure in the meeting notice, member assistance helplines, and filing of resolutions with the Registrar of Companies within sixty days.

Electronic Preferential Certificate of Origin now required to be applied and issued through the DGFT online platform with digital e-certificates.
DGFT directs exclusive electronic filing and issuance of Preferential Certificates of Origin for specified FTAs/PTAs through the single CoO portal. Issued CoOs will be digitally signed e-certificates with the same layout and validity as paper certificates, verifiable by QR code or serial number on the portal. Hard copies will not be provided while movement restrictions persist; hard copies with ink signatures may be supplied later but certificate issuance will remain online. Exporters must register, use a DSC (Class II/III) embedding the IEC, and ensure IEC details in the DGFT database are up to date.

Provisional assessment under Section 18 permits clearance on photocopy of origin certificate subject to bond and security.
Provisional assessment under Section 18 of the Customs Act permits clearance on photocopies or electronic Country of Origin Certificates where originals cannot be produced due to COVID-19, conditional on submission of a Bond or Undertaking and specified security levels by importer class; undertakings must be replaced by proper Bonds by the date in the governing circular and offices must maintain records of such relaxations.