Paperless Customs Clearance: routine printing of specified customs documents discontinued to promote digital processing and reduce transaction costs.
The Commissioner directs routine discontinuation of default printing for GAR7/TR-6 challans, TP copies, Shipping Bill Exchange Control and Export Promotion copies, and the Exchange Control copy of Bills of Entry where electronic transmission, ICEGATE/ICES messaging, and system integration (IDPMS/EDPMS) provide the requisite data; printouts remain available on demand or where systems are not interconnected.

Shore tank receipt quantity governs customs duty assessment for pipeline-discharged liquid bulk imports, redefining measurement and survey bases.
Procedure mandates that for pipeline discharge into shore tanks the shore tank receipt quantity determined by dip measurement is the basis for customs duty; where cargo is loaded into tank lorries assessment may rely on ship's ullage survey. Bills of Lading/manifest quantities are prima facie accepted; ullage surveys at loading and discharge must be supervised by Customs and signed by surveyors, vessel officers, consignees' representatives and Customs. Outturn reports at shore tanks must be countersigned by tank and Bond surveyors; custodians under Section 45 or equivalent insurance are required for home-consumption storage, with excess/shortage adjustment, investigation thresholds, and provisional assessment safeguards set out.

EODC acceptance: EPCG export closure documents generally accepted without customs replication, limited random verification and targeted checks retained.
Customs will ordinarily accept EODCs under EPCG authorizations without duplicating Regional Authority first-block EO verification; detailed verification is confined to a limited random and risk-targeted sample or where specific intelligence or Regional Authority endorsement exists. Verification of non-EDI shipping bills remains mandatory. Installation-certificate checks by Central Excise are to be reduced in scale. Commissioners must adopt transparent selection criteria, ensure senior-level selection and same-day official intimation to exporters, and the EPCG Monitoring Cell will identify selection criteria and oversee expedited bond cancellation and monitoring via EDI.

Exchange facility for foreign citizens: limited weekly conversion to Indian currency with passport and self-declaration requirements.
Foreign passport holders may exchange foreign currency for Indian currency notes up to a prescribed weekly cap subject to submission of a self-declaration that the facility has not been used that week; the Authorized Person must record passport details, retain the declaration, ensure the weekly cap is not exceeded, and inform constituents. Existing instructions on issuance of prepaid instruments by Authorised Dealer Category I banks continue; directions are issued under FEMA and do not affect other statutory permissions.

Entry Inwards timing: grant at pilot station reporting to accelerate unloading after berthing.
The notice directs that Entry Inwards will be granted by the Customs Boarding Office at the point when a vessel reports at the pilot station/boarding of the pilot upon notification from Port Control or shipping agents, thereby delinking system grant of entry from the physical boarding act. Boarding Officers must nonetheless complete verification and address any discrepancies after boarding even if entry has been pre-granted; existing statutory requirements that an import manifest be delivered and exceptions for baggage, mail, animals, perishables and hazardous goods remain operative.

Exemption withdrawal for cross-border OIDAR services requires providers to register and pay service tax from the effective date.
Providers of Cross Border B2C OIDAR services supplied online or electronically from a non-taxable territory to consumers in the taxable territory are required to obtain Service Tax registration and pay Service Tax from the announced effective date. Administrative oversight for these suppliers has been allocated to a specified Large Taxpayer Unit, registration is available via the designated electronic portal, and published contact points provide assistance for compliance.

Pre-shipment inspection certificate requirement retained for shredded metallic scrap imports; clarification issued to correct prior circular error.
Imports of shredded metallic scrap are subject to the documentary requirement of a pre-shipment inspection certificate from designated inspection and certification agencies; a prior circular's statement permitting imports without such a certificate is corrected and Paragraph 3(i) of that circular is modified to restore the certificate requirement for customs clearance.

Paperless customs clearance: routine printing of specified customs documents discontinued in favour of electronic transmission and print-on-demand.
The notice discontinues routine printing of GAR7/TR-6 challans, TP copies, Exchange Control and Export Promotion copies of Shipping Bills, and Exchange Control copies of Bills of Entry where electronic systems (ICEGATE, ICES, IDPMS, EDPMS) provide secure data exchange; printouts remain available on demand or where electronic interconnection is absent.

Abolition of mate's receipt: containerised exports no longer require mate's receipt; non-containerised exports unaffected procedure.
Customs instruction discontinues requirement for issuance or insistence on a Mate's receipt for containerised export cargo, deeming it redundant due to automated procedures and message-exchange systems, while retaining the practice for non-containerised cargo; Customs Houses must notify trade and report implementation difficulties to the Board.

Paperless Customs Clearance: routine printing of GAR-7, exchange control and export promotion copies discontinued pending electronic confirmations.
The Board directs routine discontinuation of printing GAR-7/TR-6 challans, Exchange Control and Export Promotion copies of Shipping Bills, and Exchange Control copies of Bills of Entry where electronic payment confirmation and system integration (ICEGATE, ICES, IDPMS, EDPMS) securely transmit required data; printouts remain available on demand or where manual processes necessitate them.

Source verification for beach sand minerals: exporters must produce legal mining certificates and transport permits before export.
Export consignments of beach sand minerals must be accompanied by a Certificate of legally mined minerals from the concerned District Collector together with transport permits and bulk permits certifying legal source; these documents are required to be produced at the Customs area as an interim verification measure under the Customs Act before allowing export.

Signature requirement for customs printouts removed; EDI-generated out-of-charge bills of entry will not bear officials' signatures.
EDI-generated duplicate and triplicate bills of entry are produced after out-of-charge is recorded and are not required to bear customs officials' signatures. Consequently, signatures will not be appended to out-of-charge bills of entry, and stakeholders must rely on the computer-generated print-outs as the official post-OOC record.

Temporary cheque payment for EDI documentation and DMS charges permitted for trade to address cash shortage.
Interim authorization permits trade and customs brokers, until 31.12.2016, to pay both EDI documentation/printing charges and DMS charges by cheque: cheques for EDI documentation and printing to be drawn in favour of M/S XEAM Ventures Private Limited and cheques for DMS charges to be drawn in favour of M/S Newgen Software Technologies Limited.

All Industry Rates updated for duty drawback; exporters must apply revised tariff lines and procedural suffixes for claims.
All Industry Rates (AIR) for duty drawback and Drawback Rules amendments took effect on 15.11.2016; stakeholders must apply the revised Drawback Schedule and procedures when filing claims. The changes include new and composite AIRs, revised tariff descriptions, separate tariff lines for product differentiation, reduced residuary customs rates, and alignment of Drawback Schedule classification with the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act. Alternative AIR suffixes C/D for Special Advance Authorization garment exports, provisional drawback payment under Rule 7, and deletion of the previous minimum-threshold restriction in Rule 8 are prescribed, with procedures governed by specified circulars.

Mate receipt requirement removed where Export General Manifest serves as primary proof of export, with limited exceptions.
Dispensation of the Mate Receipt requirement recognizes the Export General Manifest (EGM) as primary proof of export for containerized EDI shipments since the EGM database generates Mate Receipts; Mate Receipt production is no longer required except for Manual Shipping Bills and bulk cargo. Withdrawn procedural requirements include endorsement of Shipping Bills in the port area, submission of Mate Receipt to the Boarding Officer, and production of Mate Receipt for issuance of EP copies of EDI Shipping Bills.

Self attested duty document procedure revised: self endorsement and accountant certification permit dispensing of originals, with limited random cross verification.
The revised simplified brand rate scheme permits submission of a working sheet bearing an applicant declaration and an independent Cost Accountant/Chartered Accountant certificate, together with self-attested copies of duty paid documents carrying the applicant's self-endorsement/defacement; originals will not be required routinely and may be called only for limited random cross-verification based on risk parameters determined by the Commissioner, and pending applications may opt into this procedure by resubmitting the working sheet with the prescribed declaration and certificate.

Keyman insurance admissibility: premiums for partners qualify as business expenditure under Section 37; appeals to be withdrawn.
Premiums paid by a firm on a Keyman Insurance Policy for a partner, obtained to safeguard the partnership against business disruption from a partner's premature death, are allowable as business expenditure; CBDT accepts High Court decisions extending keyman coverage to persons connected with the business and directs that departmental appeals on this issue should not be filed or should be withdrawn, treating such premiums as admissible under Section 37.

Dispensing Mate Receipt requirement - EGM recognised as sufficient proof of export for containerized cargo; limited exceptions apply.
For containerized cargo the EGM database will serve as the primary export record and separate physical production of Mate Receipt is no longer required for Customs purposes; Mate Receipt remains necessary for Manual Shipping Bills and Bulk Cargo. Endorsement of Shipping Bills in the port area, submission of Mate Receipt to the Boarding Officer, and production of Mate Receipt for issuance of EP copies of EDI Shipping Bills are dispensed with, with implementation difficulties to be reported to the Additional Commissioner (PG).

Import controls on metal scrap: shredded allowed without pre-shipment certificate; unshredded subject to risk-based scanning requirements.
Import of metal scrap is governed by a revised clearance procedure: shredded scrap may be imported without pre-shipment certificate through all ports, while un-shredded, compressed or loose scrap must follow DGFT Public Notice requirements and be cleared only through EDI-enabled ports where Risk Management System selection governs documentary or physical checks; designated ports must operationalize Radiation Portal Monitors and Container Scanners and re-warehousing of sealed containers to importer premises may be permitted subject to risk-based conditions.

Deferred payment of customs duty for AEO Tier-Two and Tier-Three requires ICEGATE authentication and nodal person authorization.
Deferred payment of customs duty is permitted for AEO Tier-Two and Tier-Three importers who obtain ICEGATE login, nominate a nodal person to authenticate transactions, indicate intent by flagging "D" in the Bill of Entry, and secure OTP-based authentication by the nominated nodal person before customs clearance; intimation to the Commissioner or AEO Programme Manager and observance of prescribed due dates for payment apply, with port-level reporting available in ICES.