ICES budget updates suspend Bill of Entry filing while export assessments continue with manual collection of revised levies.
Budget-related ICES updates will suspend filing of Bills of Entry and section 48 approvals from 11:00 hours on 01.02.2025 until system changes are completed. Other ICEGATE services and officer functions will continue. Prior Bills of Entry must be checked for changed duty liability before out-of-charge clearance. Shipping Bill filing and assessment will continue, with altered export duty, cess or other levies manually collected until online directory updates are made. Bill of Entry processing will resume after ICES updation.

ICES budget updation temporarily suspends Bills of Entry filing while requiring manual collection of newly affected export levies.
ICES notifications and tariff directories will be updated after the Union Budget 2025-26. Bills of Entry filing and Section 48 approvals will be suspended from 11:00 hours on 1 February 2025 until system updates are completed, although other ICEGATE services will continue. Export Shipping Bills may continue to be filed and assessed; affected export levies must be tracked and collected manually pending online updates. Prior Bills of Entry require verification of revised duty liability before out-of-charge. Trade participants should schedule clearances around the update period.

GST applicability on penal charges and limited exemption for payment aggregator settlement functions clarified, with specified regularisations of past periods.
The Circular clarifies that penal charges levied by Regulated Entities under RBI directions are charges for breach of loan terms and not subject to GST; RBI regulated Payment Aggregators qualify as an acquiring bank for the limited exempt settlement function for single card transactions up to two thousand, excluding Payment Gateway services; exemptions for R&D services against grants and for NSDC approved Training Partners were addressed and certain past periods of GST liability for various supplies were regularized on an "as is where is" basis.

GST regularization on co-insurance premium apportionment and ceding reinsurance commission clarified and backdated for compliance.
Regularization addresses GST on apportionment of co-insurance premium by a lead insurer and on ceding/reinsurance commission deducted from reinsurance premium, with Schedule III treating these transactions as neither supply of goods nor services only if the lead insurer remits tax on the entire premium and the reinsurer remits tax on the gross reinsurance premium inclusive of commission; the state enacted and notified these provisions and the GST Council recommended retrospective regularization on an as-is-where-is basis.

Declaration of synthetic diamond qualifiers voluntary for exports of lab-grown diamonds below set weight threshold, others remain mandatory.
Declaration of additional qualifiers for synthetic or reconstructed diamonds remains mandatory generally to aid identification and assessment; however, for exports of lab-grown diamonds (HPHT/CVD) below the small-diamond weight threshold the Board has made such additional qualifiers voluntary, while mandatory qualifiers continue to apply in all other cases as per prior circular, and a public notice will be issued for trade guidance.

Technical glitch reporting requirement centralized via iSPOT portal, mandating MIIs to submit preliminary and RCA reports online.
SEBI requires Market Infrastructure Institutions to submit the preliminary and RCA report of technical glitches via the web based portal iSPOT, integrated with the SEBI Intermediary portal and accessible with existing SI credentials. The circular amends relevant Master Circular clauses to mandate iSPOT use, takes effect February 3, 2025, and directs MIIs to update systems and bye laws to ensure timely submission and centralized recordkeeping for monitoring and compliance.

Due diligence certificate requirement: debenture trustees must submit prescribed certificates at draft filing and at listing application.
SEBI requires Debenture Trustees to provide prescribed due diligence certificates for unsecured debt securities at two stages: at draft offer document/placement memorandum filing (Annex A) confirming disclosures, covenants and undertaking to execute the debenture trust deed before listing application; and at listing application filing (Annex B) confirming execution of the debenture trust deed as per the offer document/placement memorandum and that the issuer's disclosures and ongoing obligations to security holders are true, fair and adequate.

Export proceeds realisation: exporters must submit e BRCs or face drawback recovery with applicable interest and repayment obligations.
The notice requires exporters listed on the Chennai Customs portal to submit electronic Bank Realisation Certificates (e BRCs) for shipping bills recorded as unrealised, warns that drawback amounts will be recoverable with interest where export proceeds are not realised within the permitted period, and directs repayment via ICEGATE with proof of payment to the BRC Cell; ICEGATE and RBI EDPMS facilities are available for verification and rectification and the BRC Section will prioritise verification and case closure for valid submissions.

Concessional duty eligibility: IGCR benefits may be availed alongside MOOWR when prescribed conditions and timelines are complied with.
Units operating under MOOWR may concurrently avail IGCR concessions if the scheme permits and the importer complies with additional conditions in the Concessional Notification and IGCR Rules, including time-limits and MOOWR stipulations. The phrase "for use in manufacture of cellular mobile phones" requires that a component be used in the manufacturing process; intermediate MOOWR manufacturers who import components, add value, and supply final manufacturers are eligible for IGCR concessional rates provided all documentation, transfer procedures and conditions are met.

Orders under section 201 not treated as assessment orders; appeals to be decided under the e Appeals Scheme.
Orders under section 201 are not to be regarded as assessment orders for the exceptions to the e-Appeals Scheme, 2023; appeals against such orders shall be decided by the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) under the e Appeals Scheme, 2023.

GST on penal charges: penal charges by regulated entities are not subject to GST; sectoral exemptions and regularizations follow.
Penal charges levied by Regulated Entities in compliance with RBI directions are treated as charges for breach of contract and not consideration; hence no GST is payable on such penal charges. RBI regulated Payment Aggregators that handle settlement into escrow qualify as "acquiring bank" for the exemption on settlement of amounts up to two thousand rupees per card transaction, limited to settlement functions; Payment Gateways are excluded. Various historical GST liabilities on specified services by government research providers, skilling training partners, renting to composition taxpayers, electricity ancillary services, and cultural institutes are regularized on an "as is where is" basis for identified intervening periods.

GST regularisation on co insurance premium apportionment and reinsurance commission treated as non supply, regularised retrospectively.
Specified insurance transactions are treated as neither supply under Schedule III where (a) lead insurer apportionment of co insurance premium is conditional on the lead insurer paying all applicable central, state/UT and integrated taxes on the full premium, and (b) ceding/reinsurance commission deducted from reinsurance premium is conditional on the reinsurer paying all applicable central, state/UT and integrated taxes on the gross reinsurance premium inclusive of such commission; GST payment for these transactions is regularized retrospectively from 01.07.2017 to 31.10.2024 on an "as is where is" basis.

Transshipment Bonds for bonded warehouse transfers require physical acceptance, ICES bond generation, and continuing owner-surety liability for customs duties.
Bond-to-bond transfer of warehoused cargo requires physical submission and acceptance of a Transshipment Bond at the source warehouse before its particulars are generated in ICES. Importers or authorised Customs Brokers must submit the accepted TP Bond to the dedicated TSK cell, which creates a job number and, after approval, generates the bond number in ICES. The bond secures safe removal, re-warehousing or satisfactory accounting of goods and payment of applicable customs duties, with joint and several liability of the owner and surety.

eCertificate of Origin implementation: Non Preferential CoO must be applied online with prescribed documents and attestation fee.
Implementation of an eCertificate of Origin requires exporters seeking Non Preferential Certificates to apply online via the designated portal to agencies listed in Appendix 2E, upload invoice and packing list, and pay the applicable attestation fee. Issuing agencies must verify Indian origin criteria and issue eCoOs in the prescribed format; corrections may be requested online as in lieu CoO applications. Agencies may apply for enlistment under Appendix 2E per Annexure I. Back to Back Non Preferential Certificates for non Indian origin goods for re export or trans shipment require documentary evidence and explicit notation on the certificate.

Sea Cargo Manifest rules: SAM message new format mandatory; electronic filing required with outreach support for traders.
SCMTR implementation requires electronic filing of the SAM message in the new prescribed format; an interim extension at ports outside the initial rollout prevents penalisation while stakeholders transition. Weekly outreach sessions will be held for issue resolution and stakeholders should report filing difficulties to the SCMTR Cell and ICEGATE helpdesk.

Union Budget 2025-26: Bills of Entry filing suspended from 11:00 on Feb 1 until ICES update.
Filing of Bills of Entry will be unavailable from 11:00 hours on 1 February 2025 until ICES notifications and tariff directories are updated; approvals under the pre budget approval mechanism will also be stopped after that time. Shipping Bill filing and assessment will continue, but export duties or cesses introduced or changed by the Budget for Shipping Bills given on or after 1 February 2025 should be monitored and collected manually until directory changes are applied. The system will resume BE filing only after ICES update, generally within 48 hours if no substantial new levies are notified.

FTA origin procedures are clarified, modifying earlier customs guidance and establishing standing implementation directions for concerned customs personnel.
Free Trade Agreement origin procedures are clarified through revised customs instructions governing the verification and application of origin requirements. Earlier local guidance is modified to the extent specified by those instructions. The revised directions operate as a Standing Order for concerned customs officers and staff, and implementation difficulties may be referred to the designated officer in charge of the Trade Facilitation Centre.

Voluntary Payment Facility: electronic self initiated challans on ICEGATE replace manual over the counter customs payments.
Enables electronic collection of Voluntary/Self Initiated Payments (SIP) on the ICEGATE e Payment Platform to replace manual TR 6 over the counter payments. Registered users may generate self initiated challans for payments relating primarily to past clearances (not for live consignments), select a prescribed purpose from Annexure A, and pay via the Electronic Cash Ledger or enabled bank/NEFT/RTGS/payment aggregator modes. Officers must not accept manual TR 6 payments except with Commissioner approval; payment proof must be submitted and can be verified through the ICEGATE enquiry link.

GST audit selection under the West Bengal regime identifies registered persons for records audit for the specified tax period.
Selection of registered persons for audit of records under the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 for the period commencing on or after 1 April 2022 and ending on or before 31 March 2023, or part thereof, in exercise of powers under section 65 read with rule 101. A total of 910 registered persons, as specified in the annexed list, were selected for audit. The order takes effect immediately.

GST audit selection under the West Bengal GST framework covers registered persons for the specified return period.
Selection of registered persons for audit of records under the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is made for the period commencing on or after 1 April 2021 and ending on or before 31 March 2022, or part thereof. A total of 801 registered persons, as specified in the annexed list, are selected for audit under section 65 read with rule 101, and the order takes immediate effect.