Drawback rules revision limits drawback to customs and specified excise duties and replaces composite rates with general AIRs.
The notification implements Drawback Rules, 2017 and revises All Industry Rates effective 1 October 2017, narrowing drawback to Customs duty and specified Central Excise duty while excluding integrated tax and compensation cess, discontinuing composite rates, and providing only general AIRs (suffix 'B') with caps. Alternative AIRs for garment exports under Special Advance Authorization require suffix 'D'. Provisional drawback payments are to equal the applicable AIR and count toward further provisional authorisations. Brand rates fixed earlier do not apply for exports with let-export date on or after 1 October 2017 and fresh applications under Rule 6 or Rule 7 are required.

IGST on imports requires GSTIN reporting and EDI reconciliation to enable credit claims and validate export refund eligibility.
Imports will attract Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) and possibly the GST Compensation Cess in addition to customs duties, calculated on an aggregate value that includes customs duty but excludes IGST or cess. Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills (manual and EDI) have been modified to require GSTIN for registered persons or PAN/state code for non-registered persons; Customs EDI will reconcile IGST credit claims with GSTN returns and publish IGST and cess paid on each Bill of Entry to facilitate credit claims and refunds.

State code alignment with GSTN requires ICES to adopt census-based state codes for consistent BE and SB declarations.
ICES state codes will be aligned with Census Codes used by GSTN, replacing the prior RBI-based codes. This change affects state fields in Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills (including State of Origin and VAT registration code) and requires traders to declare the new codes in BE/SB filings. The NIC RES package and ICES master have been updated for implementation from mid-June 2017; trade may report difficulties to the System Manager/ADC (EDI) or the ICEGATE contact email.

Manual filing of Bills of Entry now restricted and processed through ICES digital workflow with mandatory e-payment and record verification.
Manual filing of Bills of Entry is permitted only in exceptional cases with authority approval and must be processed through ICES 1.5: PO/EDI in MBE role enters specified bill details, a Job Number links IGM to the BE, Group AC/DC in ACL role records reasons and concurs, ICES generates a six-digit running BE number, duty and licence details are entered, a system challan is produced for ICEGATE e-payment (manual challans prohibited), OOC acknowledgement is recorded by the Shed Appraiser, and PO/EDI completes post-clearance entries; manual BE copies must be preserved and cross-verified.

GST implementation support: customs establishes a dedicated GST cell to guide trade on levy, forms, filing, and EDI changes.
Creation of a dedicated GST cell in the Customs Commissionerate, Kandla to provide guidance on IGST and Compensation Cess, revised Bill of Entry and Shipping Bill forms, manual filing procedures, and EDI system changes; named contact officers are provided for stakeholder assistance and trade associations are requested to inform their members.

State code alignment with GSTN implemented-trade must use revised codes in customs declarations to avoid interface mismatches.
Alignment of state code lists in ICES from the RBI list to the Census/GSTN codes has been implemented via an NIC RES package update; trade must use the new codes in Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills to ensure correct State of Origin and registration declarations and to prevent ICEGATE-side mismatches, and report any difficulties to the System Manager at the Custom House.

Indian Customs EDI launch at Okha enables electronic filing, automated valuation, licence and bond ledgering, and e payments.
ICES 1.5 at OKHA Port implements electronic filing and automated processing of import Bills of Entry and export Shipping Bills: mandatory pre registrations (IE Code, Customs Brokers, shipping lines, DGFT licences, bank accounts), remote filing via ICEGATE with digital signatures, system self assessment upon generation of document numbers, automated valuation/conversion and duty calculation, workflow assignment to Appraising Groups, RMS risk routing, centralized licence and bond ledgers for automatic debits/credits (DEPB, EPCG, TRAs), and Bond Module enforcement preventing goods registration/out of charge until bond/BG/cash conditions are satisfied.

Indian Customs EDI launch at Navlakhi enables electronic filing and automated processing of import Bills of Entry and export Shipping Bills.
Launch of ICES 1.5 at NAVLAKHI port establishes mandatory electronic filing and automated processing of Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills, requiring registration of IE Codes, customs brokers, shipping lines and DGFT licences; use of prescribed currency, unit, country and port codes; ICEGATE/remote filing with digital signatures; system calculation of assessable value and duties; assignment to appraising groups; self-assessment on Bill of Entry number generation; RMS risk selection; procedures for first/second check appraisal, queries, concurrent audit, payment (including e payment), examination, and generation of Out of Charge and clearance documents.

ICES 1.5 launch at Muldwarka Port requires mandatory electronic filing and automated customs processing for imports and exports.
Launch of ICES 1.5 at MULDWARKA Port mandates electronic filing and automated online processing of import Bills of Entry and export Shipping Bills; prerequisities include IE Code, Customs Broker and carrier registrations and use of prescribed currency, unit, country and port codes. Remote filing via ICEGATE with Class III Digital Signatures or Service Centre entry is allowed; generation of a system Bill of Entry/Shipping Bill number constitutes self assessment. The system validates data, computes duties from maintained directories, allocates Bills to Appraising Groups, and integrates RMS routing, query workflows, licence and bond registration and automatic debits for export promotion schemes, while preventing goods registration/out of charge until bonds/licenses/payments are satisfied.

Indian Customs EDI (ICES 1.5) launched at Jamnagar/Bedi Port enabling electronic filing and automated processing of import clearances.
ICES 1.5 at Jamnagar/Bedi Port mandates electronic filing and automated processing of Bills of Entry, IGMs and related declarations via ICEGATE or service centres, subject to IE Code, customs broker and carrier registration and digital signature enrolment. The system validates codes and documents, converts currency, computes assessable value and duty, assigns B/Es to appraising groups, enables RMS facilitation, supports amendment, audit and reassessment workflows, and centrally manages licenses, DEPB/TRA scrips and bonds with automatic ledger debits/credits before out of charge.

Goods and Services Tax implementation prompts extended customs office hours to facilitate import and export operations.
Implementation of Goods and Services Tax w.e.f. 1 July 2017 is supported by trade facilitation measures: all CBEC offices will remain open to ensure continuity of import and export processes; Chennai Customs House will remain operational on the weekend immediately following GST commencement; and the Chennai Customs House Service Centre will operate from the midnight prior to GST commencement to assist importers and exporters with filings and procedures.

GST Helpdesk established to assist importers and brokers with procedural and technical issues in filing customs documents.
A dedicated GST Helpdesk has been established at New Custom House, Air Cargo Complex, Meenambakkam, Chennai to assist importers, customs brokers and trade formations with procedural and technical difficulties in filing Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills following GST implementation; designated customs officers and ICEGATE helpdesk contact details are provided, and trade is advised to consult CBEC and customs websites for updated formats and state codes before approaching the Helpdesk.

GST compliance on imports and exports requires GSTIN, state code and numbered BE/SB entries for validation.
Customs must record verifiable GSTIN and Census based state codes on all Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills to enable matching with GSTN for IGST credit and refund. Non EDI sites shall use a fixed three digit site series plus three digit serial to create 6 digit BE/SB numbers, employ an offline data capture utility when available, require export invoice endorsements per GST invoice rules, and process refunds only after EGM confirmation, ensuring declarations are electronically validatable with GSTN.

Customs declarations now require IGST, GSTIN and state codes with online reconciliation to enable input tax credit flow.
Customs BE and SB electronic formats are revised to record IGST and GST Compensation Cess notification numbers, duty flags and exemption identifiers; CETH must be declared where applicable. Importers and exporters must declare State Code and GSTIN or approved identity codes to identify the GST beneficiary. Item-level taxable values and IGST paid must reflect actual quantities exported. Online reconciliation between Customs EDI and GSTN using BE/SB and GST return data will enable seamless IGST credit flow; specific drawback declarations and container details are newly required, and limited transitory reassessment provisions apply.

GST implementation in Customs: 24x7 helpdesk established to resolve procedural and technical GST-in-Customs issues for trade.
A 24*7 helpdesk at New Custom House is established to provide procedural and technical guidance on GST-related Customs matters, including Bills of Entry issues, Shipping Bill and GSTIN identification, export invoice terms, drawback declaration changes, container/transitory provisions, levy and collection of IGST and declarations of CETH, and queries on IGST, CVD, Compensation Cess, NCCD and other cesses. Two alternating teams of officers with listed contacts will staff the helpdesk; Mumbai Customs Zone-1 website and ICEGATE channels will host information and offer additional round-the-clock support. The notice applies across the Zone-1 formations.

Proper-officer designation for GST registration assigns circle-level responsibility for registration, amendment, cancellation, and revocation procedures.
Proper-officer jurisdiction for registration-related provisions is assigned to the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes in charge of a Circle or, where applicable, the Assistant Commissioner in charge of that Circle. The designation covers registration liability, exemption and compulsory registration, registration procedure, deemed registration, casual and non-resident taxable persons, amendment, cancellation, and revocation of cancellation. The appointment takes effect from 1 July 2017.

Proper officer functions under Assam GST Act assigned, delimiting Assistant Commissioner duties and Inspector limited to a single rule.
The Commissioner of State Tax, exercising powers under the Assam GST framework, designates certain officers as proper officers and assigns them specified functions: the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax or Superintendent of State Tax is entrusted with a comprehensive set of statutory and rule-based duties pertaining to determination, assessment and procedural controls, while the Inspector of State Tax is assigned a narrowly defined rule-based function.

Territorial jurisdiction assigned to State Tax officers, defining zones, unit boundaries and special coal dealer coverage.
Order under section 4(2) of the Assam Goods and Services Tax Act designating classes of State Tax officers to exercise statutory powers within specified territorial jurisdictions. A tabulated allocation maps Joint Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners, Superintendents and Inspectors to statewide, zonal, unit and district areas (including detailed boundary descriptions for Guwahati Units A-D) and identifies two units with special coverage for coal dealers, thereby defining which office is competent to act for GST administration in each listed area.

Electronic verification under GST: Aadhaar EVC, net banking EVC and portal EVC authorized for taxpayer verification.
Authorizes three modes of electronic verification under rule 26(3): Aadhaar based Electronic Verification Code (EVC), EVC generated through net banking login on the common portal, and EVC generated on the common portal, as the prescribed means for taxpayer authentication in GST filings.

Priority verification of self-assessment for DPD imports speeds customs clearance; request via email, WhatsApp, or in person.
Introduces a Priority Verification process at JNCH requiring Appraising Officers and DC/AC Group to prioritise verification of self-assessment for Bills of Entry filed by DPD importers to expedite port evacuation; priority requests may be made by email, WhatsApp, or in person and the instruction operates as a standing administrative order with escalation to the DPD Cell if difficulties arise.