Simplification of customs procedures permits officer-on-board certification, centralized sailing-report entry, and limits forwarding of manifests.
Officer on Board shall verify original ship documents and provide a certification to steamer agents for submission to the Import & Bond Section, removing duplicate physical verification at the Custom House. The CEPC officer will enter sailing reports in ICES for vessels at ICTT. Physical shipping bills from ICDs need not include vessel name after filing of supplementary EGM online. Customs will not entertain requests to forward filed Import General Manifests by email.

Coastal cargo procedures clarified: no superintendent out of charge required for exclusive coastal vessels; manifests remain mandatory.
No superintendent "out of charge" or clearance order under Section 94 is required for vessels exclusively carrying coastal cargo; the simplified regime applies only to vessels plying as coastal vessels. Coastal Arrival and Coastal Departure Manifests must still be submitted to the Import & Bond Section as per the amended circular, while vessels carrying both coastal and non-coastal consignments must follow the existing mixed cargo procedure.

Refund of IGST on export: officer interface allows rectification of invoice mismatches to process refunds electronically.
An alternative Customs EDI officer interface is provided for SB005 invoice mis match cases to permit manual verification and sanction of IGST export refunds. Exporters must submit a concordance table mapping GST invoices to shipping bill invoices; the officer will verify the concordance, IGST taxable value and IGST amounts, may amend IGST details for short shipment or calculation errors, and then enter the approved refund amount into the system. Validated refunds are disbursed electronically via PFMS and invoices for which refunds are sanctioned will be disabled to prevent duplicates.

Division of Taxpayer Base: orders assigning taxpayers to Centre or State uploaded online; officers and assessees must be notified.
Division of taxpayer base under GST for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry has been carried out by State Level Committees in accordance with GST Council Secretariat guidelines; orders assigning taxpayers to Centre or State/UT have been uploaded on the respective State/UT portals and the office website. Commissioners are directed to inform officers and assessees in their jurisdictions, and Trade and Industry Associations are requested to notify their members of the published assignments.

Export obligation period imposed for maize imports requiring a three-month pre-import compliance from customs clearance.
Appendix 4J of the Hand Book of Procedures is amended to insert Maize as a listed input, imposing an export obligation period of three months as a pre-import condition measured from the date of customs clearance of each import consignment.

Taxability of joint venture cash calls depends on whether contributions are capital or constitute payment for services, affecting GST liability.
Confirms that GST treatment of supplies between an unincorporated joint venture and its members follows prior Service Tax principles: whether cash calls are taxable hinges on the JV agreement and the nature of the payment. Cash calls used as capital contributions to acquire JV assets are transactions in money and not treated as consideration for services; payments that reimburse an operating member for use of its machinery or performance of activities constitute consideration and amount to a taxable supply of services. Each JV agreement must be examined factually to determine GST liability.

Joint venture cash calls are taxable only when they represent consideration for identifiable services supplied between members or the venture.
GST treatment of transactions involving an unincorporated joint venture depends on whether members' contributions are merely transactions in money or constitute consideration for a supply. Cash calls pooled solely to acquire machinery for joint-venture use are capital contributions and not taxable where no activity is performed for another for consideration. Where an operating member uses its own machinery to undertake activities for the joint venture and recovers costs from other members, the arrangement constitutes a taxable supply of service. Taxability depends on the facts and joint-venture contractual terms.

e-SANCHIT extension: voluntary rollout across EDI locations, users must adopt electronic document submission or face ICEGATE access restrictions.
Extends e-SANCHIT to all EDI locations on a voluntary basis and requires Customs brokers and self-filers to develop capability to use the system per Circular No. 40/2017. Procedural guidance and FAQs for uploading digitally signed supporting documents are available on ICEGATE. Those who do not file even a single bill of entry via e-SANCHIT will be barred from filing documents on ICEGATE after the transitional period.

IGST refund officer-interface allows rectification of invoice mismatches through officer verification and electronic sanction for eligible export claims.
An alternative officer interface permits Customs officers to verify GSTN and Customs EDI invoice data and sanction IGST refunds in cases of invoice mis match where exporters submit a certified concordance table mapping GST invoices to shipping bill invoices. The officer may accept, amend or reject IGST entries, adjust for short shipment, and approve electronic refund through PFMS; invoices sanctioned for refund are disabled to prevent duplicate claims. The procedure applies to shipping bills filed up to 31 December 2017.

Paperless proceedings: mandatory e SANCHIT uploading of supporting documents for all Bills of Entry, effective immediately.
All Bills of Entry filed at ACC, Mumbai must have supporting documents uploaded via the e SANCHIT facility from 15.03.2018; hard copies will not be insisted upon when e SANCHIT is used, additional documents during assessment must be uploaded electronically, and originals requiring verification must nevertheless be uploaded before clearance. The procedure is published online, feedback is to be sent to designated officers, and this Public Notice operates as a standing order for staff.

Non-transition of CENVAT credit: disputed or blocked credits cannot be used; recovery with interest and penalty follows.
CENVAT credit adjudicated as inadmissible and credited to the electronic credit ledger shall not be utilised to discharge GST or IGST liabilities until the adverse order remains in force, and any utilisation will be recovered with interest and penalty; likewise, ineligible transitioned amounts (blocked credit) shall not be utilised and will be recoverable with interest and penalty. Taxpayers with disputed or blocked credit above the specified threshold must furnish an undertaking to the jurisdictional Central Government officer that such credit has not been availed or will not be utilised as transitional credit.

Paperless customs processing: mandatory upload of digitally signed supporting documents on e-SANCHIT for import clearances.
Implementation at New Custom House requires upload of digitally signed supporting documents on e-SANCHIT as mandatory for import clearances to reduce physical interface and speed cargo processing. Separate counters remain for mandatory original-document verification, but originals must be accompanied by prior electronic upload. ICEGATE FAQs and EDI/office contacts are provided for feedback and implementation issues; the measures are to serve as standing orders for officers and staff.

Jurisdictional allocation clarified for customs functions assigning SEZ work, export sealing, bonded warehouse licensing, and legacy matters.
The corrigendum reallocates customs operational responsibilities by substituting entries in the Public Notice to assign SEZ-related customs work and tasks in Circular No.11/2017-Cus; self sealing/factory stuffing for export with bond acceptance and Procurement Certificate issuance; administration of concessional imports including bond execution, utilization monitoring and duty recovery; and licensing and regulation of bonded warehouses to the jurisdictional port authorities; legacy issues including SOF, DAP, adjudication and review will be handled by officers of the concerned formations.

Transition of customs functions transfers export and container sealing responsibilities to Customs, adjusting facility jurisdictions and addresses.
Two PIN codes, 411018 and 411057, are moved into the jurisdiction of the Customs Facilitation Range - Akurdi (after PIN 412109) and removed from the jurisdiction of the Customs Facilitation Range - Kurkumbh; the address of the Customs Facilitation Range - Akurdi is changed to the Office of the Asstt. Commissioner of Central Goods & Service Tax, Sector 24, Lokmanya Tilak Marg, Pawle Chowk, Nigdi, Pune - 411 044. This corrigendum amends Trade Notice No. 01/2018 and effects the transition of customs export and container sealing functions to Customs formations under the Commissioner of Customs, Pune.

Taxability of certificates under GST clarified: tradable certificates attract GST and are classifiable with input credit implications.
Classification of composite supplies under GST depends on the principal supply determined by facts and circumstances. Bus body building may be goods or services based on the principal element. Retreading of tyres is predominantly a service, though sale of retreaded tyres where the supplier provides the old tyre constitutes supply of goods. Trading instruments such as PSLCs and similar certificates are classifiable and taxable under specified headings and rates with GST credit available. Transmission or distribution of electricity by utilities is exempt, while ancillary DISCOM charges are taxable; government guarantee services to businesses are taxable.

Composite supply classification determines GST treatment of bus body building and tyre retreading, while specified electricity-related services remain taxable.
Bus body building and tyre retreading require classification as composite supplies by identifying the principal supply from the transaction's essential nature. Retreading is generally a service where the retreading process predominates, although retreaded tyres supplied from the supplier's own old tyres are goods. Priority Sector Lending Certificates are taxable goods, with input tax credit available to the purchasing bank. Electricity transmission or distribution is exempt, but ancillary consumer services are taxable. Government guarantees given to business entities for guarantee commission or other consideration are taxable.

Paperless processing: mandatory digital upload of supporting documents for all bills of entry, replacing hardcopies for assessment.
Mandatory digital uploading of supporting documents for all bills of entry at JNCH via e-SANCHIT is required from the implementation date; uploaded documents will replace hard copies for assessment, additional documents must be uploaded through e-SANCHIT, and originals that require verification must nevertheless be uploaded prior to clearance while physical verification may still be required.

Electronic document submission requirement: eSANCHIT mandatory at all EDI locations, requiring online upload and linking of supporting documents.
The eSANCHIT application is extended to all EDI locations, requiring trade to upload supporting documents on ICEGATE, obtain unique Image Reference Numbers for documents uploaded after Bill of Entry generation, and link those IRNs to Bills of Entry via amendments. Customs officers will access electronic documents on ICES for assessment and Post Clearance Compliance Verification; certain documents still require original hardcopy presentation while all must be uploaded digitally. Manifest closure and clearance procedures will rely on electronic records, with guidance and FAQs available on ICEGATE.

Non-transition of CENVAT credit: disputed or blocked transitional credits barred from use pending adjudication; misuse recoverable with interest.
Directions require that disputed credit (CENVAT credit adjudicated as inadmissible prior to the appointed day) and blocked credit (amounts ineligible under subsection (5) of section 17) shall not be utilised to discharge tax liabilities; if utilised while the adverse order remains in force or where carried contrary to section 140, the credit is recoverable from the taxpayer with interest and penalty. Credits above a specified monetary threshold additionally require an undertaking to the jurisdictional officer that the credit will not be availed or has not been utilised as transitional credit.

Non-transition of CENVAT credit: disputed or blocked credits cannot be used pending final inadmissibility order and are recoverable.
CENVAT credits adjudicated as inadmissible and carried as transitional credits into the electronic credit ledger are prohibited from being utilised to discharge tax liabilities while the adverse order remains in force; any utilisation must be recovered with interest and penalty. Blocked credits ineligible under the new law must not be taken into the electronic credit ledger and, if carried, are unusable and recoverable with interest and penalty. Taxpayers above a specified threshold must submit an undertaking that such transitional credit will not be utilised or has not been availed.