Levy of Fees amendment updates fee schedule for customs document alterations and certified copy requests, standardising administrative charges.
Amendment substitutes the fee table in the Levy of Fees (Customs Documents) Regulations, 1970, setting fixed administrative charges for amendments, cancellations and supply of certified copies of customs and shipping documents, while providing nil treatment for a specific category of prior-filed bill of entry amendments and prescribing fees for other bill of entry amendments.

Waiver of merchant overtime fees: customs policy removes MOT collection at continuously operating ports and airports.
Waiver of Merchant Overtime Fee (MOT) applies where customs officers provide services at continuously operating ports and airports, pursuant to a Board circular interpreting the Customs (Fee for Rendering Service by Customs Officers) Regulations, 1998; the public notice directs cessation of MOT collection at the specified air cargo complex.

EU GSP REX registration: exporters must self certify origin for consignments over 6000 and retain records.
Indian exporters must register under the REX self certification system with designated Local Users by submitting IEC and Importer Exporter Profile and obtaining a 20 digit REX number that embeds the IEC and Local User identifiers. REX numbers must be shown on Statements on Origin for consignments exceeding EUR 6000 (multiple shipments under one invoice count as one consignment). Erroneous REX numbers require revocation by the Local User (annulment needs Department of Commerce approval). Exporters must retain origin documents for three years and submit fortnightly trade documents to Local Users; supplier declarations and EU GSP rules of origin compliance are required.

Jurisdiction for SEZ refunds and demands now lies with jurisdictional customs authorities, with SOPs for filing and adjudication.
Amendment to SEZ Rules vests responsibility for refunds, demands, adjudication, review and appeal with jurisdictional Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax or GST authorities prospectively. SOPs require SEZ units to file refunds with jurisdictional DC/AC (Policy/Technical), permit Development Commissioner comments within two weeks, and mandate speaking orders on sanction. Draft demands are prepared by Development Commissioner offices and transferred with relied-upon documents to jurisdictional DC/AC for issuance if time-bar and sponsorship conditions are met. Adjudication and appeals follow the applicable statutory procedures; past refundable claims meeting limitation and merit should be processed by Customs officers, and duties on exit-stock are recoverable by jurisdictional authorities with Development Commissioner assistance for realization.

Reporting obligations on ITSC orders and 245D(4) demand realization require revised quarterly returns in prescribed formats.
Revised reporting requirements require tax authorities to submit quarterly reports in the prescribed Annexure A/B formats on writ petitions filed against Income Tax Settlement Commission orders and on demands pending realization following ITSC orders under section 245D(4), including section wise counts of orders, departmental challenges, case level details for High Court filings and decisions, and submission of reports by designated Chief Commissioners and DGIT (Inv.) offices.

Tariff Rate Quota increase for specialty sugar permits exporters to access non-country specific allocation via first-come-first-serve.
USDA has increased the non-country specific Tariff Rate Quota for refined/specialty sugar for US fiscal year 2017; the additional specialty sugar quota is non-country specific and will be operated on a First-Come, First-Serve basis. Indian exporters are advised to identify a US company to apply to USDA for the tariff-free quota and to consult the USDA links for application procedures so as to utilize the additional allocation promptly.

Derivatives on equity shares permitted in IFSCs subject to SEBI approval and specified participant and position limits.
Inclusion of Derivatives on Equity shares is authorised under SEBI (IFSC) Guidelines, 2015 subject to SEBI approval; eligible participants include SEBI-registered FPIs operating in IFSC and other IFSC entities. Position limits follow existing SEBI circulars, and the Market Wide Position Limit (MWPL) for these derivatives equals ten percent of non-promoter free-float shareholding of the underlying, reckoned separately for IFSC exchanges and capped in value at fifty percent of the domestic-market MWPL.

Amendment to Customs notification updates import procedures and directs guidance to importers and clearing agents online.
Amendment to Customs notification: Notification No. 35/2017 Customs (N.T.) seeks to further amend Notification No. 40/2012 Customs, changing regulatory provisions relating to import procedures. The amendment is communicated by public notice for the guidance of importers, clearing agents and the trading public and the full text is made available on the Central Board of Excise and Customs website.

Commercial tax arrears recovery duties under the RC module stress monitoring, coercive action, and strict reporting compliance.
Duties and responsibilities are prescribed for the integrated computerized recovery of Commercial Tax arrears through the RC module, with emphasis on systematic monitoring, timely issuance of recovery certificates, coercive recovery steps, periodic reporting, and reconciliation of recovery records. Collection Ameens, supervisors, tax assessment officers, tax recovery officers, nodal officers, and zonal commissioners are assigned specific functions for recovery, review, coordination, inspection, and submission of prescribed returns. The circular requires recovery from large defaulters, stayed or pending cases, government dues, and out-of-state dues, with strict compliance through the departmental software-based module.

Government-backed line of credit supports exports with majority domestic sourcing requirement and mandatory EDF shipment declarations.
A Government-supported Line of Credit from Exim Bank to Nicaragua finances exports for transmission and substation works, requiring at least 75 per cent of contract value to be supplied from India and permitting up to 25 per cent foreign procurement; effective March 30, 2017 with a terminal utilization period of 60 months post completion. Shipments must be declared on the Export Declaration Form, no agency commission is payable under the LOC though exporters may remit commission from own resources or EEFC balances subject to AD Category I bank compliance, and AD banks must notify exporters and obtain LOC details from Exim Bank.

Importer liability for service tax on foreign sea carriage to Indian customs station with alternate calculation and credit mechanism.
The exemption for sea carriage services by persons in non taxable territories was withdrawn and liability to pay service tax is placed on the importer of goods; an alternate mechanism permits payment calculated on the customs value of imported goods with applicable cesses, the point of taxation is the bill of lading date at port of export, and importers who pay may claim Cenvat credit on the basis of the challan.

Product description amendments align MEIS Schedule entries with ITC(HS), applying corrections retrospectively to included products.
Director General of Foreign Trade corrected product descriptions in Table 2 of Appendix 3B of the MEIS Schedule for ITC(HS) codes 62099090, 84879000 and 94019000, replacing existing descriptions with amended text to align entries with ITC(HS). These corrections are deemed applicable from 01.04.2015, the initial inclusion date of the products in the Schedule, and rectify descriptions that existed prior to Public Notice 61 to conform with ITC(HS) nomenclature.

Import manifest filing: guidance issued on handling delayed, incomplete or incorrect filings under customs procedures.
The Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue issued a circular giving guidance to importers, clearing agents and the trading public on compliance with import manifest filing requirements and corrective steps for delayed, incomplete or incorrect filings; the circular is publicly available on the central customs website and has been circulated by the Office of the Commissioner of Customs, Chennai-II.

DTA clearance duty charging clarified for goods from indigenous sources affecting EOUs, EHTP and STP units under new circular.
Clarifies the charging of duty on DTA clearances of goods procured by EOUs, EHTP and STP units from indigenous sources, transmitting Circular No. 13/2017 that sets out procedural guidance and compliance obligations for affected units, importers and clearing agents and directing reliance on the circular available on the customs website.

Levy of Fees (Customs Documents) amendment issues guidance to importers and clearing agents, accessible on the customs website.
Amendment to the Levy of Fees (Customs Documents) Regulations, 1970 is issued by notification, revising the fee framework and administrative mechanism for customs documentation. The notification is circulated for the guidance of importers, clearing agents and the trading public and is made available on the official customs website for consultation and implementation.

Tariff Rate Quota expansion permits duty free raw sugar imports under an amended customs notification until mid June.
Amendment permits duty free importation of raw sugar under the Tariff Rate Quota by modifying Notification No.12/2012 Customs; it authorises import up to the specified TRQ quantity until the stated end date and exempts qualifying consignments from basic customs duty under the TRQ scheme, with procedural guidance issued to importers and clearing agents via Public Notice No.79/2017.

IJCEPA tariff concessions expanded for specified imports, enabling deeper preferential duties under amended customs notification.
Amendment modifies Notification No. 69/2011 Customs to provide deeper preferential tariff treatment for specified goods imported under the India Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Notification No. 11/2017 Customs gives effect to these changes and is circulated to inform importers, clearing agents and the trading public, with the full text made available on the central board website for guidance on claiming the preferential treatment.

Reprint of RMS Bills of Entry now available on Saturdays at CFS Speedy to ease cargo release
AC/DC in charge of CFS Speedy Multimode Ltd will provide reprint of RMS Bills of Entry on Saturdays where out-of-charge has been given by the RMS facilitation centre, JNCH, to assist importers, exporters, customs brokers and custodians. The facility is intended to facilitate trade under the Ease of Doing Business initiative and to prevent cargo accumulation at ports and CFSs; stakeholders are advised to avail themselves of this Saturday reprint service.

Textile testing laboratory commencement enables customs textile testing at a new facility with prescribed sample submission and payment procedures.
All textile samples for customs testing must be sent to the Textile Committee Laboratory at Old Aanavathil Junction, ICIT Road, Kalamassery, Kochi; payment of test charges may be made by Demand Draft, Cheque, or NEFT/RTGS using the furnished bank particulars (bank name, branch, branch code, account holder name, account type, account number, and IFSC) and stakeholders should follow the address and payment procedures to avoid inconvenience.

Late presentation charges for delayed bill of entry filings impose escalating per day penalties and notification duties.
Imposition of late presentation charges is prescribed for failure to file the Bill of Entry within the next working day after arrival of the vehicle carrying goods, with escalating per day penalties; Customs Cargo Service Providers must notify Customs of cargo arrival and a higher rank officer is appointed as proper officer. Amendments also fix the relevant date for interest calculation by requiring duty payment on the same day for self assessed BOEs and within one working day after return of BOE in reassessment or provisional assessment cases.