Customs duty structure clarified for post and courier imports, distinguishing personal, gift, and B2B consignments.
For CTH 9804, goods for personal use not prohibited by import law attract Basic Customs Duty, Social Welfare Surcharge and IGST; duty concession applies where commercial transaction is involved, with a specified combined duty percentage of assessable value. Consignments imported as gifts are subject to a higher combined duty rate due to an increased Basic Customs Duty component and resultant IGST calculation. B2B consignments are assessed as per tariff. For CTH 49011010 (printed books) a reduced Basic Customs Duty applies and SWS and IGST are nil.

Risk-based provisional GST refund sanction streamlines processing of eligible zero-rated supply claims through system-based evaluation.
Risk-based provisional sanction of GST refund claims applies to claims filed before the proper officer for zero-rated supplies of goods, services, or both. Refund processing is streamlined through system-based identification and evaluation of risk. CBIC instructions governing this mechanism are adopted, mutatis mutandis, for implementation under the TNGST Act, 2017.

Advance-ruling admissibility bars determination when identical GST classification and input-credit issues are pending in statutory proceedings.
Section 98(2) of the GST framework bars admission of an advance-ruling application where identical questions are already pending or decided in proceedings concerning the applicant. A show-cause notice and investigation addressing service classification, applicable tax treatment and input tax credit constitute parallel statutory proceedings. The bar may apply even where those proceedings arise after the application was filed, because a merits determination cannot continue once the same issues are under adjudication. Disclosure of such material developments is integral to assessing the application's maintainability.

Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations require electronic filing of correct arrival and departure messages and stakeholder outreach.
Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations implementation mandates phased operationalisation of electronic SCMTR messages, with SAM, SEI and SDM live and SF piloted; remaining messages to be operationalised by the systems directorate. Transitional provisions are extended, but stakeholders must file correct electronic declarations in the prescribed format in compliance with the Customs Act and SCMTR 2018. Chief Commissioners, in coordination with DG Systems, must conduct weekly outreach, publish notices, and report implementation difficulties to the Board.

SOFTEX filing requirement clarified: SEZ to SEZ and DTA to SEZ service transactions are not subject to FEMA reporting.
Transactions between SEZ units, and transactions from DTA units to SEZ units for export of services, are not subject to FEMA and therefore do not require declaration in EDF or filing of SOFTEX forms; this position is issued in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India and approved by the competent authority.

Auto-approval of incentive bank account registrations enables system-granted cross-port IFSC acceptance and PFMS validation.
The system will automatically approve registration requests for the same Incentive Bank Account and IFSC Code for an Importer Exporter Code (IEC) at different customs locations if that identical account-IFSC combination has already been approved at any one customs location. Submission workflow remains unchanged, approvals in these cases bypass port officer manual routing, and once approved by the system the request will be sent to PFMS for validation as per existing process.

Timely appellate scrutiny requires prompt appeals, stay applications, lawful compliance after remedies are exhausted, and communication of withheld compliance.
Adverse appellate and judicial orders require immediate scrutiny to assess further appeal and stay options. Proper officers must submit remarks through the Deputy Commissioner to the Joint Commissioner for prompt appellate action, supported by appropriate statements of facts and taken within the applicable limitation or earlier compliance period. Where no further remedy is available, appellate or judicial directions must be complied with promptly after confirming exhaustion of legal recourse. Taxpayers or concerned parties must be informed of appeal and stay status whenever compliance is withheld.

Unified electronic customs bonds enable automated execution, officer review, electronic signing, and bank guarantee linkage through digital systems.
The Single Unified Multi-Purpose Electronic Bond framework enables importers, exporters and customs brokers to execute an all-India electronic bond and link an electronic bank guarantee through ICEGATE and NeSL. Users submit entity, bond scenario, supporting-document and authorised-signatory details, complete Aadhaar validation, and undergo Customs officer scrutiny before stamp-duty payment and Aadhaar-based electronic signing. The system supports multiple prescribed Customs bond scenarios, tracks application status, and permits integrated-bank electronic guarantees to be linked to electronic or physical bonds after validation of applicant and bond-reference details.

GST provisional refunds for zero-rated and inverted duty claims: 90% may be sanctioned based on system risk score.
Refund applications classified as low-risk by the system shall have 90% of the claimed refund sanctioned provisionally, with issuance of FORM GST RFD-02/RFD-03 and adherence to extant timelines. Non-low-risk cases require detailed scrutiny and no provisional sanction. The officer may, for recorded reasons, proceed to examination under rule 92 instead of provisional grant; statutory conditions including non-eligibility under section 54(6) and requirements of rule 91(1) remain applicable. The risk-based provisional refund regime applies to claims filed on or after 01.10.2025 and is extended as an interim measure to inverted duty structure claims.

Provisional refund sanctioning based on system risk scoring allows conditional provisional payouts with officer discretion and recovery mechanisms.
Refund applications classified as low-risk by the system shall have a significant portion of the claimed refund sanctioned provisionally, subject to existing FORM issuance timelines; the proper officer may, with reasons recorded in writing, refuse provisional sanction and undertake detailed examination. Notified categories are excluded from provisional refunds and statutory eligibility conditions remain applicable. If provisional sanctioning exceeds the finally admissible amount, the officer shall issue a show cause notice and recover the excess under the prescribed refund and demand provisions. The risk-based provisional regime applies to applications filed on or after the effective date, with an interim similar treatment for inverted duty structure claims.

Extension of Annual RoDTEP filing deadline allows late-November compliance with composition fee requirement under Foreign Trade Policy provisions.
Extension of the last date for filing the Annual RoDTEP Return for FY 2023-24 is authorised under paragraph 1.03 and 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023; the filing may be made with a composition fee of Rs 10,000 until 30.11.2025, replacing the earlier deadline to facilitate export promotion and ease of doing business.

Special Rupee Vostro account investment permitted in Indian corporate bonds and commercial paper under prescribed guidelines.
AD banks may invest surplus balances in Special Rupee Vostro Accounts in non convertible debentures/bonds and commercial paper issued by Indian companies, in terms of the guidelines and limits prescribed in the referenced AP DIR circular, with immediate effect; the instruction is issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of FEMA and without prejudice to other statutory permissions.

Special Rupee Vostro Account balances may be invested in Indian corporate debt and commercial paper under General Route limits.
SRVA holders may invest rupee surplus balances in non-convertible debentures/bonds and commercial papers issued by Indian companies; such investments shall be reckoned under the corporate debt investment limit under the General Route. These investments are subject to General Route investment limits and stipulations applicable to FPI investments, except that the minimum residual maturity and issue wise limits do not apply under the SRVA route. SRVA holders and AD Category I banks bear primary responsibility for compliance; AD Category I banks must facilitate separate demat accounts and report transactions to depositories. The amendments have immediate effect.

Withdrawal of circular ends prescribed procedure for evidence of compliance with Section 15(3)(b)(ii), prompting trade notices.
The Board has withdrawn Circular No. 212/6/2024-GST, rescinding the previously prescribed procedure for providing evidence of compliance with Section 15(3)(b)(ii) regarding reversal of input tax credit for discounts; trade notices should be issued to publicize the withdrawal and any implementation difficulties reported to the Board.

End-user certificates for free and restricted imports may be issued by regional authorities subject to restricted authorisation limits.
Regional Authorities are authorised to issue End User Certificates where a foreign government requires certification, using the prescribed appendix format and an application under the designated ANF with required documents. For restricted imports, EUCs may be issued by RAs only for items covered by a valid restricted authorisation granted by the central trade authority and must be limited to the quantity and value specified in that authorisation.

EDPMS/IDPMS reconciliation: permit declaration-based closure of small-value export/import entries and accept consolidated quarterly declarations without penal charges.
AD banks may reconcile and close EDPMS and IDPMS entries for small-value export/import bills based on exporter or importer declarations that proceeds have been realised or payments made; value reductions may be accepted and declarations may be consolidated quarterly for bulk reconciliation. Banks must review handling charges to ensure they are commensurate and must not levy penal charges for regulatory delays; the changes take immediate effect and the master directions will be updated under the foreign exchange law.

Merchanting trade timeframe extended for foreign exchange outlay, easing management of merchanting transactions under FEMA.
The period for outlay of foreign exchange in Merchanting Trade Transactions has been increased to a six month window to facilitate efficient management; all other directions, including commencement and completion definitions based on shipment/export receipt and import payment, remain unchanged. The change is effective immediately for Authorised Dealer Category I banks and is issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act without prejudice to other statutory permissions.

Electronic Certificate of Origin issuance: preferential eCOO rollout enabling self declaration and agency issuance on unified trade platform.
Preferential electronic Certificates of Origin (eCOO) under India-EFTA TEPA will be issued on the Trade Connect ePlatform by either self declaration or authorised agency. Self declaration requires an IEC linked Digital Signature (DSC) and scanned ink signature upload; applications auto map jurisdictional authority, appear as "Auto Approved Pending Issuance", and allow generation of digitally signed electronic and printable physical copies with QR codes. Agency issuance uses notified agencies to approve and generate electronic copies bearing issuing officer signature images and agency stamps. Authenticity is verifiable via QR code or the platform's verify function.

Algorithmic trading compliance: glide path set for brokers to implement retail API based algo framework, with onboarding restrictions for non compliance.
SEBI extended the implementation timeline for its February 4, 2025 circular on algorithmic trading, allowing ready brokers to go live from October 1, 2025 and imposing a three milestone glide path-API registration of at least one retail algo strategy by October 31, broader registrations by November 30, and mandatory participation in a full mock session by January 3, 2026-with exchanges to monitor compliance and barring non compliant brokers from onboarding new retail API algo clients thereafter.

Foreign contribution registration: submit renewal applications at least four months before expiry to avoid suspension of receipts.
Holders must apply for renewal within six months before certificate expiry, submitting applications electronically in the prescribed form with affidavits in Proforma 'AA'; late submissions hinder scrutiny and security inputs, causing certificates to lapse and preventing receipt or utilisation of foreign contribution while renewal is pending. Associations are advised to submit renewal applications not later than four months before expiry to allow adequate time for review and timely disposal.