Finality of High Court orders requires field formations to apply accepted precedents in pending excise and CENVAT cases.
The Department has accepted sixty-three High Court and CESTAT orders that have attained finality (no SLPs filed) and directs field formations to apply these accepted precedents to identical pending excise and CENVAT cases. The Circular is in two parts: Part I lists orders deciding points of law (e.g., invalidation of mandatory penalty rules, entitlement to CENVAT credit despite procedural irregularity, rebate filing rectification, re-insurance as input service), and Part II lists orders decided on facts or monetary limits (e.g., failures to prove clandestine removal, unreliable evidence, pre-deposit adjustments). Field units are urged to decide identical cases expeditiously.

Change in customs jurisdiction: Customs formations now manage brand rate fixation, bond/LUT acceptance and concessional import controls.
Operational handling of brand rate fixation, acceptance of B 17 bond/LUT, EOUs, and duty free or concessional imports has been transferred to Customs formations from 15 January 2018; Commissionerate of Customs IV, Chennai is the jurisdictional authority for the specified GST & Central Excise territories. A Brand Rate Fixation Cell will process brand rate applications through filing, verification and competent authority determination. An Export Promotion Division will administer EOU/EHTP/STP matters, duty free and concessional import controls, bond execution and monitoring, verification of EPCG installations, and related demand and recovery functions.

Compensation for failed IPO allotments due to bank errors: formula, claim window, and redress timeline for retail investors.
Compensation is required where RIIs are denied IPO allotment due to SCSB failures, calculated by (highest opening listing price minus issue price) x shares that would have been allotted x allotment probability; registrars must share allotment basis files with SCSBs. RIIs may file claims within three months of listing; SCSBs must resolve claims within fifteen days or pay interest at 15% per annum for delays beyond that period. No compensation if listing price is below issue price; issues subscribed between ninety and one hundred percent merit compensation for all attributable shares. The policy is effective immediately.

Risk Management System in exports streamlines clearance while enabling targeted verification and post-clearance audit.
The Risk Management System (RMS) creates an electronic risk-based process in ICES to determine whether Shipping Bills receive a Let Export Order or are routed for assessment and/or physical examination. RMS processes Shipping Bill data at submission and after amendments, issues instructions that appraising and examining officers must follow, and classifies consignments as facilitated, inspected before LEO, or interdicted for verification. The system integrates Compulsory Compliance Requirements from Allied Acts, mandates document submission at goods registration and LEO, and enables selection of post-LEO Shipping Bills for Post Clearance Audit.

Pass validity rules for customs broker employees: H passes two-year (or until licence), G passes coterminous with licence.
H category passes will be issued or renewed valid for two years from date of issue or until the Customs Broker License validity, whichever is earlier; G category passes will be issued or renewed valid until the Customs Broker License. Issuance and renewal are subject to CBLR, 2013 provisions including antecedent verification, and brokers must notify the CB Section and ensure surrender of passes when employees are removed.

Authorized Economic Operator program: AEO cell created to assist applicants and deliver tiered customs facilitation benefits.
The notice promotes the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) program at Kandla Custom House, describing tiered AEO certification (AEO-T1, T2, T3; AEO-LO) and attendant facilitation measures-including Direct Port Delivery/Entry, deferred duty payment for higher tiers, expedited refunds and drawback, acceptance of self-certified origin documents, paperless declarations and mutual recognition benefits-and establishes an AEO Cell at New Customs House, Kandla with designated officers and a Client Relationship Manager to assist applicants and accept submissions per Board Circulars.

IGST refund clarification released to address exporter representations and direct circulation to customs leadership for awareness.
The Board issued FAQs on IGST refund to address representations from exporters and trade associations about pending refund claims, clarifying eligibility, documentation, procedure and timelines; recipients (Principal Chief Commissioners and Chief Commissioners of Customs) are directed to circulate the FAQ to the EXIM community to create awareness, pursuant to Member (Customs) approval.

Customs functions reallocation clarifies which Cochin customs formations will handle specified functions within their jurisdictions.
The corrigendum substitutes paragraph 4 of the earlier public notice to provide that specified customs functions previously handled by Central Tax and Central Excise officers will be handled by the officers of the Commissioner of Customs, Custom House, Cochin and the Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Cochin, each within their respective jurisdictions and effective from the date referenced in the original notice.

Royalty on mineral use is treated as taxable services under reverse charge, with mandatory registration for liable businesses.
Royalty paid by business entities to the government for the use of natural resources is treated as supply of services under GST and is taxable at 18% under the reverse charge mechanism. The recipient business entity is responsible for payment of tax on the royalty amount, and registration is mandatory where tax is payable on this basis, irrespective of the normal threshold limit. Even if royalty has not been paid in accordance with the rules, tax liability remains attracted on the royalty amount legally payable.

Custodian change and due diligence relief for FPIs enables streamlined custodian transfers and reduced re-documentation burdens.
SEBI eases FPI access norms by allowing Global Custodians to request local custodian/DDP changes on behalf of authorised FPIs, eliminating prior SEBI approval where transferee custodian/DDP records no objection and notifies SEBI, and permitting transferee DDPs to rely on prior due diligence while requiring adequate due diligence at the next continuance. The circular dispenses with resubmission of PCC/MCV Declarations and investor-group information at continuance if unchanged, allows free-of-cost transfers and multiple custodians for FPIs under the MIM structure with the same PAN, clarifies share-class approval requirements for common versus segregated portfolios, permits regulated private/merchant banks to act for clients subject to beneficial-owner disclosure assurances, and extends conditional registration to converting India-dedicated funds.

Tariff code amendments align Appendix 3B with updated HS codes, revising export incentive coverage and eliminating duplicate entries.
Amendments align Table 2 of Appendix 3B with ITC(HS) 2017 by inserting specific eight digit tariff entries, correcting existing ITC(HS) codes and product descriptions, and deleting duplicate entries where eight digit lines are already covered, with changes applicable from the notice effective date and claims reckoned from issue.

Import prohibition based on open-ended or source-less NOCs requires fresh valid registration and import permit for pesticides.
Imports of insecticides/pesticides based on legacy open ended NOCs, NOCs lacking source details, or NOCs naming unregistered/withdrawn/banned products are not permitted. Exceptions apply only to consignments in transit or with a bill of lading issued on or before the CIB&RC public notice. Importers must obtain and present a fresh Registration/Import Permit under the Insecticides Act that specifies a date of validity and the source of import before clearance; noncompliance may result in action under customs enforcement provisions.

Income-tax amendments: Finance Act 2017 consolidates rates and reforms capital gains, transfer pricing, TDS and compliance.
Income-tax rates and surcharge structure are specified for various categories of taxpayers and withholding; capital gains, transfer pricing and valuation rules are amended to provide tax-neutral conversions, FMV deeming in certain share transfers, revised base year for indexation, and special computation for joint development agreements; anti-avoidance measures include secondary transfer pricing adjustments and an interest deduction limitation for related-party debt; TDS/TCS regimes expanded and simplified; cash transaction restrictions, charity corpus donation rules and procedural reforms on assessment timelines, returns, Aadhaar quoting and advance rulings are introduced or clarified.

Proper officer assignment expanded: Superintendents authorised to issue show cause notices under recovery provisions and monetary tiers set.
Superintendents of Central Tax are empowered to issue show cause notices and orders under specified sub sections of sections 73 and 74 of the CGST Act; officers up to Additional/Joint Commissioner are designated as proper officers for issuance of such notices and orders, with corresponding application to the IGST Act. Monetary limits for issuance and adjudication are prescribed for Superintendent, Deputy/Assistant Commissioner and Additional/Joint Commissioner levels. Audit Commissionerates and DGGSTI may only issue show cause notices, which must be adjudicated by the Competent Central Tax officer of the Executive Commissionerate where the notice is registered, with special adjudication rules for multi jurisdictional and high value DGGSTI cases.

Proper officers and monetary limits defined for issuing and adjudicating GST show cause notices and orders.
Superintendents of Central Tax are empowered to issue show cause notices and pass orders under specified sub sections of Section 74; officers up to Additional/Joint Commissioner are assigned as proper officers for issuance of show cause notices and orders under specified sub sections of Sections 73 and 74 of the CGST Act, with corresponding application to the IGST Act. Monetary limits are prescribed for each officer grade for central tax, integrated tax and combined amounts. Audit Commissionerates and DGGSTI may only issue notices; adjudication is by the competent Executive Commissionerate officer, with special arrangements for multi jurisdictional and high value cases.

Container freight station gate module implementation is deferred while Form-II controls continue for port-terminal cargo movement to CFSs.
Implementation of the Container Freight Station Gate Module under ICES Version 1.5 for movement of containerized import cargo is deferred because CFS registration of TR bonds and one-time authorisations remain incomplete. Pending resolution of the inability to generate gate passes for truck movement from the terminal to CFSs, the existing Form-II procedure continues. Preventive Officers must endorse truck, container, seal and gate-pass details, together with date and time, in Form-II.

Drawback Cell established to process fixation of brand rates and disbursal of drawback claims efficiently.
Constitution of a Drawback Cell at the Headquarters Office, Customs Commissionerate (Preventive), Vijayawada to process exporters' applications under the Customs and Central Excise Duties Drawback Rules, 2017 for fixation of brand rates and disbursal of drawback claims, with designated officers, specified contact details for submission, and directions treating the Public Notice as a standing order for implementation.

Standard unit quantity code requirement: Bills of Entry must include SQC details or submission will be blocked.
Mandatory declaration of Standard UQC (SQC) is required in the Single Window Table for Bills of Entry. Info_Type must be CHR and Info_QFR SQC; Info_MSR must state the quantity in the Standard UQC and Info_UQC must specify the actual unit to be validated against the Tariff Code directory in ICES. Even where commercial UQC and SQC coincide, the SQC and its quantity must be separately declared. Bills of Entry cannot be submitted unless these SQC details are provided.

Power delegation to appellate authority assigns appellate functions to designated commissioners, subject to jurisdictional limits.
Power delegation under the State Goods and Services Tax Act designates Additional Commissioner, Joint Commissioner (Appeals) and Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) as the appellate authority for the specified appeals provision; these functions are assigned pursuant to statutory delegation and are to be exercised only within the officers' territorial jurisdiction unless specific jurisdiction is indicated in the Schedule.

Proper officer designation altered: specified entry removed from Schedule A under Gujarat GST Act by Commissioner's order.
The Commissioner of State Tax, Gujarat, amends Office Order No. GSL/S.5(1)/B.1 (23 June 2017) under the Gujarat Goods and Services Tax Act by deleting the entry at serial No.85 in Schedule A, exercising statutory powers to specify proper officers under the Act and related rules.