Filing suspension of Bills of Entry and Section 48 approvals temporarily halts electronic filing during budget directory updates.
Filing of Bills of Entry and Section 48 approvals in ICES will be suspended from 1700 hrs on 1 February 2018 for directory updation after the Budget; Shipping Bills will continue to be filed and processed, export duty/cess for SBS filed on or after 1 February will be collected manually if changes are announced before directory updates, processing of Bills filed before the cutoff will continue, and Service Centre data entry (document digitisation) will be stopped until updation is complete.

AEO programme amendments expand benefits and decentralize application processing while tightening solvency and certification requirements.
Amendments to the AEO programme decentralize application processing to jurisdictional Chief Commissioners with a copy to the AEO Programme Manager, designate the Commissioner, Directorate of International Customs as AEO Programme Manager, and expand the AEO Programme Team to include Directorate and zonal officers. The revisions clarify that eligible AEO exporters may apply for Advance Authorization on self declaration where norms are absent, specify solvency and non insolvency requirements across AEO tiers with corresponding auditor certificates, require publication and fixed time responses for legal compliance details, set differentiated certificate validity by tier, and mandate nomination of a Client Relationship Manager by zonal cells.

All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback amended to adjust rates and reclassify specified tariff items, affecting exporters and importers.
Amendments to All Industry Rates (AIRS) of Duty Drawback effective 25.01.2018 adjust AIRs and caps: increases for specified marine products, rubber articles, leather goods, wool yarns/fabrics, glass handicrafts, bicycles and certain man made textile nets; reductions for specified chemical entries; deletion of the polypropylene mats tariff entry with reclassification under an alternate tariff item while maintaining the existing rate/cap. Trade bodies and customs brokers are asked to publicize the changes and report difficulties to the Commissioner.

Paperless processing: e SANCHIT document uploads require unique Image Reference Numbers and link to Bill of Entry for customs clearance.
Authorized importers, exporters and customs brokers must upload digitally signed supporting documents to e SANCHIT via ICEGATE, obtain a unique Image Reference Number (IRN) for each upload, and furnish IRNs in the designated Supporting Docs table when submitting for Bill of Entry generation; documents may be uploaded and linked post BE by amendment or in response to Customs queries, while Customs will use electronic documents in ICES for assessment, PCCV and manifest closure, with certain originals still required for physical verification but also uploaded digitally.

Duty drawback rates amended raising caps for select goods, reducing others, and realigning tariff classifications.
Amendments adjust the All Industry Rates (AIRs) of Duty Drawback effective 25.01.2018 by increasing AIRs/caps for specified marine products, rubber articles, leather goods, wool yarns/fabrics, glass handicrafts, bicycles, and certain man made nets; reducing AIRs/caps for specified chemicals; and deleting tariff item 391802 so Polypropylene Mats are classifiable under tariff item 460101 with the existing rate/cap.

E Way Bill compliance requirement mandates prior electronic consignment data upload and e way bill generation before goods movement.
E Way Bill is a compliance mechanism requiring the person causing movement of goods to electronically upload specified consignment information and generate an E Way Bill on the GST portal prior to commencement of movement where the consignment exceeds the prescribed value threshold; the E Way Bill Rules commence on 01.02.2018.

Product description correction aligns MEIS Appendix 3B entry with applicable tariff classification, effective from the original notification date.
Corrigendum to Public Notice No. 02/2015-2020 amends the MEIS Appendix 3B Table 2 Entry No. 113 by replacing the existing description "Other Mussels Excl, Frsh/Chld" with "Other," effective from 01.04.2015, to align the entry with the ITC(HS) classification in force at the time of the original notification under powers conferred by paragraph 1.03 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020.

Manual GST refund procedure covers inverted duty structure, deemed exports, and electronic cash ledger excess claims.
Manual filing of refund applications is prescribed until the GST refund module becomes available for claims relating to inverted duty structure, deemed exports and excess balance in the electronic cash ledger. Refund claims for unused input tax credit, deemed export supplies and electronic cash ledger balance are to be submitted in the prescribed refund form with required statements, supporting documents and affidavits. The circular also requires compliance with return-filing conditions, reciprocal declarations to prevent double claims, ledger debit or re-credit as applicable, and coordinated processing through designated nodal officers.

Closure of Bills of Entry filing on ICES due to budget update; importers must expedite clearance before system downtime.
ICES 1.5 filing for Bills of Entry will be closed from the budget-day cutoff and remain unavailable until budget-driven updates are applied; Section 48 approvals are likewise suspended from the cutoff. CHAs and importers must expedite clearance and take out of charge pending bills before the cutoff, while other ICEGATE services continue and ICES filing will resume only after updates are completed.

GST for railway supplies: Chapter 86 goods receive concessional rate with no refund of ITC; other goods face general GST.
Goods classifiable under Chapter 86 supplied to the Indian Railways attract the concessional GST rate and are subject to no refund of unutilised input tax credit, whereas goods falling in any other chapter, even if supplied to the railways, attract the general applicable GST rates as specified under the relevant state tax rate notifications.

GST on retained feedstock payable by refinery only on net quantity retained; returned quantities taxable only when supplied to others.
GST is payable by the refinery only on the net quantity of polybutylene feedstock and liquefied petroleum gas retained by the manufacturer for manufacture of Poly Iso Butylene, Propylene or Di butyl para Cresol; returned quantities are not taxed in that transaction but are taxable when supplied by the refinery to any other person.

Authorized Economic Operator programme expanded with decentralized processing, added advance authorization option, tightened solvency and validity conditions.
Amendments decentralize AEO application processing to jurisdictional Chief Commissioners with the Directorate of International Customs' Commissioner as AEO Programme Manager; introduce an Advance Authorization on self-declaration for eligible AEO exporters lacking standard input norms; require hosting applicant legal-compliance details online with a 14-day response window; mandate three-year solvency and no-duty-default requirements with specified auditor certifications by category; clarify AEO certificate validity and require jurisdictions to nominate a Client Relationship Manager and publicly disclose contact details.

Duty drawback rates revised: enhanced caps for selected manufactured goods and reduced caps for certain chemicals.
The notification effective 25.01.2018 amends All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback under Notification No. 08/2018 Customs (N.T.), increasing caps for specified marine products, selected rubber articles (including automobile and bicycle tyres/tubes), leather and related articles, wool yarns and fabrics, glass handicrafts, bicycles, and certain fishing/sports nets, while reducing caps for chemicals under tariff items 290701 and 291201. Tariff item 391802 (Polypropylene Mats) is deleted from the Drawback Schedule and reclassified under tariff item 460101 with the existing rate/cap.

Filing of Returns under GST: calendar, quarterly option for small taxpayers, reduced late fees, and edit facility before offsetting.
The circular sets a filing calendar for FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GSTR-3B, allowing quarterly GSTR-1 for those with self-assessed turnover up to Rs. 1.5 crore (option to elect monthly for the whole year), mandates monthly GSTR-3B for all, prescribes reduced late fees from October 2017, and authorises use of an edit facility to rectify GSTR-3B errors before offsetting; residual corrections are to be adjusted in subsequent returns, amended in FORM GSTR-1 where applicable, or refunded. System reconciliation with GSTR-1/2/3 is to be implemented once notified.

Online registration requirement for stock exchanges: registrations, renewals and statutory filings must be submitted via the SEBI intermediary portal for compliance.
A mandatory online registration mechanism requires applicants for recognition or renewal as a Stock Exchange under Regulations 4 and 12 to submit applications and upload prescribed documents via the SEBI Intermediary Portal, while retaining hard copies for SEBI. All statutory filings, including Annual Financial Statements, Returns, Monthly Development Reports, Rules and Bye-laws, must also be filed electronically through the portal; the system is operational and immediate compliance by recognised Stock Exchanges is directed.

Online registration requirement: Depositories must submit recognition applications and regulatory filings through the SEBI Intermediary Portal for compliance.
SEBI has mandated that applications for recognition as a Depository and all related filings, including annual financial statements, returns, monthly development reports and rules or bye laws changes, be submitted online through the SEBI Intermediary Portal with uploaded scanned copies of prescribed declarations and supporting documents, while maintaining hard copies for production; the portal is operational and depositories must comply immediately.

Provisional assessment finalization shifted to Import Section CRC II, amending facility notice and centralising assessment responsibility.
The notice amends Facility Notice No. 29/2018 to transfer responsibility for finalising specified provisional assessment cases pending in Group 7U of the 100% EOU Export Commissionerate to CRC II of the Import Section, aligning the procedure with Public Notice No. 03/17 and centralising assessment finalisation within the Import Section.

ICES directory update pauses BE filing and Section 48 approvals; shipping bill processing continues and export duties collected manually.
ICES directories will be updated to incorporate Budget changes by the Directorate of Systems. During the update window BE electronic filing and Section 48 approvals will be suspended from the announced cutoff time while other ICES functions remain available. Shipping Bill filing and processing will continue uninterrupted. If export duty or cess changes are announced and LEO is granted before directory updates are applied online, export duty/cess will be collected manually. BEs and prior entries filed before the cutoff will be processed and tracked for any duty changes before OOC is granted.

Imports of hazardous chemicals must notify the State pollution board at import or within thirty days and provide a Safety Data Sheet.
Importers must notify the designated State authority at import or within thirty days with consignee details, port of entry, transport mode, quantities and a Safety Data Sheet in the Schedule 9 format; State authorities may direct suspension of imports if a chemical poses major accident risk. Importers must maintain records per Schedule 10, permit inspection, ensure transport complies with motor vehicle regulations, and store imports in customs bonded facilities with required safety measures, equipment and trained personnel.

Duty drawback adjustments change AIRs to raise and lower caps and reclassify a deleted tariff entry for trade compliance.
Amendments revise the All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback by raising drawback caps for selected marine products, rubber articles, leather goods, wool yarns and fabrics, glass handicrafts, bicycles, and certain man made textile nets, while reducing caps for specified chemicals. The Drawback Schedule entry for polypropylene mats is deleted and the item is confirmed classifiable under an alternative tariff heading with the existing rate/cap; stakeholders are asked to report any implementation difficulties and are referred to the issuing circular and notification for details.