Minimum Export Price rule for onion exports requires Letter of Credit shipments and a fixed FOB floor temporarily.
Exports of the specified onion items are permitted only on Letter of Credit and subject to a Minimum Export Price at a prescribed FOB floor; this LC-plus-MEP requirement takes immediate effect and applies for the limited period specified, with customs officers instructed to implement it and stakeholders invited to report compliance difficulties.

Client Relationship Manager for AEO programme appointed to coordinate AEO concerns and act as nodal outreach officer.
A Client Relationship Manager is appointed for the AEO programme as the single point of interaction to present AEO concerns to Customs, coordinate with Customs sections and stakeholders to resolve procedural and operational issues, and act as nodal officer for AEO outreach. The notice names the designated CRM for the Commissionerate, provides office contact details for stakeholder engagement, and identifies two assisting officers to support operational and examining responsibilities.

E-way bill compliance clarified for short-distance transport, transitional goods in transit, and excluded non-GST goods.
Important guidelines were issued for implementation of the National E-Way Bill system from 01.02.2018. The earlier 10-kilometre instruction was corrected to clarify that vehicle details need not be filled in Part B or updated where transport is within 10 kilometres between the relevant business places. The e-way bill was required before transport from 01.02.2018, goods already in transit by midnight of 31.01.2018 were exempt from the new download requirement, and the National E-Way Bill did not apply to specified non-GST goods, though e-transmission continued for them.

Non-existent newly registered traders: directions require prompt action and online recording of verification proceedings.
Directions were issued to complete action against newly registered traders found to be non-existent, after review showed that prompt action was not being taken. The instructions required completion by the specified date and entry of the information section-wise in the departmental online module through the E.I.S. login page under the New Registration Enquiry link, with strict compliance stressed.

E-way bill requirement ensures inter-state consignments must carry e-way bill; failure attracts penalties under Assam GST.
The circular replaces state GST Inward and Outward Permit procedures with a nationwide e-way bill system for inter State and later intra State movement, directs taxpayers to use the designated e way bill portals, requires migration and trial generation during the transition, and provides that existing permits will cease at the cut off and unused permits will be invalidated; movement of inter State consignments without an e way bill will be an offence under the Assam GST rules.

e-Way bill requirement rolled out for inter-State then intra-State movements; generate on portal before transit.
Assam will implement the e-way bill system in two phases: for inter-State movement from the national roll out date and for intra-State movement from the specified state commencement date. Section 68 of the Assam GST Act, 2017 read with rule 138 requires the custodian to carry an e-way bill while goods are in transit. Provisions of rule 138 on furnishing information and generation of e-way bill apply from the intra-State commencement date; until the day before that date no e-way bill is required for intra-State movement regardless of consignment value. E-way bills must be generated on the Common GST Electronic Portal before commencing movement.

Paperless customs processing: digital upload of signed supporting documents on ICEGATE enabling electronic linkage to Bills of Entry.
Pilot implementation permits authorized customs brokers and importers at New Custom House, Mumbai, to upload digitally signed supporting documents on ICEGATE using the e SANCHIT facility, initially voluntarily for Groups IV and VB and to become mandatory for all groups after 15 days. Authorized persons must log into ICEGATE, upload required documents when preparing jobs in their Remote EDI Systems, and when documents arise post Bill of Entry issuance must obtain an Image Reference Number (IRN) on ICEGATE and link the document to the Bill of Entry by submitting an amendment at the Service Centre.

Duty drawback rates revised: selective increases, reductions and tariff reclassification alter export entitlements and administrative implementation.
Amendments to the All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback effective 25.01.2018 adjust drawback entitlements: increases in AIRs/caps for specified marine products, rubber articles (including tyres and tubes), leather goods, woollen yarns and fabrics, glass handicrafts, bicycles, and certain man made textile nets; reductions for specified chemicals; and deletion of the polypropylene mats tariff item from the Drawback schedule with reclassification under the Customs Tariff Act retaining the existing rate/cap. The Public Notice is a standing order for Customs (Preventive), Vijayawada.

GSTR-6 filing time limit extended for input service distributors under the Uttar Pradesh GST framework.
Extension of the time limit for furnishing FORM GSTR-6 by an Input Service Distributor under the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The extended filing period covers the returns for July 2017 to February 2018, and the last date for furnishing those returns is fixed as 31 March 2018. The order applies to the GSTR-6 return required under section 39(4) read with rule 65 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017.

Online information requests to FIU IND now mandatory; use bulk utility or web requests for investigation data.
Use of online requests is mandated for obtaining FIU IND data for investigations; paper requests are not acceptable. Requests must be submitted via Finnet using the Bulk Utility for multiple persons or the web based facility for limited queries. Online submissions yield immediate notification if no data exists and data, if available, within seventy two hours. Helpdesk contacts are provided and unresolved issues should be escalated to the CBDT official email.

Watch list reporting to financial intelligence units enables Pan India transaction surveillance for persons under tax investigation.
The memorandum directs tax authorities to send lists of persons under watch to the national financial intelligence unit to obtain Pan India financial transaction details for individuals or entities under investigation. Required data include name, father's name, PAN and address where available, and communications are to be marked Secret for use in surveillance and revenue protective investigative activity.

F1 suspicious transaction reports must be reported and prioritised in monthly D.O. letters, replacing prior P1 references.
Reporting of F1 suspicious transaction reports (STRs) must replace P1 STR references in monthly D.O. letters to Member(Inv.), with pendency and disposal statistics furnished for F1 cases. F1 STRs, reclassified by FIU IND as the most significant, must receive investigative priority and prompt action; the January 2018 D.O. letter should be corrected to show F1 data. The instruction reiterates prior CBDT communications and directs uniform compliance in reporting and handling.

Self Sealing Permission: oversight shifted to Customs authority and prior deadline replaced by continued standing order.
The addendum clarifies that references to Self Sealing Permission procedures for electronic sealing at factory or warehouse premises shall substitute "Customs authority" and "Customs Superintendent (Inspector)" in place of prior references to GST authority, reflecting transfer of responsibility to Customs; and that the earlier date limit in the Public Notice is to be read as "until further orders."

Export Obligation Period fixed at 90 days for SION based imports, counting from customs clearance for Chapters 7 and 15.
Import of inputs permitted under notified Standard Input Output Norms (SION) or upon prior fixation of norms for export of items covered by Chapters 7 and 15 is subject to a pre import condition: the export obligation period runs for 90 days from the date of clearance of each import consignment by the Customs Authority.

GST classification for railway supplies: Chapter 86 goods taxed at concessional rate with no ITC refund; others taxed at general rates.
Only goods classified under Chapter 86 supplied to the railways attract the concessional GST treatment with no refund of unutilised input tax credit; goods falling in any other chapter, when supplied to the railways, attract the general applicable GST rates as specified in the central tax rate notifications.

GST classification for Railway supplies governs concessional treatment; only Chapter 86 goods receive the reduced rate without input credit refund.
GST treatment of supplies to the Indian Railways depends on the goods' tariff classification, not merely on their recipient. Goods classified under Chapter 86 and supplied to the Railways attract GST at 5%, with no refund of unutilised input tax credit. Goods classifiable under chapters other than Chapter 86 remain subject to the general GST rates applicable to those goods, even when supplied to the Railways.

GST on retained feedstock: refinery liable on net quantity retained; returned volumes taxable when resupplied elsewhere.
Where LPG and Polybutylene feedstock are supplied by a refinery through dedicated pipelines and manufacturers retain only part of the supply for manufacture of specified products, GST is payable by the refinery on the net quantity retained by the manufacturer; the refinery must account for GST on the returned quantity when it later supplies that quantity to any other person. This clarification is limited to GST law.

GST on retained feedstock applies only to quantities kept for manufacture, with later supplies of returned quantities taxable.
GST is payable by the refinery only on the value of Polybutylene feedstock and Liquefied Petroleum Gas net quantity retained by manufacturers for producing Poly Iso Butylene, Propylene or Di-butyl para Cresol. Feedstock or gas returned to the refinery is not taxable at the stage of the original supply, but GST applies if the refinery subsequently supplies the returned quantity to another person. Past matters are governed by the law applicable at the relevant time.

Authorized Economic Operator amendments: decentralised processing with revised solvency, disclosure and certificate validity requirements for importers.
Amendments decentralise AEO application processing to jurisdictional Chief Commissioner offices with copies to the AEO Programme Manager (Directorate of International Customs). Eligible AEO exporters may obtain Advance Authorisation on self-declaration where no SION or ad-hoc norms exist or additional inputs are used. Applicants must be solvent for the prior three financial years, free from insolvency or customs-duty defaults, and supply solvency certificates (statutory auditor or independent chartered accountant as specified). Legal-compliance details and SCN disclosures will be posted on the CBEC website with field formations required to respond within 14 days. Certificate validity and CRM nomination requirements are defined.

Line of Credit requires majority Indian content, export declaration compliance and FEMA-based approvals for financing hospital upgrade contracts abroad.
Exim Bank's Government of India supported Line of Credit to Co te d'Ivoire finances upgrade of four military hospitals, permitting export of eligible Indian goods and services with at least 75% of contract value sourced from India and up to 25% from outside. The Agreement effective 15 December 2017 provides a terminal utilization period of 60 months after scheduled completion. Shipments must be declared on the Export Declaration Form; no agency commission is payable under the LoC though exporters may use own funds or EEFC balances for commission subject to AD Category I bank compliance checks. Directions issued under FEMA.