Courier clearance thresholds expand, with MEIS-listed exports receiving exemption where foreign-exchange transactions meet prescribed conditions.
Courier import and export clearance requirements raise the applicable consignment-value threshold from twenty-five thousand rupees to five lakh rupees. Goods listed in Appendix 3C of the Foreign Trade Policy (2015-2020) under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme are excluded from the specified restriction where the consignment value is up to five lakh rupees and the transaction involves foreign exchange.

Delay of retaliatory customs duties: implementation deferred under the Customs Act to a later specified date.
Notification No.56/2018 amends Notification No.50/2017 Customs by inserting a proviso that defers the commencement of the entry at serial number 14A and the second proviso, providing that those provisions shall come into effect from a later specified date; the amendment is made under the Customs Act and the Customs Tariff Act and is inserted into the principal notification effective from 4 August 2018.

Anti-dumping duty scope amended to exclude specified food and electronic grades of high-concentration hydrogen peroxide under customs notification.
The corrigendum to Notification No. 33/2018-Customs (ADD) amends the commodity description by substituting the words "Hydrogen Peroxide" with "Hydrogen Peroxide (other than of food grade and electronic grade having concentration of 90% and above)", thereby narrowing the scope of the anti-dumping duty entry to exclude specified food and electronic grades of high-concentration hydrogen peroxide.

Exchange rate determination sets differing import and export currency conversion rates effective for customs valuation from August.
The notification prescribes conversion rates for specified foreign currencies into Indian rupees, with distinct rates for imported and export goods, effective from 3rd August, 2018, superseding the prior exchange rate notification except for prior acts. Rates are set out in two schedules-per unit equivalents in Schedule I and a 100 unit equivalent in Schedule II-and apply for customs valuation and conversion in cross border goods transactions.

Anti-dumping duty continuation on methylene chloride extended following review recommendation, keeping existing measures in force.
The Central Government, acting under sub-sections (1) and (5) of section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act and rule 23 of the Anti-dumping Rules, inserts a paragraph in Notification No.24/2014-Customs (ADD) to keep the anti-dumping duty on imports of methylene chloride from the European Union and the United States of America in force, notwithstanding paragraph 2, pursuant to the designated authority's review recommendation.

Tariff value fixation establishes benchmark import values for selected commodities affecting customs valuation and import clearance.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs amends the principal customs notification by substituting TABLEs 1-3 to fix tariff values in US dollars per metric tonne or per unit for specified imports. The substituted tables set commodity-specific benchmark import values for edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and unit values for gold and silver where specified concessional entries are availed, making these benchmarks the operative reference for customs valuation at import clearance.

Sea cargo manifest compliance commencement was deferred, moving the effective date for the principal regulations to November 2018.
Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment compliance commencement under the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 was deferred by amendment. The previously specified commencement date was substituted, so that the principal Regulations would take effect on 1 November 2018 rather than 1 August 2018. The amendment came into force upon publication in the Official Gazette.

Common Adjudicating Authority appointed to assume adjudication powers for a specified customs show cause notice.
Appointment of a Common Adjudicating Authority by the Director General, Revenue Intelligence to exercise adjudicatory powers under the Customs Act in place of an originally specified proper officer. The notification lists the noticee, show cause notice reference, erstwhile adjudicating authority and names the Additional Director General (Adjudication), DRI, Mumbai, as the officer appointed to adjudicate the specified show cause notice against Sh. Yusuf R. Dhanani.

Common adjudicating authority centralises adjudication of specified customs show cause notices, reallocating adjudicatory competence administratively.
The Director General, Revenue Intelligence appoints specified officers as a Common Adjudicating Authority to exercise the powers and duties of originally named adjudicating officers for listed noticees and the enumerated show cause notices and corrigenda, thereby centralising adjudication responsibility within designated customs officers for the stated customs and export-related matters.

Safeguard duty on solar cells imposed with phased rate reductions across the prescribed safeguard period.
Imposition of Safeguard Duty on imports of solar cells under heading 8541 of the Customs Tariff Act is directed by section 8B and the Safeguard Rules, following the Directorate General of Trade Remedies' final recommendation; the duty applies as phased ad valorem rates during the safeguard period, reduced by any anti-dumping duty payable, and excludes imports from notified developing countries except specified exceptions.

Export manifest fee exemption applies to specified shipping bill entries filed through Inland Container Depots.
No fee is leviable for an export manifest amended or supplemented by entries relating to shipping bills filed during the specified period at Inland Container Depots. The exemption applies only to such export-manifest entries and operates within the Levy of Fees (Customs Documents) framework.

Exemption of IGST on assessable value exceeding Pool Issue Price for imported urea sold to fertilizer marketing entities.
Exempts the Integrated Goods and Services Tax on urea sold by the Ministry/Department of Fertilizers to Fertilizer Marketing Entities on high sea sale basis to the extent the IGST exceeds the amount computed over the sale value (the Pool Issue Price), treating that price as the baseline for tax calculation and thereby removing IGST liability on the assessable value in excess of that baseline.

Common Adjudicating Authority appointed to centralize adjudication of specified show-cause notices under customs procedure.
The notification appoints specified customs officers as a Common Adjudicating Authority to exercise and discharge the powers and duties of the originally designated adjudicating officers for adjudication of enumerated show-cause notices against listed noticees, setting out in a Table the noticees, notice references, original adjudicating authorities and the officers now appointed to adjudicate, and noting any substitutions or corrigenda affecting those appointments.

Customs exemption amendment removes serial number 330 from Notification 50/2017 under section 25(1) of the Customs Act.
Exercising powers under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962, Notification No. 54/2018-Customs directs that S. No. 330 and the entries relating thereto in the Table of Notification No. 50/2017 are omitted, thereby removing that serial entry from the schedule of exemptions in the principal notification.

Exchange rate determination under Customs Act sets notified conversion rates for imports and exports effective immediately.
Determination under section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 fixes specific conversion rates for listed foreign currencies for customs valuation of imported and exported goods effective 20th July, 2018; two schedules set distinct import and export rates (one-unit rates in Schedule I and per 100-unit rate in Schedule II), and the notification supersedes the earlier 5th July notification except as to prior actions.

Basic customs duty increases on textile goods, introducing subheading specific duties and per unit duty floors across the tariff table.
Amendment revises the customs tariff Table by substituting and inserting sub headings for numerous textile tariff entries, assigning higher Basic Customs Duty rates to specific sub headings, replacing lower percentage entries with higher ad valorem duties, and, for certain items, prescribing duty as an ad valorem rate or that rate subject to a specific per unit floor, whichever is higher.

Exemption expansion for handicraft inputs broadens duty-free items used in manufacture and export of handicrafts.
Amends the customs exemption schedule for the handicraft sector by inserting numerous additional exempt items and omitting a specified word in an existing entry, thereby expanding duty-free coverage to include a broad range of raw materials, components, accessories, tools, packaging and chemical treatment materials used in handicraft manufacture and finishing under the powers conferred by the Customs Act and the Customs Tariff Act.

Fixation of tariff values for selected edible oils, metals and agricultural commodities adjusts customs valuation framework for imports.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, exercising delegated powers under the Customs Act, substitutes TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 in Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) to fix tariff values for specified imported goods, including listed edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and per-unit values for gold and silver when specified notification benefits are claimed.

Anti-dumping duty rescission revokes an earlier customs notification under the Customs Tariff Act while preserving prior acts.
Notification No. 37/2018-Customs (ADD) rescinds Notification No. 36/2012-Customs (ADD) under the statutory powers of the Customs Tariff Act and the Customs Tariff Rules governing identification, assessment and collection of anti-dumping duty; the rescission is subject to a savings provision preserving things done or omitted under the earlier notification prior to rescission.

Anti-dumping duty on grinding media balls imposed, affecting imports from China PR and Thailand with varied rates.
Imposes anti-dumping duty on imports of "Grinding Media Balls" (excluding Forged Grinding Media Balls) from China PR and Thailand, specifying producer- and exporter-specific duty rates in a Table and distinguishing entries by country of origin and country of export. The duty is effective for five years from Gazette publication, payable in Indian currency; exchange rate for conversion will follow Government notifications under section 14 of the Customs Act, with the relevant date being the bill of entry presentation under section 46.