Sl No

Amendment

Clause of Finance Bill,2026

These changes will come into effect from the date of assent of the Finance Bill, 2026

1.

Sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Customs Act, 1962 is being amended to extend the jurisdiction of the said Act beyond the territorial waters of India, for the purpose of fishing and fishing related activities.

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2.

In section 2, a new clause is being inserted to define the expression ‘Indian-flagged fishing vessel’.

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3.

Sub-section (6) of section 28 is being amended so as to provide that the penalty paid under sub-section (5) of section 28, on determination under sub-section (6) thereof, shall be deemed to be a charge for non-payment of duty.

[131]

4.

Sub-section (2) of section 28J is being amended so as to provide that advance ruling under sub-section (1) of that section shall remain valid for a period of five years or till there is a change in law or facts on the basis of which the advance ruling has been pronounced, whichever is earlier.

The proviso to the said sub-section is also being substituted so as to provide that in respect of any advance ruling in force on the date on which the Finance Bill, 2026 receives the assent of the President, the Authority shall, upon a request by the applicant, extend the validity of the ruling for five years from the date of the ruling.

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5.

A new section 56A is being inserted to provide special provisions for fishing and fishing related activities by an Indian-flagged fishing vessel beyond territorial waters of India. It also provides that fish harvested beyond the territorial waters of India may be brought into India free of duty and to treat fish that has landed at foreign port as export of goods in such manner as may be provided by rules. It also provides to make regulations to provide for the form and manner of making an entry in respect of fish harvested by an Indian-flagged fishing vessel including its declaration, custody, examination, assessment of duty, clearance, transit or transhipment.

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6.

In the Customs Act, for section 67, the following section shall be substituted, namely: -

“67. The owner of any warehoused goods may remove them from one warehouse to another, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.”. The proposed section seeks to do away with the requirement of prior permission of the proper officer under the said section for removal of warehoused goods from one custom bonded warehouse to another.

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7.

In section 84 of the Customs Act, in clause (b), for the words “the examination”, the words “the custody, examination” shall be substituted. The amendment seeks to enable the Board to make provisions for the custody of goods imported or to be exported under the regulations framed under this section.

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