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The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has amended Project Imports Regulations,1986 to exclude solar power plants and solar power projects from specified projects entitled to concessional rate of duty for import of goods, effective October 20, 2022. The Notification No. 54/2022 – Customs dated October 19, 2022 can be accessed here.

September 2022

CBIC has issued a notification to include “Industrial Valves” classifiable under HSN 8481 in List 33 of the Notification 50/2017 – Customs, dated June 30, 2017 (‘Master exemption notification’) and these goods shall now be exempt from customs duty and eligible for concessional GST. USISPF had been advocating for the inclusion of these goods in the exemption list on behalf of its members in the oil & gas sector. Since Industrial Valves are widely used for oil & gas exploration works, this is a major relief for the petroleum and gas industry. The Notification No. 50/2022-Customs, dated September 27, 2022 can be accessed here.
CBIC issued a circular on Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty or for Specified End Use) Rules, 2022 (IGCRS Rules), which is set to supersede the existing Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty) Rules, 2017 (IGCR Rules).

August 2022

As per current norms, display assembly for use in manufacture of mobile phone attracts a concessional customs duty rate of 10% while inputs or parts used therein attract Nil duty. In view of misdeclaration of display assembly imported as parts, CBIC has clarified that concessional rate of 10% will not be applicable when display assembly comes with additional parts other than the ones specified. In such a case, duty shall be levied at the rate of 15%. The Circular No. 14/2022-Customs dated August 18, 2022 can be accessed here.
Pursuant to the earlier advisory dated June 28, 2022 pertaining to Anonymised Escalation Mechanism under Faceless Assessment for submitting grievance regarding delay in clearance of Bill of Entry, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs has issued an additional advisory to enable the option to track and file grievance using ICEGATE portal. The advisory dated August 02, 2022 can be accessed here.
CBIC instructs Officers under field formations to be sensitive in applying CAROTAR rules by maintaining consistency with the provisions of relevant trade agreements or its Rules of Origin. The instruction dated August 17, 2022 can be accessed here.

July 2022

As part of its Faceless Assessment Scheme under Customs, CBIC has issued an advisory for steps to be followed by ICEGATE registered users seeking to opt for Anonymised Escalation Mechanism in respect of grievances filed for delay in clearance of Bill of Entry. The advisory dated June 28, 2022 laying down these steps can be accessed here.
CBIC has extended the validity of exemption from Basic Customs Duty and Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess on import of raw cotton. The exemption shall now be valid up to October 31, 2022, and the Notification No. 38/2022-Customs dated July 04, 2022 can be accessed here.
In continuance of its objective to implement a simplified regulatory framework for e-commerce exports of jewellery, CBIC issued a SOP for exports through International Courier Terminals to bring uniformity and certainty in the process. The SOP is applicable on e-commerce export of jewellery made of precious metals and imitation jewellery. The Circular No. 09/2022-Customs dated June 30, 2022 can be accessed here.

December 2021

The WCO Convention on Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (the HS convention) came out with the Harmonised System (HS) Nomenclature in order to facilitate the standardization of trade documentation and the transmission of data. The HS nomenclature forms the basis of national Customs Tariff of over 200 nations, including India.  The new (seventh) edition of the Harmonized System (HS) nomenclature, HS-2022, shall come into force from 1st January, 2022. This edition has introduced some significant changes to the Harmonized System with a total of 351 of amendments at the six-digit level, covering a wide range of goods moving across borders.  Being a party to the HS convention, in order to align the first schedule of Customs Tariff Act,1975 with the HS 2022, necessary changes were brought in through the Fifth Schedule to the Finance Act, 2021, with effect from 01.01.2022. For ease of transition to the HS 2022, an exercise to correlate the tariffs at the eight digit level has been undertaken by this office. You can use the manual here to check whether there is any change in the classification of the products you are importing post implementation of HSN 2022.

September 2021

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has fully exempted imports of Covid-19 vaccines from basic customs duty, from October 1 till December 31 2021. Please access the notification here. 

August 2021

CBIC has been receiving bulk verification request from field formations for getting verification done from verifying authorities without citing appropriate grounds and without mentioning specific information to be sought from the verification authority. Further, CBIC has observed that Certificate of Origin (CoO) particularly RMS interdicted consignments are being forwarded in groups/all together for causing verification. The same in turn is putting heavy burden on the Board and Verification Authorities to get request processed within prescribed time frame. The Board taking is cognizance of the increasing challenge and difficulties faced by importer on account of implementation of CAROTAR 2020. These instructions should help in bringing down the unnecessary delays and queries from ground level authorities in time to come. Please refer to the instructions here.

Central Board of Indirect taxes & Customs has launched a Compliance Information Portal for providing free access to information on all Customs procedures and regulatory compliance for nearly 12,000 Customs Tariff Items. The facilitation tool will provide up-to-date information on the legal and procedural requirements of Customs and Partner Government Agencies (FSSAI, AQIS, PQIS, Drug Controller etc.) for carrying out imports and exports at the click of a button . Please access press release here .
Central Board of Direct Taxes has notified amendment to Income-tax (23rd Amendment) Rules, 2021 by inserting Rule 10RB for computation of relief in MAT payable by an assessee in cases where previous year’s income gets included in the current year due to an APA or a secondary adjustment under transfer. Click here to read the notification.

CBIC has revised the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme and has allowed facility of auto-renewal of AEO-T1 validity for continuous certification based on continuous compliance monitoring; Taking into account the difficulties faced by AEO-T1 (including MSME AEO-T1) entities in seeking renewal and with a view to reduce compliance burden. Please refer to the CBIC circular here.

Budget 2021 proposed to review some of the existing Customs Exemption Notifications in order to make them more relevant. In this context, Ministry of Finance has identified first set of Custom exemptions for the purpose of review (list available here). Suggestions are invited from stakeholders only on these notifications with the need for review of the notification, amendment in wording of the notification for bringing clarity, consolidation, other relevant factors such as extent of use, etc. The recommendations/ suggestions can be made here. You can also share your suggestions with us in the below format by August 3, 2021.

To enhance Ease of Doing Business, CBIC has undertaken a series of next generation reforms under the umbrella of ‘Turant Customs’ initiative to reduce compliance burden for citizens and business activities. Please find attached the relevant circular in this regards here.

The next All India Customs consultative group meeting will be held on July 27, 2021. The Forum will be participating in the meeting to discuss custom issues of our member companies. The meeting will be chaired by Member (Customs) and several officials from the CBIC and state custom authorities will also be present to address specific concerns as submitted by the forum.
Central Board of Indirect taxes & Customs has set up a COVID Response Plan (CRP) for speedy clearances of COVID-19 vaccines at all major airports. ; Provides that CRP comprises of COVID-19 Vaccine Response Team (CVRT) at each Air Cargo/Courier Terminal that will function as a single point of contact, for all clearance related to COVID-19 vaccine shipments, to ensure that vaccines are given instant delivery upon arrival. Click here to read/download Finance Ministry press release dated July 15, 2021.
Further to the feedback received from the industry, The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs has further streamlined certain processes in Customs faceless assessment under which a customs officer would have to communicate his ‘first decision’ on the import document filed by an importer within three working hours. Please refer to the circular here.

May 2021

CBIC has issued instructions with regard to import of oxygen cylinders, for which every foreign manufacturer/importer is required to apply for import permission through Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organization (PESO) online system. The instruction draws attention to Press Release dated May 15, 2021 which stated that PESO shall not carry out physical inspection of global manufacturers’ production facilities before grant of required approval for import of oxygen cylinders and pressure vessels for storage and transportation of medical oxygen. Please refer to the instruction here.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has notified changes introduced through the Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty) Amendment Rules, 2021. The Amendment Rules have been introduced in view of the demands from the trade and industry and having regard to their changing needs as per prevalent global practices. The amendments are also an effort towards creating an enabling environment for the promoting manufacturing by domestic industry to make them competitive globally and also make them self-reliant in furtherance of the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat. Please access the changes here
In order to provide immediate relief to business entities, CBIC has issued instruction for disposing pending customs refund, IGST refund and customs duty drawback claims under “Special Refund and Drawback Disposal Drive”. The special drive shall be in place from 15 May, 2021 to 31 May, 2021 and expects disposal of refund & drawback claims pending as on 14 May, 2021. Please see the instructions here .

April 2021

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has notified verification regulations for new importers, exporters and customs brokers, where non-compliance may lead to penalty of Rs 50,000. The Board issued the Customs (Verification of Identity and Compliance) Regulations, 2021. Please refer to the notification here.

ICEGATE (https://www.icegate.gov.in/) has been notified as the Common Customs Electronic Portal (Common Portal) for facilitating registration, filing of Bill of Entry (BoE), shipping bills, other prescribed documents and forms, payment of duty and for data exchange with other systems within or outside India. Time limit for filing BoE is relaxed in case of goods consigned from specified countries arriving at sea port and for all goods arriving at a customs airport or land customs station. Master Bill of Lading / Master Airway Bill are not required at the time of filing BoE in advance. The details can be updated subsequently on the Common Portal by the importer and the same will be auto-approved.

December 2020

In continuation to our ongoing engagement on implementation of the Faceless Assessment scheme under Customs and the Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 (CAROTAR, 2020) forum invites further feedback to be submitted to Ministry of Finance. Recent relevant Circulars/instructions on both the schemes can be found here A, B, C, D, E, F and G and A, B, C and D. Please share your specific issues in detail along with the proposed recommendation in the format attached below.

Name of Organisation Details of Issue Faced even after the above mentioned clarifications Port of Import Date of presentation of Bills of entry and final clearance/out of charge Recommendation to overcome this issue

The Central Board of Indirect taxes and Customs (CBIC) issued the instructions on the verification of the Preferential Certificates of Origin in terms of Customs (Administration of Rules of. Origin under Trade Agreements) (CAROTAR) Rules, 2020. As per the CAROTAR rules, in case the assessing officer has some doubt on the validity of the certificate of origin, he can contact the free trade agreement (FTA) cell of CBIC which in turn will contact the exporting country’s authority. The CBIC in a letter to field units said that enquiries on the origin of imported goods should be raised only where there are ‘sufficient grounds’ to suspect origin of a good, or where the same has been identified as a risk by the risk management system. Please refer to the instruction here.

September 2020

CBIC releases flyer on Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 (CAROTAR), containing background information for importers and other stakeholders, seeking to provide guidance on compliance of CAROTAR. The flyer provides information pertaining to FTAs, Operational Certificate Procedures, Recent trends of misuse, rules of origin, etc.. The flyer also contains FAQs as regards the filing of Form-I & Bills of entry, preferential tariff treatment,  documents, identical goods, conflict between Trade Agreement and CAROTAR. Please access the clarification here
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has decided to roll-out the Faceless Assessment at an All India level in all ports of import and for all imported goods by October 31, 2020. Please refer to the circular here.

July 2020

With the aim to provide a ‘Faceless, Contactless and Paperless’ Customs administration, CBIC instructs all Principal Chief Commissioners of Customs/Chief Commissioners of Customs to setup the Turant Suvidha Kendra (TSKs) in all Customs stations by July 15, 2020. This will Enables certain functionalities in ICEGATE which would reduce the need for physical interaction between Customs and trade and also speed up the Customs clearance process.

June 2020

Please refer to the notification here.
To promote a paperless environment, paperless customs, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & customs has decided to rely on digital copies of the Shipping Bill and does away with the requirement of taking physical printouts in the service center and present it to customs officers. Please access the circular here.
The CBIC has rolled out the first phase of the countrywide faceless assessment of import consignments. Introduction of faceless assessment is part of the string of reforms called ‘Turant’ Customs, which include paperless Customs through intelligent e-Sanchit and Machine Release or end-to-end automated clearance without any officer interface at any stage. Please refer to the circular here.
For further details please reach us here

CBIC releases flyer on Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 (CAROTAR), containing background information for importers and other stakeholders, seeking to provide guidance on compliance of CAROTAR. The flyer provides information pertaining to FTAs, Operational Certificate Procedures, Recent trends of misuse, rules of origin, etc.. The flyer also contains FAQs as regards the filing of Form-I & Bills of entry, preferential tariff treatment,  documents, identical goods, conflict between Trade Agreement and CAROTAR. Please access the clarification here

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has decided to roll-out the Faceless Assessment at an All India level in all ports of import and for all imported goods by October 31, 2020. Please refer to the circular here.

With the aim to provide a ‘Faceless, Contactless and Paperless’ Customs administration, CBIC instructs all Principal Chief Commissioners of Customs/Chief Commissioners of Customs to setup the Turant Suvidha Kendra (TSKs) in all Customs stations by July 15, 2020. This will Enables certain functionalities in ICEGATE which would reduce the need for physical interaction between Customs and trade and also speed up the Customs clearance process.

Please refer to the notification here. 

To promote a paperless environment, paperless customs, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & customs has decided to rely on digital copies of the Shipping Bill and does away with the requirement of taking physical printouts in the service center and present it to customs officers. Please access the circular here.

The CBIC has rolled out the first phase of the countrywide faceless assessment of import consignments. Introduction of faceless assessment is part of the string of reforms called ‘Turant’ Customs, which include paperless Customs through intelligent e-Sanchit and Machine Release or end-to-end automated clearance without any officer interface at any stage. Please refer to the circular here.

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