Customs

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.
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).
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.
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.

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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.

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.