a. Rate of Duty revised on import of Phthalic Anhydride originating from Korea RP under the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. [Notification No. 44/2020- Cus dated December 18, 2020]

b. Relaxation provided to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) from strict compliance requirements for applying Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) accreditation. [Circular No. 54/2020-Cus dated December 15, 2020]

c. Guidelines/instructions issued to smoothen process of faceless assessments. [Circular No. 55/2020-Cus dated December 17, 2020]

d. Certificate of Origin (CoO) along with third party commercial invoice to be accepted in case of claim of preferential tariff treatment under Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) scheme for least developed countries (LDC) in relation to wholly obtained goods. [Circular No. 53/2020-Cus dated December 8, 2020]

e. Instruction issued for customs officers to be judicious in verification of preferential CoO in terms of the Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 (CAROTAR). [Instruction No. 53/2020-Cus dated December 17, 2020]

f. Instruction issued for departmental officers to process refund of Duty Drawbacks claims on time. [Instruction No. 21/2020-Cus dated December 16, 2020]

g. The Courier Imports and Exports (Electronic Declaration and Processing) Amendment Regulations, 2020 notified. [Notification No. 115/2020-Cus (NT) dated December 30, 2020]

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.