Summary: The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), under the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, has issued Notification No. 73/2026-Customs (N.T.) dated 1st September, 2026, further amending the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment Regulations, 2018. The amendment is titled the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026.
The notification has been issued by the CBIC in exercise of the powers conferred by section 157, read with sections 30, 30A, 41, 41A, 53, 54, 56, sub-section (3) of section 98 and sub-section (2) of section 158 of the Customs Act, 1962. TaxGuru’s published material on SCMTR confirms that these provisions form the statutory framework under which the sea cargo manifest and transshipment regime operates. ([TaxGuru][1])
The immediate amendment is narrow and specifically concerns the TABLE appearing after FORM-XII in the SCMTR, 2018. Against Serial No. 6, in column (3), the existing entry is substituted with **“31.10.2026”**. Accordingly, the date specified in the relevant regulatory table is extended to 31 October 2026. This follows the earlier extension made through Notification No. 61/2026-Customs (N.T.) dated 1st July, 2026, which had substituted the date with 31.08.2026. ([TaxGuru][2])
The present regulations are the third amendment to the SCMTR in 2026. Earlier, the Notification No. 31/2026-Customs (N.T.) dated 30th March, 2026 had substituted the corresponding date with 30.06.2026. ([TaxGuru][3])
The principal SCMTR framework was originally notified through Notification No. 38/2018-Customs (N.T.) dated 11th May, 2018, bearing G.S.R. 448(E). The 2018 regulations replaced the earlier manifest and transportation regulations identified in the original instrument and established the regulatory framework for arrival and departure manifests and transshipment of goods. ([TaxGuru][4])
The notification provides that the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026 shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. The supplied material does not prescribe any separate commencement date, exemption, monetary limit or additional compliance condition. Its substantive effect is confined to substituting the specified date in the table after FORM-XII. Accordingly, the principal practical consequence expressly reflected in the amendment is continuation of the relevant timeline up to 31 October 2026.
Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
(Department of Revenue)
(CENTRAL BOARD OF INDIRECT TAXES AND CUSTOMS)
NOTIFICATION
Notification No. 73/2026-Customs (N.T.)| Dated: 1st September, 2026
G.S.R. 771(E).— In exercise of the powers conferred by section 157, read with sections 30, 30A, 41, 41A, 53,
54, sub-section (3) of section 98 and sub-section (2) of section 158 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), the
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs hereby makes the following amendments in the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment Regulations, 2018, namely:-
1. Short title and commencement. – (1) These regulations may be called the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment
(Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026.
(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
2. In the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment Regulations, 2018.-
(1) In the TABLE after FORM-XII:
i. against Sr. No. 6, in column (3), for the entry, the entry “31.10.2026” shall be substituted.
[F. No. 450/58/2015- Cus.-IV(Pt.I)]
INDRAJIT PANDA, Under Secy.
Note: The principal regulations were published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3 Sub-section (i) vide Notification No. 38/2018-Customs (N.T.) dated 11th May, 2018 vide number G.S.R. 448(E), dated the 11th May, 2018 and was last amended vide Notification No. 61/2026-Customs (N.T.) dated the 1st July, 2026, vide number G.S.R. 543(E), dated the 1st July, 2026.
