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Customs Notification, Circulars Public Notice Public Notices w.e.f 31/08/2004 PUBLIC NOTICE NO. 69/2004, DATE : 03/11/2004 (PART - I)

F. No. : S/26-Misc-141/2003 CFS M (I)

PUBLIC NOTICE NO. 69/2004, DATE : 03/11/2004

Computerized Processing of Bills of Entry under the Indian Customs EDI System - Imports (ICES/I) at CFS, Mulund, Mumbai.

It is brought to the notice of all the Importers/CHAs and members of the Trade that computerized processing of all types of Bills of Entry under EDI system will commence shortly at CFS, Mulund. The exact date on which the Indian Customs EDI System (Imports) would commence and the date from which this Public Notice takes effect shall be notified later.

2. However, B/Es in respect of the following type of goods shall continue to be processed manually under the existing procedures.

(i) Diplomatic goods.

(ii) Goods under transhipment.

(iii) Goods falling under Chapter 22 of the Customs Tariff.

(iv) Ship stores

3. Importers/CHAs are required to register their IEC codes, CHA licence numbers in the Customs Computer Systems before an EDI bill of entry is filed. For registration purpose, Importers/CHAs can approach the Customs counter at Service Centre at CFS, Mulund (East), with original documents. The format of the declaration forms to be given by the importer and CHA is given at Annexures 1 and 2.

4. In the beginning, B/E will be entered in the system at the Service Centre at CFS, Mulund (East) (herein after referred to as “the Centre” ). Later on, option of filing the Bill of Entry through ICEGATE would be made available. In that case, the Shipping lines, Steamer agents, importers or CHAs can electronically file IGMs, B/Es from anywhere through Internet. Procedure for this purpose would be notified separately.

5. IMPORT GENERAL MANIFEST:

The Shipping lines or other persons as envisaged under section 30 of the Customs Act, 1962 shall submit the Sub Import General Manifest (SIGM) through the service centre at CFS, Mulund (East) on all working days from 10 A.M to 04.30 P.M. The Proforma for the SIGM would be the same as prescribed in the Import Manifest (Vessels) Regulations, 1971. A checklist would be generated by the Service Centre which would be verified by the authorised representative of the Shipping line and given for submission after corrections, if any.

It may be clarified that the SIGMs to be submitted would have the complete details as are being given presently by the Shipping lines in manual filing of the documents.

5.1 Apart from filing of SIGMs through service centre, the Shipping lines would continue to file a copy of the SIGM with the Manifest clerk to enable processing of bills of entry not cover under EDI system

6. CARGO DECLARATION (B/E):

6.1 The CHA shall file a declaration for clearance of cargo in Annexure I (instead of B/E) at the Service Centre. The importer may file the declaration himself but he will require prior permission of the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner. The representative of such importer will carry the authority letter from the authorised signatory of the importer and shall thereafter indicate their name and designation in the declaration and would be required to submit documentary evidence to establish their identity.

6.2 The schedule of charges for data entry in the Centre shall be as follows :-

Note : These charges include cost of data entry, stationery and reply up to two queries.

6.3 Certified copies of invoice and packing list shall be enclosed along with Annexure I.

6.4 The system would accept Annexure I only if it finds that the SIGM No. and Bill of Lading. match the corresponding line number of the IGM. The system will accept only one declaration against a line number. If the declaration is not accepted, the CHA/ importer should verify the particulars.

6.5 Once the SIGMs are filed in the Customs Computer System, whenever a bill of entry pertaining to any line in the said IGM is filed, the system will cross verify the details of IGM Nos., the bill of lading etc. and the bill of entry would be accepted only if the relevant particulars match with those in the SIGM. If any bill of entry is not accepted by the system, the importers/CHAs should verify whether the IGM Nos. or the Bill of lading Nos. has been correctly furnished in the Annexure I submitted by them. The bills of entry would be accepted by the System only if correct particulars of the IGM and the Bill of Ladings have been indicated.

6.6 The claim for assessment shall be made against each item of the invoice. If there is more than one invoice, information shall be furnished for each item invoice-wise i.e. complete information of items in one invoice must precede information of items in the second invoice.

6.7 If the particulars of classification are same for the next item, the word “do” will be accepted by the system.

6.8 ITC (HS) Nos. & CTH shall be indicated in eight (8) digits and CETH in six (6) digits, without any decimal in between (e.g. 85011000 and not 8501.1000). Notification number shall be indicated in three (3) digits followed by the issuing year (e.g. 201/81, 083/93). Moreover, the notification no. indicated shall be the parent one and not the amending notification.

6.9 In respect of goods for which benefit of notification is claimed, against the entry ‘Generic Description’ in Annexure I, list No. and the serial no. of the list shall be mentioned in addition to the generic description of the item. The Centre Operator will feed first the list no. and serial no., and if there is space left, generic description of the item.

For example, Nebulizers are covered by S. No. 244 of the Table of Notification No. 23/98 (list 22, Sr. No. 19). This entry would be described as: -

6.10 Annexure I shall be accepted only if it is complete in all respects and is legible. The declarations can be presented at the Service Centre between 10 A.M. to 4.30 P.M. on all working days and it will be entered in the system on the same day.

6.11 The Centre Operator shall carefully enter the data entered in Annexure I and hand over the resultant check list to the CHA / Importer for confirming the correctness of entries. The CHA/Importer would make the corrections, if any, sign the checklist and return it to the Operator. The Operator shall make corrections in the corresponding data and submit the revised checklist to the CHA/Importer for re-confirmation. This process would be repeated till the CHA/Importer signs a clean checklist in token of correctness of the entered data.

6.12 The Operator shall submit the authenticated electronic checklist to the system. The system will then generate a B/E. No., which would be endorsed on the printed checklist and returned to the CHA/Importer.

6.13 The Operator shall retain the original Annexure I and pass them on to the EDI Cell periodically.

7. SYSTEMS APPRAISAL

7.1. Bill of Entry in respect of the items under System Appraisal would be assessed by the System immediately on their submission and a print out will be available to the CHAs/ Importers for getting the goods examined, if required and for out of charge. All the Bills of Entry which ar appraised by the ‘System’ would be audited before being given out of charge. In so far as the NMI/DEC cases (e.g. Custom Notification Nos. 051/96 dated 23.07.96, 39/96 dated 23.07.96, 023/98 dated 2.06.98) are concerne, the debiting in the Pass Book etc. would be required to be done by the Appraiser/ Superintendent in the Import Shed. Examination of such goods would be carried out as prescribed norms. The system appraisal Scheme is a Notification based Scheme and not description based. If the Appraising Officer (Audit) finds that the Bill of Entry is not fit to be cleared under System Appraisal Scheme he may forward the Bill of Entry back for regular assessment.

8. SECOND CHECK APPRAISEMENT

8.1 The electronic B/E will be assessed on the basis of the claims made in Annexure I. In case the Assessing Appraiser/Superintendent does not agree with the claim regarding tariff classification, notifications, declared value etc., he shall raise a query in the system. On approval by the AC (Group), the query will be printed in the Centre for being passed on to the CHA.

8.2 Replies to the queries will be submitted in the Centre who will transfer it to the system. In case the importer agrees with the classification/valuation proposed by the assessing officer, the B/E would be assessed accordingly.

8.3 In case Assessing Appraiser or AC/DC, as the case may be, agrees, ab-initio or on receipt of the reply, with the claim made by the importer, the system will print Customs copy of B/E along with three copies of TR-6 challan.

8.4 In case AC/DC does not agree, principles of natural justice would be followed before finalizing the assessment.

8.5 In the case of system and second check appraisals, the CHA, after obtaining the location of the goods from Custodian, shall present the B/E at the Examining Officer/Inspector in the import shed.

9. FIRST CHECK APPRAISEMENT

9.1 In the case of first check examination order, at the data entry stage, the appropriate column in the B/Entry format should be flagged ‘Y’ and the reasons for the request for the first check should also be duly entered. With the introduction of this facility, first check requests will no longer be entertained manually except in cases where the importers do not have any information regarding description/value of goods (Sec. 46(1) cases).

9.2 In case first check examination order is required (whether on request of the importer or ordered by the Assessing Appraiser, on approval by AC/DC), the system will print a copy of the un-assessed B/E along with the examination order and other instructions. The print out will be handed over to the CHA, who appends his signatures, confirming the facts in the B/E.

9.3 After the examination is completed, the Assessing Appraiser/Superintendent, with the approval of AC/DC, assess the B/E in the system. Immediately, the system will print Customs copy of B/E along with three copies of TR-6 challan.

10. AUDIT :

All the Bills of entry which are appraised by the ‘”System” would be audited before being given “out of Charge”. While the auditor would be auditing the Bills of entry assessed by the officers on the EDI system, he would, in addition, also audit Bills of entry which have been assessed by the “System”. This procedure will be followed in respect of all Bills of entry, which have been assessed by the “System”.

All the bills of entry where the assessable value is more than Rs.1,00,000/- will thereafter go to AC/DC for countersignature.

11. ENQUIRY

11.1 Enquiries about the status of any B/E may be made at the Enquiry Counter of the Centre or the Kiosk placed therein. The status of the Bill of Entry can also be checked on www.icegate.gov.in after the ICEGATE facility is made available

11.2 In case of objections/queries, a print of the same will be given to the CHA/ Importer on a written request. The CHA/Importer may furnish his reply in writing. The reply shall be entered in the system.

12. PAYMENT OF DUTY

12.1 After the assessment is completed and the print of the assessed Customs copy of the B/E obtained by the CHA/Importer at Service Centre, the CHA shall present the copies of the TR-6 challan to the Bank for payment of duty.

12.2 Under the system, Customs duty and other dues would be collected at the Bank of India, branch at CFS, Mulund (East). The Bank is linked with the system and will transfer the duty amounts to the Customs Head of Account.

12.3. The CHA shall present three copies of the TR-6 challan to the Bank for payment of duty. The Bank shall verify the particulars in the TR-6 challans from the system enter the particulars of receipt of amount in the system and return two copies of challans duly stamped and signed to the CHA. The bank will retain one copy.

12.4. Importers can pay the duties/dues by cash, DD or both. However, it would be advisable to open accounts in the bank and give standing instruction to them to debit the Customs duty from their accounts for credit to the Customs Head of Account. This would help in completing the assessment without loss of time.

13. ALERT VERIFICATION

After receiving the single printout of the un-assessed Bill of Entry from the Service Centre (in respect of first – check cases), or the final printout of three copies of the B/E, before the examination of the goods for alert check, the DEOs (Alert)/Assistant will verify from the alert register / PC whether there is any alert issued in respect of the importer, item of consignment. The DEO/Assistant will stamp the un-assessed copy of the B/E (in respect of first check cases) or the Customs copy of the B/E (in respect of second check cases), as the case may be after recording the factual position and return the same to the CHA/Importer, who will then approach the Shed Appraiser/ Superintendent for examination of the consignment.

14. EXAMINATION OF GOODS:

14.1 After assessment, the B/E shall be passed on to the Shed Appraiser/ Superintendent for examination of the goods along with the B/E. The CHA shall present documents, as per the list below (the documents should preferably be arranged in a file cover in the following order): -

14.2 All the above documents will be retained by Customs at the time of giving ‘out of charge’. As such, the certified xerox copies of delivery order, Master Bill of Lading, Home Bill of Lading should be attached instead of original, as all these documents will be retained by the department and none of these will be returned to the Importer/CHA.

14.3 The Shed Examiner/Inspector shall examine the goods and enter their report in the system as well as on the hard copy of the Bill of Entry (Customs copy). The signature of the CHA/importer shall be obtained on the report, as token of that the goods have been examined in his presence. Name of the CHA/importer should also be recorded along with his I-Card No.

14.4 In case any query is to be raised at the time of examination, it should be raised manually in the Bill of Entry, with the approval of Asst./Deputy Commissioner. The importers would then furnish his reply and re-submit the Bills of Entry in the Import Shed for further processing. However, if the answer is acceptable, the Shed Appraiser/superintendent will proceed to complete the examination. In view of the reply to his query, if the Shed Appraiser/ Superintendent feels that the Bill of Entry requires reassessment, then he may forward the same back to the concerned Appraising Officer through the A.C./D.C. , with his comments. On the basis of the examination report, the report/comments offered by the Shed, the AC/DC might revise the assessment or even raise a further query, if necessary.

14.5 After completing the examination of the goods, the Shed Appraiser/Supt would give order for “Out of Charge”.

14.6 After the order of clearance on the computer terminal, the importer’s copy and Exchange Control copy of the Bill of Entry will be printed along with the order clearance (in triplicate) and the examination report in the Import shed itself. The print copies of the Bill of Entry shall bear the order of clearance number and name of the examining Appraiser/Supt. The importer’s copy and Exchange Control copy of the Bill of Entry along with two copies of the order of clearance shall be returned to the importer at the counter after the Appraiser/Supdt. has put his signature. One copy of the order of clearance will be attached to the Customs copy of the Bill of entry retained by the shed Appraiser/Supt.

14.7. The importer shall present the remaining two copies of the order of clearance to the custodian along with the importer’s copy of the Bill of Entry. The custodian shall issue the Gate Pass after verification of the correctness of Bill of Lading and number of packages etc. At this stage, one copy of the order of clearance shall be returned to the importer/CHAs after enclosing the Gate Pass No. and date on the same.

14.8. The Importer/CHA will present the Importer’s copy of the order of clearance to the Customs Officer at the Gate along with importer’s copy of the Bill of Entry and the custodian Gate pass. After inspecting the packages, the order of clearance copy will be retained by the Gate Officer after endorsing number of packages cleared against the order and the copies of the Bills of Entry and Gate Pass shall be returned to the importers.

14.9 The Customs copies of the Bills of entry shall be arranged in the order of Serial Number of the order of clearance and shall be preserved in the Import shed for 7 days to take care of part deliveries. After completion of seven days, the Bill of Entry will be kept at the designated place at CFS, Mulund for CRA Audit and record purposes.

15. SECTION 48 CASES

Data entry in section 48 cases shall be done as usual. The B/E No. shall be assigned after permission by the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner.

16. AMENDMENT IN IMPORT GENERAL MANIFEST

The person in-charge of the conveyance i.e., Shipping Lines would be required to submit a written request to the Asst/Deputy Commissioner seeking amendment of IGM particulars giving the reasons therefore. If satisfied, the A.C. /D.C may carry out the amendment on the system through the module provided for this purpose.

17. AMENDMENT OF BILL OF ENTRY

17.1 In case of any errors noticed after submission of Bill of Entry, but before examination of goods the CHA/Importer may seek amendment of the Bill of Entry through the Service Centre after obtaining the approval of the A.C.

17.2 It may be emphasized that no amendment in the Bill of Entry particulars and consequent reprints shall normally be allowed after out of charge has been recorded in the system. An amendment of the Bill of Entry after out of charge may be allowed as follows: If the provisions of Sec. 149 of the Customs Act 1962 have been complied with; If the request for amendment is made within four months of filing of the Bill of Entry; The permission of the Additional/Jt. Commissioner of Customs is obtained; and The importer produces the duplicate as well as the exchange control copy for cancellation before amendment is carried out and fresh print outs are generated

18. ADVANCE NOTING

18.1 Consequent upon the amendment of Section 46 ibid by the Finance Act, 1996 (No. 2), it is now possible to present a B/E even before the arrival of the vessel. In such cases, a B/E may be presented before the delivery of the import manifest, if the vessel by which the goods have been shipped is expected to arrive within 30 days from the date of presentation.

18.2 The CHA may file a B/E under the Advance Customs Clearing System if he has the copies of the Bill of Lading and the invoice. The B/E would be filed and assessed in the same manner as indicated above. However, instead of generating 3 copies of B/Es and duty payment challan, the system will generate one copy of the B/E to inform the importer about the assessment details. The final print out containing three copies each of the B/E and challan would be generated after the IGM details are entered in the system on arrival of the vessel. If there is any change in rate of duty, the B/E shall be reassessed.

18.3 If there is a delay of more than 30 days in the arrival of the vessel, a fresh B/E would have to be filed.

18.4 The rate of exchange to be applied for calculating the value of the goods shall be the rate prevailing on the date of filing the Advance B/E. The rate of duty applicable to goods sought to be cleared against Advance B/E would be that applicable on the date of arrival of the vessel and not on the date of filing of the B/E

19. GUIDELINES FOR FILLING UP DECLARATION

Detailed guidelines for completing Annexure I are enclosed at Annexure III.

20. THE PROCEDURE FOR CLEARANCE IN CASE OF DEPB BILLS OF ENTRY:

20.1. VERIFICATION OF THE DEPB: The DEPB shall be verified by the Export Section of the Customs station from where the exports have taken place. Procedure for verification of DEPB has been notified in the Circular No. 14/99 dated 15.3.1999 issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs, New Delhi relating to Exports under DEPB. For this purpose, original DEPB issued by DGFT shall be produced to the officer designated by Asst./Dy. Commissioner in the Export Department for verification of the Shipping Bills against which the DEPB has been issued by the DGFT. The officer designated by Asst./Dy. Commissioner shall verify each shipping bill in the system through the DEPB verification menu provided for. In case any manually processed Shipping Bill is involved, the verification shall be done on the basis of copy of shipping bill received along with the EGM from the carriers. The Shipping Bills shall be endorsed with the DEPB No., DEPB date, DGFT File No., and Issuing Authority. After satisfactory verification of all the Shipping Bills, the officer designated by Asst./ Dy. Commissioner shall make an endorsement on the reverse of the DEPB and the list of Shipping Bills attached with the DEPB to the effect that the verification of all the Shipping Bills is satisfactorily done and put his signature with date and official stamp.

20.2. REGISTRATION OF DEPB

Before claiming exemption under Notification 034/1997-Cus., dated 7.04.1997, against a DEPB, the DEPB in question is required to be registered in the import system. The officer designated by Asst./Dy. Commissioner to register the DEPB in the system shall ensure that verification of DEPB with reference to the exports on the basis of which DEPB is issued by DGFT has been done.

The Customs DGFT Connectivity has been operationalised at Delhi for exchange of message regarding Importers Exporter Code. The IE Codes along with PAN details of all importers and exporters issued by any of the offices of DGFT, at Delhi, will be received at CFS, Mulund, once the ICEGATE is made available. Thereafter updating and additions to this Directory will be downloaded periodically and updated in CFS.Mulund EDI System.

The Systems will not register any DEPB if the IEC details and PAN particulars of the original DEPB holder has not been electronically transmitted by DGFT to the Customs database. All importers/CHAs are advised to ensure that their IEC details with PAN have been transmitted by DGFT to Customs at the time of obtaining the DEPB.

The officer designated by Asst./Dy. Commissioner shall make data entry of the DEPB details in the system through the ‘MENU’ specified for Licence Management. After entry of data a checklist will be printed by the System. The DEPB holder shall verify the details of DEPB in the check list, if the same is correct, the DEPB holder shall sign the check list and return the same to the officer designated by Asst./Dy. Commissioner . The officer designated by Asst./Dy. Commissioner shall then register the DEPB in the System.

On registration of DEPB, System will generate a “REGISTRATION NUMBER” which shall be endorsed on the face of the original DEPB in bold figures with the name of CUSTOMS STATION at which registered. For further activities, either for debiting against a B/E or obtaining a Release Advice, only this registration number shall be used. Without the registration, the system will not accept any claim of exemption of RA against a DEPB.

The DEPBs which have already been partly utilized before the introduction of on-line processing will be registered for the balance of DUTY CREDIT and FOB of exports in the manner as stated above.

In case any change in the data of DEPB is required to be made after completion of registration, the same shall be made by the Assistant / Deputy Commissioner.

TRANSFER RELEASE ADVICES

(i) Issue of Release Advices

If the DEPB holder intends to utilize the DEPB at a Customs Station other than the port of registration, an application shall be made to the officer designated by Asst./Dy. Commissioner in the existing format indicating DEPB REGISTRATION NUMBER. If the officer is satisfied on examination of the request on merits, he may grant permission for issue of TRA. The TRA Number shall be assigned manually. Following particulars shall be entered in the System through the menu relating to transfer release advice:

Release Advice No.
Release Advice Date
DEPB Registration No.
Custom Station to which issued
IEC of R.A. holder if different from DEPB holder
DUTY CREDIT AMOUNT transferred
Export FOB amount transferred
Invoice No.
MAWB/BL No./DT.
HAWB/HBL No./DT.
Conditions if any
If the DEPB is already registered in the System and a sufficient balance in the Duty Credit amount and the Export FOB value is available, the System will print a check list of TRA. The check list shall be verified by the DEPB Holder. If the particulars are correct the check list will be signed by the DEPB holder and returned to the proper officer who will exercise option for issue of TRA in the System. The System shall generate three copies of the RELEASE ADVICE titled as:

The office copy for Port of Issue shall be retained by the TRA issuing Customs Station and placed in the respective TRA file. Customs copy for port of clearance will be dispatched to the respective Customs Station and the Importers copy of TRA shall be handed over to the applicant.

(ii) Receiving of Transfer Advices

The TRAs received from other Customs Station will be registered in the System through licence registration menu, in the same manner as the DEPB scrip. On registration of TRA against a DEPB, the system will generate a TRA REGISTRATION NUMBER. This Registration Number should be endorsed on the Importer’s copy of TRA (original) and the Customs copy received from the issuing Customs station.

(iii) Re-credit of unutilized Release Advices

Any unutilized credit in the Release Advice may be re-credited to the DEPB by the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner.

4. CLAIM OF EXEMPTION AGAINST A DEPB / DEPB-TRA

The normal exemption can be claimed as usual against an item in the B/E under S.No.21 of Annexure-I. If exemption is also claimed against a DEPB under Notification 034/97-Cus. Dated 07.04.1997, the entries shall be made in Annexure-I under Serial No.21A. For DEPB Bs/E the scheme code is ‘B’; therefore while claiming exemption under the DEPB, ‘B’ will be entered in column 1 of Sl.No.21A. Similarly codes will be assigned to other schemes when they are brought on to ICES.

In case more than one DEPB is required to be debited against one item, the importer will be required to indicate the DEPB Registration No. and CIF value of the goods for each DEPB to cover the entire CIF value against that item.

For each item claimed for exemption under DEPB, details referred to above will be required to be indicated.

The System will determine the duty amount on the basis of CIF/Quantity of goods and shall debit the duty from the DEPB credit ledger and the CIF amount from the FOB of Exports. If sufficient balance to cover the CIF value and the Duty foregone is not available in the DEPB, the System will disallow submission of the B/E.

For indicating the option of payment of Additional Duty (equal to Excise Duty) or claiming exemption there from, the option shall be exercised by indicating ‘Y’ or ‘N’ in column 3 of Sl.No.21A. The column number 5 (serial number of item in the licence list) and 7 (quantity for licence debit) are not required to be filled in for DEPB Bs/E.

If the basic customs duty and the additional customs duty debitable to the licence is zero, the DEPB exemption will not be admissible to that item. System will not allow exemption under Notification 034/97 for that item.

5. CHECK LIST OF B/E

After data entry, checklist will be printed as usual and given to the importers/CHAs for verifying the correctness of data captured. For identification against the respective item, ‘(DEPB)’ and Notification 034/97 will appear. At the end of the check list, a statement of debits of EXPORT FOB (= import CIF) and duty sought to be debited, DEPB wise against an item S. No. of an invoice, will also be printed.

The importers/CHAs should check the details of DEPB No. carefully to ensure that only that DEPB would be debited which he intended to do so. If the entries are correct, the checklist may be returned to the data entry operator for submission of B/E in the System. Errors, if any, noticed may be got corrected by the data entry operator.

6. SUBMISSION OF B/E

On submission of the B/E in the System, an UN-ASSESSED copy of the B/E will be printed by the System containing statement of debit of DEPB for export FOB and Duty amount in respect of each item of an invoice for which exemption is claimed against DEPB.

7. ASSESSMENT OF B/E

This un-assessed copy of the B/E along with all the original import documents and all the DEPB scrips in original indicating total amount of duty credit and export FOB utilized, in the debit sheet attached to the scrips, should be presented to the Import Appraiser/Superintendent for assessment and signatures on debit sheets of DEPB scrips. The Appraiser/Supt. will retrieve the B/E on screen and assess the B/E in respect of all the items and shall countersign the debits in the original DEPB. The System will determine the duty amount on the basis of CIF/Quantity of goods and shall debit the duty from the DEPB credit ledger and the CIF from the FOB of Export. If sufficient balance to cover the CIF value and the Duty foregone is not available in the DEPB, the system will disallow submission of the B/E. In case , where Importer wants to clear some quantity under DEPB Scrip and balance on duty payment then he should clearly indicate in B/E, the quantity/Weight for which he want DEPB/payment of duty.

After assessment by Appraiser/Supt, the B/E will move to the Auditor for concurrent audit and from auditor to A.C/D.C. The auditor as well A.C/D.C will retrieve the B/E on screen and carry out the checks assigned to them. After A.C/D.C confirms the assessment, assessed copy of the B/E will be printed along with TR-6 Challan, Duty will be paid as usual.

Where the Appraising Officer/Supt, during the process of assessment, denies the exemption claimed under Sl.No.21 (column 5 and / or 7) of Annexure I; changes the tariff heading or enhances the value resulting in increase in the duty amount and the value; the Appraising Officer will have the option to enter the new DEPB for CIF value corresponding to the enhanced duty / CIF against that item.

8. DEPB DEBIT LEDGER

On registration of DEPB or TRA in the System, the System will maintain the ledger for duty credit amount and export FOB. Where the exemption from both the basic customs duty as specified in the First Schedule to Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and additional duty leviable under Section 3 of Customs Tariff Act, 1975 are claimed, the sum of basic duty and additional duty amount will be debited to the duty credit in DEPB. The CIF of the related items will be debited to export FOB in the DEPB. Where exemption from additional duty is not claimed, only basic duty will be debited. These debits will be made by the System in the DEPB Ledger. If more than one DEPB is utilized against an item only CIF amount to be debited against each DEPB should be indicated by the importers. The duty amount will be proportionately calculated by the System for debit in the DEPB. The importers therefore should ensure that sufficient balance in the duty credit amount and export FOB is available in the DEPB to cover amounts of both components, for debiting, failing which the system will not accept the declaration for B/E.

In case the importer desires to utilize the DEPB for part of the quantity of an item in the invoice, he may split the quantity of that item and prepare the declaration accordingly.

9. DEBITING OF DEPB AGAINST MANUAL B/E

There are certain categories of imports for which Bills of Entry are processed manually. Importers may choose to avail the exemption under the DEPB Scheme for such importers and get the DEPB debited for payment of duty. In such cases manual Bs/E will be assessed as usual. After assessment, the amount of duty forgone due to exemption under DEPB and the CIF of goods imported being cleared against DEPB will be computed manually in respect of each DEPB scrip.

The officer designated by Asst./Dy. Commissioner in the assessing Group will debit the original DEPB. He will also enter the amount of duty foregone and the CIF of the exempted goods in the System, in the respective field of duty credit and Export FOB. The debit screen can be accessed through the DEPB Registration Number. After debiting, the System will print the statement of debits of the DEPB in triplicate. The copies of this print will be attached with the manual B/E, DEPB file and DEPB scrip. Importers are therefore required to register the DEPBs even when clearances are sought against manually assessed Bs/E.

2. Processing of Bs/E under Export Promotion Schemes

Bills of Entry relating to Export Promotion Schemes like DEEC, DFRC, EPCG, REP, which require import licence for availing benefits of exemption notifications will be processed under ICES (I). The procedure mentioned below will be followed:

2.1 Registration of Licence

Before filing of a B/E under any of such Export Promotion Schemes the related import licence will required to be registered in the system. Data entry of the licence details will be made by registration clerk. Details of the licence will be furnished by the licence holder in a Form (Annexure-I) annexed to this Public Notice. The form is common for all types of licences, some of the fields may not be applicable to a licence, therefore, only relevant details should be filled. It will be pre-condition of registration of licence that the IE-Code of the licence holder is received by the customs system from DGFT system and if any information which is necessary for a particular type of licence is left unfilled, system will not accept such incomplete information for registration of licence. The system will maintain ledger in respect of total face value, item wise quantity and value and credit for the same will automatically be created on registration of licence and debits will be made by system when electronic B/E is processed, RA is issued, manual B/E is debited or reduction is made by amendments. To avoid any inconsistency and invalidity the system will sum the value of all items and compare with the face value of the licence. If the sum is greater than face value of licence, the system will not permit registration. The value will always be CIF for imports and FOB in respect of exports. Where the value is in foreign currency it should be only one currency and not in multi-currency. The licence holders therefore, should check these details in their licences and ensure that the same are correct before presenting the licence for registration. The licences with incorrect details will be rejected by the system cannot be used for availing exemption from duty and clearance of goods. Such licences should be got corrected from concerned DGFT office before presenting to Customs.

The licences, which have already been partially utilized, will not be registered in the system and will continue to be handled manually.

After successful entry of details a check list will be printed by Registration Clerk and given to the licence holder for confirming correctness of the data entered. Registration Clerk will make correction if any and will return the same to the licence holder. It is the sole responsibility of the licence holder to verify and confirm the correctness of the data entered before proceeding further.

License should not be sent by post or through a letter to custom house but should be presented by a person who shall get the data entry done, verify the correctness of data on the check list and shall present the licence to the Appraiser for registration and take possession of the same after registration.

2.2 Acceptance & debit of bonds

Where the export obligation has not been fulfilled and option ‘N’ has been entered in the field ‘ Exp. Oblg:’, the system will ask for entry of bond number. Therefore, if export obligation has not been fulfilled the respective category of bond should be registered before registration of licence / RA.

The Bond registered against a licence / RA will be utilized only in respect of clearances against that licence and at the time of filing B/E electronically the bond will automatically be debited by system for the amount of duty foregone.

Bond types for export promotion schemes are as under:

Scheme	Bond type
EPCG	EC
DEEC	DE
DFRC	DE
REPL	DE

2.3 Registration of incoming Release Advice

Incoming Release Advice will be registered for the given value and quantity in the same manner as the respective licence. Only fresh RAs will be registered in the EDI System. Partially utilized RAs will continue to be handled manually.

After successful entry of details a checklist will be printed by the service center operator and given to the RA holder for confirming correctness of the data entered in the system. Service center operator will make correction if any and will return the same to the RA holder.

2.4 Submission of Licence/RA in the system

The license/ RA holder will present the check list of the licence/RA along with original documents to the Appraiser authorized to exercise option of submission of licence/RA in the system. The Appraiser will compare the details entered in the system with the original licence/RA. If the details are correct and the Appraiser is satisfied about the admissibility of registration of licence he will submit the licence in the system on the basis of the job number of the check list. The system will generate a licence Regn. No. This registration number and date should be endorsed in bold on the original licence/RA. After registration the documents may be returned to the party and copies thereof may be kept in the office file for record. RA will be registered only on the basis of customs copy of the RA. After registration, customs copy and importer’s copy of RA will be defaced by the Appraiser.

2.5 Issuing Release Advice against a licence

Release Advice will be issued for utilization of a licence at any other customs station. Details for obtaining Release Advice shall be furnished in the Format given at Annexure-III to this PN. Data entry will be done by the Registration Clerk. A check list will be printed by the Registration Clerk and given to the holder of the licence. The correctness of the data will be confirmed by him. Correction if any will be carried out by the Registration Clerk and a fresh print of corrected check will be given to the holder of licence. The holder of the licence will put his signature on the check list and present the same to the Appraiser for issue of the RA. The Appraiser will verify the details from the original licence and satisfy himself about admissibility of issue of RA. The option to issue the RA may be exercised in the system. The system will generate RA No. and three copies of the RA will be available for print. The check list signed by the holder of licence and the office copy of the RA will be retained by the Appraiser for record. Importers copy and Customs copy of the RA will be issued to the holder of licence and the customs station where RA will be utilized for clearance of goods. No amendment of RA will be permitted after it has been issued by system. Fresh RA can be obtained for any further quantity/ value or the licence can be re-credited by entering unutilized RA.

No RA will be issued manually.

2.6 Debiting of licence

License will be automatically debited in respect of Electronic B/E and Electronic Release Advice. For debiting manual B/E the figures of value and quantity will be entered by the Appraiser in the system through a Menu for this purpose. Entries of debits on the hard copy of the licence will be made by the importers and certified by the Appraiser as usual.

2.7 Exemption for Spare Parts under EPCG Scheme

The system will create a ledger of face value and item wise value & quantity

Item S. No. ‘0’ has been created for spare parts against EPCG licence. 20% of the CIF of the goods debited to a licence will be credited by the system as value permissible for import of spares under exemption notification against EPCG licence. This value of spares will be within the total face value of the licence i.e. the sum of value of all items including value of spares imported against EPCG licence will not exceed the total face value of licence.

No credit of value will be given for spares in case of imports against RA. RA is required to be obtained for spare parts also. In case of first import, no RA will be admissible for spares.

2.8 Amendment of licence after registration

Amendment in the licence data after registration can only be made by the Appraiser. If the amount of value and quantity sought to be reduced is less than the unutilized balance available in the licence amendments for reduction of value and quantity will not be permitted by the system. The system will give credit to quantity or value in the case of increase and will debit the quantity or value in the case of reduction. Therefore, only incremental or decremental quantity or value should be entered in respect of increase or reduction. Licence status code at the time of registration will be ‘0’. The licence if suspended or cancelled after registration, the Appraiser shall amend the status code to ‘2’, ‘3’ and ‘4’ for cancellation, suspension and re-instatement respectively.

2.9 Filing of Bill of Entry

License Regn. No., Regn. Date details, value and the quantity should be furnished in respective column at S. No. 39.D of the Annexure-I.

(1) Invoice Serial Number [ ] (2)Actual Invoice Number [ ]

Item No	Addl Duty Exmpn.RequestedY/N	Notification/Sl.No.	License Regn.No.	License Regn. Date	Debit Value (Rs.)	Debit Qty.	Unit	Item Sl. No.in License
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Unit of measurement of qty. will be same as per the license. In case the unit of measurement in the invoice is different than the one in the license, for the purpose of debit in the license the qty should be converted in to same unit of measurement as in the license. For spare parts against EPCG licence S. No. of item will be ‘0’ therefore, for availing benefits of exemption notification in respect of spares Item S. No. ‘0’ should be indicated in column 9 of the Format indicated above. Against one item in the B/E only one license will be debited. If the Qty &/ or value in the licence is not sufficient to cover whole qty &/ or value of an item in the invoice, the invoice qty should be split in to a separate item in the B/E for debit against another license or for normal assessment.

Bond/BG details should also be provided wherever so required.

After successful entry of data of the B/E in the system, a check list will be printed by the service center operator and given to the importer / CHA. The importer/ CHA will check the details entered in the system and errors if any pointed out to the service center operator for carrying out corrections in the system. The CHA/ importers before returning the check list to the operator for submission of B/E in the system should ensure that licence details are also correct. The operator will exercise option of submission of B/E in the system. After submission of the B/E in the system a check list of submitted B/E should be obtained by the CHA / importer from the service center operator. This check list will incorporate B/E number and item/licence wise details of debit of qty., value and duty forgone for debit in the Bond etc.

2.10 Assessment of B/E

For ease of distribution of various category of documents among the officers the provision has been made in the system to create any one or more of sub-groups in respect of the following Exim Scheme Codes:

Group Name	Exim Scheme Codes	Schemes
7A	6, 7, 11, 12 & 18	DEPB, DFRC, EPCG
7B	1, 2, 3, 5, 17	Advance Licence
7C	21	EOU
7	8, 9, 13,14 and Others	REP & Diamond Import, CCP, Specific Licence, Job workAll in respect of which no sub-group created.

The AC/DC may create sub-groups depending upon the load of documents. All the Bs/E in respect of schemes for which no sub-group is created will be dealt by Group 7.

The CHA / importer should present the check list obtained after submission of the B/E to the Appraiser along with all the required documents and the related licence and DEEC. The Appraiser will check the correctness of details of licence/DEEC etc. and also ensure that any amendments made in the licence / DEEC subsequent to registration of licence, have also been entered in the system. If the Assessing officer is satisfied about the eligibility of exemption under related notification and the licence is otherwise valid to cover the goods in question, he may assess the B/E on system.

The Assessing officer can remove the notification and deny the benefits of exemption. The debits of licence will automatically reverse.

The B/E after assessment will be audited by the Auditor and finally approved by the AC/DC. The procedure of assessment will be similar to DEPB imports.

In respect of a manually assessed bill of entry details of value and quantity will be debited in the system by the Appraiser at the time of assessing a B/E & a print of details of debit will be taken for records.

2.11 Printing of the assessed B/E

After assessment the print of assessed copy of the B/E will be taken by the importer/CHA from service center. The print of B/E will contain duty-paying challan if duty is payable and statement of debit of licence for value/ qty and debit of bond for duty foregone in respect of each item. The figures of these debits should be endorsed on the hard copy of the licence/DEEC.

2.12 Examination/Out of Charge

Procedure for goods registration, examination, out of charge and printing of B/E after out of charge will be remaining same.

2.13 List of Notifications available for exemption under above schemes.

S.No. of item in Notification indicated below are created for relevant rate of duty chargeable under notification and may differ from actual S.Nos in the Notification. S.Nos indicated below only should be used for data entry.

Notfn. No.	S.No. of item in Notfn.	Schemecode	Scheme name	Exempted rates of duty
Notfn. No.	S.No. of item in Notfn.	Schemecode	Scheme name	Basic%	CVD%	SAD%
044/2002	1	11	EPCG	5	0	0
049/2000	1	11	EPCG	5	0	N/A
028/97	1	11	EPCG	10	0	N/A
029/97	1	11	EPCG	0	10	N/A
029/97	2	12	EPCG	0	0	N/A
110/97	1	11	EPCG	15	0	N/A
111/95	1	11	EPCG	0	10	N/A
111/95	2	12	EPCG	0	0	N/A
122/93	1	11	EPCG	15	0	N/A
160/92	1	11	EPCG	15	0	N/A
160/92	2	11	EPCG	25	0	N/A
047/2002	1	05	Adv.lic. Deemed export	0	0	N/A
051/2000	1	03	Adv.lic.	0	0	N/A
050/2000	1	05	Adv.lic. Deemed export	0	0	N/A
048/99	1	17	Adv.lic( Annual)	0	0	N/A
077/98	1	01	Adv.lic. ( A.U.)	0	0	N/A
036/97	1	09	Imprest lic.	0	0	N/A
031/97	1	03	Adv.lic	0	N/A	N/A
030/97	1	01	Adv.lic. (A.U.)	0	0	N/A
149/95	1	03	Adv.lic	0	0	N/A
148/95	1	03	Adv.lic	0	0	N/A
107/95	1	03	Adv.lic	0	0	N/A
080/95	1	03	Adv.lic	0	N/A	N/A
079/95	1	03	Adv.lic	0	N/A	N/A
104/93	1	03	Adv.lic	0	0	N/A
204/92	1	03	Adv.lic	0	0	N/A
203/92	1	03	Adv.lic	0	0	N/A
046/2002	1	18	DFRC	0	N/A	0
048/2000	1	18	DFRC	0	N/A	0
041/99	1	8	REP. Lic.	0	0	0

3. EX-BOND Bill of Entry

This procedure will apply only to those ex-bond bills of entry in respect of which the related warehousing bill of entry has been processed under ICES (I) at the same Customs Systems. In the Format for Declaration at Service Center for data entry will undergo change only in respect of the following details:

5. Type of Bill of Entry

(H) Home Consumption

(W) Warehousing

(X) Ex-bond : Warehouse B/E No.----------------------- DT.-------------
Warehouse Code
Warehouse Code consists of 4-digit location code; 1-digit warehouse type; and 3-digit serial number of warehouse, e.g. INAHD01123. If no code is assigned ‘other’ to be used as code – MAA1O123).

3.1 INVOICE PARTICULARS

For Ex-bond
B/E__________________ Invoice S.No. in EX-bond B/E

Item of Import intended to be Ex-bonded

Item					Quantity For Ex-Bonding
S. No. in invoice
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17

On out of charge of a Warehouse B/E the system will create a ledger of quantity in respect of all the items included in Warehousing B/E. For the purpose of filing Ex-bond B/E in the system details of CHA & the Importer will be entered as usual. In the field of Type of B/E ‘X’ will enable for entry of Ex-bond B/E. A window will pop up for Warehouse B/E. No. & date. On entry of Warehousing B/E No. & date, the system will capture all other details from the Warehousing bill of entry. Invoice S.No. as in the Warehousing B/E and against this invoice item S.No. and quantity will be entered. The system will proportionately determine the assessable value. All other details of item like the CTH, Customs Notification, CET , Excise Notification etc. as in the Warehousing B/E will be displayed by the system. Tariff Headings and the Notifications can be changed if, so required. On completion of data entry a check list will be generated by the system against the respective Job No.. The importers should ensure that the details of invoice S.No, item S.No. and the quantity of the goods under ex-bonding are correct. The check list after corrections will be returned to the service center operator for submission of the Ex-bond B/E. On submission the system will generate the B/E No.

3.2 Assessment

The B/E will be allocated by the system to the Assessing Groups on the basis of same parameters as are applicable to all other types of Bs/E. Assessment will be also be made by the officers in the same manner as in the case of any other type of Bs/E. Where a Warehouse B/E has been assessed provisionally the Ex-bond B/E will also be assessed provisionally and the no separate PD bond will be required. However, in case of availing of exemption requiring bond, same would need to be debited as in the case of any Home Consumption B/E.

2.4 Debiting of Bond

After obtaining the Print out from Service Centre the importer /CHA will get the bond debited from Bond Section and get the suitable endorsement on B/E with respect to debit of Bond amount and other details.

3.3 Printing of assessed B/E and duty paying challan

After the B/E has been assessed by the Appraising Officer, the Assessed copy of the B/E and duty paying challan will be available for printing at service center the same should be obtained by the importers/ CHAs from the service center operator.

3.4 Payment of duty

Duty will be paid at the designated bank against a challan of Ex-bond B/E in the same manner as in the case of a Home consumption B/E.

3.5 Order of clearance of goods for home consumption

After payment of duty and completing any other requirement of debiting of bond, license etc. the assessed Ex-bond B/E along with all other documents should be presented to the Superintendent authorized to give Out of Charge of the Ex-bond B/E. The Superintendent shall verify that:-

i) the particulars in the Ex-bond B/E correspond to the bond register maintained in the Bond Section;

ii) the goods are being cleared within the validity period of bond, interest (amount of interest will not be calculated by the system, therefore should be calculated manually) if any on the Warehoused goods as chargeable under section 61 as per the rates specified under 47(2) and/or any charges including fine/penalty payable as provided under Chapter IX of the Customs Act, 1962 have been paid;

iii) the rate of duty has not undergone any change after assessment and the out of charge. In case any change has take place after assessment in the tariff or exemption structure having bearing on assessment the B/E will be referred to the concerned Appraiser/Superintendent for re-confirming correctness of assessment. The Appraiser/Superintendent will re-assess the B/E, if so required. The system after re-assessment will generate duty challan for differential amount which will be printed at the service center and duty will be paid at the designated bank.

After satisfying the requirements relating to clearance of the goods the Superintendent will give out of charge on the system. After out of charge the system will generate two copies of the Ex-bond B/E . One copy is for the importer and the other copy will be for the Bond Section. No ex-change control copy will be generated for EX-bond B/E. The system will also print along with B/E three copies of Order of Clearance (O/C). One copy of the O/C will be retained by the Bond Section, one copy will be retained by the officer controlling the Warehouse and the last copy will be for the Warehouse Keeper. Column for number of packages in the O/C will be blank. The Superintendent giving out of charge will endorse on the hard copies of the O/C package serial numbers and number of packages to be cleared against the respective Ex-bond B/E and will put his signature with his office seal on the copies of O/C and also on the copies of Ex-bond B/E.

4. Bonds / Undertaking/ Re-export bond for conditional exemptions

Where the benefits of exemption under a notification is subject to execution of End use bond, Undertaking or Re-export bond, it would be necessary to register the respective type of bond in the system before filing of the B/E. The bond will be registered by the importers specifically for a notification. Details of the bond in respect of each notification should be furnished at S. No. 18 in the Format for declaration at Service Centre for data entry of B/E. The system will automatically debit the respective bond for amount of duty foregone on the basis of claim of exemption made for items in the B/E under a notification.

For this purpose a directory has been created in the system for the notification and S.No. of item in the notification which require execution of end use bond, undertaking or re-export bond for availing exemption. Exemption under such notification will not be permitted by the system if respective bond/undertaking number has not been entered at the time of data entry of B/E. Therefore, all the importers who are claiming benefits of such exemption notifications should get respective bond accepted and registered in the system as continuity bond of that category in respect of each notification separately. The bond registered for one notification can not be utilized for another notification.

Bond Codes for the types bond are as under:

Bond type Bond code Bond Regn. No.
End use bond EU
Undertaking UT
Re-export bond RE

5. Certificate from CEX Authorities

Where the exemption notification provides for production of a certificate from the jurisdictional Central Excise authorities in terms of Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty for Manufacture of Excisable Goods) Rules, 1996, the same should also be registered in the system. For this purpose, the certificate obtained from the central excise office shall be produced to the Appraising Officer at CFS, Mulund before filing the B/E. The Appraiser/Superintendent shall register the same in the system in the same manner as the bonds are registered. The system will generate the registration number. This registration number should be communicated to the importer and the original certificate shall be retained in the Assessing Group.

Registration number shall be indicated at S.No. 18 (c) in the Format for B/E data entry.

Against one B/E only one certificate should be used. The certificate shall be utilized against all such notifications requiring Central Excise certificate. At the time of assessment the officer may verify details of goods covered by the certificate and B/E on the basis of original certificate retained in the group. A print of statement of items assessed on the basis of certificate can be obtained for reference to concerned Central Excise authority.

6. Certificates from other authorities.

Certain notifications require certificates for eligibility of exemption from various other organizations like Ministry of External Affairs, Defence etc. Such certificates can be entered in the system under the category of Misc. Certificates = ‘MC’. The following details will be entered;

MC number and date
Issuing authority and address.

Such certificates can be viewed by Assessing Officer and also will be printed on the B/E for verification in the Shed/Docks.

7. List of exemption notifications requiring Bond/Undertaking etc.

Exemption notifications and the related S.No. of items which require bond / undertaking / Central Excise certificates / or other miscellaneous certificates are annexed to this PN. (Annexure – 2). However, if any of the notification or if any of the S.No is missing in the above list or any fresh notification is issued having such conditions or deleting existing condition the same may be updated in the system by the Systems Manager authorized to amend the directories.

8. Closure Of Bond / Undertaking

The bond or undertaking would be closed by the AC/DC. When the conditions of the bond/undertaking are complied with, the AC/DC will enter the Bond No., the system will display all the Bs/E and related Item S.Nos. in respect of which the bond has been debited. If the conditions of the bond have been satisfied, the option to close the bond may be exercised item by item. When all the items against which respective bond has been debited are closed, the bond can be cancelled. However, if the S.No. of items are closed and the bond is not cancelled the same will continue to be used if there is a balance in bond amount and validity period has not expired. All the documents on the basis of which the items are closed bond is cancelled will be kept in the related bond file for the purposes of record.

9. Assessment of goods under Sub-headings 5513.23, 5513.39 & 5514.21 of Customs Tariff.

In case of goods of aforesaid sub headings, the duty of customs under the First Schedule to Customs Tariff Act, 1975 is chargeable on the basis of value or weight in Kgs. or area in SQM of the textile fabrics covered under the said sub-headings and the duty chargeable will be the highest among the duties so determined on the basis of above mentioned three parameters. It is therefore, necessary to capture qty. in Kgs. and also the qty. in SQM in addition to the value of such goods. Provision has been made in the system to enter qty in Kgs. and qty in SQM in respect of above sub-headings. The system will calculate duty on value, on Kgs. & on SQM and will determine the highest among the three amounts. The highest amount will be taken for levy of duty. The following Table 39 B.1 after 39.B be added In Appendix-A, the Format for Declaration at Service Centre for B/E data entry under S.No. 39 after Table ‘B’ an other table B.1 be added to facilitate declaration of qty in Kgs. & SQM.

B.1 For QTY in units of measurement other than declared in Col. 6 at ‘A’ above when duty is based on different quantities.

(1) Invoice Serial Number [ ] (2)Actual Invoice Number [ ]

In case quantity of goods in the invoice is in Kgs. as declared in Table ‘A’ under ‘Details of Description of Items’ col. (3) in the above table should be left blank and indicate only qty in SQM in col. (4) above. Similarly, if the invoice qty. is SQM then indicate only qty. in Kgs. in col. (3) and col. (4) be left blank.

However, if the qty. in the invoice is in units of measurement other than Kgs. or SQM, in that case the qty. in Kgs. and SQM should be indicated in columns (3) & (4) respectively.

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