The Customs Clearance Procedure in India
Import and export of goods in the country and outside a country should necessarily undergo a customs clearance process. The importer and exporter of the concerned goods should submit valid documents to clear the said procedure. In this write-up, we look at some of the major steps and procedure involved in clearing customs in India.
Vessels calling
Most importantly, once the vessels carrying the goods reach the concerned country, the person carrying the vessels should make sure that the calling of vessels is done at the customs port itself. For illustration, if goods are imported through aircraft, the pilot is responsible for calling of the vessels at the customs airport. There is no need for the importer to get engaged in the said process and this will be done by the airline or shipping line for customs clearance.
Filing of Import General Manifest (IGM)
The person-in-charge of the vehicle shall file an Import General Manifest online before the concerned goods arrive. Furthermore, this file would include the information of all the goods imported by the vessel.
Post Verification Operations for customs clearance
Above all, on the review of the Import General Manifest and post examination of documents, the customs authorities will authorize entry inwards to the vessel assign an IGM number to the manifest and allow the master of the vessel to land and unload the cargo.
Custody of Custodian for Customs Clearance procedure in India
Furthermore, on arrival of the vessel, the goods shall remain in the authority of the Custodian until it clears the customs clearance. A custodian can be a person approved by Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Customs for the said purpose. Imported goods can be unloaded subject to the below-mentioned conditions:
- A note to unload the goods should be specified on the manifest report.
- The goods could be unloaded only at the approved places in the customs port.
- Above all, under the supervision of the approved authorities.
- Shall be unloaded only during working hours for customs clearance.
Bill of Entry Filing
The importer of the goods shall lodge a bill of entry (customs copy) online for the customs clearance of the goods, before or on arrival of the goods. Furthermore, in the bill of entry, the duty and taxes to be paid are examined by the importer himself and this is called self- assessment. The importer will self-verify the duty after taking into account the applicable rate of exchange and the rate of import duty. On approval of the Bill of Entry, the importer has to pay the GST and duty which shall be entered in the Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange System (ICEDIS) for the customs clearance. Once it is entered in ICEDIS, a bill of entry number will be auto-generated.
Furthermore, the importer shall then give the bill of entry (customs copy), the duty-paid challan and other necessary supporting documents to the port authorities for making an order permitting clearance. Above all after making an order permitting clearance, the port officer would submit the duplicate bill of entry (importer’s copy) and triplicate bill of entry (exchange control copy). Both the copies shall be handed over to the person authorized later on.
More about Bill of Entry for customs clearance
Bill of Entry is a filed by authorized by customs clearance agents with the Customs Department. Furthermore, on arrival of good or prior to the arrival of goods, bill of entry may be filed along with the necessary documents to initiate the customs clearance procedure. Once a bill of entry is lodged, the goods are verified and examined by the proper officer of Customs. Basics customs duty, IGST, and GST Compensation Cess shall then be paid by the importer.
HSN Code for GST
GST makes use HSN code for categorization of goods and levy of tax. Therefore, HSN code is altogether used by the Customs Department and is an internationally accepted procedure for tracking goods in the course of international trade across the globe.
Amendments to Bill of Entry under GST
Once GST is put into action, the bill of entry format would change as GSTIN of the importer and it must be specified on the document. Above all, In case GSTIN is not available, provisional GSTIN can be made use of. Based on the GSTIN, input tax credit shall be provided to the importer for IGST and GST Compensation Cess paid during import. Though, input tax credit would not be provided for the basic customs duty paid on the import.
Delivery of Goods for Customs Clearance
Most importantly, on producing the customs clearance to the port authorities, the importer can take his goods. In case of cargo put in a warehouse, the importer would lodge another bill of entry named the ex-bond bill of entry to clear the complete or part of the warehoused cargo.
Summary:
Import and export of goods in the country and outside a country should necessarily undergo a customs clearance process. Furthermore, on arrival of the vessel, the goods shall remain in the authority of the Custodian until it clears the customs clearance.
