Customs-Uniform Procedure for Steamer Agency/Shipping Agency Registration and their renewal - Reg. - Customs - 08/2015

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS PREVENTIVE COMMISSIONERATE M.G. ROAD, NEAR PWD GROUNDS VIJAYAWADA - 520 002 ANDHRA PRADESH C.No. VIII/48/80/2015-Cus. Tech Date : 30-04-2015 PUBLIC NOTICE No. 08/2015-CUS. Sub:- Customs -Uniform Procedure for Steamer Agency/Shipping Agency Registration and their renewal - Reg. Attention of the trade is invited to Board's Circulars 110/2003 dated 22.12.2003 and 15/2004 dated 16.2.2004. It is proposed to streamline the procedure of Registration and Renewal of registration for Shipping Agents/Steamer Agents in both the Custom Houses i.e. at Kakinada Customs House and Krishnapatnam Custom House in newly formed Customs Preventive Commissionerate at Vijayawada. 2. Attention is also invited to Notification No's 111/2003 Customs (N.T) 112/2003 Customs(N.T) 113/2003 Customs(N.T) all dated 19.12.2003 and Notification No.17/2004 Customs(N.T) dated 16.2.2004. 3. Notification No. 111/2003 Customs(N.T) dated. 19.12.2003 specifies any other person for the purpose of Section 30 of the Customs Act 1962 as any person, other than the carrier, who is authorised to issue delivery orders in favour of an importer on the basis of which goods are permitted to be delivered to such importer by the custodian of the goods. 4. Further, vide Notification No.112/2003-cus (N.T) and 113/2003-cus (N.T) dated 19.12.2003 the Import Manifest (Vessels) Regulations, 1971 and Import Manifests (Aircrafts) Regulations, 1976 have been amended. Thus any person who delivers the import manifest for a vessel or an aircraft to the proper officer under section 30 of the Customs Act 1962, will be required to register themselves with the Customs. 5. The procedure of issue I renewal of registration are furnished below: A. Issue of New Registration: The following documents are required to be submitted while applying for the new registration . i) Application in Annexure-A ii) Fixed Deposit Receipt for ₹ 1,00,000/- from a Nationalized Bank. To be executed in favour of Commissioner of Customs, Customs Preventive Commissionerate, Vijayawada. iii) Solvency Certificate for ₹ 1,00,000/- from a Nationalized Bank . To be executed in favour of Commissioner of Customs, Customs Preventive Commissionerate , Vijayawada. iv) A Standard Guarantee Bond under Section 41, 42 and 97(2) of Customs Act, 1962. v) Certificate of Registration of the firm. vi) Partnership deed/Constitution of the firm. vii) Power of Attorney/Letter of authorisation to sign customs documents viii) Names, addresses, Income-Tax PAN and Telephone numbers of partners, persons authorised to sign Customs documents and in the case of private limited companies the Managing director, Chairman, Directors and other employees who will be visiting Vessels. ix) Letters from two ship owners/Charters appointing the firm as their local steamer agent and as and when a new Liner appoints them as agents they have to inform the same to the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner along with intimation to this Office. x) Particulars of bankers i.e name and address of local schedule bank, type of account along with a letter from the banker that they are their banker. xi) Letter addressed to the Commissioner of Customs authorising withdrawal from the above said security deposit for any violation rules on the part of the steamer agent involving penalty and/or revenue dues. xii) Letter to the Commissioner that they would intimate any changes in the constitution of the firm within one week of such change and that they would seek fresh licence within one month. B. Renewal of Registration : The agent should apply for renewal at least one month before the existing licence with the following documents : (i) Existing Fixed Deposit Receipts along with a solvency certificate for ₹ 1,00,000-/(Rupees one lakh only) from a Nationalised Bank (ii) Fresh Standard Guarantee under Section 41, 42 and 97(2) of the Customs Act, 1962. 6. The new steamer agency registration will be valid for three years and subsequent renewal of the registration will be once in every three years. 7. In this regard the Shipping Agent/Steamer Agent already Registered at one Customs House, they may be allowed to operate at another Customs formation within the Customs Preventive Commissionerate on a proper application addressed to the Commissioner of Customs, Customs Preventive Commissionerate, Vijayawada routed through the respective Custom Houses with their comments and specific recommendation. 8. A Data base is required to be built up at all the Customs formations giving details of the existing Shipping/Steamer Agents who were Registered in the erstwhile Visakhapatnam-ll and Guntur Commissionerates. The details should clearly show about the validity of licence and their Deposit Receipts. For this purpose, the Shipping Agents Association may collect requisite data from the existing active Shipping/Steamer Agents and time to time submit the same to the respective custom Houses for consolidation and Verification. The data after verification would be sent to Hqrs., for creation/updation of Master Database at Hqrs.,Office, Customs Preventive Commissionerate, Vijayawada. 9. On behalf of the master of the vessel, the agent files an Import Manifest as required under Section 30 of the Customs Act, Under Regulation 6 of the Import Manifest (Vessels regulation), 1971 every Import Manifest shall:: a) Be delivered in duplicate b) Cover all the goods carried in a vessel and c) Consists of : i) An application for entry inwards in form I (Customs series form no.56) ii) A general declaration in Form II (Customs series form no.57) iii) A cargo declaration IN FORM Ill (Customs series from no.58) iv) A Vessel's stores list in form IV (Customs series form No. 59) v) A list in Form V of private property in the possession of the Master, Officers and Crew (Customs series form no 59.A) 10. The documents mentioned against serial numbers (i), (ii) and (iii) above shall be filed with the Customs Department prior to arrival of the vessel and the documents against serial numbers (iv) and (v) namely the vessels store list and the list of private property in the possession of the Master, Officer and crew at the time of departure from the last port of call shall be delivered along with the cargo declaration. 11. The agent or the master is liable to a fine up to ₹ 50,000/- for delay in submission of the Import General Manifest. It is further informed that repeated lapses would result in denial of the extension of Registration to the steamer agents. 12. As per Section 41 of the C.A, 1962 the Export General Manifest has to be delivered by the person-in-charge of a vessel carrying export goods before departure of the vessel from a Customs Station to the proper Officer in the prescribed form if the Agent of the person-in-charge of the vessel furnishes such security as the proper officer deems sufficient for the delivering the Export General Manifest within seven days from the date of departure of the vessel. The proper officer may accept the manifest within the aforesaid period. 13. In case of failure on the part of the agent to furnish the Export General Manifest within 7 days as mentioned above, the agent is liable to pay the penalty at the rate of ₹ 500/- per day of such late submission subject to the limitation as provided for under Section 117 of the Customs Act, 1962. 14. All the members of the trade are requested to comply with the above regulations scrupulously. (Issued from file C.No. VIII/48/80/2015-cus Tech) (S. K. RAHMAN) COMMISSIONER