Improving Ease of Doing Business — Issuance of Electronic Delivery Orders and Elimination of Hard Copy of Delivery Order during Import Cargo Delivery operations. - Customs - Facility Notice No. 04/2016

OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS NEW CUSTOM HOUSE, KANDLA-370210 F. No. S/20-152/AG/2015 Dated: 22.01.2016 Facility Notice No. 04/2016 Sub: Improving Ease of Doing Business - Issuance of Electronic Delivery Orders and Elimination of Hard Copy of Delivery Order during Import Cargo Delivery operations. - Kind attention of all Importers, Customs Brokers, CFSs, Field formations and Trade is invited to the CBEC's Circular No. 24/2015-Customs dated 14.10.2015 regarding improving 'Ease of Doing Business' - Issuance of Electronic Delivery Orders. With the introduction of electronic messaging for issue of Delivery Order instead of a paper based Delivery Order will result in considerable simplification in the Customs Clearance process, and can demonstrably reduce transaction costs and time taken in the clearance of Cargo. 2. As of now, the prevalent practice is that the importers or their Customs Brokers are allowed to pick up their import cargo; they are required to pay the Shipping Line/Consol Agent, the freight and Delivery Order Charges (or D.O. charges). Once these charges are collected, the latter will in turn send to the Custodian the Delivery Order. The Shipping Lines have allowed to pick-up of import cargo by conveying a paper-based Delivery. The importer or his Customs Broker visits the counter of the Shipping Line or Consol Agent, pays the Delivery Order Charges, collects a paper copy of the Delivery Order, and the paper based documents are carried to the office of the Custodian. 3. Apart from the above prerequisites, further if Shipping Lines and Consol Agents can adopt a system of electronic invoicing of all charges along with the facility to conclude the payment process using e-Payment facilities. It is only then that the importer or his Customs Broker can avoid the mandatory personal visit to the office/counter of the Shipping Line or Consol Agent. 4. The introduction of electronic Delivery Order or electronic Payment of D.O. Charges do not change any of the current Customs procedures. Besides, all other procedures followed by the Custodians, i.e., due diligence involved in the verification of the Delivery Orders, obtaining 'Out of Charge' from Customs, and issuance of Gate Pass', etc will continue. 5. In respect of some categories of imports, namely - unaccompanied baggage, Direct Delivery, and one-time individual importers, the Shipping Line/ Airline may retain manual (i.e. paper copy) of the Delivery Order, if desired. Further, if for technical reasons, in case of any failure of the system of electronic transfer of Delivery Order, the concerned Shipping Line or Consol Agent may issue manual Delivery Order, as a purely temporary measure, in order to avoid any difficulty or delay in clearance of imported goods. 6. It is proposed to be implemented shortly from a date to be notified in due course. 7. All the stake holders are requested to examine the above procedure and kindly intimate any difficulties that may be faced in implementing, to the notice of the undersigned. (PVR Reddy) Principal Commissioner