Cochin Port Container Freight Station, Willington Island, Cochin - procedure to be followed in respect of import, export and transshipment cargo and the movement of containers into and out of the Container Freight Station - Customs - TRADE FACILITY NO. 35/2013

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS CUSTOM HOUSE : COCHIN- 682009 F. No. S25/202/2010 I B Cus. Dated: 11.12.2013 TRADE FACILITY NO. 35/2013 Sub: Cochin Port Container Freight Station, Willington Island, Cochin - procedure to be followed in respect of import, export and transshipment cargo and the movement of containers into and out of the Container Freight Station - reg. Attention of all Importers / Exporters / CHAs / Steamer Agents / Public is invited to this Custom House Notification No.08/2013 dated 30.10.2013 notifying the limits and boundaries of the premises of M/s. Cochin Port Trust, Willington Island, Cochin as Customs area for setting up of a Container Freight Station (CFS) and Notification No. 09/2013 dated 30/10/2013 appointing M/s. Cochin Port Container Freight Station, hereinafter known as CPCFS , as Custodian of import / export cargo. The working hours of the CPCFS shall be from 10 am to 5 pm every working day and they shall observe all the Central Government holidays and Sundays as is followed by this Custom House. All instructions governing the functioning of a CFS shall be read along with the existing instructions, as applicable, issued by the department under various provisions of Customs Act / Rules / Regulations / Circulars etc. and these are meant to supplement the existing instructions and not to substitute them. The procedures to be followed for import, export and movement of containers into and out of the Cochin Port CFS are as follows:- IMPORT 1. The custodian code of CPCFS is INCOK1CPC1. 2. The CPCFS is authorized to deal with FCL and LCL import cargo. The FCL containers shall be stored only at the designated places inside CPCFS which shall be distinctly separated from export / empty containers in the CFS. 3. The CPCFS operator has executed Bond for ₹ 20 Crores. The Supdt (Prev.) / Appraiser shall, at the end of every month, verify the sufficiency of the Bond based on the quantum of cargo stored at that point of time and if any extra amount of Bond is required, the same shall be brought to the notice of Assistant / Deputy Commissioner of Customs (Import Bond) and Assistant / Deputy Commissioner of Customs (Docks / CFS) immediately. 4. For movement of imported goods to the CPCFS from ICTT, Vallarpadom or any other notified customs area, permission in triplicate form / transshipment permission from the authorized officer shall be obtained by the applicant as per the existing procedure. No import cargo shall be allowed to enter CPCFS without a valid permit in triplicate form / transshipment permit. The transshipment permission shall be serially numbered by the CPCFS operator and shall also contain Space Availability Certificate‟. The ICTT officers and the Container Cell Officers shall monitor the movement of the containers to the CPCFS as per the existing procedure. The proper officer may deny the movement / transshipment permission to any class or type of goods keeping in view the facilities required for storing / handling such kind of goods at CPCFS or due to lack of space for storing such kind of goods, in public interest. 5. The gate officer in ICTT, in addition to other documents, shall verify the container number and seal number as per the triplicate / transshipment permit and endorse the out-time at the gate for each container. The applicant for movement of containers shall ensure that the containers reach within 1hour 30 minutes (by Ro-Ro service) / 2hours (by road via Edapally) / 2 hours 45 minutes (by road via Seaport-Airport Road) of the out-time from ICTT gate. On reaching the CPCFS, they shall immediately report to the Supdt. /Appraiser/Proper Officer of the CPCFS who shall verify whether the seal are intact and also the time taken for movement from ICTT to CPCFS is in order. In case of any seal tampering, the same shall immediately be recorded in writing, in the presence of the applicant and CPCFS representative, and the same shall be reported to the Assistant / Deputy Commissioner (Docks / CFS) for further necessary action. The container shall be sealed with a customs bottle seal during the interim period. 6. In case the transit time is more than the time prescribed in para 5, an explanation shall be obtained from the applicant for the delay and the same shall be put up to the Assistant / Deputy Commissioner (Docks / CFS), who shall verify and condone the delay if the reasons given therein are bonafide. 7. The Supdt. /Appraiser posted at CPCFS shall keep a record of all containers received and allowed out of charge. They shall forward necessary landing report to the officers at ICTT to reconcile and close the entries. They shall also get a weekly statement of containers permitted for transshipment to the CPCFS from the Customs Officers at ICTT and tally with the register maintained at the CPCFS to ensure that all containers released from the ICTT are received at the CPCFS. At the end of every month, a physical verification of containers with book balance shall be made and report to this extent shall be sent to Assistant / Deputy Commissioner (Preventive) with a copy to Assistant / Deputy Commissioner (Docks / CFS). 8. At the CPCFS, the CFS operator shall maintain a detailed register indicating the details of movement / transshipment permits issued, date of issue and receipt of the containers with all the relevant particulars relating to the consignments like date and time of receipt, container number, IGM number, line number, size of the container, name of the importer etc. The CPCFS operator shall also maintain complete account of the receipt, destuffing, clearing of import goods and removal of empty containers. They shall provide the register for customs scrutiny once in a week and at any time on demand. They shall also give a weekly statement to the Assistant / Deputy Commissioner of Customs (Docks / CFS) indicating the total number of containers received, the number of containers cleared and the balance pending. A physical verification shall also be conducted every week by the Supdt. / Appraiser and report to be submitted to Assistant / Deputy Commissioner (Docks / CFS) to that extent. 9. As far as LCL cargo is concerned, the CPCFS operator shall apply to the Supdt. / Appraiser for de-stuffing permission. The de-stuffing shall be done under the direct supervision of Supdt. / Appraiser and the cargo shall be stored in the designated place for LCL import cargo in the shed. An account of LCL cargo shall be maintained separately both by the custodian and the Supdt. /Appraiser/Proper Officer. This record shall also indicate the container number in which the cargo was brought, IGM number, Line number, date of destuffing, condition of packages, shortage/excess etc. At the time of destuffing if there is any discrepancy between the B/L and the cargo, the same shall be reported to Assistant Commissioner / Deputy Commissioner (Docks / CFS) for necessary action. The cargo pertaining to individual line of an IGM shall be stored at one place and the identity of the place (like bay / row number) shall be mentioned in the register. The Supdt./Appraiser may disallow de-stuffing of goods of any particular type or class in public interest. 10. It shall be ensured that any cargo seized/ detained by investigating agencies like SIIB/DRI/NCB etc. is stored separately from the normal cargo. Similarly the valuable/ hazardous cargo also shall be segregated and stored separately. No rent/ handling charges shall be charged by the custodian for the storage and safe custody of detained / seized cargo from the seizing authorities. 11. The Examining Officer/ Preventive Officer / Appraiser / Supdt. posted at the CPCFS shall examine the cargo as and when the relevant bills of entry are presented by the importers / Custom House Agents and follow the existing procedure before giving out of charge‟. For LCL cargo, the bill of entry shall be initially presented to the CPCFS manager who shall make stacking endorsement‟ indicating the location of the cargo and number of packages. The import cargo shall not be taken out of CFS without the out of charge‟ by the proper officer of Customs. The delivery of the out of charge cargo shall be done under the supervision of Supdt. / Preventive Officer. In case of any doubt regarding the identity of goods examined, the Preventive Officer shall consult the officers who have examined the goods before giving delivery. 12. If the goods are not cleared from the CPCFS within 30 days of the date of their landing at ICTT, the custodian shall initiate action as per the provisions of Section 48 of the Customs Act, 1962. The CPCFS operator shall make necessary arrangements for conducting auction of unclaimed/uncleared goods. In case of confiscated goods, the same shall be inventorized, taken over and auctioned by the Custom House. 13. After out of charge‟ is given by the proper officer for a bill of entry, the CPCFS operator shall permit clearance of the goods out of the CFS. The CPCFS operator shall maintain a copy of out of charge memorandum as part of his records and the same shall be produced as and when demanded by Customs. 14. The empty containers that are required to be taken out of the CPCFS after de-stuffing, shall also be covered by a gate pass, issued by the CPCFS operator which shall be countersigned by the Supdt. / Appraiser of Customs in charge of CPCFS. The gate pass issued by the CPCFS operator for removal of the empty containers shall contain the serial number and other details of the containers. The Preventive Officer at the gate shall physically check the empty containers so as to ensure that no goods are removed unauthorized. He shall collect the gate pass and enter the particulars in the register maintained for this purpose. 15. The present procedure of filing and processing of bills of entry and payment of duty at the notified Bank/Custom House shall be followed in the case of goods cleared from CPCFS also. 16. Any deviation in the above procedure shall be brought to the notice of higher authorities immediately. The staff posted at the CPCFS shall be under the direct control of the Assistant / Deputy Commissioner (Docks / CFS). EXPORT Exporters who desire to avail the facility of examination and container loading / stuffing of export cargo into the containers at the CPCFS are allowed to do so, subject to observance of applicable procedures and conditions applicable to examination and stuffing of export goods outside port premises as detailed below:- 1. The custodian shall allow export cargo into the CPCFS only when the exporter produces Check list and other declarations, viz, Invoice, Packing list, AR-4, Drawback/DEEC declarations, SDF and other documents as per Shipping Bill (Electronic declaration) Regulations, 2011 as amended, filed by the Exporter in the Service Centre. No export cargo shall be allowed into CPCFS without the above documents. The CPCFS operator shall receive the export goods and properly stacks the goods for easy identification and examination of goods. 2. Exporters shall get the Shipping Bills for export goods assessed at the Custom House as usual. 3. The Shipping Bills shall initially be presented to the CPCFS Manager for making stacking endorsement‟ indicating the location and number of packages. The Shipping Bill shall be presented to the Appraiser / Superintendent (Prev.) / Examiner / Preventive Officer posted at the CPCFS for examination and subsequent action. The exporter / agent shall be required to register their Shipping Bills with the Examiner / Preventive officer / Appraiser / Superintendent (Prev.). in the EDI System as per the existing procedure. In case of any manual Shipping Bills, the same shall be registered with Appraiser / Superintendent (Prev.) at the CPCFS. A register shall be maintained in the CPCFS for registering the Shipping Bills. 4. The export cargo for which Let Export Order (LEO) is given shall be stored separately from other export cargo, if it is not planned for immediate stuffing. Shifting of such cargo shall be under the supervision of Preventive Officer and the same shall be endorsed in the relevant registers. Once the Let Export Order is given for a consignment, stuffing shall be done in the presence of Preventive Officer who shall also seal the export container with the customs bottle seal and endorse on the Shipping Bill. The stuffed container shall then be allowed to be moved to ICTT. The Shipping Bills shall be suitably endorsed and Let Export Order given on the shipping bills before the containers leave the CPCFS. The sealed containers, Shipping Bills and the gate pass shall be verified by the Preventive Officer at the gate of CPCFS. The sealed containers containing the examined cargo shall then be allowed to move out to ICTT for shipment. The Appraiser / Superintendent (Prev.)/Proper Officer shall maintain record of all export containers separately with seal numbers. 5. For the purpose of movement of loaded containers from the CPCFS to ICTT, the CPCFS operator shall issue gate passes which shall be countersigned by the Appraiser / Superintendent (Prev.). This shall contain particulars like Shipping Bill number, Containers number, Seal number and Vehicle / Trailer numbers etc. The Preventive Officer at the CPCFS gate shall endorse the out-time of the containers from the CPCFS. All containers shall reach ICTT gate within such time as prescribed under para 5 of Import , of out-time of the CPCFS. In case of any delay, the same shall be brought to the notice of the Assistant / Deputy Commissioner (Docks / CFS) by the Gate Officer/ Supdt. of Customs at ICTT who shall condone the delay if the reasons given therein are bonafide. In back to CPCFS after putting customs bottle seal case of seal tampering, the goods shall be brought by the Gate Officer of Customs at ICTT with the permission of Assistant / Dy. Commissioner (Docks / CFS). 6. On receipt of the sealed containers at ICTT, the containers shall be allowed to be exported under Customs supervision after verification of the seals without any further examination. However, Customs Authorities reserve their right for further examination. The existing procedure for allow loading‟ and subsequent procedures shall continue for the containers from the CPCFS also. 7. The Appraiser / Superintendent (Prev.) in charge, shall send a weekly statement of containers allowed for export from the CPCFS to the Container Cell at Docks. The Container Cell shall tally these details with gate records and preserve such records. In case of any discrepancy, the same shall be immediately reported to Assistant / Deputy Commissioner (Docks / CFS) for further necessary action. 8. If for some reasons, the goods stuffed into containers at the CPCFS and brought for export to the ICTT and are not exported and if the exporters are intending to take them back to town, such cargo shall be allowed to be removed to town only with the permission of the Assistant / Dy. Commissioner (Docks / CFS) after observing due formalities connected therewith. If removal to town of export cargo is sought before LEO, the same shall be allowed by Assistant / Dy. Commissioner (Docks / CFS) after sample examination of the cargo and satisfying about the identity of the cargo and ruling out any attempt for violation of provisions of Customs Act. 9. The Steamer Agents who desire to take empty containers inside CPCFS for stuffing export cargo shall get the permission from the Appraiser / Superintendent (Prev.) in charge of CPCFS. The Steamer Agents shall produce the permission letter along with the containers to the Preventive officer at the gate of the CPCFS. Preventive officer shall check the empty containers and allow the same to be taken inside the CPCFS. The officer shall make necessary entries in the register maintained for this purpose and retain and preserve the permission letters for records. 10. The facility of examination and stuffing of export cargo at the CPCFS shall also be utilized for goods to be exported through other ports. In such cases, the Appraiser / Superintendent of Customs (Prev) / Examiner / Preventive officer shall examine the goods with reference to the details given in the invoices and after sealing, the invoices shall be suitably endorsed. Shipping Bills shall have to be filed at the Port of shipment on the basis of the certified invoices and gate pass issued from the CPCFS. The exporter shall have to follow all other provisions related to transshipment / consolidation. GENERAL 1. The Appraiser / Superintendent (Prev.) looking after the export/import as the case may be, shall be responsible for all reports and statements concerning CPCFS. 2. Since the CFS is already in operation as an extension of wharf area, a report containing details of existing import/export cargo in the CFS, as on the date of this trade facility, shall be prepared by the CPCFS immediately and given to Superintendent(Prev.)/Appraiser for necessary action. 3. This Trade Facility shall come in to force with effect from 11.12.2013 and shall remain in force until further orders. Sd/- (Dr. K. N. RAGHAVAN) COMMISSIONER