Improving Ease of Doing Business Issuance of Electronic Delivery Orders - Customs - PUBLIC NOTICE No. 25/2015

OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS NEW CUSTOM HOUSE, PANAMBUR, MANGALORE 10 F. No. S-49/07/2015-EDI Date: 07.12.2015 PUBLIC NOTICE No. 25/2015 Subject: Improving Ease of Doing Business Issuance of Electronic Delivery Orders reg. Attention of all the Importers, Customs Brokers, Steamer Agents, Shipping Lines, Consol Agents and the Members of the Trade is invited to the Board Circular No. 24/2015-Customs dated 14.10.2015, regarding the introduction of electronic messaging for issue of Delivery Order, instead of a paper based Delivery Order which will result in considerable simplification in the Customs Clearance process, and can demonstrably reduce transaction costs and time taken in the clearance of Cargo. This is one of the measures in the direction of improving ease of doing business. 2. The existing practice is that, before importers or their Customs Brokers are allowed to pick up their import cargo, they are required to pay the freight and Delivery Order Charges (or D.O. charges) to the Shipping Line/Consol Agent. Once these charges are collected, the latter will in turn send the Delivery Order to the Custodian while also advising the importer or the Customs Broker of the issuance of the Delivery Order. The Shipping Lines have allowed the pick-up of import cargo by conveying a paper-based Delivery Order in a format acceptable to the Custodian. The importer or his Customs Broker visits the counter of the Shipping Line or Consol Agent, pays the D.O. Charges, collects a paper copy of the Delivery Order and hand carries it to the office of the Custodian. 3. As a pre-requisite for the implementation of the electronic Delivery Order System, the Custodian shall have the technical capability to implement an electronic messaging system for the receipt of electronic Delivery Order. Shipping Lines and Consol Agents should have the capacity to generate electronic Delivery Order in the required format. 4. Apart from the above prerequisites, it will facilitate trade 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. 5. The introduction of electronic Delivery Order or electronic Payment of D.O. Charges does not change any of the current Customs procedures. Besides, all other procedures followed by the Custodian, 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. 6. In respect of some categories of imports, namely Unaccompanied Baggage, Direct Delivery, and one-time individual importers, the Shipping Line/ Airline may retain manual copy (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. 7. It is expected that elimination of hard-copy Delivery Order and implementation of the proposed online system of Delivery Order would enable Shipping Lines, Steamer Agents, Airlines and Consol Agents to issue Delivery Order at the earliest possible time in the process of unloading of cargo. 8. Secure electronic transmission of Delivery Order would enhance the overall security and transparency of the cargo clearance process. Custodians and carriers should ensure smooth implementation of this trade-friendly measure, while ensuring that no difficulty is faced by any importer (or their authorized representative) in obtaining Delivery Orders or completing any other formalities for clearance of goods. 9. Difficulties faced, if any, may be brought to the notice of the undersigned. (Dr. M. SUBRAMANYAM) COMMISSIONER