Paperless Customs — Electronic Communication Of PDF based Gate pass and OOC Copy of Bill of Entry to Custom Brokers/ Importers - Customs - PUBLIC NOTICE. NO. 28/2020

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA OFFICE OF THE PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS AIRPORT AIR CARGO COMLEX NSCBI AIRPORT, KOLKATA: 700 052 F. No. S60(Misc)-431/18 CCI Dated: 14.04.2020 PUBLIC NOTICE. NO. 28/2020 Subject: Paperless Customs - Electronic Communication Of PDF based Gate pass and OOC Copy of Bill of Entry to Custom Brokers/ Importers. Attention of the importers, exporters. Customs Brokers and all other stakeholders is invited to CBIC Circular No. 19/ 2020-Customs dated issued on the subject mentioned above. In order to mitigate the unprecedented situation due to Covid-19 pandemic, CBIC has taken a number of measures to facilitate expedite Customs clearance process making it more and more contact-less i.e. automated and online as well as paper-less. These measures include the facility to clear goods on the basis of an undertaking (not bond), acceptance of electronic Country of Origin certificate etc. These steps complement the earlier reforms unrolled as a part of Turant Customs such as online query module, e Sanchit, web based goods registration, electronic processing of DGFT issued licenses, machine release of imported goods based on Customs Compliance Verification and electronic transmission of PDF based First copy of Bill of Entry (BOE) to Customs Brokers and registered importers. 2. The aforementioned reforms combine to expedite Customs clearances and reduce the transaction cost. At the same time, Board notes that the specific measures that reduce interface between the Customs authorities and the importers/ exporters/ Customs Brokers are especially relevant in these challenging times, to tackle the scourge of Covid-19 pandemic. In this direction, Board has now decided to enable electronic communication of PDF based Final e-OOC (electronic Out of Charge) copy of BOE and e-Gate pass to the importers/Customs Brokers. This electronic communication would reduce interface between the Customs authorities and the importers/ Customs Brokers and also do away with the requirement of taking bulky printouts from the Service Centre or maintenance of voluminous physical dockets in the Customs Houses. The Final e-OoC copy of BOE and e-Gate pass copy will be emailed to The concerned Customs Broker and/or importer, if registered, once the Out Of Charge is granted. The e-Gate pass copy will be used by the Gate Officer or 'the Custodian (AAI) to allow physical exit of the imported goods from the Customs area. 3. Salient features of electronic communication or the Final e- OOC copy of BoE and the e-Gate pass are as follows: I. Final Out of Charge (c-OOC) Copy of Bill of Entry: As Of now, physical Signing of the Final OOC copy of BOE is insisted upon at Air Cargo Complex, Kolkata. This necessitates the importer/ Customs Broker to take a paper printout from the Service Centre to be produced before the Customs Officer. It has now been decided to do away with the paper printout of the Final OOC copy of BOE. Instead, DG Systems will enable a functionality to immediately email the PDF version of the Final e-OoC copy of BOE generated after OOC to the concerned Customs Broker and/or the importer, if registered. This Final e-OoC copy of BOE will have the following features- (i) The PDF version will bear a digitally signed and encrypted QR code which can be scanned to verify the authenticity of the document using Mobile App ICI%TRAK. The QR code is tamper proof, which is digitally signed by CBIC to ensure the authenticity. Key details like BOE No., BOE Date, Duty, Package Details are available in the secured QR Code. (ii) A version number is also embedded in the QR code which Can be used to ascertain whether the document is indeed the latest version (in case of reassessment etc.). The same would be verifiable at ICEGATE Enquiry. II. e-Gate-pass Currently, the physically signed Final OOC copy Of BOE is being verified both by the Gate officer (Customs) as well as the Custodian (AAI) before allowing the actual movement of the imported goods out of the Customs premises. This physical printout is now being replaced by the PDF e-Gate pass, generated and electronically communicated to the importer/ Customs Brokers with the following salient features: (i) e-Gate pass shall contain only the details referred to by the Custodian or the Gate officer to allow actual movement of goods - like details of IGM/Bill of Lading, Containers, packages etc. (ii) There Will be two types of QR codes (i) for entire e-Gate pass document, and (ii) for each container/package covered under the Gate pass. This will ensure that only those containers/package move out which are covered under the Gate pass document. (iii) EDI OOC message shall continue to be sent to the Custodians who are registered on ICEGATE. Since all the Custodians are not connected to ICEGATD, therefore, EDI OOC message is not being transmitted electronically to such Custodians. Field formations are requested to ensure registration of all such custodians in ICEGATZ as per the advisory of DG Systems so that the potential benefits of the new measures could be reaped across the entire Customs ecosystem. 4. The electronic communication of the Final e-OoC copy of BoE and e-Gate pass copy is expected to bring immense benefits in terms of time and cost of compliance and reduction in interface for the trade, while providing enhanced security features for verification of authenticity and validity of the electronic documents. This measure would be madc effective from 15th April, 2020. 5. Action to be taken in terms of decision taken in this public notice should be considered as Standing Order for the purpose of officers and staff. 6. In case of any difficulty, the specific issue may be brought to the notice of the ADC (AP ACC). (Deep Shekhar) Pr. Commissioner of Customs (AP ACC) Custom House, Kolkata