Import procedure - Bill of Entry - CBEC's Customs Manual 2023 - Customs

2. Import procedure - Bill of Entry: 2.1 Goods imported into the country attract Customs duty and are also required to confirm to relevant and corresponding legal requirements. Thus, unless the imported goods are not meant for Customs clearance at the port/airport of arrival such as those intended for transit by the same vessel/aircraft or transshipment to another Customs station or to any place outside India, detailed Customs clearance formalities have to be followed by the importers. In contrast, in terms of Section 52 to 56 of the Customs Act, 1962 , the goods mentioned in the IGM or Import Report for transit to any place outside India or meant for transshipment to another Customs station in India are allowed transit without payment of duty. In case of goods meant for transshipment to another Customs station, simple transshipment procedure has to be followed by the carrier and the concerned agencies at the first port/airport of landing and the Customs clearance formalities have to be complied with by the importer after arrival of the goods at the other Customs station where goods are intended to be delivered to the importer. There could also be cases of transshipment of the goods after unloading to a port outside India. For this purpose, a simple procedure is prescribed and no duty is required to be paid. 2.2 For goods which are offloaded at a port/airport for clearance, the importers have the option to clear the goods for home consumption after payment of duties leviable or to clear them for warehousing without immediate discharge of the duties leviable in terms of the warehousing provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 . For the purpose of clearance of imported goods, every importer is required to file, in terms of the Section 46 ibid, a Bill of Entry for home consumption or warehousing, as the case may be, in the form prescribed under the relevant regulations. In cases where it is not feasible to make entry electronically on the customs automated system, Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs, allow an entry in any other manner. 2.3 Foreign Trade Policy provides that Importer-Export Code (IEC) number, a 10-character alpha-numeric allotted to a person by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) is mandatory for undertaking any export/import activities. However, exempt categories and corresponding permanent IEC numbers are provided in Para 2.07 of Handbook of Procedures issued by DGFT. 2.4 For clearance of goods through the EDI system, the importer is required to file a cargo declaration having prescribed particulars required for processing of the Bill of Entry for Customs clearance. 2.5 Under the EDI system, the importer by himself or through his authorized customs broker may file the declarations in electronic format through the service centre or ICEGATE. Facility of uploading scanned documents along with the declaration for filing a bill of Entry, is also available through e Sanchit programme. 2.6 As already explained under Chapter 1 (under paras 8.7 and 9.2), CBIC has implemented Faceless Assessment on imports whereby assessment of Bills of Entry are now being done by an officer located in a remote office other than the Customs station where the goods are presented for Customs clearance.