Importers of items that have a history of customs duty evasion through under-valuation will face higher scrutiny and greater disclosure norms, under a new official framework issued on Wednesday.
The new rules empower authorities to mandate additional disclosure and certification requirements to be followed by importers of such goods where authorities suspect systematic under-valuation of imports, which robs the government of revenue.
Wednesday’s order from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said two committees will be set up a screening committee with top officials handling revenue intelligence, valuation, analytics and risk management; and an evaluation panel of officials to investigate the cases after a preliminary examination by the screening committee.
Based on their findings, CBIC will order greater disclosure and compliance requirements needed for importers of that category of goods.
This could include technical details to be disclosed in the import documents and other possible obligations of the importer to show that the consignment is not under-valued, and additional checks to be followed by officials.
The order will be valid for one to two years.
Officials may have to keep in mind a ‘precautionary unit value,’ which the tax authority considers as the accurate benchmark price of the item. Authorities will hold extensive research on prices of identified items in global markets to check under-invoicing.
The move follows reports about systematic under-invoicing of imports from China.
Source from: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/new-rules-to-scan-items-with-a-history-of-customs-evasion-11673542486720.html