The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) has announced a slew of measures to expedite its clearance process and mitigate the unprecedented situation which has arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “In order to mitigate the unprecedented situation due to COVID-19 pandemic, CBIC has taken a number of measures to facilitate and expedite customs clearance process making it more and more contact-less i.e. automated and online as well as paper-less,” the CBIC said in a statement.
These anti-COVID-19 measures include the facility to clear goods on the basis of an undertaking, 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.
“The aforementioned reforms combine to expedite Customs clearances and reduce the transaction cost. At the same time, the 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,” the CBIC statement said.
“In this direction, the Board has now decided to enable electronic communication of PDF-based Final EOOC (electronic Out of Charge) copy of BoE and eGatepass 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 statement added.
“The Final eOoC copy of BoE and eGatepass copy will be emailed to the concerned Customs Broker and/or importer, if registered, once the Out of Charge is granted. The eGatepass copy will be used by the Gate Officer or the Custodian to allow physical exit of the imported goods from the Customs area.”
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The Complete Circular can be accessed at: http://cbic.gov.in/resources//htdocs-cbec/customs/cs-circulars/cs-circulars-2020/Circular-No-19-2020.pdf