Application
Form for a Public Warehouse Licence under Sec 57, 58 or 58A of CA 1962
[CBEC
Circular No. 26 dated 9th June 2016]
Sub: - Form of application for a Licence under Public
Warehousing Licensing Regulations, 2016 / Private Warehousing Regulations, 2016
/ Special Warehousing Regulations, 2016.
Upon the
notification of Public Warehousing
Licensing Regulations, 2016/Private Warehouse Licensing Regulations, 2016/Special
Warehouse Licensing Regulations, 2016, a
need has been felt to review the process of application for a warehouse licence
and the form used for the same. For the purpose of certainty in providing
information by applicants and transparency in procedure regarding processing of
applications, the Board has prescribed the Form (annexed) to be used by an
applicant seeking a licence for a bonded warehouse.
2. This application form has been prescribed
for use by applicants for new warehouses to be licensed and is not required to
be filed by existing licensees covered under the transitional provisions
provided in the Regulations for licensing of warehouses or the Warehouse (Custody & Handling)
Regulations, 2016.
3. The form has been designed in a manner so as
to also serve as a check list for obtaining information relevant for evaluation
of the applicant at one go and ascertaining the facilities for security of
goods available at the proposed site (serial no. 7 & 8 of Part II of the
form refers). This information is expected to enable a comprehensive assessment
of the applicant and of the premises by the licensing authority. However, it
may be borne in mind that warehouses vary widely in characteristics and type of
goods stored. Absence of certain features (for example, absence of CCTVs or
burglar alarms in case of certain types of sites) shall be acceptable in some
situations. It is, therefore, expected that the Licensing authorities shall
exercise their good judgement viz. a viz. the security features installed by
the licensee by keeping in mind the type of site and nature of goods proposed
to be stored.
3.1 The prescribed application form should be made
available on the website of the Commissionerates for
the ease of reference by trade.
4. The Board has desired that all Commissionerates shall undertake to examine and complete
the process of granting a licence within 30 days of the receipt of the
application. The Bond officer must complete the process of examining the
application, visiting the premises to be licensed and submitting his report to
the Principal Commissioner / Commissioner within 15 days of the receipt of the
application. The approval or rejection of the application by the Licensing
Authority (Principal Commissioner / Commissioner) should be completed within
the next 15 days.
4.1 The Board has taken cognizance of the fact
that in the absence of standard operating procedures for antecedent
verification of the applicant, varied practices have been followed by Commissionerates. In some Commissionerates,
verification is conducted by limiting inquiries to their jurisdiction, while in
others, references are made across jurisdictions. The delays in receiving
responses from formations to whom references are made for verification often
leads to applications being kept pending for long periods. In view of the
Government’s emphasis on a trust based tax administration, it has been decided
to incorporate relevant declarations required from the applicant, in the form
itself, on the basis of which the application for a license can be processed.
With specific regard to serial number 5 of the “Declaration” in the application
form, a system of post verification can be followed. It is also proposed that a
centralized system of verification be followed by referring the name of the
applicant and Directors/Partners/Proprietor to DRI (HQ) and DGCEI (HQ) for
checking antecedents and the existence of any past cases, instead of referring
to all formations. This system will ensure that adhering to time limits in
processing of applications becomes feasible.
5. After completion of the process envisaged
under the first Para of regulation 4 of the Licensing Regulations, the
applicant should be intimated regarding a decision to grant him a license or
not. Upon being intimated that it is proposed to license the warehouse, the
applicant shall provide the documents and complete the process under Regulation
4(a) to (d). Thereafter, the Principal Commissioner / Commissioner shall grant
the license for the warehouse.
6. The License granted under the regulations
shall remain valid till its surrender / cancellation. Henceforth, there shall
be no requirement for renewal of warehousing license on annual basis.
7. In case of licenses issued earlier to the
notification of Licensing Regulations on 14th May 2016, the requirement of
annual renewal is dispensed. All warehouses appointed under the erstwhile section 57 or licensed under erstwhile section
58 shall be deemed to remain valid till their surrender / cancellation, once
the conditions under the new regulations have been complied.
8. Since the licensee is required to renew the
insurance policy annually and continue to comply with solvency conditions (as
applicable), the same shall be required to be submitted annually.
9. Difficulties, if any, in implementation of
this procedure may be brought to the notice of the Board.
Form
Application
for licence for a public warehouse under section 57 or Section 58 or Section
58A
(as per Circular No. 26/ 2016 – Customs dated 9th June 2016)
Instructions:
1. This application form is for new applicants
applying for a license under section 57 or section
58 or section 58A(excluding
for Precious Metals) of the Customs
Act, 1962
2. A public bonded warehouse is strictly for
warehousing of goods belonging to third parties. The applicant seeking a
license for a public bonded warehouse shall declare that goods imported by him
shall not be stored in the public bonded warehouse for which the application
has been made.
3. An applicant shall be eligible to obtain
separate licenses for a private warehouse for storage of the goods imported by
him, and a public bonded warehouse for storage of goods of third parties. There
shall be no bar in a single site being securely partitioned and distinctly
marked on a ground plan, for being licensed separately as public and private
bonded warehouses.
4. This application form is not to be used by
existing licensees for purposes of transitional provisions provided in the
respective Warehouse Licensing Regulations, 2016.
5. The applicant may fill up the form as a
typed word document.
6. The applicant is required to fill up part I
and II only. Part III and IV are for Official Use.
Part
I
1. Name of Applicant:
2. PAN No:
(Please attach
copy)
3. Constitution of business (Tick as applicable
and attach copy)
(i) Proprietorship
(ii) Partnership
(iii) Limited Liability Partnership
(iv) Registered Public
Limited Company
(v) Registered Private Limited Company
(vi) Registered Trust
(vii) Society/Cooperative society
(viii) Others (please specify)
4. Bank Account details:
(a) Name of the Bank/Branch/City:
(b) Account No
5. Registered office:
Address:
Tel:
Fax
E-mail
Website, if any
6. Details of registrations (Please attach
relevant copies):
(i) Import Export
Code (If any)
(ii) Service Tax Registration No. (If any)
(iii) Central Excise Registration No. (if any)
(iv) CST Registration no.(if
any)
(v) Sales Tax Registration No. (if
any).
(vi) Details of any warehouse license issued, if any:
(a) Date of issue of licence
(b) Commissionerate file
No.
(c) Attach copy of warehouse license
(vii) Whether the applicant is a Licensed Customs
Broker? If yes, please provide details:
(viii) Whether the applicant is AEO? if yes, please provide details.
7. Name, Address & DIN (if applicable) of
Proprietor/Partners/Directors etc. (please attach copies of ID proof).
8. Name & Designation of the Authorized
Signatory:
Part
II
a.i.1. Address
of the proposed site or building:
a.i.2. Boundaries
of the warehouse
(a) North
(b) South
(c) West
(d) East
a.i.3. Details
of property holding rights of the applicant (please provide supporting
document):
(a) Owner
(b) Lease/rent
a.i.4. Type
of Warehouse applied for (please specify):
(a) Section 57
(b) Section 58
(c) Section 58A
a.i.5. If
the goods proposed to be stored are notified under section
58A, whether the applicant
was previously engaged in supply of:
i.a. Ship
stores
i.b. Airline
stores
i.c. Diplomatic
Stores
i.d. Stores
for Duty free shops
(if yes, please give details)
OR
If no, please
provide documents regarding proposed operations:
(For example: an
applicant seeking a license for storage of goods to be supplied to a duty free
shop may be asked to provide documents relating to his operation of a DFS at
the airport or a contract allotted to the applicant by a port / airport; an
independent airline store operator may be asked to provide documents of
contract with airlines (this would not be necessary for an airline itself); a
ship store operator may provide supporting documents or contracts or
requisitions from shipping lines or ships, as the case may be)
a.i.6. Contact
details at the site/premises:
Tel:
Fax:
Email:
Website, if any
a.i.7. Description
of Premises : (Please enclose a ground plan of the site / premises indicating
all points of exit/entry/ area of storage / earmarked area of office)
a) What is floor area?
b) Number of stories?
c) Total area (or cubic capacity) available for
storage?
d) Identify and mark area(s), occupied by third
parties in the ground plan:
e) What is the type of construction of walls and
roof?
f) Which year has the building been built? Has
it been recently remodeled? If so, when?
g) Identify by location and size all accesses to
the site / building to pedestrian and vehicles:
h) Identify by location and size all other
accesses to the building including doors & windows:
i) Please
indicate whether the premise has been authorized for commercial use by local
government authorities?
a.i.8. Security
facilities at the premises, existing or proposed:
Burglar Alarm
System:
a. Whether the premise is protected by a
Burglar Alarm System?
CCTV Facility
b. Is there a CCTV monitoring system installed
to cover the surrounding area of the site and storage area?
c. Please indicate the no. of cameras
installed:
d. No.
of hours/days of recording accessible at any point of time?
Security
Personnel
e. Details of arrangements for round the clock
security provided for the warehouse?
f. Name & details of firm contracted for
security services:
g. No.
of personnel to be deployed on each shift for round the clock security:
Fire Security
h. Please enclose a fire safety audit
certificate issued by a qualified independent agency.
a.i.9. Goods
(a.i) Estimated maximum
value of duty involved on the goods proposed to be stored at any point of time:
(a.ii) Whether sensitive goods (as defined in circular 21/2016-Cus)
are proposed to be stored?
(a.iii) Have any
special facilities for storage been built? (Such as, cold storage, storage of
liquid bulk cargo, hazardous goods etc.)
(a.iv) Are any permits
required for storage of special cargoes under any law for the time being in
force? If yes, please provide copies of relevant clearances obtained from
competent authorities.
a.i.10. Financials
Please attach a
copy of the solvency certificate, as applicable, issued by a scheduled bank
Declaration
1. I am a citizen of India (copy of Passport
enclosed or Voter ID Card);
or
We are a
registered or incorporated entity in India.
2. I/We undertake to comply with such terms
& conditions as may be specified by the Principal Commissioner of Customs
or the Commissioner of Customs.
3. I/ We have not been declared insolvent or
bankrupt by a court or tribunal.
4. I/We have not been convicted for an offence
under any law.
5. I/We have neither been penalized or
convicted nor are being prosecuted for an offence under the Customs Act, 1962 or Central
Excise Act, 1944 or Finance Act, 1994
6. There are no
bankruptcy or criminal proceedings pending against me / us.
I/We ______________
hereby declare that the information given in this application form is true,
correct and complete in every respect and that I am authorized to sign on
behalf of the Licensee. I further undertake that if any particulars declared by
me/us are proved to be false, the licence granted to me/us shall be liable to
be cancelled and I/we shall be liable for action under Customs Act, 1962.
(Signature of
the applicant/authorized signatory)
Stamp
Date:
Place:
Part III
(For Use by
Customs Only)
a.iv.1. Verification
of the applicant:
[Result of
reference made for verification of serial no. 5 of the “Declaration”
(verification to be conducted from DRI / DGCEI; grant of licence may not be
held up pending verification)];
a.iv.2. Date
of visit to the premises by the bond officer:
a.iv.3. Findings
of the bond officer with respect to security, fire protection, IT enabled
inventory management system, type of construction, area available for
examination of goods, if required etc.
a.iv.4. Is
the Premises recommended for being licensed as a bonded warehouse under sections 57 or 58 or 58A?
(Name &
signature of the Bond Officer)
Part IV
(For use by
Customs Only)
1. Details of Warehouse keeper appointed by the
Licensee:
(i) Copy of the
appointment letter:
(ii) Name:
(iii) Address (residential)
(iv) Tele:(off)
(v) Tele:(mobile)
(vi) E-mail:
2. Whether digital signature has been obtained
by the warehouse keeper (as per guidance available on ICEGATE website)?
3. Has the IT based record keeping requirement
been fulfilled by the Licensee(please refer Circular
25/2016-Cus dated 8th June 2016)?
4. Details of:
(a) Solvency Certificate amount (see regulation 3)
(b) Insurance Policy (see regulation 4)
(c) Undertaking under section 73A (see regulation
4)
(d) Indemnity undertaking (see regulation 4)
5. Whether specimen seal, signature, and
contact details of the authorized signatories have been submitted?
6. Licence No.
7. Warehouse Registration Code on ICEGATE:
8. Date of operationalization of the warehouse:
Signature / Name
of Bond Officer