MEIS
Reward Scheme for Export thru FPO (Foreign Post Offices) - Procedure
[CBEC
Circular No. 36 dated 29th July 2016]
Subject: Procedure for exports through FPO, Delhi / Mumbai
/ Chennai using ecommerce platform under MEIS Scheme of Chapter 3 of Foreign
Trade Policy (2015-20).
Para 3.05 of the
Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-20 provides
for export of goods through select foreign post offices as a part of e-Commerce
exports. Exports of goods through foreign post office using e-commerce shall be
permitted through the Foreign Post Offices at Delhi, Mumbai & Chennai. The
exports shall be entitled for rewards under MEIS. The list of eligible
categories of goods under MEIS have been listed in Appendix 3C of the FTP. If
the value of exports using e-commerce platform is more than Rs. 25,000 per consignment,
then MEIS reward would be restricted to an FOB value of Rs. 25,000 (Rs. Twenty
five thousand only).
2. DGFT vide Notification No. 02 dated 11th
April 2016 has defined e-commerce for the purpose of MEIS under Chapter 9 of
the Foreign Trade Policy (2015-2020) as
under:
9.17A:
“e-commerce means buying and selling of goods and services including digital
products, conducted over digital and electronic network. For the purposes of
merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) e-commerce shall mean the export of
goods hosted on a website accessible through the internet to a purchaser. While
the dispatch of goods shall be made through courier or postal mode as specified
under the MEIS the payment for goods purchased on e-commerce platform shall be
done through international credit/debit cards and as per the Reserve Bank of
India Circular (RBI/2015-16/185) [AP (DIR Series) Circular No. 16 dated
September 24 2015] as amended from time to time”
3. In view of the above, the Board has
prescribed the following procedure for export of goods sold through e-commerce
from FPOs at Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai. Any exporter holding a valid
Import-Export Code shall be permitted to export goods sold through ecommerce
through the FPOs at Delhi, Mumbai & Chennai. The exporter shall be required
to file a Postal Bill of Export (PBE) in the format appended to this circular.
4. The declaration for claiming of benefit
under MEIS shall be made by the exporter on the PBE. Every PBE shall be filed
in duplicate and shall cover only one consignor and up to ten consignees. In
other words, a maximum of 10 shipments can be effected using a single Postal
Bill of Export.
5. The exporter shall be required to attach the
invoice(s) with the PBE. He shall also be required to provide specific details
of the e-commerce transaction in the PBE, namely:
(a) URL of the website through which goods have
been sold;
(b) the “stock keeping unit” (SKU) number as a
reference link to the sale through e-commerce on the website; and
(c) payment transaction reference number
corresponding to the payment received through international credit card / debit
card for the sale made on the website.
5.1 In addition, the exporter shall continue to
comply with the requirements under section
82 of the Customs Act, 1962, namely
filing of the label or declaration as prescribed by the Postal Department. (eg.
CN23).
6. The PBE along with goods shall be presented
to the Customs at the Foreign Post Office the PBE shall be processed manually.
Upon processing of the PBE by Customs, the goods shall be presented to the
Postal department, who will acknowledge receipt of the shipment on the PBE and
affix the tracking number of each shipment on the same. Upon affixation of the
tracking number by postal authorities, the PBE shall be brought back to the
Proper Officer for grant of “Let Export Order”.
7. The original PBE will be retained by Customs
and the duplicate PBE will be handed over to the exporter.
8. Since e-commerce shipments are time bound
express shipments, Principal Commissioners / Commissioners are advised to
ensure speedy clearance of the parcels and use non-intrusive examination
techniques, such as, x-ray, for facilitating clearance. In the event of any
specific intelligence / suspicion regarding the goods contained in the parcel,
which necessitates examination, the approval of the Deputy Commissioner of
Customs/Assistant Commissioner of Customs shall be obtained by the proper
officer for opening and examining the same.
9. Commissionerates are advised to make
suitable arrangements for noting and processing of PBEs. All other extant norms
for processing of shipping bills, such as for amendments etc. shall also apply
to the postal bill of exports.
10. Any difficulty faced in the implementation of
this circular may be brought to the notice of the Board.
F. No. 476/01/2013/LC