ACL can Regularise Variance between Prior BE and Final BE

· OOC only after entry of Warehouse Code in WBE

· Bills of entry will be OOC Queue

[JNCH Public Notice No.63/2020 dated 01.05.2020]

DIN No. 20200578NW00001E822B

Sub:- ICES Advisory 16/2020-Streamlining of Certain Imports Processes in ICES.

Attention of all the Importers, Custom Brokers, Shipping Lines/Agents, Logistics Service Providers and all other Stakeholders is invited to the above mentioned subject. In order to further streamline the clearance process in imports and to make it more efficient especially in these critical times, a number of changes and improvements have been implemented in the system in the recent past. These changes are not only facilitative for the Trade, but it would also simplify certain processes for the Custom officers, thus aiding in the faster overall clearance of goods. The changes are listed as below:

2. Regularisation of Prior BE:

2.1 Regularization of prior BE is done automatically by the System at the time of goods registration if the IGM is filed with the same Bill of Lading and given Entry inwards. In cases where the actual Bill of Lading is different from what was declared in the Prior BE , an option was available with the AC in ACL role to amend the B/L details in the BE. However, for regularization of the BE, the importer / Customs Broker had to approach the goods registration officer having AAI role (usually in the shed). This made regularization a cumbersome process.

Now, the option for regularization of prior BEs has been given in the ACL role itself to speed up the process and mitigate redundant physical interfacing.

2.2 Further, instances have been noticed when the auto regularization by System does not happen on its own or where the B/L details match gets stuck. As an additional measure to ensure auto regularization, a procedure has been introduced in the system to check for any pending BEs every morning and regularize the same automatically.

3. Document Submission details in SUP Role

3.1 Provision has been made in the system where the compliance verification officer can indicate while granting OOC or CCV in the SUP role, whether all the required supporting documents were uploaded online by the importer. This will provide critical feedback on the compulsory use of eSanchit for online submission of the supporting documents.

4. Entry of Warehouse Code for Warehouse Bill of Entry (WBE)

4.1 Option of declaring the Warehouse code in the WBE at the time of filing is available with the importer. However, at times the importer does not know at the time of filing which warehouse the goods will be allotted to. Option was available in the SUP role to manually enter this warehouse code for a WBE any time before any Ex-Bond BE is filed against that WBE.

4.2 To further secure the process and have a more reliable accounting of warehoused goods, it has now been made mandatory to have the warehouse details entered in the system before OOC wherever not given at the time of filing the WBE, failing which OOC will not be allowed by the System.

5. Further streamlining of Automated queuing for OOC

5.1 In the present implementation of auto queuing of every BE for OOC, certain bills of entry were set aside by the System and not queued up automatically before the OOC officer. These were cases

a) Selected for scanning

b) Where NOC was not received from PGA

c) Where OTP was not received for deferred payment

d) Where Warehouse Code was not entered in case of WBE

5.2 The above necessitated the importer to physically approach the OOC officer for activation of these BEs for clearance. In many cases, the importer would also not come to know immediately of the status of such BE.

5.3 Now, these BEs would also be automatically queued with other BEs. Instead of system setting them aside, a pop up would be displayed to the officers with the above reasons, as applicable, enabling them to decide accordingly. In case the officer requires any clarification, a query can be raised to the importer. This will further remove the need for physical interface even for the above few scenarios.

6. All trade associations/members of Customs Brokers Association are requested to take note and publicize the contents of this Public Notice among their members/constituents.

7. Difficulties, if any, may be brought to the notice of the Joint Commissioner of Customs, Appraising Main Import, Zone-II, JNCH.

8. For the departmental officers, this may be treated as Standing Order.

F. No. S/22-Gen-402/2017-18/AM(I)Part-II