Procedure for e-payment Payment of Customs duty

Procedure for e-payment Payment of Customs duty

            In continuation of its efforts for trade facilitation, CBEC has now implemented centralized application called Indian Customs EDI System (ICES1.5) and E-payment facility has been extended to all ICES locations from more than one authorized bank.

(a) Person desirous of availing the E-payment facility must approach the designated bank at the location for opening an INTERNET ACCOUNT (Annexure);

(b) The Central Board of Excise and Customs has set up a CUSTOM E-Payment Gateway (CEG) at ICEGATE (www.icegate.gov.in). The users who are already registered with ICEGATE will automatically be able to avail the facility of e- Payment as REGISTERED USER without any further registration process. However, even the users who are not registered with the ICEGATE can avail e-payment facility as an UNREGISTERED USER;

(c) In the ICEGATE home page, a person can select the e-payment icon from the main menu or if the person is using any other module of ICEGATE (like document filing), he can select the e-Payment option from the side screen menu;

(d) On selection of E-Payment option, the e-Payment page will open. The users already registered with ICEGATE can login with their username and password as REGISTERED USER. Thereafter their (personal) web page would open which will display all the unpaid challans details for the Bills of Entry filed by him;

(e) If the person is an UNREGISTERED USER, or he intends to make payments of duties on the documents not field by him through ICEGATE, then he can make E-Payment by entering the IE Code of the importer. The CEG will display all the unpaid challans against the IE Code;

(f)   On selection of the Challan the user will be shown the options of the “designated” banks for the purpose of E-payment. The user can select any bank authorized for e-payment at the Customs locations;

(g) Thereafter, the user will see the web page of the selected bank. He would be required to login as an “Internet Customer” of the bank;

(h) After successful login in the bank site, the user will be shown the details of the challan including the amount to be paid. The user shall be prompted to confirm the payment option;

(i)   On successful payment, a cyber receipt will be generated by the bank for successful transaction. Then user may take the printout of the cyber receipt for his reference. The bank will prompt the user to come back to the CEG (Customs E-Payment Gateway) after completion of the bank transaction;

(j)   The user must come back to the ICEGATE site to complete the transaction; 

(k)   In case of an incomplete transaction or link failure, a VERIFY option is automatically activated against the concerned challan for verification of the duty payment details. In case of incomplete transaction, the Importer/CHA must go back to ICEGATE and select the VERIFY option against the challan. On selecting the VERIFY option, the importer/CHA is taken back to the site of the Bank for completion of the transaction. The VERIFY option must be exercised on the date of payment itself, and the option would be de-activated the next day;

(l)   After e-payment is made at CEG, ICEGATE will send the payment particulars to the ICES. Thereafter, the Bill of entry shall automatically move to the examination queue;

(m) The importer/CHA need not produce any proof of payment for the clearance of goods in case of e-payment. However, he is advised to keep the copy of the cyber receipt with him for future reference for his own convenience;

(n) In case of problems in e-Payment, the Importer/CHA can contact the ICEGATE 24 hour helpdesk by phone at toll free no. 1800-3010-1000 or by email aticegatehelpdesk@icegate.gov.in. They can also contact the Systems Manger/AC (EDI) at Customs Location, in case of any difficulty.

Making E-payment of Customs duty mandatory-regarding.

F.No.450/180/2009-Cus.IV(Pt.)

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

Department of Revenue

Central Board of Excise & Customs

*****

229-A, North Block,

New Delhi, 29^th July, 2011.

To,

All Chief Commissioners of Customs

All Chief Commissioners of Central Excise and Service Tax

                                                                                  

Subject: Making E-payment of Customs duty mandatory-regarding.

Sir / Madam,

            E-payment facility at Customs locations was introduced in 2007 and is available through more than one authorised bank at all major Customs locations having ICES facility. Though voluntary, the facility has been made use of by numerous importers. Besides expediting the process of payment of duty and clearance of imported goods, the facility of e-payment has resulted in reduction of transaction costs.

2.         In the aforestated background, in order to reduce the transaction cost of the importers and expedite the time taken for customs clearance the Board has decided to make e-payment of duty mandatory for the importers paying an amount of Rupees one lakh or more per transaction. Additionally, for Accredited Clients under the Customs Accredited Client Programme irrespective of any amount of duty, the Customs duty will have to be paid through E- payment mode only. The date from which the E- payment will be made mandatory will be notified separately.

3.         DG (Systems) has prepared instructions outlining the procedure for electronic payments. It is requested to sensitise concerned officers, importers, trade and industry regarding the E- payment.

4.         As a large number of taxpayers would be required to pay the taxes electronically, it is requested that importers, trade and industry may be provided all assistance so as to help them in adopting the new procedure.

5.         Suitable Public Notices or Standing Orders may be issued to guide the trade / Industry and officers.

Yours faithfully,

(G.S. Sinha)

OSD (Customs-IV)

Making E-payment of Customs duty mandatory-regarding.

F.No.450/180/2009-Cus.IV(Pt.)

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

Department of Revenue

Central Board of Excise & Customs

*****

229-A, North Block,

New Delhi, 29^th July, 2011.

To,

All Chief Commissioners of Customs

All Chief Commissioners of Central Excise and Service Tax

                                                                                  

Subject: Making E-payment of Customs duty mandatory-regarding.

Sir / Madam,

            E-payment facility at Customs locations was introduced in 2007 and is available through more than one authorised bank at all major Customs locations having ICES facility. Though voluntary, the facility has been made use of by numerous importers. Besides expediting the process of payment of duty and clearance of imported goods, the facility of e-payment has resulted in reduction of transaction costs.

2.         In the aforestated background, in order to reduce the transaction cost of the importers and expedite the time taken for customs clearance the Board has decided to make e-payment of duty mandatory for the importers paying an amount of Rupees one lakh or more per transaction. Additionally, for Accredited Clients under the Customs Accredited Client Programme irrespective of any amount of duty, the Customs duty will have to be paid through E- payment mode only. The date from which the E- payment will be made mandatory will be notified separately.

3.         DG (Systems) has prepared instructions outlining the procedure for electronic payments. It is requested to sensitise concerned officers, importers, trade and industry regarding the E- payment.

4.         As a large number of taxpayers would be required to pay the taxes electronically, it is requested that importers, trade and industry may be provided all assistance so as to help them in adopting the new procedure.

5.         Suitable Public Notices or Standing Orders may be issued to guide the trade / Industry and officers.

Yours faithfully,

(G.S. Sinha)

OSD (Customs-IV)

Prohibition on Carrying rice in baggage by air passengers travelling to USA

Circular No.34 / 2011- Customs

                                                                                           

F.No. 528/34/2011-STO (TU)

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

Department of Revenue

Central Board of Excise & Customs

Tariff Unit

***

 229A, North Block, New Delhi - 1,

   3^rd August, 2011.

To

All Chief Commissioners of Customs / Customs (Prev.),

All Chief Commissioners of Customs & Central Excise,

All Commissioners of Customs / Customs (Prev.),

All Commissioners of Customs & Central Excise,

All Director Generals under CBEC.

Sir / Madam, 

Subject:        Prohibition on Carrying rice in baggage by air passengers    travelling to USA - Regarding.         

Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation has informed that the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA – APHIS) has notified new phytosanitary regulations for the entry of rice from countries including India where Khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium) is known to occur. These regulations, inter alia prohibit non-commercial rice consignment including passenger baggage and mail with effect from 30^th July, 2011.

2.         It is, therefore, clarified that all air passengers travelling to USA should not carry rice in their baggage. The prohibition would also be applicable in dispatch of rice through other means such as courier or mail.

3.         A suitable public notice / advisory may be issued by the Commissioner of Customs concerned for guidance of staff, trade and passengers.

Yours faithfully,

                                                                                                       

        

                                                                                                              (Subodh Singh)

OSD (Customs), Tariff Unit

Internal Circulation: As usual

Reports of illegal imports of pesticides by some traders

Circular No.35 / 2011- Customs

F.No. 450/160/2010-Cus.IV

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

Department of Revenue

Central Board of Excise & Customs

Tariff Unit

***

299-A, North block, New Delhi-1,

9^th August, 2011.

To

All Chief Commissioners / Commissioners of Customs / Customs (Prev.),

All Chief Commissioners / Commissioners of Customs & Central Excise,

All Directors General under CBEC.

Sir / Madam,

Subject: Reports of illegal imports of pesticides by some traders – reg.

It has come to the notice of the Board that some unscrupulous importers are illegally importing pesticides under various headings of harmonised tariff by declaring their chemical names instead of both common and chemical names.

2.      Section 46 of the Customs Act, 1962 makes it mandatory for an importer / CHAs to declare full, correct and accurate information concerning the goods being imported in the appropriate columns while filing the Bill of Entry. The accuracy of this information is vital to correct classification and assessment of duty including application of import restrictions, if any. Thus especially in case of imported items like chemicals, pesticides and insecticides it is necessary to properly declare basic  information like complete description of goods, common name and chemical name,  grade, specification, etc. If an importer / CHA fails to furnish the complete details then penal action may be warranted in terms of the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 and other Acts and Rules for time being in force.  Incorrect / incomplete declaration may impact assessment of goods, a composite function of classification, valuation, levy of correct duty and application of restrictions / prohibitions imposed under various allied laws.

3.      You are directed to specifically alert the concerned officers on the aforesaid aspects.

4.      Further, Rule 9(1) of the Insecticide Act, 1968 requires importers of insecticide to apply to the Registration Committee, Ministry of Agriculture for the registration of such goods. In case of pesticides in the Schedule to the said Act, registration and permit from Secretariat of CIB &RC is required. The certificate of registration and / import permit for import issued by the CIB &RC should also be properly checked at the time of import.

5.      Suitable Public Notice/ Standing Order may be issued for guidance of all concerned.

                                          

 Yours faithfully,

(Subodh Singh)

  OSD (Customs), Tariff Unit

Internal Circulation: As usual

Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programme for implementation.

Circular No.37/2011-Customs

F.No.450/179/2009-Cus.IV(Pt)

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

Department of Revenue

Central Board of Excise & Customs

227-B, North Block,

New Delhi-110001.     

  23^rd August, 2011.

To

All Chief Commissioners of Customs / Customs (Prev.).

All Chief Commissioners of Customs & Central Excise.

All Commissioners of Customs / Customs (Prev.).

All Commissioners of Customs & Central Excise.

All Director Generals under CBEC.

Subject:  Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programme for implementation.

*****

Sir / Madam,

In view of growing concern amongst Customs administrations about the threat posed through misuse of channels of import and export, there is a need to ensure security in global supply chain in international movement of goods.  Keeping this in view, CBEC has finalized the ‘Authorized Economic Operators’ (AEO) programme for implementation to secure supply chain of imported and export goods.  This programme has been developed pursuant to guidelines of WCO adopted in SAFE FoS (Framework of Standard) in 2005. Many Customs administrations have already instituted AEO programmes or similar programmes which share a common objective of ensuring security in global supply chain from the point of origin i.e. the point of export to import in the receiving country, keeping in view national requirements of respective administrations. The detailed guidelines on implementation of the AEO programme are appended as ‘Annexure’ to this Circular.

2.         One of the salient features of the AEO programme is that any economic operator such as importer, exporter, logistics provider, Customs House Agent can apply for authorization subject to the criteria that the applicant is:

(i)         able to establish a record of compliance in respect of  Customs and other legal provisions.

(ii)         able to demonstrate satisfactory systems of managing commercial and, where appropriate, transport records.

(iii)        financially solvent.

(iv)        able to demonstrate satisfactory systems in respect of security and safety standards.

         

3.         The AEO programme shall be implemented by the Directorate General of Inspection (DGICCE) and Additional Director General, DGICCE (HQ), New Delhi will be the AEO Programme Manager. The AEO Programme Manager shall be assisted by a team of officers viz. the AEO Programme Team.

4.         The authorization shall normally be granted within 90 days of receipt of application if the same is found to be acceptable and not deficient in any material particulars. The programme also provides for circumstances under which the authorization may be considered for revocation or suspension.

5.         The AEO Programme envisages various benefits to different categories of economic operators such as importers, exporters, Customs House Agents, etc. The intention is to give AEO certified operators preferential treatment in terms of less Customs examination, relaxed procedural requirements etc. This is subject to the authorized operators maintaining security standards and compliance requirements as detailed in Annexure and informing the AEO Programme Manager within 30 days in case of any significant change in business or business processes.

6.         The AEO programme would be implemented on voluntary basis i.e. those who are interested in getting benefits of the programme may apply for authorization as per the procedure outlined in the Annexure. The authorization shall be granted after detailed pre-certification verification and validation done by AEO Programme Team.

7.         As DGICCE is assigned the work of implementation of the AEO programme, Board desires that process of inviting application, processing of the same, validation and certification shall be done as envisaged in the programme, as per the following time lines:

Action	Timeline
Announcement of AEO programme	23.8.2011
Receipt of applications for pilots	By 15.9.2011
Scrutiny of applications for pilots	By 30.9.2011
Selection of 3 pilots and intimation thereof	By 15.10.2011
Validation process including field visits for pilots	15.10.2011  -  15.1.2012
Decision on grant of AEO status	15.2.2012

8.         All Commissioners are requested to issue a suitable Public Notice and a standing order for guidance of trade and staff.

Yours faithfully,

                                                                                                          ( R. P. Singh )

                                                                                              Director (Customs)

Click here for Annexure

Issue of Customs House Agent License – Reference from field formations.

Circular No.38/2011-Customs

F.No.502/13/2011-Cus.VI

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

Department of Revenue

Central Board of Excise & Customs

227-B, North Block,

New Delhi-110001.

24^th August, 2011.

To

All Chief Commissioners of Customs / Customs (Prev.).

All Chief Commissioners of Customs & Central Excise.

All Director Generals under CBEC.

All Commissioners of Customs / Customs (Prev.).

All Commissioners of Customs (Appeals).

All Commissioners of Customs & Central Excise.

All Commissioners of Customs & Central Excise (Appeals).

Subject: Issue of Customs House Agent License – Reference from field formations.

*****

Sir / Madam,

            Attention is invited to Board’s Circular No.9/2010-Customs dated 8.4.2010 which provides that persons qualified in written and oral examination held under Regulation 9 of the Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations (CHALR), 1984 but who were not granted Licence, are required to qualify in additional subjects to become eligible for grant of Licence under CHALR, 2004. Further, para 8.1 of the said Circular provides for one time opportunity to appear in examination for additional subjects to qualify them for grant of CHA Licence.

2.         Representations have been received in the Board to grant reasonable opportunities to persons qualified under Regulation 9 of the erstwhile CHALR, 1984 but not granted CHA Licence at par with that currently available to applicants for passing examination under CHALR, 2004. 

3.         The matter has been examined in the Board.  In this regard, it is felt that the intention of allowing these applicants to appear in the examination for additional subjects such as (a) The Patents Act, 1970 and Copyright Act; 1957 (b) Central Excise Act, 1944 (c) Export promotion schemes, (d) Procedure on appeal and revision petition, (e) Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, (f) Online filing of electronic Customs declarations, (g) Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 and (h) Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 was to ensure that they have working knowledge in these subjects as prescribed under CHALR, 2004.  However, restriction on providing one time opportunity to qualify the examination for additional subjects for grant of CHA licence does not appear to be justified and needs re-consideration.

4.         Accordingly, it has been decided by the Board that all such applicants who had already passed the examination held under regulation 9 of CHALR, 1984 but have not been granted licence and are seeking qualification in additional subjects shall be allowed to clear the examination by 31.12.2012 irrespective of number of chances to become eligible for grant of CHA licence in terms of Regulation 9 of CHALR, 2004.

5.         Board also desired that DGICCE will conduct necessary examinations expeditiously, after giving due notice to these candidates.

6.         These instructions may be brought to the notice of the trade by issuing suitable Trade / Public Notices.  Suitable Standing orders / instructions may be issued for the guidance of the field officers. 

Yours faithfully,

 ( R. P. Singh )

Director (Customs)