Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the

flow of goods including animals, transports and hazardous items in and out of a country. Depending on local legislation and regulations, the import or export of some goods may be restricted or forbidden, and the customs agency enforces these rules.

the maintenance of the security of India; the maintenance of public order and standards of decency or morality; the prevention of smuggling; the prevention of shortage of goods of any description; the conservation of foreign exchange and the safeguarding of balance of payments; the prevention of injury to the economy of the country by the uncontrolled import or export of gold or silver the conservation of exhaustible natural resources the protection of patents, trade marks and copyrights

the prevention of deceptive practices; the carrying on of foreign trade in any goods by the State, or by a Corporation owned or controlled by the State to the exclusion, complete or partial, of citizens of India; the fulfilment of obligations under the Charter of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security; the implementation of any treaty, agreement or convention with any country; the compliance of imported goods with any laws which are applicable to similar goods produced or manufactured in India; the prevention of dissemination of documents containing any matter which is likely to prejudicially affect friendly relations with any foreign State or is derogatory to national prestige; the prevention of the contravention of any law for the time being in force; and any other purpose conducive to the interests of the general public.

The Govt. of India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry announces Export Import Policy every five years. The current policy cover the period 2009-2014. The Export Import Policy (EXIM Policy) is updated every year on the 31st of March and the modifications, improvements and new schemes are effective w.e.f. 1st April of every year. Govt. of India also release the Hand Book of Procedures detailing the procedures to be followed in each of the schemes covered in the Exim Policy

Registration  An exporter needs to obtain PAN based Business Identification Number (BIN) from the DGFT, prior to filing of shipping bill for clearance of export goods  All the exporters intending to export under the export promotion scheme need to get their licences / DEEC book etc. Processing of Shipping Bill  The shipping bills or bills of export are required to be filled in the format as prescribed in the Shipping Bill and Bill of Export (Form) regulations, 1991  An exporter need to apply different forms of shipping bill or bill of export for export of duty free goods, export of dutiable goods and export under duty drawback etc.

Quota Allocation  The quota allocation label is required to be pasted on the export invoice  The allocation number of AEPC (Apparel Export Promotion Council) is to be entered in the system at the time of shipping bill entry  The quota certification of export invoice needs to be submitted to Customs along with other original documents at the time of examination of the export cargo  For determining the validity date of the quota, the relevant date needs to be the date on which the full consignment is presented to the Customs for examination

Arrival of Goods at Docks  On the basis of examination and inspection ,goods are allowed enter into the Dock  At this stage the port authorities check the quantity of the goods with the documents System Appraisal of Shipping Bills  The Shipping Bill is processed by the Customs Officer on the basis of declarations made by the exporters

Customs Examination of Export Cargo  Customs Officer may verify the quantity of the goods actually received and thereafter mark the Shipping Bill  All original documents are handed over to the Dock Appraiser of the Dock, who many assign a Customs Officer for the examination  The Customs Officer may inspect/examine the shipment along with the Dock Appraiser  If the Dock Appraiser is satisfied that the particulars of the Shipping Bill conform to the description given in the original documents and as seen in the physical examination, he may proceed to allow "let export" for the shipment, and inform the exporter or his agent

Bill of Entry  A Bill of Entry, also known as Shipment Bill, is a statement of the nature and value of goods to be imported or exported, prepared by the shipper and presented to a customhouse  The importer clearing the goods for domestic consumption has to file bill of entry in four copies - original and duplicate are meant for customs, third copy for the importer and the fourth copy is meant for the bank for making remittances  If the goods are cleared through the EDI system, the importer is required to file a cargo declaration having prescribed particulars required for processing of the entry for customs clearance

Documents required for filing Bill of Entry  Signed invoice  Packing list  Bill of Lading or Delivery Order/Airway Bill  GATT declaration form duly filled in  Importers/ CHAs declaration  License wherever necessary  Letter of Credit/Bank Draft/wherever necessary  Insurance document  Import license  Industrial License, if required  Test report in case of chemicals  Adhoc exemption order  DEEC Book/DEPB in original  No Commission declaration

Payment of Duty  Import duty may be paid in the designated banks or through TR-6 challans  Different Custom Houses have authorised different banks for payment of duty and is necessary to check the name of the bank and the branch before depositing the duty Prior Entry for Bill of Entry  For faster clearance of the goods, provision has been made to allow filing of bill of entry prior to arrival of goods  This bill of entry is valid if vessel/aircraft carrying the goods arrive within 30 days from the date of presentation of bill of entry

Specialized Schemes  Import of goods under specialized scheme such as DEEC and EOU etc. is required to execute bonds with the custom authorities  The bank guarantee is also required along with the bond  The amount of bank guarantee depends upon the status of the importer like Super Star Trading House/Trading House etc. Bill of Entry for Bond/Warehousing  A separate form of bill of entry is used for clearance of goods for warehousing  Assessment of this bill of entry is done in the same manner as the normal bill of entry, and then the duty payable is determined

Bill of export Shipping Bill/Bill of Export Main document required by custom authorities for allowing shipment. After shipping bill is stamped by customs cargo is allowed into port shade Shipping bill: Sea or air Bill of export: Land

Bill of Transhipment It is a document used for goods imported into a customs port intended for transhipment Packing List It is a consolidated statement of contents for the number of packs.

Invoice It is a basic and complete document containing information about shipper, importer, product, price, origin etc

Export copy of contract It is a contract between exporter and importer Certificate of Origin It states that from which country the shipped goods are originated. Letter of Credit It is an understanding by importers bank stating that payment will be made to exporter if the required documents are presented to the bank.

RBI prescribed GR form It is a declaration by exporter submitted along with shipping bill to customs

ARE1 or ARE2 forms Every manufacturer for clearance of excisable goods files an application AR from his factory for export. Custom officer endorses it and then excise authority considers it for rebate.

Bill of entry Declaration by an importer of the exact nature, precise quantity and value of goods that have landed or are being shipped out . Signed invoice Packing list Bill of Lading or Delivery Order/Airway Bill It is an acknowledgment receipt from shipping company to deliver goods in same condition in which it were received. GATT declaration form duly filled in Importers/CHAs declaration Letter of Credit/Bank Draft/wherever necessary Insurance document

Import license Industrial License, if required Test report in case of chemicals Ad-hoc exemption order DEEC Book/DEPB in original Catalogue, Technical write up, Literature in case of machineries, spares or chemicals as may be applicable Separately split up value of spares, components machineries Certificate of Origin, if preferential rate of duty is claimed No Commission declaration

The Customs Act-1962

Chief Commissioners of Customs Commissioners of Customs Commissioners of Customs (Appeals) (cc) Joint Commissioners of Customs Deputy Commissioners of Customs Assistant Commissioners of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs such other class of officers of customs as may be appointed for the purposes of this Act.

Subject to such conditions and limitations as the Board may impose, an officer of customs may exercise the powers and discharge the duties conferred or imposed on him under this Act. An officer of customs may exercise the powers and discharge the duties conferred or imposed under this Act on any other officer of customs who is subordinate to him. Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, a Commissioner ( Appeals) shall not exercise the powers and discharge the duties conferred or imposed on an officer of customs other than those specified in Chapter XV and section 108.

The Board may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint The ports and airports which alone shall be customs ports or customs airports for the unloading of imported goods and the loading of export goods or any class of such goods The routes by which alone goods or any class of goods specified in the notification may pass by land or inland water into or out of India, or to or from any land customs station from or to any land frontier; The Board may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare places to be warehousing stations at which alone public warehouses may be appointed and private warehouses may be licensed.

If the Central Government is satisfied that it is necessary so to do for any of the purposes specified in sub-section (2), it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, prohibit either absolutely or subject to such conditions (to be fulfilled before or after clearance) as may be specified in the notification, the import or export of goods of any specified description.

Power of Central Government to specify goods. If, having regard to the magnitude of the illegal export of goods of any class or description, the Central Government is satisfied that it is expedient in the public interest to take special measures for the purpose of checking the illegal export or facilitating the detection of goods which are likely to be illegally exported, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify goods of such class or description. Persons possessing specified goods to intimate the place of storage, etc. Every person who owns, possesses or controls, on the specified date, any specified goods, the market price of which exceeds fifteen thousand rupees shall, within seven days from that date, deliver to the proper officer an intimation containing the particulars of the place where such goods are kept or stored within the specified area.

 Power to exempt. - If the Central Government is

satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, exempt generally, either absolutely or subject to such conditions as may be specified in the notification, goods of any class or description from all or any of the provisions of Chapter IVA or Chapter IVB.

Dutiable goods Except as otherwise provided in this Act, or any other law for the time being in force, duties of customs shall be levied at such rates as may be specified under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975), or any other law for the time being in force, on goods imported into, or exported from, India. The provisions of sub-section (1) shall apply in respect of all goods belonging to Government as they apply in respect of goods not belonging to Government.

For the purposes of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975), customs is chargeable on any goods by reference to their value, the value of such goods shall be deemed to be the price at which such or like goods are ordinarily sold, or offered for sale, for delivery at the time and place of importation or exportation, as the case may be, in the course of international trade, where (a) the seller and the buyer have no interest in the business of each other ; or (b) one of them has no interest in the business of the other, and the price is the sole consideration for the sale or offer for sale.

Every person who owns, possesses or controls, on the notified date, any notified goods, shall, within seven days from that date, deliver to the proper officer a statement (in such form, in such manner and containing such particulars as may be specified by rules made in this behalf) in relation to the notified goods owned, possessed or controlled by him and the place where such goods are kept or stored. No notified goods (other than those which have been sold or transferred) shall be taken from one place to another unless they are accompanied by a transport voucher (in such form and containing such particulars as may be specified by rules made in this behalf) prepared by the persons owning, possessing or controlling such goods.

No person shall acquire (except by gift or succession, from any other individual in India), after the notified date, any notified goods . If anyone acquires such goods, then they should be accompanied by the voucher referred to in section 11F or the memorandum referred to in sub-section (2) of section 11G, as the case may be, or in the case of a person who has himself imported any goods, any evidence showing clearance of such goods by the Customs Authorities; and unless he has taken, before acquiring such goods from a person other than a dealer having a fixed place of business, such reasonable steps as may be specified by rules made in this behalf, to ensure that the goods so acquired by him are not goods which have been illegally imported.

Every person who, on or after the notified date, owns, possesses, controls or acquires any notified goods shall maintain (in such form and in such manner as may be specified by rules made in this behalf) a true and complete account of such goods and shall, as often as he acquires or parts with any notified goods, make an entry in the said account in relation to such acquisition Sale, etc., of notified goods to be evidenced by vouchers On and from the notified date, no person shall sell or otherwise transfer any notified goods, unless every transaction in relation to the sale or transfer of such goods is evidenced by a voucher in such form and containing such particulars as may be specified by rules made in this behalf.

The rate of duty and tariff valuation, if any, applicable to any export goods, shall be the rate and valuation in force, in the case of goods entered for export under section 50, on the date on which the proper officer makes an order permitting clearance and loading of the goods for exportation under section 51; in the case of any other goods, on the date of payment of duty. The provisions of this section shall not apply to baggage and goods exported by post.

in the case of goods entered for home consumption under section 46, on the date on which a bill of entry in respect of such goods is presented under that section; in the case of goods cleared from a warehouse under section 68, on the date on which the bills of entry for home consumption in respect of such goods is prescribed under that section; in the case of any other goods, on the date of payment of duty: Provided that if a bill of entry has been presented before the date of entry inwards of the vessel or the arrival of the aircraft by which the goods are imported, the bill of entry shall be deemed to have been presented on the date of such entry inwards or the arrival, as the case may be.

After an importer has entered any imported goods under section 46 or an exporter has entered any export goods under section 50 the imported goods or the export goods, as the case may be, or such part thereof as may be necessary may, without undue delay, be examined and tested by the proper officer. After such examination and testing, the duty, if any, leviable on such goods shall, save as otherwise provided in section 85, be assessed. For the purpose of assessing duty under sub-section (2), the proper officer may require the importer, exporter or any other person to produce any contract, broker's note, policy of insurance, catalogue or other document whereby the duty leviable on the imported goods or export goods, as the case may be, can be ascertained, and to furnish any information required for such ascertainment which it is in his power to produce or furnish, and thereupon the importer, exporter or such other person shall produce such document and furnish such information.

The importer of any goods, other than goods intended for transit or transshipment, shall make entry thereof by presenting to the proper officer a bill of entry for home consumption or warehousing in the prescribed form. Save as otherwise permitted by the proper officer, a bill of entry shall include all the goods mentioned in the bill of lading or other receipt given by the carrier to the consignor.

Restrictions on custody and removal of imported goods: All imported goods unloaded in a customs area shall remain in the custody of such person as may be approved by the Commissioner of Customs until they are cleared for home consumption or are warehoused or are transshipped in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VIII. The person having custody of any imported goods in a customs area, whether under the provisions of sub-section (1) or under any law for the time being in force, Shall keep a record of such goods and send a copy thereof to the proper officer; Shall not permit such goods to be removed from the customs area or otherwise dealt with, except under and in accordance with the permission in writing of the proper officer.

If goods are imported into India after exportation there from, such goods shall be liable to duty and be subject to all the conditions and restrictions, if any, to which goods of the like kind and value are liable or subject, on the importation thereof. Refund of export duty in certain cases. Where on the exportation of any goods any duty has been paid, such duty shall be refunded to the person by whom or on whose behalf it was paid, if the goods are returned to such person otherwise than by way of re-sale; the goods are re-imported within one year from the date of exportation; and an application for refund of such duty is made before the expiry of six months from the date on which the proper officer makes an order for the clearance of the goods.

If any goods brought into India from a place outside India are not cleared for home consumption or warehoused or transhipped within thirty days from the date of the unloading thereof at a customs station or within such further time as the proper officer may allow or if the title to any imported goods is relinquished, such goods may, after notice to the importer and with the permission of the proper officer be sold by the person having the custody thereof.

Notification of special economic zone- The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify special economic zones comprising specifically delineated areas where any goods admitted shall be regarded, in so far as duties of customs are concerned, as being outside the customs territory of India Exemption from duties of customs - Without prejudice to the provisions of sections 76F, 76G and 76H, any goods admitted to a special economic zone shall be exempt from duties of customs.

Power to search suspected persons entering or leaving India: If the proper officer has reason to believe that any person to whom this section applies has secreted about his person, any goods liable to confiscation or any documents relating thereto, he may search that person.

Power to search suspected persons in certain other cases. If an officer of customs empowered in this behalf by general or special order of the Commissioner of Customs, has reason to believe that any person has secreted about his person any goods , he may search that person. The goods referred to in sub-section (1) are the following: gold; diamonds; manufactures of gold or diamonds; watches; any other class of goods which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify.

If an officer of customs empowered in this behalf by general or special order of the Commissioner of Customs has reason to believe that any person in India or within the Indian customs waters has been guilty of an offence punishable under section 135, he may arrest such person and shall, as soon as may be, inform him of the grounds for such arrest.

If the Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner of Customs, or in any area adjoining the land frontier or the coast of India an officer of customs specially empowered by name in this behalf by the Board, has reason to believe that any goods liable to confiscation, or any documents or things which in his opinion will be useful for or relevant to any proceeding under this Act, are secreted in any place, he may authorize any officer of customs to search or may himself search for such goods, documents or things.

False declaration, false documents, etc. - Whoever makes, signs or uses, or causes to be made, signed or used, any declaration, statement or document in the transaction of any business relating to the customs, knowing or having reason to believe that such declaration, statement or document is false in any material particular, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both. Obstruction of officer of customs. - If any person intentionally obstructs any officer of customs in the exercise of any powers conferred under this Act, such person shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both.

If any officer of customs enters into or acquiesces in any agreement to do, abstains from doing, permits, conceals or connives at any act or thing whereby any fraudulent export is effected or any duty of customs leviable on any goods, or any prohibition for the time being in force under this Act or any other law for the time being in force with respect to any goods is or may be evaded, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both. If any officer of customs, requires any person to be searched for goods liable to confiscation or any document relating thereto, without having reason to believe that he has such goods or document secreted about his person, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.