TIOL-DDT 2639
13 07 2015
Monday

THE Bangalore Customs Commissioner has reviewed the current practice of assessment of goods imported by Post as followed by the Postal Appraising Department, keeping in view the stakeholders feedback, provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, Foreign Trade Policy, notifications issued by the government, from time to time, instructions of the Board and practice followed at Mumbai Customs. He has issued instructions for guidance of the officers in respect of assessment and clearance of the various categories of articles imported by post.

1. Import of goods for personal use:

(a) Goods intended for personal use upto a value of Rs.2000/- (CIF), other than bona fide gifts, may be cleared on payment of duty at 10% BCD + 3% Cess + 4% SAD (14.712%) without a Licence.

(b) Goods intended for personal use of value beyond Rs.2000/- (CIF) and /or those falling under clause 3(1)(i) of the FTO, 1993 may be cleared after adjudication for policy violation under CTH 9804 and on payment of the merit rate of duty as applicable under 9804 at 35% BCD+3% Cess 4% SAD (41.492%).

2. Import of bona fide gift articles:

(a) Bona fide gifts of value upto Rs.10,000/ - (FOB), other than those falling under clause 3(1)(i) of the Foreign Trade Order, 1993, may be cleared duty free.

(b) Bonafide gifts of value beyond Rs.10000/- (FOB) may be cleared on payment of duty as per CTH 9804 of Customs Tariff Act, 1975, i.e., @ BCD 35% + ACD 4% + Cess 2%(= 41.492%) and adjudicated for policy violation. It may be noted that the duty is chargeable on the full value of such goods if the value exceeds Rs.10000/- (FOB) even if they are declared as gift.

(c) If the articles are declared as a bona fide gift are found to be otherwise or are imported in commercial quantity, regular adjudication proceedings may be undertaken and duty may be charged in the merits of each case.

3. Import of goods by online purchases:

(i) Goods imported for personal use by online purchases upto Rs.2000/ - (CIF) assessed to duty at 10% BCD + 3% Cess + 4% SAD (14.712%), without a licence.

(ii) Goods imported for personal use by online purchases above Rs.2000/- (CIF) may be cleared after adjudication for policy violation and on payment of the merit rate of duty under CTH 9804, i.e., 35% BCD + 3% Cess + 4% SAD (41.492%).

4. Beer, Books etc.,:

(i) Beer imported for personal use may be assessed under the relevant CTH at the appropriate rate of duty as applicable under the said CTH and adjudicated for violation of the FTP provisions for import by post.

(ii) Alcoholic Beverages imported for personal use, may be assessed under the relevant CTH at appropriate rate of duty, as applicable under the said CTH, and may be adjudicated for violation of the FTP provision for import by post under CTH 9804.

(iii) Books, magazines, journals , etc if not prohibited or restricted by the Policy or under the provisions of the Section 11 of the Customs Act 1962, or under any other law, for the time being in force, and for personal use, upto a value of Rs.2000/- (CIF) may be assessed under CTH 9804 at 10% BCE (in terms of Notification No.12/2012 - Cus dated 17.03.2012 (SLNo.517) + 3% Cess + 4% SAD (14.712%) without a licence.

(iv) Fire-arms and ammunitions may be permitted on strict compliance of policy provisions and other statutory requirements. It may be noted that the import of ammunitions by post is prohibited under Article 15(3.1) of the Universal Postal Convention.

(v) Consumer electronic items : Consumer electronic items (except hearing aids and life-saving equipment, apparatus and appliances and parts thereof) less than Rs.2000/- (CIF) may be assessed under CTH 9804 at 10% BCD + 3% Cess + 4% SAD (14.712%) without a licence.

Any imports of a value more than Rs.2000/- (CIF) may be assessed under the relevant CTH at the appropriate rate of duty as applicable under the said CTH and adjudicated for violation of the FTP provision for import by post under CTH 9804.

5. Import of Commercial Samples:

(a) Import of commercial samples by post upto a value of Rs.3,00,000/- or fifty units in number, will be permitted.

(b) Samples of tea not exceeding Rs.2000/-(CIF) in one consignment shall be allowed without an Authorisation by any person connected with the Tea Industry for import by post.

(c) In case of all other samples imported by post, the goods are to be assessed under the relevant CTH at the appropriate rate of duty as applicable and adjudicated for violation of the FTP provisions for import by post.

6. Import of Commercial goods by importers having valid IE Code

Goods imported by post by importers having valid Import Export Code may be assessed under the relevant CTH at the appropriate rate of duty as applicable under the said CTH and adjudicated for violation of the FTP provision for import by post under CTH 9804 and any other policy restrictions as per the ITC(HS). In any other case, the goods may be adjudicated for being imported without possessing valid IEC, as well.

The Commissioner's instructions are issued for guidance of the officers assessing and clearing the goods. There are several disclaimers, that:

(i) these are illustrative in nature and not exhaustive.

(ii) it is the duty of the officer concerned to assess the goods with reference to the statutory provisions and instructions issued etc, in the merits of each case.

(iii) the guidelines above have been framed keeping in view the extant provisions of law, FTP, ITC(HS), notifications etc. In case of any amendments/modifications thereof, these guidelines may have to be changed or followed with suitable modification(s).

The Commissioner deserves all praise for his bold decision to inform and educate his staff. Very rarely does a Commissioner compile the statutes, instructions, practice etc, to issue guidelines for his staff. Clear and precise instruction will help the staff work better. The Commissioner should have issued a Trade Facility Circular for the public. Anyway this is now public.

Bengaluru Customs Commissionerate Standing Order No. 12/2015., Dated: June 03 2015

Service Tax Sleuths "rounded" up by Police

IT happened in Hyderabad last week. A team of Service Tax sleuths led by Assistant Commissioner R. Kalyan went to search the premises of an ace educational academy, which coaches students for GATE, IES etc, for possible Service Tax evasion. The lady in charge made them wait till some responsible person arrives. After some time a group of policemen landed there and demanded the identity cards of the Service Tax officers, on alleged complaint they were fake officers. After some discussions, the police were convinced that the officers were genuine and so they left the place. In the meantime the officers came to know that the records were kept in another premises. Off they marched to the new premises, leaving a couple of inspectors at the original premises. And the Police came back - again suspecting the genuineness of the Service Tax officials. Again after some talks, the police withdrew.

The Service Tax officers continued their search and seized a mountain of documents. It is alleged that the academy was not paying any Service Tax on the taxable services rendered. It is learnt that they have voluntarily paid an amount of Rs. 20 lakhs after the search. It is also heard that the interference by the police has been mentioned in the mahazar. Though the officers feel intimidated, they are happy that they could withstand the pressure and complete their mission.

Anti-dumping duty on 'Phenol' imported from South Africa continued - Again after demise

ANTI  Dumping duty on Phenol, falling under chapter 27 or 29 of the First Schedule, originating in, or exported from, South Africa was imposed vide Notification No. 10/2013-Customs, dated the 3rd May, 2013 to be valid up to 30th October, 2013.

So, this notification expired on 30th October 2013. The Government woke up a good 13 days after it died a natural death and extended its validity till 30th October 2014.

It again died on 30th October 2014, but this time the good government did not extend it retrospectively. Now the anti dumping duty on this product is imposed for a period of five years from 10 th July 2015.

Notification No. 32/2015-Customs (ADD), Dated: July 10, 2015

Inconvenience as facility?

WE received this mail from Mr. Rajiv Gupta, Import Export Advisor:

Why the DGFT should make a fool out of everybody & then claim the same as facilitation challenging the intelligence of every Indian.

Several years ago, DGFT introduced Digital signatures @ Rs. 7500 per digital signature. Thereafter, you have to pay for renewal. About 2 years back, they changed the specifications & charged afresh. This is surreptitious corruption being legitimized because the new digital signature facility should not cost more than Rs. 500. Therefore why the exporters should be fleeced by the private entities in connivance with the DGFT& who is benefitting out of it.

The Internet banking facility is an essential & the bankers do not charge anything for it because they want to reduce their costs of operations & automation is part of that objective. However, once again a private entity has been introduced to introduce surreptitious corruption & legitimize it. The DGFT is already collected a heavy amount of fees & if they have appointed a collection agent why the DGFT should not pay the collection agent. Your article in DDT says that the banks are collecting the fees but that is not the case because till the introduction of the new facility there was no charge collected in case of DGFT online application payment by HDFC Bank Ltd. but in case of debit now raised through the intervention of the billdesk, there is a charge besides the fees debited. There are thousands of debits & even small charge has scope of big corruption. The exporters may not mind the payment but then does that mean legitimization of corruption is acceptable. Further, with the introduction of Billdesk as the service provider, there is another problem created i.e. Third Party payment permission has to be sought first thus you become more prone to internet frauds & for the third party payments, you need to have credit/debit/ATM card, which again is an unnecessary liability, if you do not use it. Therefore, there is no convenience but only inconvenience created out of the change. No banker will pay the DGFT authorities therefore introduction of private party solves that problem. Ingenious are the ways of making illegal money in this country & you can't underestimate the bureaucracy of finding ways to perpetuate corruption.

You may find this amusing but then this is the truth & therefore needs to be exposed.

Augmentation of infrastructure at JNPT and at Air Cargo Complex

AN interactive session with trade and stakeholders on "Ease of Doing Business - Single Window clearance" was held in Mumbai recently with Mr.Jayant Sinha, Minister of State (Finance) chairing the session. Several issues were discussed in the meeting.

Issue: Multiple/non-transparent charges by Shipping Lines/Shipping Agents under various heads such as Off-dock charges.

The Indian Merchants Chambers suggested that Multiple/non-transparent charges by Shipping Lines/Shipping Agents under various heads such as Off-dock charges, Equipment Imbalance Charges, Washing Charges, Port Congestion Surcharge etc, should be done away with and the Freight must include all the charges. They made a strong plea for transparency in shipping line charges and that freight charge must include all other miscellaneous charges citing the example of Sri Lanka where appropriate legislation has been enacted whereby recovery of terminal handling charges and other charges by Shipping Lines and Shipping Agents have been discontinued.

Representative from CSIA stated that they have given a link in their website regarding the scale of rates and all charges are transparent. JNPT informed that 13 shipping lines have forwarded their rate-lists to them so far and the rest are being pursued.

The Minister observed that this issue needs to be taken up with the Shipping Ministry and accordingly requested IMC to send a detail letter to the Ministry.

Issue: Delay in shifting of containers from JNPT by Rail/Road to CFS or other destinations.

BCHAA highlighted the above issue and submitted that such delay in shifting of containers result in payment of demurrage charges, apart from the delay in clearance of the imported goods and consequent increase in transaction costs.

CSIA replied that elsewhere in the world, only port clearances take place and there is no global practice of CFS-delivery concept, hence there are no global best practices to follow.

Since this issue also pertains to Shipping Ministry, the Minister advised BCHAA to include this issue also in their reference to the Ministry.

Australians are game for a hike in GST - provided Stamp Duty Goes

A survey report released today finds that Australians are ready for a hike in GST from the present 10% to 12.5% as a trade-off for income tax cuts or the abolition of stamp duties.

The Survey found:

++ Nine out of ten Australians surveyed supported tax reform which made the system simpler and fairer.

++ Nearly three quarters (72%) of Australians believed it was inevitable that GST will rise over the next decade, while only two per cent believed it would definitely not rise.

++ Most believed the GST is a fair tax because it was one that could not be dodged.

++ Stamp duty on the other hand is considered the most unfair tax of all with most Australians agreeing that it was now a major barrier to buying a home.

++ Three-quarters of Australians also agree that stamp duty is driving up home prices and making it unaffordable for young people to own their own home. Over two thirds of the community (70%) support the idea of abolishing stamp duty.

++ Australians believe overwhelmingly (71%) that the level of tax on people's homes is too high. Reducing the level of tax on people's homes is considered a higher priority than reducing the rate of personal income tax.

++ Over two thirds (70%) of people supported the abolition of stamp duty, with the concept of reforming the GST to pay for stamp duty abolition also receiving strong support.

Australia has a federal system of governance, but there is only one GST for the whole country. The GST collections are distributed among the federal and state governments and there are lot of disputes on the distribution system.

Until Tomorrow with more DDT

Have a nice day.

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