MANU/CUST/0087/2016

Ministry : Ministry of Finance

Department/Board : CBEC Customs

Instruction From File No. : 605/30/2015-DBK

Date : 28.09.2016

To

Principal Chief Commissioners/ Chief Commissioners
Principal Director Generals/Director Generals
Principal Commissioners / Commissioners
(All under CBEC)

Ma'am/Sir,

Discontinuation of practice of making manual debits on physical copy of Advance Authorizations registered at EDI Customs port-reg

It was brought to Board's notice that even for Advance Authorizations registered electronically at EDI Customs location i.e. where electronic ledger gets maintained, the physical authorizations, that are simultaneously issued and presented, are endorsed by Customs with manual debits of usage and this practice is not uniformly followed at all EDI ports of registration. It was informed that such manual endorsements replicate work, cause delay, and at times also lead to errors, all of which impose transaction costs on trade.

2. The matter was reviewed by the Board by obtaining inputs from field formations and the DGFT. Taking the overall picture into account that normally only few advance authorization holders registered for imports want to simultaneously avail domestic sourcing on the same authorisation, the Board, as a measure of enhancing the ease of doing business for exporters has decided that the practice of evidencing debits manually on physical copy of Advance Authorization shall be discontinued with respect to future authorizations electronically registered at Customs EDI locations. Henceforth, the officer examining the imported goods and/ or giving Out-of-Charge order shall also re-check that the proper debit of the authorisation in the EDI system has been made.

3. Once the manual debits on physical copy are discontinued as mentioned in para 2 above, if a holder of Advance Authorisation is desirous of obtaining ARO/Invalidation letter etc. for domestic sourcing from the Regional Authority (which issued the authorisation of DGFT), it is required to request the Group DC/AC to issue an Advice Letter for the intended quantity and value (which AC shall update in the record) in favour of the concerned Regional Authority and thereafter, the holder of Advance Authorization may apply (based on the Advice Letter) to the Regional Authority to issue ARO etc. The DC/AC should ensure that requests for such Advice Letter are processed immediately and the Advice issued on the same day. A copy of the Advice Letter issued shall be replicated to the official email of the RA concerned from the official ema........