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Tunia Cherian George

"If the documents filed are in order, exporters and importers should be able to complete their Customs formalities in a single visit."

Mumbai, Dec. 12

ICEGATE, or the Indian Customs and Excise Gateway, a Net-enabled user-interface launched by the Customs department, has infused transparency in the filing of documents and streamlined the process of cargo clearance.

According to the Commissioner of Customs, Mr Yashodhan Parande, ICEGATE has "demystified the process of filing of documents." Using the software, importers and exporters can now file their documents from computer terminals at their homes or offices.

The operational flexibility and transparency of the Internet-enabled procedure should refurbish the image of the department.

Since the level of human interaction has come down drastically, so has the number of illegal transactions, he says.

According to Mr Parande, if the documents filed are in order, exporters and importers should be able to complete their Customs formalities in a single visit; when they come in to pay the duty and present their goods for physical examination. He adds that about 30 per cent of the documents handled by the Air Cargo Complex here are now being processed on ICEGATE.

The interface, launched about six months back, allows importers to file their documents from a location and at a time convenient to them. "We find that documents are even being filed at 1 and 2 in the morning," says Mr Parande.

The software generates an identification number for each document filed _ the shipping bill number in the case of exports, and the bill of entry for imports.

Using these numbers, exporters and importers can now track their documents as they pass through the system. Should the document be held up at a certain point, the system specifies where and on what account the document has been kept pending.

Currently, documents can be filed with Customs in three ways. A majority of importers (about 40 per cent) carry their documents on floppies, which are downloaded at the Customs office for further processing. Still others carry paper documents and the details of the same are then entered into the official systems at the Customs office.

To access the ICEGATE facility, exporters and importers have to log on to the Web site, register themselves, and file their documents. A document filed on ICEGATE is transferred to the Delhi gateway, which sends an acknowledgement of receipt to the importer.

The document is then transferred on the underlying EDI network to the Customs or Port handling the consignment, for further processing. The software that was first deployed in Delhi at the Air Cargo Complex and the Inland Container Depot at Tughlakabad, has since been extended to the Mumbai Air Cargo Complex and the Nhava Sheva Port, besides the Air Cargo Complex at Bangalore.

Going forward, the office plans to build more services into the facility, whereby Customs will be able to generate queries for its clients. According to a Customs House Agent, though there have been teething troubles, exporters were optimistic that the system would facilitate filing of documents.

"We are working with Customs for a trouble-free submissions process," he said.

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