The Hindu Business Line : SGS India takes over pre-shipment inspection work for exports to Bangla

THE Trade Advisory Services wing of SGS India Pvt Ltd, a member of the Geneva-based SGS Group, a global player in commercial verification and monitoring services for international trade in agriculture, minerals, petroleum and consumer products, has now taken over the pre-shipment inspection (PSI) work for all Indian exports into Bangladesh, under a mandate from the Dhaka-based National Board of Revenue (NBR).

Talking to Business Line here at the sidelines of a workshop on PSI procedures and documentation, for exporters of the region, Mr Jose Sebastine, Regional Manager, South Asia, SGS India, said the company has just taken on PSI work for India, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar, with a full-fledged liaison office in Dhaka, and has as many as 48 inspection points. The earlier agency was Inspectorate Griffith, a part of the BSI Group, which held the mandate from 2002 to 2004.

Mr Sebastine said the NBR mandate basically covered quality and quantity of the item being imported into Bangladesh, value for customs purposes, customs classification (HS Codes) and import eligibility (wherever applicable). Post-inspection, SGS Sealing was compulsory for full container loads of sea shipments and truck cable sealing of land shipments at Kolkata.

Explaining the importance of CRF (clean report finding) certification and the invoice security labels (for LCS-bound trucks), he said CRF is issued on receipt of final documents and where all aspects of inspection are satisfactory. SGS reviews documents, fixes inspection date/confirms schedule to Indian exporter and carries out physical inspection at various destination sites as well as its laboratories, numbering more than 50 across the length and breadth of the country. Outlining the fast-track inspection mechanism now being put in place, he said PSI was required only for commercial (private) trade transactions and not for Government-to-Government transactions.

Asked about on-site inspections, he said SGS inspectors attend FCL stuffing or truck loading and cable sealing, and also provide seller and/or supplier with the PIR (physical inspection), such as "satisfactory, conditional or unsatisfactory Result). He clarified that SGS also advises requirement of loading inspection and land border re-inspections, and sends sample for analysis as required in case-to-case basis.

The PSI agency sends a scanned copy of the CRF, invoice and packing list to SGS Bangladesh for immediate distribution to the relevant Bangladesh customs station, followed by the original CRF to the exporter via courier. SGS Bangladesh, on its part, receives the LC document from the opening bank, validates it and generates an inspection order, and then electronically transmits it to SGS India.

On the exporter's part, he is expected to complete a RFI (Request for Inspection) in a specified format, and send it to SGS with three working days' advance notice together with all relevant documents such as LC, pro forma invoice, and detailed product information.

Mr T.K.Chattopadhyay, Deputy DG, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), eastern region, said he welcomed the change in PSI agency for exports to Bangladesh, as many of the problems faced by exporters could end with speedy delivery CRF reports. He said following the appointment of SGS, some three meetings have been held by FIEO with exporters who reported satisfaction over inspection procedures.

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