From Wednesday, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) will roll out electronic communication of PDF-based final eOoC (electronic Out of Charge) copy of Bill of Entry (BoE) and eGatepass to the importers/Customs Brokers.

This is the latest in a series of steps taken by the CBIC as it looks at ways to facilitate and expedite Customs clearance process, making it more and more contactless (automated and online, as well as paper-less), to tackle the scourge of Covid-19 pandemic that has roiled export-import (EXIM) trade.

“This electronic communication would reduce interface between the Customs authorities and the importers/Customs Brokers and also do away with the requirement of taking bulky printouts from the service centre or maintenance of voluminous physical dockets in the Customs Houses,” Vineeta Sinha, OSD, Customs, wrote in an April 13 circular.

The Final eOoC copy of BoE and eGatepass copy will be e-mailed to the concerned Customs Broker and/or importer, if registered, once the Out of Charge is granted. The eGatepass copy will be used by the Gate Officer or the Custodian to allow the physical exit of imported goods from the Customs area, Sinha wrote in the circular issued to all Principal Chief Commissioners of Customs.

Currently, physical signing of the Final OoC copy of BoE is insisted upon at Customs locations. This necessitates the importer/Customs Broker to take a paper printout from the Service Centre to be produced before the Customs officer.

It has now been decided to do away with the paper printout of the Final OoC copy of BoE. Instead, the DG Systems will enable a functionality to immediately e-mail the PDF version of the Final eOoC copy of BoE generated after OoC to the Customs Broker and/or the importer, if registered.

The PDF version will bear a digitally signed and encrypted QR code, which can be scanned to verify the authenticity of the document using a mobile app ICETRAK. The QR code is tamper proof, which is digitally signed by CBIC to ensure the authenticity. Key details such as the BoE number and date, duty, package details are available in the secured QR Code.

A version number is also embedded in the QR code which can be used to ascertain whether the document is the latest version (in case of reassessment etc). The same would be verifiable at ICEGATE Enquiry.

eGatepass

Currently, the physically signed Final OoC copy of BoE is verified both by the Gate officer (Customs) as well as the Custodian before allowing the actual movement of imported goods out of the Customs premises. This physical printout is now being replaced by the PDF eGatepass generated and electronically communicated to the importer/Customs Brokers.

The eGatepass will contain only the details referred to by the Custodian or the Gate officer to allow actual movement of goods — like details of Import General Manifest (IGM)/Bill of Lading, containers, packages etc.

There will be two types of QR codes: one, for entire eGatepass document, and two, for each container/package covered under the Gatepass. This will ensure that only those containers/package move out which are covered under the Gatepass document.

The electronic data interchange (EDI) OoC message will continue to be sent to the Custodians who are registered on ICEGATE. Since all the Custodians are not connected to ICEGATE, the EDI OoC message is not being transmitted electronically to such Custodians.

The CBIC has advised all its field officers to ensure registration of all such Custodians in ICEGATE as per the advisory of DG Systems so that the potential benefits of the new measures could be reaped across the entire Customs ecosystem.

“The electronic communication of the Final eOoC copy of BoE and eGatepass copy is expected to bring immense benefits in terms of time and cost of compliance and reduction in interface for the trade, while providing enhanced security features for verification of authenticity and validity of the electronic documents,” Sinha said.

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