In a bid to enter the top 50 ranking in The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Index, the Customs Department has announced further reforms under the name of Turant Customs for speedy clearance of goods at air and sea ports. The next generation reforms spearheaded by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) will be a comprehensive package to be implemented in a phased manner in the next few months.
A critical component of EoDB index rankings 2019 is the ‘Trading Across Borders’ category in which India is ranked 80, as compared with 146 in 2018. This was possible due to reforms like Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade, e-Sanchit (e-Storage and computerised handling of indirect tax documents), and Direct Port Delivery. This along with Authorised Economic Operator programme and RFID e-seal programme helped in reducing the time and cost of clearance of goods in various Customs ports.
Now, under Turant Customs, one of the major changes will be in Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange System (ICES) 1.5 for clearance of imported goods after assessment and duty payment. The officer concerned will now have access to a fully automated queue of Bill of Entry ready for granting clearance in ICES 1.5. This obviates the necessity of importers having to present the BoE number and date to the officer for clearance. So, the officer will be able to immediately provide clearance on the system.
Turant Customs will reduce dwell-time by 6-8 hours. This will be critical for small operators and clients operating in just-in-time concept, said a leading freight forwarder.