Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), India, has confirmed that the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations are to come to effect from 1st August 2019
As per the new regulations, the Authorized Sea Carrier (ASC) shall submit the Arrival Manifest electronically prior to the departure from the last port of call to the Indian port of call for imports and submit the Departure Manifest electronically before departure from the Indian port of call for exports.
The key requirements are listed below. Henceforth the customers will be required to provide shipping details to carriers, so as to strictly comply with all the regulations.
Arrival Manifest (AM) = Import General Manifest IGM
For all imports into India: Mandatory rule of Arrival Manifest should be filed in customs before the vessel departs from last foreign port of call. This is applicable for all containers going to discharge for local delivery or discharge for transshipment at any Indian Ports. Mentioning of Harmonized (HS) Code of 8-digit is now mandatory for Arrival Manifest to customs.
Departure Manifest (DM) = Export General Manifest EGM
For all exports from India: It is now mandatory to submit the Departure Manifest to Indian Customs prior to the sailing of the vessel from the port of loading in India. This is applicable for all containers being loaded / planned for loading, on the said vessel at Indian ports.
Indian Custom’s new requirement on Bill of Landing:
All future export shipments from India will require the shipper to submit HS CODE (6 digits) & CIF Value while updating the BL w.e.f from 1st August 2019 onwards. Both the HS Code & the CIF Value of the cargo should be the same, as mentioned on the ‘Final & Original Commercial Invoice & Packing List’ because this needs to be in compliance with the Indian Customs Regulations. However, if the client wishes to change the HS Code or CIF Value after submitting the details to shipping line, then, there are chances of additional documentation charges / amendment charges along with ‘Fine or Penalties’ if any, to be levied by the load port (for exports) & delivery port (for imports).
The SCMT meeting held at Mumbai Customs House was attended by the JC Customs, members of customs, along with the Chief Commissioners and the technical team from ICEGATE. The JC Member Customs said that from 1st August 2019, 45 days will be considered as the gestation period for filing IGM/EGM with / through the old system. Upon completion of the gestation period of 45 days, the concerned parties should start filing in SCMT and, after 90 days, the SCMT system will start in full swing. Additionally, the errors arising out of trial run shall be reviewed leniently.
However, the SCMT would officially take effect from 1st August 2019 with 90 days being the grace period, starting from 1st August 2019. Moreover, the HSN Code and Commercial Invoice Value are marked as “mandatory requirements”. Every container which is calling an Indian port should have the HSN Code and Commercial Invoice value – both for imports and exports.
Globalia would like to thank its member in Ahmedabad, Asia Master, for bringing this to everybody’s attention.