Govt now mulls single-window clearance system for exports
In line with the present clearance system for imports, the federal government is now planning to introduce a single window clearance system for exports. A system is within the works the place web-based registration of products, together with from particular financial zones, could be allowed to facilitate integration of Customs techniques with different regulatory companies to make sure sooner clearances for consignments, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman Vivek Johri mentioned on Thursday.
“Currently, we still have physical process for registration on exports side…but we are actually working on a system where web-based registration of goods is possible which would mean that there’s no need for any broker or exporter to actually travel to a port to submit their documents to customs for initiating processes”
“You are familiar with the single window on the import side. We are trying to introduce something similar on the export side. There are export consignments that require regulatory intervention from control agencies,say drug controller, other agencies. We are trying to integrate Customs ICEGATE with these agencies. This will further compress time taken to release export consignments,” Johri mentioned at CII National Exports Summit. Indian Customs Electronic Gateway (ICEGATE) is the nationwide Customs portal of CBIC that gives e-filing providers together with digital submitting of the Bill of Entry (import items declaration), Shipping Bills (export items declaration), e-payment of Customs Duty, Common Signer utility for signing all of the Customs Documents, to commerce, cargo carriers and different buying and selling companions electronically. At current, about 43,542 customers are registered with ICEGATE who’re serving over 12.5 lakh importers/exporters. Customs can also be attempting to combine SEZs to the ICES portal.
Johri additionally mentioned that the typical launch time, which is measured by the point of arrival of products to the port and their precise departure, of export cargo has been halved. The Trade Facilitation Action Plan, which ends in 2023, has set a goal of common launch time of 24 hours and 12 hours for exports by way of sea port and airport, respectively. “There is a need for further compression in release time taken by regulatory agencies… The target is quite steep… We are very consciously working on reducing the average release time,” Johri mentioned. He additionally mentioned that 80-85 per cent of the typical launch time of export cargo is on account of the time taken after Customs clears the consignments.
There is a must share actual time data with exporters, such because the time when the vessel is docking at port for taking the consignment, which may even assist lower down on the time to launch export consignments, he mentioned. “India has set an ambitious target of reducing the average release time of exporting cargo through sea and air to 24 hrs and 12 hrs respectively. The average release time has been reduced to half of what it used to be, but still a lot of work is still needed to meet the target level,” he mentioned.
