Import Procedure

Import clearance through customs in India involves complex and time consuming procedures. In the following few pages we have endeavoured to enlist in detail almost all the aspects of clearance. You can also access formats of some of the vital documents required to be submitted to the Indian Customs. List of documents required for clearance of Import Consignments.

General

1. Bill of Lading (original Bill of Lading should be duly signed and stamped by the bank on the reverse side of documents through bank, and should also be endorsed by an authorised person with the companys stamp, giving his designation)
2. Invoice
3. Packing List
4. Indent/Proforma Invoice/Purchase Order (specially the document which is referred to in the Invoice)
5. Catalogue/Technical Literature
6. Copy of L/C
7. Insurance Certificate/Insurance Premium Memo required only if terms are C&F/F.O.B.
8. Certificate of Origin
9. Valuation & Declaration forms - duly filled and signed
10. I.E.C. Code No.
11. Industrial Licence/S.S.I. Registration
12. Permanent I.T. Account No.
13. 'N' form, 'N' form Declaration and 'N' form Undertaking (NOTE : This form must be printed as follows: formn.doc on front side, and formnrev.doc on the reverse side of the SAME page.)
14. Modvat Declaration (if applicable)
15. Freight Certificate & Freight Bill (if freight payable in India)
16. Blank Letterheads
17. Authority leter to C.H.A.
18. Original Documents (bank attested)

Air Consignments

1. Airway Bill (A.W.B.)
2. Cargo Arrival Notice (C.A.N.)
3. Authority letter addressed to the Airline in favour of the C.H.A. for collection of documents and Delivery Order
4. Bank Delivery Order - in case A.W.B./C.A.N. is in favour of Bank
In case of Bond being given for any reason - copy of the power of attorney given to the person signing the bond with his signature duly shown. His designation must also be shown on the bond below his signature. In case of bank guarantee, a covering letter from the bank certifying that the bank guarantee is issued and the persons signing the same are authorised to do the same. Customs also send a letter to the bank to re-check that the bank has issued the guarantee or not. In case of E.P.C.G. (Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme) the bond must be endorsed with the company seal. Note: Above listed are documents required in the normal case of clearance to ensure smooth and quick clearance of import consignments. Over and above these documents, in case of any doubt the custom officers can ask for any other papers which on demand will be called for from the importer. All the above listed documents are required for the clearance of any import consignment. However, certain additional documents are also required other than those mentioned above, for different types of products, different schemes under which they are imported or by different modes they are imported.

Chemicals/Dyes/Other Raw Mat-erials

1. Printed Literature
2. Enduse declaration
3. Certificate of Analysis
4. Test Bond - required in case of 1st Import from a new supplier or in absense of literature or previous test report.

Iron & Steel/Other Metals

1. Mill's test certificate
2. Detailed packing list.

Machinery and Spares

1. Original Catalogue and Write-up
2. Separate value of Spares - individual as well as consolidated.(separate letters)
3. Container and case wise packing list
4. In case of accessories the catalogue must show a detailed list of standard
accessories, as in case of optional accessories duty will be assessed on merits. In case of optional accessories their separate values should be specified.
5. In case of Electrical goods their ratings should be specified (e.g. volts/amps/watts).
6. Material of construction for generic items such as washers, seals, etc. since their classification depends upon the material they are made up of in case of items made from plastics, rubber etc.
7. In case of bearings, their weight and their inner and outer diameter and their types should be specified, as the rate of duty depends upon these factors.

Consignments under the E.P.C.G. Scheme

1. Original E.P.C.G. licence with the list of Import items duly attested by D.G.F.T. (Director General of Foreign Trade).
2. Bond for clearance under E.P.C.G. as per the Customs format (Bank Guarantee if required).
3. Description of all items in the E.P.C.G. licence must tally exactly with the Import documents. e.g.: if the import documents show the goods as "Tsudakoma Air Jet Looms Zac, model no. - alongwith spares and accessories" the E.P.C.G. licence also must bear the exact description and the model number must also tally with the catalogue.
4. The model number on the documents and the catalogue must also tally with that on the machine itself, as during physical verification of cargo, this is the most important aspect for verifying the goods in relation to the documents.

Consignments under the D.E.E.C. Scheme

1. Original Import part of the DEEC book and Original Advance Licence (custom purpose copy).
2. In case of prior imports, Bond/Bond with Bank guarantee.
3. In case Export obligation period of the licence has expired - DEEC copies of the shipping bill, A.R.4 copies, od duly audited export DEEC book.

Consignments under the Pass Book Scheme

1. Annexure "C" (in quadruplicate).
2. Original Pass Book.

Consignments under D.E.P.B. Scheme

1. Original D.E.P.B. licence.

Consignments under 100 % E.O.U. Scheme

1. Documents for registration of E.O.U. at customs.
2. Enduse Bond.
3. Transit Bond (if cargo is to be sent to place other than port of import)
4. Warehousing Bond

Free of Charge Consignments

1. Correspondence regarding free supply with the supplier
2. Evidence of value/Price list/Previous Import documents
3. In case of spares - catalogue of the spares as well as that of the main machine

Project Import

1. Recommendation letter with list of plant and machinery for project import (in original) from the concerned ministry
2. Industrial licence
3. Purchase order and order confirmation
4. Project report
5. Statement of other plant and machinery
6. Plant layout.
7. Flow diagram.
8. Catalogues and drawings.
9. Application in appendix "A" - duly filled and signed.
10. Continuity bond + 2% of the project value as revenue deposit in cash upto INR 5 million.
11. In case the deposit amount is more than I.N.R. 5 million, then bank guarantee can be given for the amount in excess of I.N.R. 5 million.
12. In case of collaboration agreement or any relationship with the supplier, copy of the relevant agreement (in such cases customs may load the value for purpose of calculation of duty).