Introduction An exporter without any commercial contract is completely exposed of foreign exchange risks that arises due to the probability of an adverse change in exchange rates. Therefore, it becomes important for the exporter to gain some knowledge about the foreign exchange rates, quoting of exchange rates and various factors determining the exchange rates. In this section, we have discussed various topics related to foreign exchange rates in detail.
Export from India required special document depending upon the type of product and destination to be exported. Export Documents not only gives detail about the product and its destination port but are also used for the purpose of taxation and quality control inspection certification.
Shipping Bill / Bill of Export Shipping Bill/ Bill of Export is the main document required by the Customs Authority for allowing shipment. A shipping bill is issued by the shipping agent and represents some kind of certificate for all parties, included ship's owner, seller, buyer and some other parties. For each one represents a kind of certificate document.
Documents Required for Post Parcel Customs Clearance
In case of Post Parcel, no Shipping Bill is required. The relevant documents are mentioned below:
Customs Declaration Form - It is prescribed by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and international apex body coordinating activities of national postal administration. It is known by the code number CP2/ CP3 and to be prepared in quadruplicate, signed by the sender.
Despatch Note- It is filled by the exporter to specify the action to be taken by the postal department at the destination in case the address is non-traceable or the parcel is refused to be accepted.
Commercial Invoice - Issued by the exporter for the full realisable amount of goods as per trade term.
Consular Invoice - Mainly needed for the countries like Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mauritius, New Zealand, Burma, Iraq, Ausatralia, Fiji, Cyprus, Nigeria, Ghana, Zanzibar etc. It is prepared in the prescribed format and is signed/ certified by the counsel of the importing country located in the country of export.
Customs Invoice - Mainly needed for the countries like USA, Canada, etc. It is prepared on a special form being presented by the Customs authorities of the importing country. It facilitates entry of goods in the importing country at preferential tariff rate.
Legalised / Visaed Invoice - This shows the seller's genuineness before the appropriate consulate or chamber or commerce/ embassy.
Certified Invoice - It is required when the exporter needs to certify on the invoice that the goods are of a particular origin or manufactured/ packed at a particular place and in accordance with specific contract. Sight Draft and Usance Draft are available for this. Sight Draft is required when the exporter expects immediate payment and Usance Draft is required for credit delivery.
Packing List - It shows the details of goods contained in each parcel / shipment.
Certificate of Inspection – It is a type of document describing the condition of goods and confirming that they have been inspected.
Black List Certificate - It is required for countries which have strained political relation. It certifies that the ship or the aircraft carrying the goods has not touched those country(s).
Manufacturer's Certificate - It is required in addition to the Certificate of Origin for few countries to show that the goods shipped have actually been manufactured and is available.
Certificate of Chemical Analysis - It is required to ensure the quality and grade of certain items such as metallic ores, pigments, etc.
Certificate of Shipment - It signifies that a certain lot of goods have been shipped.
Health/ Veterinary/ Sanitary Certification - Required for export of foodstuffs, marine products, hides, livestock etc.
Certificate of Conditioning - It is issued by the competent office to certify compliance of humidity factor, dry weight, etc.
Antiquity Measurement – It is issued by Archaeological Survey of India in case of antiques.
Shipping Order - Issued by the Shipping (Conference) Line which intimates the exporter about the reservation of space of shipment of cargo through the specific vessel from a specified port and on a specified date.
Cart/ Lorry Ticket - It is prepared for admittance of the cargo through the port gate and includes the shipper's name, cart/ lorry No., marks on packages, quantity, etc.
Shut Out Advice - It is a statement of packages which are shut out by a ship and is prepared by the concerned shed and is sent to the exporter.
Short Shipment Form - It is an application to the customs authorities at port which advises short shipment of goods and required for claiming the return.
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In India custom clearance is a complex and time taking procedure that every export face in his export business. Physical control is still the basis of custom clearance in India where each consignment is manually examined in order to impose various types of export duties. High import tariffs and multiplicity of exemptions and export promotion schemes also contribute in complicating the documentation and procedures. So, a proper knowledge of the custom rules and regulation becomes important for the exporter. For clearance of export goods, the exporter or export agent has to undertake the following formalities:
Registration Any exporter who wants to export his good need to obtain PAN based Business Identification Number (BIN) from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade prior to filing of shipping bill for clearance of export goods. The exporters must also register themselves to the authorised foreign exchange dealer code and open a current account in the designated bank for credit of any drawback incentive.
Registration in the case of export under export promotion schemes: All the exporters intending to export under the export promotion scheme need to get their licences / DEEC book etc.
Processing of Shipping Bill - Non-EDI: In case of Non-EDI, the shipping bills or bills of export are required to be filled in the format as prescribed in the Shipping Bill and Bill of Export (Form) regulations, 1991. An exporter need to apply different forms of shipping bill/ bill of export for export of duty free goods, export of dutiable goods and export under drawback etc.
Processing of Shipping Bill - EDI: Under EDI System, declarations in prescribed format are to be filed through the Service Centers of Customs. A checklist is generated for verification of data by the exporter/CHA. After verification, the data is submitted to the System by the Service Center operator and the System generates a Shipping Bill Number, which is endorsed on the printed checklist and returned to the exporter/CHA. For export items which are subject to export cess, the TR-6 challans for cess is printed and given by the Service Center to the exporter/CHA immediately after submission of shipping bill. The cess can be paid on the strength of the challan at the designated bank. No copy of shipping bill is made available to exporter/CHA at this stage.
Quota Allocation The quota allocation label is required to be pasted on the export invoice. The allocation number of AEPC (Apparel Export Promotion Council) is to be entered in the system at the time of shipping bill entry. The quota certification of export invoice needs to be submitted to Customs along-with other original documents at the time of examination of the export cargo. For determining the validity date of the quota, the relevant date needs to be the date on which the full consignment is presented to the Customs for examination and duly recorded in the Computer System.
Arrival of Goods at Docks: On the basis of examination and inspection goods are allowed enter into the Dock. At this stage the port authorities check the quantity of the goods with the documents.
System Appraisal of Shipping Bills: In most of the cases, a Shipping Bill is processed by the system on the basis of declarations made by the exporters without any human intervention. Sometimes the Shipping Bill is also processed on screen by the Customs Officer.
Customs Examination of Export Cargo: Customs Officer may verify the quantity of the goods actually received and enter into the system and thereafter mark the Electronic Shipping Bill and also hand over all original documents to the Dock Appraiser of the Dock who many assign a Customs Officer for the examination and intimate the officers’ name and the packages to be examined, if any, on the check list and return it to the exporter or his agent. The Customs Officer may inspect/examine the shipment along with the Dock Appraiser. The Customs Officer enters the examination report in the system. He then marks the Electronic Bill along with all original documents and check list to the Dock Appraiser. If the Dock Appraiser is satisfied that the particulars entered in the system conform to the description given in the original documents and as seen in the physical examination, he may proceed to allow "let export" for the shipment and inform the exporter or his agent.
Stuffing / Loading of Goods in Containers The exporter or export agent hand over the exporter’s copy of the shipping bill signed by the Appraiser “Let Export" to the steamer agent. The agent then approaches the proper officer for allowing the shipment. The Customs Preventive Officer supervising the loading of container and general cargo in to the vessel may give "Shipped on Board" approval on the exporter’s copy of the shipping bill.
Drawal of Samples: Where the Appraiser Dock (export) orders for samples to be drawn and tested, the Customs Officer may proceed to draw two samples from the consignment and enter the particulars thereof along with details of the testing agency in the ICES/E system. There is no separate register for recording dates of samples drawn. Three copies of the test memo are prepared by the Customs Officer and are signed by the Customs Officer and Appraising Officer on behalf of Customs and the exporter or his agent. The disposal of the three copies of the test memo is as follows:-
Original – to be sent along with the sample to the test agency. Duplicate – Customs copy to be retained with the 2nd sample. Triplicate – Exporter’s copy.
The Assistant Commissioner/Deputy Commissioner if he considers necessary, may also order for sample to be drawn for purpose other than testing such as visual inspection and verification of description, market value inquiry, etc.
Amendments: Any correction/amendments in the check list generated after filing of declaration can be made at the service center, if the documents have not yet been submitted in the system and the shipping bill number has not been generated. In situations, where corrections are required to be made after the generation of the shipping bill number or after the goods have been brought into the Export Dock, amendments is carried out in the following manners.
The goods have not yet been allowed "let export" amendments may be permitted by the Assistant Commissioner (Exports). Where the "Let Export" order has already been given, amendments may be permitted only by the Additional/Joint Commissioner, Custom House, in charge of export section.
In both the cases, after the permission for amendments has been granted, the Assistant Commissioner / Deputy Commissioner (Export) may approve the amendments on the system on behalf of the Additional /Joint Commissioner. Where the print out of the Shipping Bill has already been generated, the exporter may first surrender all copies of the shipping bill to the Dock Appraiser for cancellation before amendment is approved on the system.
Export of Goods under Claim for Drawback: After actual export of the goods, the Drawback claim is processed through EDI system by the officers of Drawback Branch on first come first served basis without feeling any separate form.
Generation of Shipping Bills: The Shipping Bill is generated by the system in two copies- one as Custom copy and one as exporter copy. Both the copies are then signed by the Custom officer and the Custom House Agent.
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