In supersession of On-site Post Clearance Audit at Premises of Importer and Exporter Regulations, 2011, Government has notified Customs Audit Regulations, 2018.
For this reason, a separate section 99A is introduced authorizing the proper officer to audit the assessment that has already been conducted at the time of customs clearance. Such audit is permitted to the carried out swiftly either at the premises of the auditee or at the office of the proper officer.
It may be noted that ‘auditee’ is defined in this section to include not only the principal (importer or exporter) but also persons concerning themselves dealing with goods attracting section 12 of Customs Act.
In the 2018 Regulations, ‘auditee’ is defined in 2(c) to mean “a person who is subject to an audit under section 99A of the Act and includes an importer or exporter or custodian approved under section 45 or licensee of a warehouse and any other person concerned directly or indirectly in clearing, forwarding, stocking, carrying, selling or purchasing of imported goods or export goods or dutiable goods”.
PBA (Customs Audit at the premises):
The new provision on Customs Audit under section 99A of the Customs Act, 1962 has extended the scope of Premises Based Audit by including other entities who are concerned with imports or exports.
In PBA, customs would review the import and export over a given period and check all relevant commercial records, including financial statements and contracts to verify the particulars given in a goods declaration.
PBA would enable the department to bridge the communication divide and usher in a new era of partnership with trade. Further, Board may also select any criteria or theme for the audit.