Welcome the new generation Customs Broker - Old Wine in Old Bottle?
REGARDING the amendment proposed by the Finance Bill, 2013 in the context of Customs House Agent, this is what the JS (TRU) mentioned in his DO letter dated 28/02/2013 -
(xiv) Section 146 is being substituted to change the nomenclature of "customs house agents" to "customs brokers" considering the global practice and internationally accepted nomenclature.
We had in the post Budget DDT-2056 mentioned this -
Customs Broker to replace Customs House Agent. The age-old institution of Custom House Agent (CHA) is to die giving place to the Customs Broker. The Bombay CHA association was started in 1937. Custom House Agent found a place even in the Old Customs Act, 1878. It is not known whether all the existing CHAs would be licenced as Customs Brokers or they have to go all the way to the Supreme Court. Section 146 of the Customs Act is substituted. A STABLE TAX REGIME!
By the Finance Act, 2013 enacted on 10th May, 2013 for section 146 of the Customs Act, the following section was substituted:-
Licence for customs brokers.
"146. (1) No person shall carry on business as a customs broker relating to the entry or departure of a conveyance or the import or export of goods at any customs station unless such person holds a licence granted in this behalf in accordance with the regulations.
(2) The Board may make regulations for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section and, in particular, such regulations may provide for-
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After more than a month of enactment of the Finance Bill, 2013, the Board has come out with the Regulations and they are called Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2013 effective since last Friday i.e 21 st June, 2013. And the whole world came to know about it only yesterday. So much for transparency!