Indian Customs Single Window Project - Ease of Doing Business
FINANCE Minister in the Budget, 2014 made an announcement to implement ‘Indian Customs Single Window Project' to facilitate trade. This project envisages that the importers and exporters would electronically lodge their Customs clearance documents at a single point only with the Customs. The required permission, if any, from other regulatory agencies (such as Animal Quarantine, Plant Quarantine, Drug Controller, Textile Committee etc.) would be obtained online without the importer/exporter having to separately approach these agencies. This would be possible through a common, seamlessly integrated IT systems utilized by all regulatory agencies and the importers/exporters. The Single Window would provide the importers/exporters a single point interface for Customs clearance of import and export goods thereby reducing interface with Governmental agencies, dwell time and cost of doing business.
In the direction of establishing the Single Window with all regulatory agencies, the CBEC has decided to make a beginning by implementing an electronic online message exchange between the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Department of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage (PQIS) with the Customs with effect from 01.04.2015 at JNPT (Nhava Sheva), ICD, Tughlakabad and ICD, Patparganj . Under the new online message exchange system for import goods between these two agencies viz. FSSAI and PQIS and the Customs, there will be seamless online exchange in real time of the Customs Bill of Entry (Import declaration) with these agencies and Release Order (RO) from both the agencies will be received by the Customs in electronic message format.
CBEC Circular No. 09/2015, Dated: March 31, 2015