No more verification of DEPBs at EDI ports
In 2005, DGFT informed the world that, “DEPBs issued on the basis of EDI shipping bills transmitted electronically by Customs to DGFT and the DEPBs sent to Customs through an Electronic Message Exchange System are not required to be verified by the Customs authorities at the port of registration.”
But DGFT is only an opinion and Customs is a fact. What DGFT desires will become true only after CBEC wills it.
Now after more than a year, Board has come up with details on how the scheme is put in place.
++ theDEPBs issued by DGFT would now be received online by Customs.
++ Such DEPBs would be subjected to the prescribed validation checks online and thereafter, the same would be available for use by the importers.
++ Details of such DEPBs would also be available on the home page of website, www. icegate.gov.in.
++ However, as a purely temporary measure till the procedure gets stabilised, it has been decided that the importers would be required to produce the hard copies of the DEPBs issued by DGFT to the designated officer at the respective Custom House i.e. ports of registration mentioned in the DEPBs before such DEPBs are allowed to be utilised.
++ in respect of the DEPBs received online, the DEPB number would need to be mentioned on the bill of entry if such DEPBs are intended to be used for payment of duty instead of the registration number as is the practice with respect to manually verified DEPBs.
Well if you think it is already online, wait!, Board wants the jurisdictional Commissioners of Customs to implement the above instructions from a specified date in consultation with the Directorate General of Systems.
CIRCULAR NO. ,Dated: February13,2007