Door-to-door delivery" traffic - CBEC alerts field about misuse of unaccompanied baggage facility
If you have friends or relatives abroad, advise them that clearing unaccompanied baggage is going to be more difficult.
Board understands that a single passenger arriving into India brings goods said to be belonging to several other persons as his unaccompanied baggage and that clearance of all such goods was being permitted at some of the airports/Customs station without invoking any penal provisions. This issue was clarified at a meeting of the Chief Commissioners held in Bangalore in December, 2006 that only 'bonafide baggage' of that passenger is allowed for import either along with the passenger or as his unaccompanied baggage. It was decided that the filed formations would be alerted about this misuse.
So, Board now informs,
1. That all the provisions of Customs Act, 1962 and Baggage Rules, 1998 are applicable to unaccompanied baggage as they are applicable to baggage (accompanied), except the free allowance which is not available for unaccompanied baggage.
2. It may be ensured by the officers attending to the clearance of the unaccompanied baggage at all customs stations that "bonafide" nature of the baggage is established before allowing clearance.(this is the catch! How do you establish bonafide to the satisfaction of the customs officer?)
3. The exceptions relating to various restrictions as provided in Rule 3 (i) of Foreign Trade (Exemption from application of Rules in certain cases) Order, 1993 in respect of baggage, specified goods including consumer electronic items etc., are part of the facilitation measures available to passenger in respect of his personal effects and hence, the same cannot be allowed to be used as means to circumvent the legal provisions applicable to normal imports.
4. All cases of import of unaccompanied baggage other than in the nature of "bonafide" baggage have to be adjudicated for levy of fines / penalties for violation of the Foreign Trade Policy.
UB (unaccompanied baggage) sections of Customs offices are going to be terribly busy!