Extension of Single Window Interface for Facilitate of Trade (SWIFT) for exports
No.CLE-HO/POL/FL/16-17
Jan. 13, 2017
Members of the Council
Sub : Extension of Single Window Interface for Facilitate of
Trade (SWIFT) for exports
Dear Member ,
As you are kindly aware, the Single Window system is already in place for import consignments, wherein the import consignment details are electronically sent to Wild Life/ Animal Quarantine etc. for NOC, wherever required.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs has now issued a Customs Circular No. 1/2017 dated 4.1.2017 extending the aforesaid Single Window System to exports also on Pilot Basis in 3 Airports w.e.f 5.1.2017. The following are the highlights of this Circular.
a) For export consignments exported through Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai Air Cargo, the Shipping Bills filed online on ICEGATE or through the Service Centre will be referred to the concerned agency, namely WCCB, online for a “No Objection Certificate’ (NOC), if any required. The selection of items to be referred to any agency will be based on criteria specified by the agencies.
b) As in the case of imports, the list of Customs Tariff Heads (CTHs) for which goods require NOC from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, shall be published on ICEGATE.
c) For granting NoC for goods entered for export, the offices of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau are connected to the ICES.
d) Based on the list of Shipping Bills marked to the WCCB, the Agency’s officer will retrieve the Shipping Bill online, and record the decision online on ICES. Should any documents be required for verification, for the time being, the Customs Broker or Exporter would have to produce hard copies of check-lists, export licenses, permits and other certificates/documents as required by the agency, until customs infrastructure is upgraded to provide uploading of soft copies of such documents. At this stage, the Agency’s office may record any of the following:
(i) Release – No Objection Certificate
(ii) Out of Scope: Item does not require the Agency’s NOC
(iii) Reject: Item is not permitted for clearance for “Let Export”. Agency’s office may make a suitable recommendation in respect of the item such as no-export or destruction. (The Agency will record this remark online.) Customs shall take further necessary action on the Shipping Bill.
(iv) Withhold NOC: NOC has been temporarily withheld for want of further documentation and/or testing after entering suitable remarks in the system by the Agency. These SBs can be retrieved by Agency’s office for a further decision (Release/Provisional NOC/Out-of-Scope/Reject) after the information is received.
(v) Provisional NOC: Presently, WCCB does not grant NOC on a provisional basis. [Note, if this option can be easily disabled, it may be disabled.] 5. Once NOC [Release/Out of Scope/ or Provisional NOC] is obtained from the concerned agency and assessment by Customs (in cases where assessment is required) is completed, the exporter may register goods or present them for stuffing into containers (in case of containerized cargo). In cases where a sample needs to be drawn, the concerned agency will arrange with the exporter to collect them prior to the issuance of NOC. The rest of the procedure for registration of goods, examination (where required) and ‘Let Export Order’ will remain as at present. Since, the agency’s officer records the NOC online, Customs shall not insist on the physical copy of the NOC.
Where the concerned officer of the Agency prefers to reject NOC by choosing option at 4(iii) above, the officer will also enter his remarks online on ICES, which will include a brief note on the basis for rejection so that the concerned Assistant/Deputy Commissioner of Customs can take further action, including adjudication under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. In cases where the samples fail to meet the qualifying criteria upon testing, the Agency’s officer will also record the same on the system while rejecting the NoC
Members may kindly note the above
With kind regards
R. Ramesh Kumar
Executive Director