The International Custom Division of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), on Saturday, issued the circular regarding the clearance of goods under India’s Trade Agreement (ITA) without the original Certificate of Origin (CoO).
Recently, the Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued the Trade notice dated April 6, 2020, so as to ease the hardship of the importers in producing the original Certificate of Origin (CoO) on account of disruptions caused due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
However, the circular issued addressing all the Principal Chief Commissioner of Customs, Chief Commissioner of Central Goods and Service Tax.
“The undersigned has been directed to refer to the Trade Notice no. 62/2019-2020 issued by the Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on 6th April 2020. The said Trade Notice has been issued in consultation with CBIC and it seeks to mitigate the difficulties being faced by importers in producing the original Certificates of Origin (CoO) on account of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the circular affirmed.
“It is accordingly directed that in accordance with the said Trade Notice, the import consignments, where a preferential treatment of goods under a Free Trade Agreement has been claimed but the original hard copy of CoO has not been submitted or only digitally signed copy or unsigned copy of CoC is submitted, may be assessed and cleared provisionally in terms of section 18 of the Customs Act, 1962. The final assessment may be done subsequently on the submission of the original CoO certificate by the importer. The revenue may be secured through undertaking and appropriate security,” the circular said.
“Customs field formations shall maintain a record of all cases of relaxation allowed by them and will ensure that such provisional assessments are finalized at the earliest and in accordance with the prescribed regulations,” the circular said.
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