In a bid to enter the top 50 ranking in The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Index, the Customs Department has announced further reforms under the name of Turant Customs for speedy clearance of goods at air and sea ports.
Turant Customs
A critical component of EoDB index rankings 2019 is the ‘Trading Across Borders’ category in which India is ranked 80, as compared with 146 in 2018. This was possible due to reforms like Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade, e-Sanchit (e-Storage and computerised handling of indirect tax documents), and Direct Port Delivery. This along with the Authorised Economic Operator programme and RFID e-seal programme helped in reducing the time and cost of clearance of goods in various Customs ports.
Under Turant Customs, following reforms are carried out:
- Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange System (ICES) 1.5 for clearance of imported goods after assessment and duty payment: The officer concerned will now have access to a fully automated queue of Bill of Entry ready for granting clearance. This obviates the necessity of importers having to present the BoE number and date to the officer for clearance. So, the officer will be able to immediately provide clearance on the system.
- Elimination of the need for exporters to approach customs officials with proof of export for each consignment. Secure QR code of Shipping Bill would be electronically sent to exporters after the Customs allows export. The changes also makes the end-to-end customs export process fully electronic, from the filing of the Shipping Bill to the final order to allow export.
Under the umbrella of Turant Customs, the CBIC promises the trade a faceless, contactless and paperless Customs clearance experience. It will reduce dwell-time by 6-8 hours. This will be critical for small operators and clients operating in just-in-time concept.
