Customs Clearance News

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs chairman Pranab K Das on Thursday said “various initiatives” have resulted in a reduction of approximately 300 hours in import and export clearance time and cut down transaction costs. “This year’s theme of World Customs Organisation for the International Customs Day is smart borders for seamless trade, travel, and transport. The theme reverberates with the various reform measures that Customs have initiated in the context of reducing transaction time and costs of import and export clearance coupled with intensive trade as well as passenger facilitation efforts,” Das said in his address ahead of the International Customs Day on January 26. Das said 2018 deserves a special mention as India secured an all-time highest rank of 77 in the Ease of Doing Business rankings. He said there was a “quantum jump” in India’s Trading Across Borders ranking from 146th to 80th, the highest by any nation. He said some of the reform measures include...

APM Terminals Inland Services’ integrated Inland Container Depot (ICD) and supply chain solutions facility at Chakan, Pune has been awarded the Enviromental Clearance (EC) certificate by the Minisitry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change – a first for an ICD in India. This certification authorizes the Pune facility to store, handle, transport, and deliver hazardous chemicalsin any form – a critical requirement for all industries dealing with chemicalsin domestic & international trade; and a safeguard for the environment. “The certification of the Chakan facility lays testimony to the capabilities and standards built by APM Terminals Inland Services to address a pressing industry need ahead of the growth curve,” explains Ajit Venkataraman, APM Terminals Inland Services, South Asia Managing Director. India is the third largest chemical producer in Asia and its domestic Industry is projected to reach $403 Bn by 2025. The growing gap between the urgent need for qualified ser...

Containers sent from Vishakhapatnam are transported directly to the Birgunj Inland Container Depot. This facility is not available for consignments leaving Kolkata port. The ECTS uses the Global Positioning System, a satellite-based radio navigation system, and allows the shipper to keep track of consignments. Traders have to pay Rs4,200 extra per container to fit the ECTS. But it helps to reduce the overall cost of trading since they can avoid paying demurrage and detention charges because cargo movement is faster. The ECTS was implemented as a pilot project at Kolkata port last April. The scheme had to be discontinued because Indian shippers were not keen on using it, traders said. According to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, a large number of containers dispatched from Kolkata port lack the ECTS and transshipment facilities. Importers have to produce letters of credit and paperwork issued by the Department of Commerce and the Nepali Consulate Gener...