New Delhi, Jun 23 (IANS): As part of its efforts to provide paperless and faceless administration, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has launched a new process that eliminates the need for exporters to approach customs officials with proof of export for each consignment.
CBIC Chairman Ajit Kumar on Monday unveiled a Secure QR coded Shipping Bill that would be electronically sent to exporters after the Customs allows export. This eliminates in one stroke the requirement of the exporters having to approach the Customs officers for proof of 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.
The new initiative is yet another step taken by CBIC for fulfilling its commitment to a Faceless, Paperless, and Contactless Customs under the umbrella of its "Turant Customs" programme.
Under the umbrella of Turant Customs, the CBIC promises the trade a faceless, contactless and paperless Customs clearance experience. While the assessment of Customs duty would be faceless, i.e., it would be done anonymously and remotely, critical steps in the process have been made contactless and paperless, CBIC said in a statement.
These reforms are based on enhanced use of digital technology to reduce the time and costs for the importers, exporters and other stakeholders, thereby improving India's ranking in the World Bank's Trading Across Borders parameter of its Doing Business Report, the statement added.
The launch of paperless documentation on exports is a sequel to a similar initiative that begun for imports w.e.f. April 15, 2020. The electronic transmission of the Shipping Bill would do away with the present requirement to take paper printout of these documents thereby promoting Green Customs. Equally importantly exporters would not have to visit the Customs Houses for this purpose and can better utilize their time in promoting their business.
Kumar said that the endeavour is to leverage technology to make the Customs clearance process more transparent and faster. Turant Customs, which has as its main component Faceless Assessment, would be implemented in phases across the entire country by 1st January 2021.