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Circular No. 22 /2016 -Customs

F. No. 484 / 03 / 2015 – LC (Vol II)
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Excise & Customs

******
New Delhi, the 31
st
May 2016
To,

All Principal Chief Commissioners Customs,
All Principal Chief Commissioners of Central Excise & Customs,
All Chief Commissioners of Customs,
All Chief Commissioners of Central Excise & Customs,
All Directors General, Chief Departmental Representative,
All Principal Commissioners of Customs,
All Principal Commissioners of Central Excise & Customs,
All Commissioners of Customs,
All Commissioners of Central Excise & Customs

Sub: Procedure regarding filing of ex-bond bill of entry

Section 68 of the Customs Act, 1962 requires the filing of a bill of entry (ex-bond bill of
entry) for clearance of any warehoused goods for home consumption. At present, the ex-bond bills
of entry are being filed with the Commissionerates having jurisdiction over the warehouses and in
large number of cases, manually. The filing of ex-bond bills of entry on ICES will provide the
benefits of automation to importers availing the warehousing facility and lend efficiency to the
process of clearance of the warehoused goods.

2. Accordingly, the Board has decided that the importer or owner of the warehoused goods
seeking to clear goods for home consumption under section 68 shall henceforth file ex-bond bills of
entry on ICES and the customs station of import shall assess the Bill of Entry for clearance of the
warehoused goods for home consumption.

3. The importer or owner of the goods shall produce a copy of the assessed ex-bond bill of
entry with the order for clearance of goods for home consumption given by the proper officer, to the

jurisdictional bond officer assigned to the warehouse, for permitting clearance of the warehoused
goods. Upon the importer or owner producing the ex-bond bill of entry for home consumption, the
bond officer shall:

i. verify the bill of entry particulars from ICEGATE at
https://www.icegate.gov.in/TrackAtICES/beTrackIces (to check that the order for clearance
of the goods for home consumption has been made by the proper officer); and
ii. permit the removal of goods from the warehouse for home consumption, in terms of
regulation 8 of the Warehouse (Custody and Handling of Goods) Regulations, 2016, by
affixing his dated signature on the copy of the ex-bond bill of entry;

4. In case of any mismatch between the details in the ex-bond bill of entry from those viewed
on ICEGATE, the bond officer shall not permit removal of the goods from the warehouse and
immediately inform his Deputy or Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, who
shall resolve the matter in consultation with the customs station of import.

5. The Board has already issued a circular providing that the bonds to be executed by the
importer while filing a Bill of Entry for warehousing shall be executed at the customs station of
import itself. Furthermore, with the imminent introduction of the system of providing a warehouse
code at the into-bond bill of entry stage (circular no.19/2016-Customs refers), the warehouse
where goods are to be deposited will also be available in EDI. Furthermore, Board, vide circular
21/2016-Customs dated 31
st
May 2016 has laid down that the period of warehousing shall be
extended by the Principal Commissioner / Commissioner of Customs at the port of import and the
security to be provided by the importer or owner of the goods shall be furnished at the port of
import where the bill of entry for warehousing was filed. All these measures represent a
fundamental change in management of warehoused goods for the department. Now, not only do
these procedures fully leverage EDI facilities, but also aggregate the responsibilities at the customs
station of clearance as a focal point for management of warehoused goods. This shall also address
the issue pointed out by the C&AG (Report No. 12 of 2014) regarding goods lying in warehouses
beyond the permitted period of warehousing. With the introduction of EDI based monitoring, the
systems managers at the customs stations will be able to identify Bills of Entry where the initial
period of warehousing is near expiry for initiating necessary action.

6. All these measures are expected to leverage the benefits of automation for facilitating
trade; it will enable the department to monitor the permitted period for which goods remain in the
warehouse; provide a single point for the importer or owner to seek extension of the warehousing
period; and pay duties online.

7. The procedure contained in this circular shall come into effect from 15
th
June 2016.

8. Difficulties, if any, may be brought to the notice of the Board.

9. Hindi version follows


(S. Kumar)
Commissioner (Customs)