THERE will be no EDI noting in Mumbai Customs today and tomorrow. Noting will be manual. From Monday the new ICES will be operational. The Customs Commissioner clarifies:-

++ Operation at Various Stages includes Assessment, Examination, Query & Replies, Amendment, Duty Payment, Goods Registration, POCC/LEO, Entry Inward, Sailing Report etc.

++ The last DBK Scroll in ICES V1.0 to be generated shall be on 10.11.2010. The banks are advised to credit the DBK amount into Exporter's Account positively on the same day, but certainly not later than 11.11.2010 upto 2.00 P.M. The next DBK Scroll can be generated on/after 15.11.2010 in ICES V1.5.

++ If a Carrier Agent files manual IGM on 11 & 12th November, 2010, then, they will necessarily have to file EDI IGM on 15th November, 2010, in ICES V1.5, through ICEGATE only. For legal purposes, the date of filing of Manual IGM and Entry Inward date entered into Manual LAN System would be taken.

++ No manual EGM shall be filed on 11th & 12th November, 2010. Hence, EDI EGM shall be filed (i) either on/before 10.11.2010 in ICES V1.0 or (ii) on/after 15.11.2010 in ICES V1.5 through ICEGATE only.

++ The Banks (Bank of India & Bank of Baroda) will continue to collect the duty for EDI Bs/E and Cess for EDI S/Bills upto 2.00 P.M. On 11.11.2010. Duty Collection through EDI (ICES 1.0) is to be stopped on 11.11.2010 (Thursday) from 2.00 p.m. and to be resumed in ICES 1.5 on 15.11.2010 (Monday) after confirmation from Customs.

++ For the Bs/E which are manually noted, the Cash Section under the control CAO would collect duty. Similarly, for the S/Bills, which are manually noted, the Cash Section under the control CAO would collect Cess, if applicable.

++ There would be concurrent audit in ICES V1.5 for all types of Bills of Entry for few days till the introduction of RMS in ICES V 1.5. Further, the Concurrent Audit would be done for all the Bs/E noted manually. The concurrent audit will be done by the AO's of PCA Section.

++ There will be stoppage of messages that are being exchanged with Custodian (MbPT) for both Import and Export Modules w.e.f. midnight of 11.11.2010 (Thursday).

Mumbai Customs (Imports) Public Notice No. 89/2010 dated: November 09, 2010

Cadre Review in Revenue Department - Agitated staff threaten strike

IT is learnt that leaders of several associations of staff of the Customs and Central Excise Department met the CBEC Chairman yesterday and threatened to strike work on the 25th of November. Their main grouse is said to be that they were not consulted before the cadre review proposals were sent to the Ministry. Anyway the proposals are back with some objections and queries from the Integrated Finance Unit (IFU). It seems the Board has agreed to give copies of the proposals to the Associations and their suggestions will be duly considered. Officers in the field who are waiting for a promotion next week after the cadre review comes into effect can relax for some more time.

Customs Complications - Board solutions? - Stop Issuing Circulars!

RECENTLY Member (Cus & EP) of CBEC, SK Goel chaired a meeting of the Customs Consultative Group in Mumbai. We bring you some of the queries raised and the Member's crisp replies.

Q: Short-shipment of goods should be allowed by Customs: Customs does not allow shipment of part of the consignment mentioned in the shipping bill, which leads to delays. For instance, if one container is delayed due to breakdown in transportation to port then the entire consignment gets delayed due to the above rule.

A: As regards short shipment/shut out cargo from Gateway Port, as per the existing instructions, suitable endorsement in transference copies can be made by the concerned P.O. The exporter has to file a fresh shipping bill at the gateway port for the shipment of remainder of such cargo on another vessel (Board's Circular No. 31/99-Cus dated 27.05.1999 refers). However, members of the trade stressed that the procedure is cumbersome and time consuming. DG (Systems) in consultation with Nhava Sheva was asked to examine this and furnish a report to the Board.

Q: Customs & Excise Circulars: Issued with no life span and interpreted differently by different Customs House. Circulars should either be avoided altogether or issued with one Financial Year's validity after which it should get built in Notifications itself. This will help the trade as well as Customs in smooth functioning.

A: The circulars, in most of cases, help in clarifying the issue to Departmental Officers as well as trade. Whenever, there is an ambiguity, the same needs to be clarified to avoid confusion and ensure uniformity. It is not always possible to inbuild Circulars in Notification, because of the different nature of these documents. One is a result of administrative action, while the other is a subordinate legislation. Hence, this suggestion is not acceptable.

Q: Facilities for Customs: Currently Custodians have to provide the Customs - exclusive vehicles for pick up and drop, stationary, computers and related equipment,container seals, office related equipment, etc. This should be exempted for ICDs/ CFS's which are not on cost recovery.

A: it may not still be possible for the department to provide transportation facilities to officers in all the cases. In fact, Sub Committee II of Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce has observed recently in its Ninety First Report that there is a lack of facilities of accommodation, schooling for the kids, transportation, communication network, medical centres etc. for the staff at various LCSs/ICDs in the country. The Committee has recommended that these facilities are required so as to increase the efficiency of staff and transparency in the systems. Further, the other equipments and infrastructural requirements are a part of the essential conditions of the custodianship. Hence, the suggestion is not acceptable.

Huge Seizure of ODS - WCO initiative

A joint global Customs enforcement operation initiated by the World Customs Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and code-named "Sky-hole Patching II" led to the confiscation of more than 7,500 cylinders of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) and other ozone depleting substances.

Totalling over 108 tons of ozone depleting substances (ODS) and 668 pieces of equipment containing ODS, each of these man-made chemicals is linked to the rapid depletion of the ozone layer and all have been either banned or subject to strict controls under the terms of the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer.

“Illegal trade in ODS poses a threat to the successful recovery of the protective ozone layer as well as to the climate system, since most of the smuggled chemicals are also powerful greenhouse gases," said Rajendra Shende, Head of UNEP's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) OzonAction Branch.

Customs officials at 275 seaports and other selected points intensified their risk profiling and physical controls over several thousand shipments to identify high risk goods, notifying one another of suspicious outgoing and incoming consignments using CENcomm, the WCO's secure communication tool for exchanging information.

Jurisprudentiol – Friday's cases

Service Tax

Appellant receiving commission from client without any service tax - being a honest tax payer he got himself registered and paid ST on commission received - refund claim filed on ground that exemption is available for sum of Rs 8 lakhs - denial of refund on ground that option under clause 2(i) of notfn not exercised is improper - exemption admissible: CESTAT

IN this case the appellant had done only one transaction of receiving commission of Rs.20 lakhs on 12.8.2007 and it is also a fact that no service tax has been received by the appellant. Although the appellant has not received the service tax, but being an honest tax payer, he opted to pay service tax on the commission received by him and applied for service tax registration and, therefore, he paid the service tax. So, there is no question to opt to go out of exemption limit as per the said notification. Hence condition 2(i) of the said notification is not applicable to the facts and circumstances of this case

Income Tax

Income tax - Is assessee entitled to claim deduction for mutual fund scheme expenses incurred in excess of limits prescribed by SEBI? - YES, says ITAT

THE first issue before the Tribunal is - Whether the mutual fund scheme expenses incurred in excess of the limits prescribed by the SEBI Mutual Fund Regulation Act, 1996 are disallowable. And the Tribunal's answer is YES.

Central Excise

Export of used Cenvatted capital goods under bond - Assessee to pay an amount equal to credit taken - no legal requirement of exporter having to disclose in shipping bill as to whether they had paid an amount equal to CENVAT credit availed on capital goods (export goods) or not - good case on ground of limitation - Stay granted: CESTAT

THE assessee exported old/used Cenvatted capital goods under bond in July, 2005. The jurisdictional Central Excise authorities invoked the provisions of rule 3(5) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 and raised a demand of over Rs.1.6 Crores. The CCE, Thane-I confirmed the demand and imposed an equivalent amount of penalty. The matter is before the CESTAT with an application seeking waiver of pre-deposit and stay of the adjudged dues.

See our columns Tomorrow for the judgements

Until Tomorrow with more DDT

Have a nice DAY.

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