Dear Members,

   

O/o Commissioner of Customs (NS-I),  Appraising Main (Import),  JNCH has issued Public Notice No. 135/2020  dated 16^th  October 2020 regarding subject matter.

  

At the outset, attention of members  is invited to CBIC’s Circular No. 45/2020-Customs dated  12.10.2020  issued  vide  F.  No.450/26/2019-Cus.  IV(Pt)  and  ICES Advisory No.-38/2020 dated 14.10.2020 issued by DGoS, ICES.  Reference  is also  invited  to  CBIC  Circular  No.40/2020-Customs,  dated  04.09.2020 stipulating the  rollout schedule for  implementation of  Faceless Assessment pan  India  by   31.10.2020.  The   CBIC  Circular   Nos.  28/2020-Customs, dated  05.06.2020,  34/2020-Customs, dated 30.07.2020 as well as JNCH’s Public Notice Nos. 96/2020 dated 31.07.2020 and 117/2020 dated 12.09.2020 related to Faceless Assessment may also be kindly referred to.

 

 

We understand from this PN that, as the prompt and timely  assessment of Bills of Entry and clearance of imported consignments are key objectives of   Turant Customs, these  issues have  been  examined  and  remedial  measures  have  been   identified  and prescribed for Faceless Assessment.

 

 

FAG  officers  in  Mumbai  Customs  Zone-II, Nhava Sheva are working throughout the week for assessment and clearance of goods under Faceless Assessment to ensure that there is no delay on their part. Further, it has also been decided that   all Saturdays  (except second  Saturday) will be  working days for all the FAGs at JNCH and, that, on second Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays FAGs will work on rotation basis as devised by NACs(National Assessment Centres), to fulfil the overall objective of Faceless Assessment.

 

However, it is felt that some extra diligence and proactive action by the Trade will further facilitate faster clearance of Bills of Entry in the current regime of faceless assessment.

 

In this regard, Trade is advised to adhere to the following tips for faster assessment and clearance of the goods in faceless assessment:-

 

1. Upload all supporting documents under e-sanchit while filing the BE.
2. Study  the  compliance  requirements  for  the  goods  imported  and upload all the required documents under e-Sanchit in support of the claim  of meeting those requirements. This will reduce queries by assessing officer.

 

iii.       Upload  Product  catalogues/Product  Data  Sheet/  User  manual/ Technical write-up etc to ensure correct classification of goods.

1. Study the  conditions  listed  against  the  notification  for  claim  of notification benefit, and ensure that documents defending the claim are filed along with the B/E.
2.  Upload the additional documents on e-sanchit and tag IRN with BE.

 

 

Trade is further advised:-

 

 

(i)        to feed all the details/information etc. needed for assessment at the time of filing of BE and to indicate end use of consignments viz. time-sensitive/urgent  consignments such as lifesaving drugs, security/defence   related    consignments     etc.    imported    by Government and  its agencies/PSUs etc  in  the  B/E for   easier identification of such consignments, so that PAG/FAG will clear above consignments on priority basis.

(ii)       to             provide             complete             details/specifications/ description/brand/name/model/technical literature/mandatory documents  essential  for  assessment.  Further,  it  is  advised  to upload and link all the relevant and supporting documents at the first instance to avoid queries and delays. This may enable the assessing/appraising officers to view all the supporting documents so that un-necessary queries may be avoided.

(iii)      to opt for Continuity Bond option as mentioned in Para No. 9..1.2 of JNCH’s Public Notice No.-117/2020 dated 12.09.2020, to avoid fresh registration of Bond every time during filing of bill of entry in cases where the importer has prior knowledge that there is a requirement of execution of Bond or Bank guarantee for the assessment of the said bill of   entry, such as in the case of a warehouse   bill  of  entry  or  where  the  importer  has  sought provisional assessment or where a claim to any concessional rate of duty or exemption under duty remission/exemption schemes is subject to filing of Bond/ Bank Guarantee.

 

 

 

It is brought to the notice of the Trade that as of now E-sanchit has more than 300 pre-defined codes for all necessary documents. Hence importer/custom Broker may proactively upload all the requisite documents as are required for supporting self assessment and which are already enabled in e-sanchit for uploading.  

 

Instances  have  been  reported  where  the assessment  of the Bills of Entry involving export benefit license or where a bond is given mandates a requirement of 100% Bank Guarantee(BG)  by default and the Bills of Entry are recalled by the appraising officers at the Port of Import for removing the BG requirement. This happens when the BG% percentage was given as 100 or left blank  (null)  at the time  of  registering  the  corresponding  bond  in System. Wherever the correct BG % has been entered during the bond registration,  only that gets applied as default BG % for the corresponding Bill of Entry. To avoid repeated recall and reassessment,  it is advised that the actual applicable  percentage  of BG associated  with the bond may  be entered  in the  Bond  Management  module  in  System.  In  case  no  BG  is required, the BG% should be expressly given as zero (0) instead of leaving blank. This way, the System will appropriately  mandate  the actual BG % during the assessment.

 

 

Filing  amendment  for adding  Supporting  Docs  to a Bill of Entry :- Instances   have   been   noticed   where   an   importer   uploads   additional documents in e-Sanchit for a Bill of Entry after its submission but does not file corresponding  amendment  for that Bill of Entry  to tag the additional documents.  In  such  a  case,  the  additional  documents  do  not  become available  to  the  assessing  officers.  So,  Trade  is  advised  to  upload  the additional documents on e-sanchit and tag IRN with BE.

 

 

It is informed to the Trade that vide  JNCH’s Public Notice No.-132/2020 dated 13.10.2020, it has been decided that the “Turant Suvidha Kendra (TSK)” at Nhava-Sheva will act as “Facilitation Helpdesk” for any grievance related to clearances  of  the  B/E  filed  in  the  port.  Accordingly,  for  redressal  of  any gievance related to clearance of the Bill of Entry pertaining to Mumbai Customs Zone-II,  JNCH,  Nhava-Sheva,  the Importers/Exporters/Customs Brokers/Stake-holders may contact the Supdt./Appraising Officer, Turant Suvidha  Kendra,  JNCH,  Nhava-Sheva.  

 

The  Importers/Exporters/Customs  Brokers/Stake-holders may also communicate their grievance relating to clearance of the Bill of Entry on E-Mail id at  tsk-jnch@gov.in or over telephone

022-27244766.

 

 

 

It  is  further  informed  that,  Shri  Dipin  Singla  (Email  id: dipin.singla@nic.in),  Joint/  Addl.  Commissioner  of  Customs,  TSK,  NS-III, JNCH, Nhava-Sheva has been designated as nodal officer to serve as single point for the escalation of the grievance with regards to clearance of B/E requiring urgent attention filed at JNCH, Nhava-Sheva

 

 

Difficulty, if any, faced in implementation of the said Public Notice may be brought to the notice of the Addl. /Joint Commissioner (Appraising Main, Import) through email on appraisingmain.jnch@gov.in

 

 

Members are requested to take note of above  and do the needful accordingly.  The said JNCH PN 135 is available for reference on below link- 

 

http://www.jawaharcustoms.gov.in/pdf/PN-2020/PN-135-2020.pdf

 

 

Members may send their feedback on our email  id's: ed@chemexcil.gov.in;  pwdd@chemexcil.gov.in, deepak.gupta@chemexcil.gov.in & info@chemexcil.gov.in  for  records/taking it further, if required.

 

 Thanking you.

  

Yours faithfully

 

 S G Bharadi
Executive Director

 

 

As you might be aware, Government has recently announced “Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme"  to provide liquidity to the MSMEs in the wake of COVID-19 related economic stress.

 

 

 

Under the Scheme, 100% guarantee coverage to be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) for additional funding of up to Rs. three lakh crore to eligible MSMEs and interested MUDRA. borrowers, in the form of a Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL) facility.

 

 

 

 

 

Details/ Salient Features of the Scheme

 

 

 

The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) has been formulated as a specific response to the unprecedented situation caused by COVID-19 and the consequent lockdown, which has severely impacted manufacturing and other activities in the MSME sector.

 

 

 

The Scheme aims at mitigating the economic distress being faced by MSMEs by providing them additional funding of up to Rs. 3 lakh crore in the form of a fully guaranteed emergency credit line.

 

 

 

The main objective of the Scheme is to provide an incentive to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), i.e., Banks, Financial Institutions (FIs) and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) to increase access to, and enable availability of additional funding facility to MSME borrowers, in view of the economic distress caused by the COVID-19 crisis, by providing them 100 per cent guarantee for any losses suffered by them due to non-repayment of the GECL funding by borrowers.

 

 

 

The salient features of the Scheme include –

 

 

 

i. All MSME borrower accounts with outstanding credit of up to Rs. 25 crore as on 29.2.2020 which were less than or equal to 60 days past due as on that date, i.e., regular, SMA0 and SMA 1 accounts, and with an annual turnover of up to Rs. 100 crore would be eligible for GECL funding under the Scheme.

 

 

 

ii. The amount of GECL funding to eligible MSME borrowers either in the form of additional working capital term loans (in case of banks and FIs), or additional term loans (in case of NBFCs) would be up to 20% of their entire outstanding credit up to Rs. 25 crore as on 29th February, 2020.

 

 

 

iii. The entire funding provided under GECL shall be provided with a 100% credit guarantee by NCGTC to MLIs under ECLGS.

 

 

 

iv. Tenor of loan under Scheme shall be four years with moratorium period of one year on the principal amount.

 

 

 

v. No Guarantee Fee shall be charged by NCGTC from the Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) under the Scheme.

 

 

 

vi. Interest rates under the Scheme shall be capped at 9.25% for banks and FIs, and at 14% for NBFCs.

 

 

 

 

 

Implementation schedule:

 

The Scheme would be applicable to all loans sanctioned under GECL during the period from the date of announcement of the Scheme to 31.10.2020, or till an amount of Rs three lakh crore is sanctioned under the GECL, whichever is earlier.

 

 

 

Members are requested to take note of above features of the ECLGS Scheme and  may avail, if applicable.

 

 

 

For operational guidelines and FAQs, please use below links on NCGTC site-

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.eclgs.com/documents/ECLGS%20-%20Operational%20Guidelines-Updated%20-%2002.06.2020.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.eclgs.com/documents/FAQs_on_ECLGS-Updated_as_on_06.06.2020.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

Please note that above information is being provided only as a service to the members in good faith.  For further details/ queries, Please contact your bank and financial institutions.

 

 

 

You may also send your feedback to the council on info@chemexcil.gov.in .

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks and Regards,

 

 

 

 

 

S G Bharadi

 

Executive Director

This is with reference in view of the disruption in supply chains due to the Corona virus. As you aware that Coronavirus epidemic is a matter of grave concern for the entire world, it is incumbent on larger economies like India to fill up the gaps in the global market. Countries which had been depending on China have learnt a lesson they should have an alternative market for sourcing and India was expected to be their preferred destination. So in the coming few months can provide our exporters greater market access in the absence of usually aggressive and competitive Chinese suppliers.

 

 

 

As a part of special measures under the national emergency to combat the spread of COVID-19 in Peru, has announced a zero per cent import duty on 65 products which include organic and inorganic chemicals, medicament, medical appliances, articles of vulcanised rubber, super absorbent polymers, etc. this is to overcome the likely supply chain disruption. Though a temporary measure intended for 90 days with effect from 13 March, it is likely to be extended for a longer period. Peru currently imports these items from China, USA, and EU countries, with which it has Free Trade Agreements, while imports from India attract 6% duty. According to Lima Chamber of Commerce (LCC) and the Association of National Pharmaceutical Industries, the measure (to remove duty) would incentivize Peruvian importers to source these products from other markets such as India.

 

 

 

In this context on our request we have received tremendous support from the High Commission of India in Peru and we have received information from them that President of Anders Peru S.A.C., Mr. Peter Anders – which has major presence in Peru as distributor of chemicals and intermediate products in different industrial sectors, has expressed interest in establishing contacts with potential suppliers in India. Mr. Anders approached the Embassy for support and guidance for sourcing chemicals and ingredients in the following sectors:

 

 

 

•        Coatings and adhesives

 

•        Plastics

 

•        Flexo painting

 

•        Home and personal care (cosmetics and perfumes)

 

•        Industrial and institutional hygiene

 

•        Electroplating

 

•        Textiles

 

•        Paper industry

 

•        Food additives

 

 

 

Mr. Anders has stated that they are currently importing dyes from India for the paper industry, and that they are keen to build and expand company’s trade relations with Indian suppliers.

 

 

 

Anders Group is a well reputed Peruvian company in the chemicals sector and it is a regional South American distributor of specialty chemicals, ingredients and industrial equipment. It was founded in 1964 and has 56 years of market experience. Its headquarters is located in Lima, Peru. The group with more than 150 employees and a turnover of over US$ 60 million, has commercial offices and warehouses in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile and Colombia. The group company presentation is attached herewith for your ready reference. Mr. Anders also informed that he would like to use company’s distribution centre in Lima as a hub for supplies to countries in the region.

 

 

 

Mr. Anders’ proposal offers a good opportunity to tap into the Peruvian market, especially when exports of organic chemicals from a major supplier to Peru has dropped by 17%  and those of inorganic chemicals by 13% during the period January – April 2020.

 

 

 

We may request to our members to contact directly with Anders Peru S.A.C to expand business in Peruvian market. The details are mentioned below

 

 

 

            Mr. Peter Anders

 

            President of the Board

 

            Anders Peru S.A.C.

 

            E.mail: peter.anders@qanders.com 

 

 

 

Further, as desired, please find attached Lists of potential importers in Peru under Chapters 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, and 38.

 

 

 

We may request to our member exporters to take advantage of this opportunity and export to Peru.

 

 

 

Members  may also  send their comments / feed-back  on  our e-mail id’s:  ed@chemexcil.gov.in;  adreach@chemexcil.gov.in; deepak.gupta@chemexcil.gov.in; rokolkata@chemexcil.gov.in & robengaluru@chemexcil.gov.in  

 

 

 

Thanks and best regards,

 

 

 

S G BHARADI

 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

 

CHEMEXCIL

 

BASIC CHEMICALS, COSMETICS & DYES EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL