Govt, CBEC release circular to implement Annual Supplement changes

New Delhi, June 1 (UNI) The Finance Ministry along with the Central Board of Excise&Customs (CBEC) and the Department of Revenue, today issued a circular implementing changes brought about in the Annual Supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy effective from April 01, 2006.

It extends the facility of importing goods without payment of duty on the basis of pre-authenticated procurement certificates to such units which have physical export turnover of Rs 15 crore and above in the preceding financial year and have a clean track record.

Earlier, such procurement certificate was required to be obtained from the jurisdictional office of Customs and Central Excise.

Where EOU exports goods under Shipping Bill procedure, the existing procedure required the unit to get a shipping bill number by visiting the jurisdictional Customs office.

In the circular, the procedure has been simplified and the CBEC has permitted the units to use shipping bill with running serial no.

beginning from the first day of the financial year.

In order to redress the reported problems regarding delays in declaring a warehousing station, a time bound requirement has now been put in place for declaring warehousing stations.

Under the new procedure, a site verification report has to be given within 7 days by the jurisdictional Superintendent to his superiors. Under the new guidelines, the entire procedure of verification will have to be completed in less than 30 days.

For the Gems&Jewellery exporters, the units are now allowed to export cut and polished, precious and semi-precious stones for treatment abroad. They can re-import such stones upon payment of duty on the fair cost of treatment and cost of materials used in such treatment.

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