TMI BlogGuidelines regarding implementation of section 28DA of the Customs Act, 1962 and CAROTAR, 2020 in respect of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements (FTA/PTA/CECA/CEPA) and verification of Certificates of Origin and Capturing additional details for Certificate of Origin (COO) as per Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 in Bill of EntryX X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Kind attention of the members of the trade (Importer/ Exporters / Customs Brokers) and all others concerned is invited to Chapter VAA and section 28DA of the Customs Act, 1962, which has been inserted vide clause 110 of Finance Act, 2020, and to Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 (hereafter referred to as the CAROTAR, 2020) issued vide Notification No. 81/2020-Customs (N.T.) dated 21st August, 2020. 1.1 The aforementioned section and rules aim to supplement the operational certification procedures related to implementation of the Rules of Origin, as prescribed under the respective trade agreements (FTA/PTA/CECA/CEPA) and notified under the customs notifications issued in terms of section 5 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 for each agreement. 1.2 The CAROTAR 2020 shall come into force on 21st September, 2020, to provide sufficient time for transition and to ensure that the prescribed conditions in terms of rule 4 are compiled with. Necessary modifications in bill of entry format are being made to allow declaration in terms of rule 3(a) and 3(d) of CAROTAR, 2020. 1.3 The Board s circular No. 38/2020 dated 21.08.2020 aims to provi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... goods, information should be first called upon from the importer of the goods, in terms of rule 5 read with rule 4 of CAROTAR, 2020, before initiating verification with the partner country in terms of rule 6. 3.1 Section 28DA of the Act further states that mere submission of a certificate of origin shall not absolve the importer of the responsibility to exercise reasonable care to the accuracy and truthfulness of the information supplied. In case an importer fails to provide information in terms of section 28DA (1) (iii) of the Act and as prescribed under CAROTAR, 2020, or does not exercise reasonable care to ensure the accuracy and truthfulness of the information furnished, this fact should be informed to Risk Management Centre of Customs (RMCC) through written communication for the purposes of enabling compulsory verification of assessment of all subsequent import consignments in terms of rule 8(1) of CAROTAR, 2020. However, the compulsory verification of assessment should be discontinued once the importer demonstrates that he has established adequate system of controls to exercise reasonable care as required under the Act. 4. Verification request should be forwarded to th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ere the timeline for response from the Verification Authorities is about to expire. 5. For ascertaining correctness of a claim of preferential rate of duty under a trade agreement, information may be sought from the importer during the course of customs clearance or thereafter (e.g. during subsequent investigations or post-clearance audit). Likewise, a verification request may be made to an exporting country during the course of customs clearance of imported goods or thereafter. While the Act provides that information may be sought within a period of five years from the date of claim of preferential rate of duty by the importer, this time limit is subject to any other time limit as may be specified for this purpose under the trade agreement. 6. The Rules of Origin under various trade agreements lay down the format of the certificate of origin, the period of validity, manner of obtaining the certificate and the procedure for verification of origin. One of the usual conditions for accepting the certificate is that it should be signed by the authorized signatories whose name, signature and seal have been communicated by the partner country through agreed channels. At present, th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... SN (Harmonised System of Nomenclature) version prescribed in the trade agreement shall apply. The preferential tariff treatment should be extended only in terms of the extant notification. For instance, provision for issuance of Back-to-Back COO is presently available only under ASEAN-India FTA, and hence Back-to-Back COO should not be accepted for goods imported under any other trade agreement. 9. Instruction no. 31/2016 - Customs dated 12.09.2016 stands superseded with the issue of Boards Circular No. 38/2020-Customs dated 21.08.2020. 10. The Regulations in Board's Notification 81/2020 - Customs (N.T.) dated 21.08.2020 apply to import of goods into India where the importer makes claim of preferential rate of duty in terms of a trade agreement. In terms of the Regulations, to claim preferential rate of duty under a trade agreement, the importer or his agent shall be required to file certain declarations at the time of filing Bill of Entry. In consonance with the same, following changes will come into effect in ICES w.e.f 21.09.2020: 11. Additional details in the Bill of Entry for capturing mandatory declarations while claiming PTA/FTA notifications for any item: Whene ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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