Payments to Importer

[ARUN KARWA]

Sir, my query is with regard to import payments made to the foreign party nett of discount / credit notes. To be precise, say the Invoice is raised for ₹ 100 and the said amount is declared in Bill of Entry and accordingly custom duty, GST etc. is paid at the time of actual imports.

Now, subsequently, we receive credit note on the said invoice from the foreign supplier which amounts to approx. 9% of the invoice amount as we make imports on frequent and regular basis during the year. We adjust 9% of the credit note at the time of import payments. However, our Banker says that as per RBI guidelines we can not adjust more than 5% or else it should be mentioned in the Bill of Entry. However as we resale the imports on High seas basis, it is not feasible to mention the same on Bill of Entry as we do not want our customer to know the credit notes received by us.

Kindly opine in terms of the related RBI guidelines, if any.

AI Summary

Can import payments be adjusted by 9% on credit notes? Check RBI guidelines and Bill of Entry requirements. An individual inquired about the legality of adjusting import payments based on credit notes received from a foreign supplier, which amount to approximately 9% of the invoice value. The individual noted that their bank advised against adjusting more than 5% without it being mentioned in the Bill of Entry, citing RBI guidelines. However, they face challenges in disclosing this on the Bill of Entry due to resale practices. A respondent suggested reviewing the RBI's Master Direction on Import of Goods and Services for guidance.