Guidelines 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

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....l importers, exporters, Customs Brokers, departmental officers and all other stakeholders is invited to recently issued CBIC Circular No. 38/2020-Cus dated 21.08.2020. In this regard, reference is drawn 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 21.08.2020. 2). 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) an....

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....tion/change in CTH/PSR etc., as the case may be, has not been achieved for the goods to qualify as originating. c) Verification could also be undertaken on random basis as a measure of due diligence. For this purpose, factors such as the quantum of duty being foregone, the nature of goods vis-å-vis the country of origin, commodities that are prone to misdeclaration of country of origin, compliance record of the importer etc., may be given regard while selecting Certificates of Origin for random verification. 6). The Rules of Origin, by virtue of which a good attains origin of a country, have evolved with subsequent reviews of trade agreements. Most trade agreements have moved from single general rule to specific rule for most of the....

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....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. 8). Verification request should be forwarded to the Board based upon following standard operating procedures(SOP): (i) In case several certificates pertaining to identical item are under review or scrutiny, only representative certificates should be forwarded to the Board to cause verification along with list of all Coos to which the field formation aims to apply the result of such verification. Representative Coos may be selected in such a manner to ensure that they cov....

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....lly on grounds of verification of origin, such requests should be communicated immediately to the Board in case requests are in terms of rule 6(1)(a) or of CROTAR 2020; and within 10 days from the date of receipt of requisite information and documents from the importer in case the request is being considered in terms of rule 6(1 )(b). (v) Mechanism should be devised to monitor the requests which have been forwarded for verification, with special focus on cases where the timeline for response from the Verification Authorities is about to expire. 9). 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 (....

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.... specimen seal/signature is not available in the ICES online repository, the issue may be referred to the Board for verification. 11). In terms of rule 6(5) of CAROTAR, 2020, Board has designated Director (ICD), CBIC as the nodal point for taking up verification of origin with partner countries. Hence all requests for verification should be addressed to: Director (International Customs Division), Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Room No. 49, North Block, NewDelhi -110001. Phone:011- 2309 3380 (off); 011-2309 3760 (fax.) Email: [email protected] 7.1 12). To help reduce time taken in communication of requests for verification of preferential country of Origin, it is advise....