In order to fulfill its commitment to a Faceless, Paperless, and Contactless Customs under the umbrella of its “Turant Customs” programme (Circular No. 09/2019), Shri Ajit Kumar, Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had on Monday unveiled a Secure QR coded Shipping Bill that would be electronically sent to exporters after the Customs allows export, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Tuesday.
It is said that this move eliminates, in one stroke, the requirement of the exporters having to approach the Customs officers for proof of export and also makes the end-to-end Customs export process fully electronic, from the filing of the Shipping Bill to the final order to allow export.
"These reforms are based on enhanced use of digital technology to reduce the time and costs for the importers, exporters and other stakeholders, thereby improving India’s ranking in the World Bank’s Trading Across Borders parameter of its Doing Business Report", the statement said.
The launch of paperless documentation on exports is a sequel to a similar initiative that was begun for imports w.e.f. 15th April 2020.
The electronic transmission of the Shipping Bill would do away with the present requirement to take paper printout of these documents thereby promoting Green Customs. Equally importantly exporters would not have to visit the Customs Houses for this purpose and can better utilize their time in promoting their business.
Shri Ajit Kumar informed that the endeavour is to leverage technology to make the Customs clearance process more transparent and faster. The Turant Customs, which has as its main component Faceless Assessment, would be implemented in phases across the entire country by 1st January 2021.