Introduction to Bill of Entry
Imported goods have to go through a few legal procedures in the importing country on their arrival. Bill of entry is one such legal document which is filed by the importers or custom clear agents on the imported goods. Bill of entry is one of the important documents in the international trading market.
What is the Bill of Entry?
When goods are imported, a legal document is filed by the importer or a customs agent on their arrival. This legal document is called a bill of entry. The bill of entry forms an important part of the customs clearance procedure and is submitted to the customs department.
The bill of entry can be issued either for bond clearance or home usage. Only after issuing the bill of entry, the importer can claim ITC on the goods. This bill of entry is issued by two entities—firms that import goods from foreign countries and firms that sell goods in India after purchasing them from SEZ.
The format of the bill of entry is fairly simple and includes some important details like port code and license number, importer’s name and address, customs house agent code, importer’s export code (IEC), country of origin and its code, country of consignment and its code, port of shipment, vessel’s name and some important details about the goods.
After the bill of entry is filed, the concerned goods are examined by a customs officer after which the importer has to pay taxes like GST, IGST and customs duty. These are paid to clear the goods and the importer can claim ITC compensation cess for GST and IGST but not for the customs duty.
The bill of entry will include the IGST, GST and customs duty paid by the importer as well. Along with this the bill will have two sections for signatures of both, the importer and the customs agent. Only after both these parties sign the bill, the bill becomes valid and verified.
