CUSTOMS Amendments Proposed by Budget 2016
- Section 2(43) has been amended so as to include Special Warehouse licensed under Section 58A for enabling storage of specific goods under physical control of the department, as control over the other types of warehouses would be only record based.
- Section 25 is being amended so as to omit the requirement of publishing and offering for sale any notification issued, by the Directorate of Publicity and Public Relations of CBEC. To align with it has been proposed to provide the every notification issued shall unless otherwise provided come into force on the date of its issue by the Central Government for publication in the official Gazette.
- The period of limitation has been increased from one year to two years in case of bonafide error assessment.
- In order to simplify and rationalize the tax schemes, the amendment has been proposed in section 28, 47, 51 and 156 of the Customs Act to provide for deferred payment of customs duties for importers and exporters with proven track record. It will reduce the cargo release time and transaction cost of EXIM trade. The details changes in this regard would be prescribed by Rules.
- The Principal Commissioner or Commissioner are proposed to be empowered to license a public and private warehouses in place of Deputy/Assistant Commissioner, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed. Further, they also have been proposed to be empowered for licensing of special warehouse as wherein dutiable goods may be deposited and be locked by the proper officer and no person shall enter the warehouse or remove any goods therefrom without his permission.
- The bond amount for the warehousing bonds submitted by importers availing duty deferred warehousing has been increased to thrice the duty amount as against earlier requirement of twice the duty amount. In addition to bond furnishing of security may also be required. In case of ownership of such goods being transferred to another person, the transferee would need to execute bond and security
- The provisions of Section 61 relating period of warehousing has been extended to all goods used by Export Oriented Undertakings, Units under Electronic Hardware Technology Parks, Software Technology Parks, Ship Building Yards and other units manufacturing under bond. Additionally Principal Commissioners and Commissioners have been empowered to extend the warehousing period upto one year at a time.
- Provisions relating to control over warehousing goods and payment of rent and warehousing charges done away with. Further, free Samples from the warehouse can no longer be taken away.
- The payment of fees to Customs for supervision of manufacturing facilities under Bond is no longer required. Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Customs empowered to license such activities.
- As a step towards Make in India, the rates of customs and excise duty have been changed on certain inputs to reduce costs and improve competitiveness of domestic industry in sectors like Information technology hardware, capital goods, defence production, textiles, mineral fuels & mineral oils, chemicals & petrochemicals, paper, paperboard & newsprint, Maintenance repair and overhauling [MRO] of aircrafts and ship repair.
- Customs Single Window Project to be implemented at major ports and airports starting from beginning of next financial year.
- Increase in free baggage allowance for international passengers. New Simplified Baggage Rules, 2016 has been notified which would be effective from 1st April, 2016. Further Customs Baggage declaration regulation 2013 is also being amended so as to provide for custom declaration only for those passengers who carry dutiable and/or prohibited goods.
- The rate of interest on delayed payment of duty has been revised to 15% from earlier rate of 18%.