QUESTION
There are multiple Invoices in single Bill of Lading. During Bill of Entry filing, all entries related to one particular Invoice are missed out unintentionally and Bill of Entry gets assessed and given Out of Charge having entries related to other invoices only. During reconciliation after few months, the importer notices this error. Under which provision of law the importer can get the left out Invoice data entered in the Bill of Entry and pay differential customs duty. What would be the legal remedy and step wise process?
ANSWER
Facts of the case:
There are multiple Invoices in single Bill of Lading.
During Bill of Entry filing, all entries related to one particular Invoice are
missed out unintentionally and Bill of Entry gets assessed and given Out of
Charge having entries related to other invoices only. During reconciliation
after few months, the importer notices this error. Under which provision of law
the importer can get the left out Invoice data entered in the Bill of Entry and
pay differential customs duty. What would be the legal remedy and step wise
process?
Law Applicable: Customs Manual Chapter-3
7. Amendment of Bill of
Entry:
7.1 Bonafide mistakes noticed after submission of documents, may be rectified by
way of amendment to the Bill of Entry with the approval of Deputy/Assistant
Commissioner. Levy of Fees (Customs Documents) Amendment Regulations, 2017,
issued vide Notification No. 36/2017-Customs (N.T.) dated 11.04.2017, provides a
number of amendments which can be allowed on payment of amount mentioned
therein.
Customs Act 1962 Section 149 - Amendment of documents
Save as otherwise provided in sections 30 and 41, the proper officer may, in his
discretion, authorise any document, after it has been presented in the custom
house to be amended in such form and manner, within such time, subject to such
restrictions and conditions, as may be prescribed:
Provided that no amendment of a bill of entry or a shipping bill or bill of
export shall be so authorised to be amended after the imported goods have been
cleared for home consumption or deposited in a warehouse, or the export goods
have been exported, except on the basis of documentary evidence which was in
existence at the time the goods were cleared, deposited or exported, as the case
may be.
Interpretation: The procedure of clearance of imported goods is given in
Custom manual Chapter 3.
Para 7 of the same permits amendment of Bill of entry but from the language of
the para it is clear that it speaks about the amendment in bill of entry to be
done before the clearance of goods.
Section 149 of the Customs Act specifically contains provision for amendments in
the documents submitted for clearance of import /export .It restricts amendment
after the goods are cleared but also mentions that amendment in the bill of
entry may be made even after clearance of goods if the same is evident from the
document submitted at the time of clearance of goods.
In your case you are not asking for any refund rather you are going to pay Tax
which is liable to be collected (demanded) by the custom officer under section
28 of the Customs Act.
Section 28 contains provisions for the waiver of penalty if the tax is deposited
with interest with in thirty days of service of notice. In your case you are
depositing the tax even without issue of the notice.
Conclusion: Write a letter to the AC/DC who process the BOE with a
request to amend bill of entry and deposit tax with interest.
(Reply dt. 08/06/2021)