The ‘goods' as defined for the purpose of levy of Customs duty also include vessels, aircraft and vehicles. Therefore, import of these classes of goods is subject to the same procedure of filing of Bill of Entry and Import General Manifest, a CBEC circular stated.
According to N.K. Kurup, Indian shipping lines are shocked by a circular issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs making it mandatory for them to file a Bill of Entry when they import a ship, regardless of it being exempt from payment of duty.
The tax authorities' contention is that an imported ship is like any other ‘imported goods,' hence subject to the same procedures.
According to shipping companies, ocean-going ships are exempt from Customs duty and therefore they were not required to file a Bill of Entry.
What baffles them most is that the circular is applicable to past cases and the tax officials have been asked by CBEC to take appropriate action, including adjudication.
CBEC circular
The CBEC circular said “instances have been brought to the notice of the Board that certain Indian shipowners have imported vessels which are exempt from payment of duty, without filing Bill of Entry and Import General Manifest”.
It said that “at the time of their import into India the status of these vessels, which are meant for plying on Indian ports as coastal vessels or Indian flag foreign vessels, is the same as that of any other class of imported goods.”
The ‘goods' as defined for the purpose of levy of Customs duty also include vessels, aircraft and vehicles. Therefore, import of these classes of goods is subject to the same procedure of filing of Bill of Entry and import general manifest, the circular stated.
Documents have
to be filed
Mr Anil Delvi, Chief Executive, Indian National Shipowners Association, said the matter is being taken up with the tax authorities.
The association is of the view that in the case of ocean going vessels, the import is not for ‘home consumption', and therefore no Bill of Entry is needed.
He said the tax authorities had raised the same issue in 1999 and after shipping companies represented that ships were exempt from payment of import duty, the Customs accepted the practice.
However, tax authorities are of the view that the requirement of filing the documents – Bill of Entry and Import of General Manifest should be complied with even in cases where the goods are exempt from duty.
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