As per Circular issued on 24.11.2005 by CBDT that Accreditation is depend on the fulfillment of the condition clearly mentioned in Para 7 of the Circular

Court :
HIGH COURT OF BOMBAI

Brief :
On 24 November 2005 the Central Board of Excise and Customs issued a circular providing for the introduction of a Risk Management System (RMS) with an Accredited Clients Programme (ACP) as its major component. The object of the programme is to grant assured facilitation to importers who have demonstrated a capacity and willingness to comply with the laws which the Customs Department is required to implement. The object of the system is to enable the department to strike an appropriate balance between the concerns of trade facilitation on the one hand and enforcement on the other. Under the RMS, Bills of Entry filed by importers in the Indian Customs Electronic Data Interface System will be processed for risk and a large number of consignments will be allowed clearance based on a self assessment by the importer without examination. In the case of a Full Container Load (FCL) the container numbers and seals would be verified while in the case of a Less Container Load (LCL) only the marks and numbers on the packages are to be verified. Importers registered by the department as accredited clients are allowed this facility of assured facilitation. Except for a small percentage of consignments selected on a random basis or cases where specific intelligence is available or where a specific pattern of non compliance is required to be addressed, accredited clients are allowed clearance on the basis of a self assessment as a matter of course on a declaration made and without physical examination of the goods. The benefit is made available to a registered accredited client at all ports in the country where the system is operational. This measure was intended to bring about a reduction in the dwell time of cargo and in transaction costs for importers. Paragraph 7 of the circular as originally introduced, provided for the requirements which importers desirous of availing of a facility of accredited clients were required to comply with. Paragraph 7 as it originally stood was as follows : “7. The importers desirous of availing the facility as “Accredited Clients” are required to apply for registration under the scheme using the Application form attached at Annex1. Importers meeting the following criteria shall be the eligible under the Accredited Clients Program : (i) They should have imported goods valued at Rs. Ten Crores (assessable value) in the previous financial year; or paid more than Rs. One Crore of Customs duty in the previous financial year; or, in the case of importers who are also Central Excise assessees, paid Central Excise Duties over Rs. One Crore from the Personal Ledger Account in the previous financial year; (ii) They should have filed at least 25 Bills of Entry in the previous financial year in one or more Indian Customs stations. (iii)They should have no cases of Customs, Central Excise or Service Tax booked against them in the previous three financial years. Cases booked would imply that there should be at least a show cause notice, invoking penal provisions, issued to an importer. (iv)They should also not have any cases booked under any of the Allied Acts being implemented by Customs. (v) The quality of the submissions made by the applicants to Customs should be good as measured by the number of amendments made in the bills of entry submitted by them in relation to classification of goods, valuation and claim for exemption benefits. The number of such amendments should not have exceeded 20% of the bills of entry during the previous financial year. (vi)They should have no duty demands pending on account of nonfulfillment of Export obligation. (vii)They should have reliable systems of record keeping and internal controls and their accounting systems should conform to recognized standards of accounting. They are required to provide the necessary certificate from their Chartered Accountants in this regard as per format given in the Application form.”

Citation :
Shah Pulp & Paper Mills Limited..Petitioner. versus Union of India and others..Respondents