Page 129 - DMGT546_INTERNATIONAL_TRADE_PROCEDURE_AND_DOCUMENTATION

International Trade Procedures and Documentation

Notes 6. Correctness of documents: The Customs Department is very particular about the
genuineness of import documents submitted by the importer and asks him/CHA for
misdeclarations/or incorrect information is found, Customs has the right to take legal
course of action against such importers. It is, therefore, advised that importer/CHA should
take all precautions to avoid such situations and should declare the documents with
immense care.

6.1.2 Assessment of Import Cargo

All goods imported have to pass through the procedure of customs for proper examination,
appraisal, assessment and evaluation. This helps the custom authorities to charge the proper tax
and also check the goods against the illegal import.
The documents submitted by importer are checked and assessed by Customs authorities and
then goods are cleared. Section 17 provides that assessment of goods will be made after Bill of
Entry is filed. Date stamp of receipt is put on the 'Bill of Entry' and then it is sent to appraising
department either manually or electronically

6.1.3 Harmonized System (HS)

Harmonized System is an internationally agreed upon classification system for trade. The HS
code is used by Customs agencies worldwide to assess duties, collect trade statistics, and generally
to control imports and exports.
1. Proper assessment as per customs classifications: It is the duty of the appraising officer to
assess the cargo as per the laid down procedure under various rules & regulations of
customs classification. He shall take note of classification including various section or
notes in assessing the cargo. He shall take note of the various exemption/export promotion
schemes that have been enunciated by the Government of India for helping importers
while assessing the cargo for payment of customs duty by them. He shall also take note of
whether any restrictions/prohibitions/special import license/permission/permit is
required in import of such commodities to the country. Some important responsibilities
and functions of appraising officer are:

(a) Correct assessment of duty to be paid by the importer after having due regard to
classification of goods imported by having proper look at the rules of interpretations,
chapters and sections notes.
(b) Determining in the correct duty liability on importer involving cases where duty is
determinable on ad-valorem basis. He shall cross-check the cases of under invoicing,
etc. due to difference in actual value and invoice value.
(c) Taking proper note of various documents submitted by the importer in duty
assessment and also checking the authenticity of such documents.
(d) Ensuring that assessment is proper or using his powers as delegated under Section
14 of the Customs Act for re-determination of duty payable.

(e) Taking note of the various contemporaneous values and other information on
valuation, available with the Custom House for duty assessment.
2. Representative sample for examination if under invoiced: In case the appraising officer is
not satisfied with classification or description of cargo or he has doubt about the actual
nature of product, he has the right under the Customs Act to take representative sample
for a detailed examination of the nature of the goods or testing of its samples. He can pass
an order regarding the drawing of representative sample for examination, so as to judge

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