COURIER IMPORTS AND EXPORTS (ELECTRONIC DECLARATION AND PROCESSING) REGULATIONS, 2010

Reg.1 Short title and commencement

(1) These regulations may be called the Courier Imports and Exports (Electronic Declaration and Processing) Regulations, 2010.
(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

Reg.2 Application

       (1) These regulations shall apply for assessment and clearance of imported or export goods, carried by an Authorised Courier by air, on behalf of a consignee or consignor at such Customs airports and in such form and to such extent, as the Board may, by notification, declare for the purposes of these regulations in this behalf.
       (2) These regulations shall not apply to:
       (a) the following imported goods requiring testing of samples thereof or reference to the relevant statutory authorities or to experts before their clearance, namely:-
       (i) animals and parts thereof, plants and parts thereof;
       (ii) perishables;
       (iii) publications containing maps depicting incorrect boundaries of India;
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Reg.3 Definitions

       (1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires
       (a) Act means the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962);
       (b) "Authorised Courier", in relation to imported or export goods, means a person engaged in the international transportation of time-sensitive documents or goods on door-to-door delivery basis and is registered in this behalf by a Commissioner of Customs in charge of a Customs airport;
       (c) Customs airport means the airport declared by the Board as Customs airport under sub-regulation (1) of regulation 2 of these regulations;
       (d) "documents" includes any message, information or data recorded on paper, cards or photographs and of no commercial value which is for the time being not liable to any customs duty or subject to any prohibition

Reg.4 Packing of goods to be imported or exported by courier

(1) For the purposes of these regulations, the imported or export goods shall be packed separately for documents and goods.
(2) Imported or export goods shall bear a declaration from the sender or consignor regarding the contents of each of the packages and the total value thereof.

Reg.5 Clearance of imported goods

       (1) The Authorised Courier or his agent shall file, in an electronic form, a manifest for imported goods prior to its arrival, with the proper officer the Express Cargo Manifest - Import (ECM-I) in Form A;
       (2) (a) The Courier packages containing the imported goods shall not be dealt with in any manner except as may be directed by the Commissioner of Customs;
       (b) No person shall, except with the permission of proper officer, open any packages of imported goods.
       (3) The Authorised Courier or his agent who has passed the examination referred to in regulation 8 or regulation 19 of the Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004 shall make entry of goods imported by him, in an electronic declaration, by presenting to the proper officer the Courier Bill of Entry-XI (CBE-XI) for documents in

Reg.6 Application for registration of Authorised Courier

(1) Every person intending to operate as an Authorised Courier shall make an application in the Form-I to the Commissioner of Customs having jurisdiction over the Customs airport where the goods are to be imported or exported, for registration in this behalf.
(2) The Commissioner of Customs may dispose of the application under sub-regulation (1) within forty five days of the receipt of the application.

Reg.7 Conditions to be fulfilled by the applicant

Reg.8 Conditions to be fulfilled by the applicant

       (1) The person applying for registration as an Authorised Courier shall disclose to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Customs that he is financially viable and in support thereof he shall produce to the said Commissioner of Customs a certificate issued by a scheduled bank or such other proof acceptable to the Commissioner of Customs evidencing possession of assets of a value not less than twenty five lakh rupees.
       (2) The electronic declaration for clearance of imported or export goods shall be made by the persons who has passed the examination referred to in regulation 8 or regulation 19 of the Custom House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004.
       2[Provided that a transition period upto 31st December, 2011 shall be allowed for fulfillment of the condition mentioned in sub-regulation (2) by an Authorised Courier in so far as it relates

Reg.9 Scrutiny of application

On receipt of application for registration under regulation 7, the Commissioner of Customs, may make enquiries for verification of the particulars set out in the application and also such other enquiries as the Commissioner of Customs may deem necessary for such registration including enquiries about the identity, bonafides and reputation of the applicant.

Reg.10 Registration

       (1) If on scrutiny of the application filed by a person under regulation 7, the Commissioner of Customs is satisfied that the applicant fulfils the requirements of the registration, the said applicant may be registered as an Authorised Courier.
       (2) The registration granted under sub-regulation (1) shall be valid for an initial period of two years, but may be renewed from time to time, in accordance with the procedure provided in sub-regulation 8.
       (3) An Authorised Courier who is already registered under Courier Imports and Exports (Clearance) Regulations, 1998 on or before the date of coming into force of these regulations in a Customs airport, shall be considered as an Authorised Courier registered for the purpose of these regulations only on compliance of the conditions stipulated in regulation 8.
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Reg.11 Execution of bond and furnishing of security

(1)The Commissioner of Customs shall require the applicant to enter into a bond with a security of ten lakhs rupees in case of major international airports of Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta and Chennai and five lakhs rupees in case of other airports in the form of cash deposit or bank guarantee in the name of the Commissioner of Customs for complying with the provisions of the Act, rules and regulations made thereunder and the condition of the said bond shall also be that the applicant shall agree to pay the duty, if any, not levied or short levied, with interest if applicable on any goods taken clearance of by the Authorised Courier if in the opinion of the Assistant Commissioner of Customs or Deputy Commissioner or Customs the same cannot be recovered from the importer or the exporter.
(2) The Authorised Courier who has been granted a registration under regulation 10 or who has intimat

Reg.12 Obligations of Authorised Courier

       (1) An Authorised Courier shall -
       (i) obtain an authorisation, from each of the consignees or consignors of the imported goods for whom or from whom such Courier has imported such goods; or consignees or consignors of such export goods which such Courier proposes to export, to the effect that the Authorised Courier may act as agent of such consignee or consignor, as the case may be, for clearance of such imported or export goods by the proper officer;
       1[Provided that for import of documents, gifts and samples, and low value dutiable consignments for which declaration have been filed in, Form-B or the Courier Bill of Entry-XI (CBE-XI), Form C or the Courier Bill of Entry-XII (CBE-XII) or Form-D or Courier Bill of Entry- XIII (CBE-XIII) respectively, the authorization may be obtained at the time of delivery of the consignment to consi

Reg.13 Suspension or revocation of registration of authorised courier

       (1) The Commissioner of Customs may revoke the registration of an Authorised Courier and also pass an order for forfeiture of security on any of the following grounds namely:-
       (a) failure of the Authorised Courier to comply with any of the conditions of the bond executed by him under regulation 11;
       (b) failure of the Authorised Courier to comply with any of the provisions of these regulations;
       (c) misconduct on the part of Authorised Courier whether within the jurisdiction of the said Commissioner or anywhere else, which in the opinion of the Commissioner renders him unfit to transact any business in the Customs airport:
       Provided that no such revocation shall be made unless a notice has been issued to the Authorised Courier informing him the grounds

Reg.14 Penalty

An Authorised Courier, who contravenes any of the provisions of these regulations or abets such contravention or who fails to comply with any provision of these regulations with which it was his obligation to comply, shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to fifty thousand rupees.