Customs & Foreign Trade Documentation Support

A Bill of Entry is the statutory declaration filed electronically on ICEGATE under Section 46 of the Customs Act 1962 for every import consignment before goods can be cleared from Customs custody. It declares the goods, their HS classification, assessable value, and applicable duty, and is filed by a licensed Customs House Agent on the importer's behalf, referencing the importer's IEC and GSTIN. Every commercial import into India — with narrow, specifically defined exceptions — requires a Bill of Entry.

A Shipping Bill is the corresponding statutory declaration for export consignments, filed under Section 50 of the Customs Act on ICEGATE. Where a Bill of Entry governs an import's clearance into India, a Shipping Bill governs an export's clearance out of India, and its data additionally feeds into RBI's Export Data Processing and Monitoring System (EDPMS) for tracking foreign exchange realisation, and into DGFT's reconciliation of RoDTEP and Duty Drawback claims.

No. A CHA is licensed by CBIC specifically to file Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills on ICEGATE and to coordinate physical port clearance — that licensing requirement is separate from a CA's qualification. PNPC works alongside your existing CHA, reviewing the underlying documents, confirming classification and value treatment, and preparing the foreign trade declarations a CHA is not typically positioned to advise on. We add a documentation-accuracy and advisory layer; we do not take over the CHA's filing function.

In our experience, the single most common trigger is a mismatch between the commercial invoice, the packing list, and the Bill of Lading or Airway Bill — a value, weight, or description that does not align across all three documents. The second most common trigger is HS classification ambiguity, particularly for products that could reasonably fall under more than one tariff heading. Both are avoidable with a documentation review before filing.

Assessable value under the Customs Valuation Rules is generally the transaction value of the goods, adjusted to include freight and insurance up to the Indian port of import, along with any applicable additions such as royalty or licence fee payments connected to the imported goods. The correct adjustment depends on the Incoterm used in the commercial contract — an FOB or FCA invoice value requires freight and insurance to be added, while a CIF value may already include them, and getting this wrong either overstates or understates the duty payable.

Misclassification can produce the wrong Basic Customs Duty (overpaying wastes cash; underpaying creates a demand liability with interest and penalty on audit), the wrong RoDTEP rate on export, and — in the more serious cases — a shipment of a product that is actually Restricted or Prohibited under its correct classification moving without the required DGFT licence, which is a compliance breach rather than merely a duty issue.

A Certificate of Origin is a document certifying the country in which goods were manufactured or substantially processed. It is required to claim a preferential duty rate under a Free Trade Agreement — such as India-UAE CEPA or India-ASEAN FTA — at the destination Customs authority, and is sometimes required independent of any FTA as a general trade document depending on the destination country's requirements. Preferential-rate claims additionally require the goods to satisfy that specific agreement's Rules of Origin criteria.

Yes. We draft the response, coordinate supporting documentation, and represent the business through to resolution — whether the query relates to classification, valuation, a related-party price, or an inconsistency between the declared documents. The quality and promptness of the first response materially shapes how the proceeding unfolds.

SVB is a specialised Customs unit that examines the declared transaction value on imports between related parties — where the Indian importer and the foreign supplier share common ownership or control — because related-party pricing is inherently more susceptible to manipulation than an arm's-length transaction. If your import is from a parent, subsidiary, or common-control group entity abroad, Customs can refer the valuation for SVB investigation.

It depends on the product. DGFT's ITC-HS Schedule classifies every product as Free, Restricted, Prohibited, or State Trading Enterprise (STE)-canalised. Free items require no specific licence beyond a valid IEC. Restricted items require a specific licence from DGFT regardless of IEC status. Prohibited items cannot be imported or exported at all except in narrowly defined circumstances. The classification is HS-code-specific and is periodically updated, so it should be checked against the current schedule rather than assumed.

Imports attract IGST at the point of Customs clearance, declared on the Bill of Entry, which is available as input tax credit subject to normal GST conditions. Exports are typically zero-rated under GST — either under a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) without payment of IGST, or with payment of IGST followed by a refund claim — and the Shipping Bill data is reconciled against GST return data by the relevant government systems for both the zero-rating position and any RoDTEP or Duty Drawback claim.

The Export Data Processing and Monitoring System (EDPMS) is RBI's electronic system, operated through your Authorised Dealer bank, that tracks every export Shipping Bill against the eventual receipt of foreign exchange proceeds. The Shipping Bill data filed at Customs is the reference point EDPMS uses — if the Shipping Bill details are inconsistent or incomplete, the corresponding EDPMS entry can be flagged, complicating the realisation tracking your bank relies on.

No, a Letter of Credit is one of several accepted payment mechanisms — others include advance payment, open account terms, and documents against acceptance or payment. Whichever term is used, it should be reviewed against FEMA's current account trade rules, since certain terms (deferred payment for exports beyond a prescribed period, for instance) carry specific conditions that need to be tracked for FEMA compliance.

The Bill of Entry or Shipping Bill itself is filed electronically on ICEGATE. Physically, or as scanned attachments to the electronic filing, Customs typically checks the commercial invoice, packing list, Bill of Lading or Airway Bill, and any product-specific certificate or licence required for the classification declared. Where the consignment is selected for physical examination, the goods are checked against these documents for consistency in description, quantity, and value.

For a first-time engagement, establishing the classification and assessable value baseline for a product typically takes about a week, run in parallel with the commercial process of finalising the shipment. For a business with a recurring shipment pattern already reviewed once, subsequent shipments following the same classification and documentation pattern are reviewed considerably faster — often within 2–3 working days.

Yes. Shipments under these schemes must reconcile against the licence's Standard Input Output Norms (for Advance Authorisation) or export obligation (for EPCG). We prepare shipment-level documentation that cross-references the specific licence, so the licence file reconciles cleanly at renewal or closure rather than revealing a gap only when the licence is due to close.

Duty Drawback refunds Customs duty already paid on inputs used in export production, claimed against the Shipping Bill after export. RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products) refunds embedded central, state, and local duties/taxes not otherwise refunded through GST, at a rate notified against each HS code. Both claims are reconciled against the Shipping Bill's declared classification and value, so accurate classification at the point of filing directly determines the accuracy of either claim.

Yes. PNPC has an operating office in Dubai alongside Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. For India-UAE trade flows, we coordinate the Indian-side export documentation (Shipping Bill, Certificate of Origin) with the UAE-side import declaration, UAE VAT treatment, and CEPA preferential access requirements as a single engagement, rather than two disconnected advisory relationships on either side of the border.

A phytosanitary certificate certifies that a consignment of plants, plant products, or agricultural produce is free of pests and diseases, issued by the destination or origin country's plant protection authority as required. It is typically required for agricultural exports and imports and is one of several product-specific clearances — alongside FSSAI clearance for food products and BIS certification for certain manufactured goods — that must be obtained and referenced in the shipment's documentation where applicable.

A destination Customs authority applies its own scrutiny to an imported consignment's declared classification and any preferential-tariff Certificate of Origin, independent of what Indian Customs accepted at export. A rejection at destination typically means the preferential rate is denied and the full duty becomes payable, or, in the case of a classification dispute, the importer at destination faces a valuation or classification query under that country's own Customs law.

Engagements are typically quoted per shipment or as a short-term project for a specific consignment, classification review, or query response — with the exact scope and fee confirmed in writing before work begins. For businesses with recurring shipment volume, a monthly or quarterly retainer covering ongoing documentation review is also available and is usually the more cost-effective option once shipment frequency reaches a certain volume.

A CHA is licensed and skilled at the mechanical filing of Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills and coordinating port clearance. A CHA is generally not positioned to advise on assessable value treatment under specific Incoterm and related-party scenarios, FEMA implications of your payment terms, or whether your classification and documentation will support a future incentive claim cleanly. The two roles are complementary, not substitutes.

Yes. E-commerce exports still require a valid IEC and follow the same Customs Shipping Bill and FEMA realisation framework, with procedural nuances for courier-mode Shipping Bills used for low-value parcel shipments versus standard export documentation for larger consignments. We help set up a consistent classification and documentation approach across a large volume of small-value shipments, which is harder to manage informally than a smaller number of bulk consignments.

Related-party transactions receive additional Customs valuation scrutiny — the declared price must be shown to reflect an arm's-length outcome, and the shipment's documentation should be consistent with the entity's existing Income-tax transfer pricing position under Section 92 of the Income-tax Act. Inconsistency between the Customs-side and Income-tax-side positions on the same intercompany price is a documented source of parallel scrutiny from two different authorities.

In limited circumstances, yes — an amendment to a Bill of Entry or Shipping Bill can be sought from Customs under specific provisions, generally before the goods have been cleared or within a prescribed window thereafter, and subject to the officer's satisfaction that the amendment is bona fide. Once a claim (such as RoDTEP or Duty Drawback) has been processed on the original data, correcting it retrospectively is materially harder and may require a formal application or appeal.

That depends on your product range, counterparty structure, and shipment frequency. Straightforward, repeat shipments of an already-classified, non-related-party product with an established documentation template generally need lighter review once the baseline is set. New products, related-party transactions, FTA claims, licence-linked shipments, or any shipment following a prior query benefit from a full review each time.

We begin with an initial shipment profile review — a conversation covering what is being shipped, to or from where, under what payment and Incoterm structure, and whether any FTA, licence, or related-party dimension applies. From there we confirm scope and fee in writing and begin the document reconciliation and classification review. You do not need your documentation perfectly organised before the first conversation — that review is itself part of the engagement.

Because the documents that move a shipment through Customs also feed FEMA realisation tracking, GST reconciliation, and DGFT incentive claims — and an error seeded at the documentation stage can surface as a problem in any of those areas months later. PNPC has advised on Customs, FEMA, and DGFT-adjacent matters as a practising CA firm since 1986, across offices in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Dubai, and reviews your documentation with that fuller picture in view rather than treating each filing as an isolated task.

The Harmonized System is a globally standardised nomenclature, maintained by the World Customs Organization, for classifying traded products using a 6-digit code common across member countries. India extends this into the ITC-HS Schedule, which adds further digits — generally to an 8-digit level — for domestic tariff and licensing purposes. The additional Indian digits are where DGFT's Free/Restricted/Prohibited/STE categorisation and India-specific duty rates attach, so classification has to be confirmed at the full Indian 8-digit level, not just the international 6-digit heading.

An Advance Ruling is a binding determination obtained from the Customs Authority for Advance Rulings on the classification, valuation principle, or applicability of an exemption notification to a specific product, obtained before the actual import or export takes place. It gives certainty on a recurring or high-value product line and removes the risk of a classification dispute arising at the port for that specific product. It involves an application, fee, and a process that takes some weeks to a few months, so it is generally worthwhile for a product with meaningful, repeat trade volume rather than a one-off shipment.

Provisional assessment allows Customs to clear a consignment while a valuation, classification, or licensing question remains under examination — typically against an Extra Duty Deposit or a bond — so the shipment is not held indefinitely at the port while the underlying question is resolved. It is commonly used in Special Valuation Branch cases for related-party imports, or where a classification ruling is pending. Once the question is resolved, the assessment is finalised and any deposit is adjusted or refunded.

PNPC prepares, reviews, and reconciles the documentation, and coordinates directly with your CHA, who submits the Bill of Entry or Shipping Bill on ICEGATE using their CHA licence credentials. For foreign trade declarations such as a Certificate of Origin application, we typically prepare the application for submission to the prescribed issuing authority, with the business or PNPC submitting it depending on the specific authority's process and the engagement's agreed scope.

Importers and exporters are generally required to retain shipment-related records — Bills of Entry, Shipping Bills, invoices, and supporting documents — for a prescribed period under Customs law, commonly referenced as five years, though the applicable period can depend on the specific provision and whether an audit, investigation, or claim is pending. GST law separately requires retention of related records for its own prescribed period. Where a RoDTEP, Duty Drawback, or Advance Authorisation matter remains open, records should be retained until that matter is fully closed, regardless of the general retention period.