2. The Manufacturing or Other Operations in Warehousing Regulation 2019 also known as MOOWR.

• Some of the measures that have been taken by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) to make India as a manufacturing destination and to support ‘Make in India’ campaign are as follows. For this purpose, the CBIC came up with ‘The Manufacture and Other Operations in Warehouse (no. 2) Regulations, 2019 (MOOWR Scheme).
• This scheme enables the importation of raw materials and capital goods into private bonded warehouses without the payment of import duty hence allowing manufacturing and other processes to be done.
• As per sub-section (1) of section 65 of the customs act, 1962 the owner of the warehoused goods is allowed to carry out manufacturing or other operations within the warehouse with the approval of the principal commissioner / commissioner of customs.

3. SVB (Transfer Pricing-Special Valuation Branch of Customs)

The Special Valuation Branch (SVB) is a special formation of the Indian Customs Authorities which deals with the import transactions under related party relationship between Indian buyers and foreign suppliers. This relationship can at times influence the cost of importing the product and hence lower customs duty on the products that are being imported into the country.

In its simplest form, SVB can be described as a detective agency which determines the value of the goods imported when the two parties involved are related. Its primary objective is to determine whether the goods are being invoiced at the arm’s length price and whether the price has been manipulated in a manner that would decrease the amount of duty that has to be paid to the customs.

So, who are these ‘related parties’? It relates to the Indian importer and the foreign supplier who have a particular kind of relationship which is defined by Rule SVB steps in to analyze the dealings between these related parties so that everything is done rightly and properly.

4. Project Imports (Essentiality Certificate)

The Project Imports Scheme is a special concept which is applied only in the Indian Customs system. It applies to all the goods imported for the purpose of establishing new industrial project or for the expansion of already existing one. In this scheme these imported goods are classified under one heading known as heading 98. 01 The meaning of rules in the Custom Tariff Act, 1975.

This means they are charged one rate of duty, thus they are not charged according to the type of their kind. Most of the times, when goods are imported they are classified under different categories in the tariff and then charged the right customs duty. But in cases of industrial projects, many goods are imported and it is tiresome and cumbersome to categorize and value each of them. Moreover, the suppliers who are involved in providing materials for the project may not have an individual value for every item or part of machinery which is delivered at different intervals of the project. This acts as a delaying factor to the assessment process and can lead to such consequences like delays and high costs of the project.

The project imports scheme helps in making it easier and quicker by categorising all the imported goods required for the project under a single category in the customs tariff act. This way, the assessment process is simplified and time is saved, and the goods are cleared faster thus enabling the smooth implementation of the industrial project.

5. ICGR Permissions

The Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty or for Specified End Use) Rules, 2022 are a set of rules that are meant to ensure that any import of goods is done at a concessional rate of duty or for a specified end use as stated in the government notification which puts in place these rules

Some important changes were made to the Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty) Rules, 2017 in 2021 and March 2022.These changes were focused on introducing automation and making the entire process contactless, which means reducing the need for physical interactions during the import process.

Recently, CBIC has notified these new Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty or for Specified End Use) Rules, 2022. These rules are the Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty) Rules, 2017 which is being replaced by the present rules and the rules came into force on the 10th September 2022. The new rules enhance the scope of the process and therefore include other forms of notifications excluding the exemption notifications. They also identify the particular intent of the import like for specified end use, to supply to an end-user recipient, manufacturing, export and many more as provided in the Customs Notifications. It remains on the complete automation of the process, thus enhancing the efficiency of the import procedure throughout the entire chain.

6. SEZ/EOU/FTWZ establishment / Debonding

SEZ- Special Economic Zone, is a geographical area within a country where the economic norms are liberal than the other regions of the country. The main objectives of SEZs are to lure foreign investments, to support infrastructural growth and to provide employment. An EOU, Export Oriented Unit, is a kind of SEZ which is intended to export all the products manufactured or services provided by the unit. It is, nevertheless, permitted to make limited sales to the domestic market for certain purposes. Trading units are not EOUS and therefore are not in this category.

FTWZ or Free Trade Warehousing Zone on the other hand is a sub category of SEZs that is dedicated on trading and warehousing activities. The principal aim of the company is to provide high quality warehousing services combined with the use of modern technology for the purpose of enhancing international business.

De-bonding simply means the process of coming out of an SEZ or EOU. In the course of de-bonding the unit can market its goods locally provided that it pays duties and taxes where necessary. This process also involves movement of assets from SEZ or EOU to DTA.

7. Custom Appeals

Wherever Customs decisions, actions or omissions cannot be reviewed, traders are left to the mercy of Customs officers who have a lot of discretion. This imbalance may lead to problems such as corruption, delayed release of goods or high cost of imported products. Inorder to address these problems and for the purpose of equality, it is crucial to have right to appeal in Customs matters. It assists trade to flow and it makes certain that Customs complies with the rules and laws.

In case a taxpayer is not satisfied with the decision made by the Customs Officer, then he or she can approach the Commissioner of Customs (Appeal) for justice. The Authority in charge of the appeal process shall make its decision and give the appellant a written feedback within three months from the time of filing the appeal. This makes the process to be clear and effective and enables the international trade to operate effectively and in the right manner.

8. DRI/ED/CAAR cases - Representation

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is the Indian intelligence agency which is concerned with the prevention and detection of smuggling, investigation of cases and other intelligence and operational functions. It is mainly used to protect India with the national as well as economic security by fighting against the smuggling of illicit materials including weapons, gold, drugs, counterfeit money, antique items, wildlife and environmental products. Also, the DRI deals with cases of black money, TBM and commercial frauds.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is an Indian organization that is involved in law enforcement as well as economic intelligence for the purpose of implementing and enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crimes. The ED deals with the task of investigation and prosecution of cases on money laundering, currency offenses, and other related economic crimes. Its main objective is to stop generation and transfer of black money and compliance of foreign exchange and money laundering laws.

The Customs Authority for Advance Rulings Regulations (CAAR) was set up by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes in 2021 for establishment of the Customs Authority for Advance Rulings. This Authority has the jurisdiction to entertain and determine all applications and petitions and give advance ruling.

9. Customs (Legal and Litigation)

Customs law is a specialized branch of law that entails the administration of the laws that govern the movement of goods across the international borders for export and import purposes. It is an important branch of the international trade law and embraces the customs duties and taxes applied on the imported and exported products. While customs litigation includes all cases that may occur when importers or exporters have a conflict with customs services. These disputes can involve a number of questions including the nature of goods, their value and how they relate to exemption notifications, including trade restrictions and prohibitions.

10. DPIIT - Vendor Regn. Rule of Trading Across Border Rule 144 GFR 2017.

The DPIIT had come up with the Registration Committee to act as the Competent Authority for registering bidders of the countries that are neighbours to India via land border. To this effect, the Order provides that any bidder from such countries is allowed to participate in procurement processes for goods, services – including consultancy and non-consultancy services, or works – including turnkey projects provided that such bidder is registered with this as the most recent addition to the General Financial Rules 2017 particularly Rule 144 (xi) has placed restrictions on the bidders from the neighboring countries of India. According to Article 144 (xi) of the GFR, any bidder from these countries must obtain registration from the Competent Authority to enable him/her participate in Public Procurement.

11. Legal and Litigation Services

The services of litigation are the different services offered to attorneys and law firms in order to assist them with the preparation, management and the handling of cases that are still pending before the courts or any other judicial forum.

Such services include data management duties where database has to be developed to manage, sort, index, abstract and co-ordinate data. Litigation support services therefore include record retrieval, subpoena services, forensic accounting, legal photography and other services related to a particular case. Furthermore, they can include activities such as document review and legal research as well as records retrieval. LSPC provide specialized services to help attorneys in handling court cases which are known as litigation support firms or consultants. These are activities like; recognition, location, conservation, and acquisition. preparing, reviewing and making of facts, information and materials for the purpose of securing and collecting evidence to be presented in the Case.

12. Other support in Custom Compliances

By definition, customs compliance entails the implementation of policies' laws that regulate importing and exporting of products in any country. Failure to adhere to these rules will result to one being imposed a fine or even worst be imprisoned for violating these rules. It is therefore important that as a business person you make sure that you adhere to all the laws and the regulations that are set so as to prevent getting into trouble with the right authorities and to also protect your business. Customs compliance helps in protecting your business from legal consequences and also helps in the easy flow of international trade.

The best way to avoid crossing the wrong side of the law while importing or exporting goods across borders is by following the set down rules and regulations; this will ensure that in case of any hitch in the future during border crossing, no penalties will be incurred. However, answering the question about the importance of customs compliance, we can define that the main result of customs compliance is the possibility to trade more effectively with minimum risks of facing some problems with the customs services.