Customs Brokers - R R Padmanabhan, Director - Exim Academy
Customs Brokers - R R Padmanabhan, Director - Exim Academy
The evolution of Custom brokers starts from the year 1878 when the Customs Act was passed for the first time in India by the then British Government. The profession continues to be guided by the present Customs Act 1962 in terms of Section 146(1). A customs Broker is one who acts as an intermediary between an exporter or importer and the Customs department.
The customs laws and procedures are many and vary from product to product. For example there may be a set of procedures for the import of apple where as some other procedures may be applicable for the import of machinery. A custom broker knows the relevant procedure pertaining to the product whether it is export or import.
Who appoints Customs broker?
As said earlier, a
Customs broker is a product of Customs Act 1962. To be qualified as a Customs broker, any one
of the following qualifications must be satisfied:
01.He/she should
be a Masters in Business Administration
02.Chartered
Accountant
03.Cost Accountant
04.Company
Secretary
05.Master in Law
06. A ‘G’ Cardholder with 2 years experience
While education is one of the qualifications, there are other requisites to check financial wellbeing and integrity. A person with such qualification can write examination to qualify as Customs broker. The examination is conducted once in a year on all India basis. Keeping with the trend, the exam is on line. The syllabus covers various aspects customs law and practice, foreign trade policy and Intellectual property rights etc.
Are there any codes of conduct prescribed?
Yes. Customs
broker Licensing regulations (CBLR) prescribes certain regulations that govern
the practice of Customs broker.
The successful candidates passing the exam conducted under CBLR Scheme is issued ‘F’ Card and is called as licence to operate as Customs broker.
The licence to
operate as customs broker has all India basis.
It means if a person passes the exam in chennai he can operate on all
air, seaports of India and Inland container depots (ICD) of India. The licence is valid for 10 years and is to
be renewable subject to satisfaction of certain conditions prescribed.
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