Exim Academy

 Import Export Code (IEC) No If one wants to see the effect of Ease of doing business efforts by the Government, it is in the issuance of IEC, one can feel it.  Gone are the days when one has to fill the form, TR6 Challan, file the same with the Regional authority but wait for their mere acceptance leave alone the issuance of IE Code.  Now they are things of the past.   An IE Code is like your driving license.  Just as with a Driving license, one can drive all over India, with an IE Code issued by the regional authority here in chennai, an IE Code holder can export of import in all seaports, airports and ICDs (wherever export or import is permitted). Now the procedure is very simple.   Along with the relevant information as per ANF, cancelled cheque and Address proof, apply online by paying a fee of Rs.200.00 and using digital signature key (Class 2 or 3).  The entire information is checked at the back end and in about 2 hours time, the IE code is issued electronically.  Gone are t

Multimodal Transport Operator (MTO) Courtesy: slideshare.net There are 5 different modes of transport namely road, rail, sea, air and pipeline.   Businesses have become too complex that it is no longer possible to transport goods from one place to another through a single mode of transport alone.   In many cases, different modes of transport are being to carry the cargo from one place to another.   For example, a consignment of knitted Garments from Tiruppur, Tamil nadu to Hamburg, Germany will first pass through road network to chennai and from there to Hamburg by sea.   One might wonder what is so big deal in this instance?   Under MTO, the operator will undertake to transport the goods from Tiruppur to Hamburg under his name and style in spite of using 2 different modes of transport and issue a single transport document namely the Bill of Lading.   This single document is called Multimodal transport document.   A Bill of lading is a document of title conveying ownership of goods

Transfer of Residence Rules  Source: zameen.com/blog As much as 18 millions Indians are working abroad earning precious foreign exchange of about US$ 64 billion in to the country.  What are the concessions available to them when they come back to India for good?  This blog examines rules governing such concessions.   In terms of Baggage Rules 2016, issued by the Central Board Indirect Taxes and Customs, the Indians living abroad but returning to India for good are divided in to 4 categories.  They are:   01.    In employment abroad between 3 to 6 months 02.    In employment abroad between 6 months to 1 year 03.    In employment abroad between 1 to 2 years 04.    In employment abroad between 2 years and above.   What are the goods that can be brought by them without payment of duty?  The following table provides the information:   In employment abroad between 3 to 6 months   Personal belongings and Household items used In employment a

Import of Gifts - R R Padmanabhan, Director - Exim Academy. Image courtesy: Pin by Ashley Gaviloski on Gift baskets I get calls from people that they have received certain items as gifts through courier mode, but the courier firm refuses to custom clear the goods and deliver to them.   Courier sends a mail to them asking them to nominate their customs broker to clear the goods.   When a courier books the gift at the originating country, it is on the promise that they would deliver at home the gifts to the person whose name is written on the cover.   But then why do they fail to do it?   Why do they break their promise?   The answer to these questions lies in the customs rule regarding the receipt of Gifts. Courtesy: Taxscan The following rules govern the receipt of Gifts:   01.Any one can send gift to their people in India from abroad 02.The sender need not be a family member but can be any body.  Of course, one would not send gift to an unknown person, isn’t it? 03.The value o

 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. What is the need for Customs broker?   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.H

Effect of Covid – Container Imbalance Charge (CIC) - R R Padmanabhan, Director - Exim Academy Image Courtesy: https://container-xchange.com/blog/balancing-container-imbalance Covid continues to throw surprises on all fronts. Logistics is no exception.  Logistics is one domain that closely responds to changes in society. The lock down and consequent shrinking demand is replaced by opening of economy and surge in demand.  This is quite natural.  But unnoticingly, a quite new development is taking place in the availability of containers.   Generally, one third of containers retire every year.  New containers replace these.  But last year, prolonged shut down made the replacement of containers impossible.  Not only, that without any business, many container owners sold them to non-logistical uses.  In many places, for example, containers are being used as store yards, site offices, temporary shelters etc.  So, it is double whammy, on the one hand there is no replacement and on the ot

Trade Receivable Discount System (TReDS) - R R Padmanabhan, Director - Exim Academy Cash is the lifeblood of any business.  However, profitable the company is, unless the cash cycle is regular, the operations of the company gets hit.  The cash burden is acute for MSME units. It is jocularly said that unit size and cash burden is in inverse proportion always.  Big units have the wherewithal to reach out to sources to tap money. Besides, they employ skilled finance professionals to manage their cash flows.  But MSME does not have such luxury. The normal sources of funds of MSME are: a) Internal Generation b) Bank borrowings c) Savings of the proprietor d) Loans from friends and relatives  e) Chit funds Many times, when all the above sources are exhausted, the entrepreneur has nowhere to go to meet his fixed expenses.  The expenses have time lines to be met, whereas the accruals do not.  In spite of the MSME Act that prescribes a fixed time limit for payment of outstanding by the big unit