HomeBill of EntryWhat is Bill of Entry (BE): Meaning & its Usage in India

What is Bill of Entry (BE): Meaning & its Usage in India

BILL OF ENTRY

Everything you need to know about the bill of Entry is given below. Your import will not be done if you have not filed BoE. You will learn here What is a Bill of Entry? Types of Bill of Entry? How to file a bill of entry? , how to check the status online of the bill of entry filed? When to file a Bill of entry? Etc.

Abbreviation: BoE is the abbreviation for Bill of Entry

BoE full form is โ€˜Bill of Entryโ€™

What is Bill of Entry?

Bill of entry (BoE) is a document that is filed by the importer or his customs broker on or before the arrival of goods. Bill of entry is a very important document needed for the customs clearance process and needs to be submitted in customs for examination and valuation purposes at the time of clearance in the customs area.

As per Customs Act, 1962 Section 46 (1) Bill of entry is defined asโ€“ The importer of any goods, other than goods intended for transit or transshipment, shall make entry thereof by presenting (electronically) [On customs automated system] to the proper officer a bill of entry for home consumption or warehousing (in such form or manner as may be prescribed).

Bill of Entry is only for imports. For exports, it is called a Shipping bill.

When is Bill of Entry Filed?

Bill of Entry is filed before the end of the day (including holidays) when the goods arrive at the customs station/port. Bill of entry can be filed on any one of the three timings that are โ€“ Normal, Prior, and Advance.

  • Advance filing of Bill of Entry is done when the goods are in transit and have not yet reached customs port. You can file it anytime in advance but not exceeding 30 days prior to the arrival of vessel as per sec 46 (3) clause 2.
  • Prior filing of Bill of Entry is done when the import general manifest (IGM) has arrived but is not final.
  • Normal filing of Bill of Entry is done when the import general manifest (IGM) is final that means vessel has arrived at the customs station/port.
  • Important Note: In case of normal filing of bill of entry, Bill of entry should be filed before the end of the day (including holidays) that is the day on which goods/vessel has arrived at customs station/port as per public notice no.30/2021 issued by Customs.
  • It is advisable to always file bill of entry in advance to avoid penalty in customs.

Bill of Entry Sample

Bill of entry sample - eximpedia.com
Bill of Entry Sample 1
Bill of entry sample - eximpedia.com
Bill of Entry Sample 2

Penalty for late filing of Bill of Entry in Customs:

As per circular no.08/2021 issued by customs the penalty for late filing of Bill of Entry (BoE) is Rs.5000/- per day for the first three days and Rs.10,000/- per day after three days (from the fourth day) till the bill of entry is filed in customs. The penalty should not exceed the duty amount. If the proper officer of customs is satisfied that you have a valid reason for the late filing of the bill of entry, then he can waive off the penalty.

Types of Bill of Entry โ€“

There are total 3 types of bills of entry as per section 57, read with section 46 of Customs Act,1962 โ€“

1. Bill of Entry for Home consumption

2. Bill of Entry for Warehousing

3. Ex-bond Bill of Entry for Home consumption

4. Bill of Entry for clearance of defense establishments

Explanation on Types of Bill of entry โ€“

1. Bill of Entry for Home Consumption โ€“

  • Bill of entry for home consumption is filed when the importer wants to immediately clear the goods from customs to his premises on payment of duty.
  • This bill of entry is White in colour.
  • BoE for home consumptions is most filed by importers.

2. Bill of entry for Warehousing โ€“

  • Bill of entry for warehousing is filed when the importer does not want to clear the goods immediately and wants to pay the duty as and when he requires the goods. So, the importer keeps the goods in customs bonded warehouse on arrival of goods in customs, files warehousing bill of entry as per procedure mentioned in section 46 and section 60 od Customs Act,1962. Once it is in customs warehouse, the importer pays duty on the quantity if goods he wants to remove from warehouse and takes the goods out of customs bonded warehouse as and when he requires.
  • This bill of entry is buff in colour

3. Ex-bond Bill of Entry for Home consumption โ€“

  • Ex-bond bill of entry is very similar to bill of entry for warehousing wherein the importer clears the goods as and when he requires from the customs bonded warehouse.
  • This bill of entry is green in colour
  • The main difference between warehousing bill of entry and ex-bond bill of entry is the procedure for clearance, their colour. While warehousing bill of entry s filed in Form II, ex-bond bill of entry is filed in Form III.
  • It can be filed manually. However, once it is filed manually EDI system is not available.

4. Bill of entry for clearance of defense establishments โ€“

  • This bill of entry is specifically filed when the customs clearance is to be done for defense material like military guns & equipment.
  • This bill of entry is pink in colour.

How to file a Bill of Entry?

Usually, Customs Brokers also known as custom house agents (CHA) will file a bill of entry for you if you are an importer. However, it is important to know the process as it is one of the important documents without which your shipment wonโ€™t be cleared for import.

  • All custom brokers have package software installed at their offices like Visual Impex, Live Impex etc. in which they enter the details of the shipment that are mandated on bill of entry. For example, Importer details โ€“ address, name, gst number, IEC code; Shipment details โ€“ air, sea or rail shipment, airway bill or bill of lading details, IGM details, status of filing; Product details- Invoice number, quantity, value/price of the product, HSN codes, Duty structure, SVB details if applied, E-sanchit details etc.
  • Once all details are filled you get a complied list of all the details you have entered which is called as Checklist for Bill of entry. On this Checklist, you can check all your details as mentioned above if it is correct or not.
  • Important note: It is important to check the details on bill of entry checklist as when the bill of entry is filed and there is a mistake, then you will have to go for amendment for which fees starts from Rs.1000/- depending on the amendment you are willing to make. If the mistake is in the price/value/quantity then it might increase or decrease the duty applicable because of which customs might charge you with fine and penalty for misdeclaration.
  • Once checklist is okay, Custom broker or you will then sign the document digitally and upload this digitally signed bill of entry on www.icegate.gov.in
  • Once it is uploaded you will get the bill of entry number which indicates that you have filed the bill of entry.

Steps to upload Bill of entry on Icegate โ€“

  • Go to www.icegate.gov.in
  • Go to User Login/Signup
  • Enter your login credentials
  • Go to Filing services โ€“ File Upload โ€“ Choose file (select the digitally signed checklist) โ€“ click submit
  • Your bill of entry will be submitted on customs system

Steps to check the Bill of entry status uploaded on Icegate

  • To check the bill of entry number โ€“ go to Filing services โ€“ job status โ€“ Bill of entry โ€“ select location {example: SAHAR AIR CARGO ACC (INBOM4) [select port on which your shipment will be arriving]} โ€“ Click submit
  • You will see the status of your bill of entry filed and also the number in the last column.
  • If you have a negative acknowledgement written in the last column, check the erroe code and rectify the error and do the above process again.
  • Once rectified you will receive positive acknowledgement and the bill of entry number.
  • Note: It might take a few minutes for bill of entry number to be displayed. Time taken can be anytime between 10mins to 1hour or more.

We hope that you must have understood all the details on the BoE / Bill of Entry mentioned in this article. If you have any questions or want to know something else related to BoE or any other topic related to Import, Export, and Foreign Trade then please comment down below. We will surely answer your queries.


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