Commonly Used Terms

A Bill of Entry (BE) is a legal document that is filed by customs clearance agents or importers on or before the arrival of the imported goods. It is submitted to the Customs department as a part of the customs clearance procedure. Once this is completed, the importer will be able to claim input tax credit (ITC) on the goods. The bill of entry can be issued for either home consumption or bond clearance. When it is issued for bond clearance, the bond number and date of issuance need to be included.

Contents of a Bill of Entry

The contents of a Bill of Entry are mentioned below:

1. Name and address of the importer.
2. Code of customs house agent (CHA)
3. Country of origin and its code
4. Importer exporter code (IEC)
5. Country of assigment and it's code
6. Port of shipment
7. Name of the vessel

Types of Bill of Entry

The customs office divides a Bill of Entry into three categories based on the use and nature of the imported goods:

1. Bill of entry for domestic consumption: This is for goods that the importer will purchase for personal use or for use in certain commercial operations.

2. Bond bill of entry: This sort of bill of entry is used when the importer is unwilling to pay import duties at the time of import. It is also known as a Bill of Entry for Warehousing. In this situation, the importer may keep the products in a special warehouse until the Customs agency has received payment in full.

3. Bill of entry for ex-bond goods: A BoE for ex-bond goods is issued when the importer needs to release goods from the warehouse and overrides the BoE for Warehousing.