Customs - CBIC has issued Instruction dated 17 August 2022 for applying the Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) (“CAROTAR”) maintaining consistency with the provisions of relevant trade agreement or its Rules of Origin [Instruction attached]
Admin
20-Aug-2022 11:08:06
Instruction No. 19/2022 - Customs dated 17 August 2022
Subsequent to the insertion of Section 28DA in the Customs Act, 1962 on March 27, 2020, the CBIC Notification No. 81/2020-Customs (NT) dated August 21, 2020. Notified the Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020.
The operational certification procedures related to the implementation of Rules of Origin (pertaining to each trade agreement – FTA/ PTA/ CECA/ CECA/ CECPA), stand separately notified under Section 5 of Customs Tariff Act, 1975.
For uniform and judicious application of provisions, the Board has previously issued Circular No. 38/2020-Customs dated August 21, 2020, Instruction No. 20/2020-Customs dated December 17, 2020 & No.18/2021-Customs dated August 17, 2021, and letter F.No.15021/18/2020 (ICD) dated November 11, 2020.
It is emphasized that its sub-section (3) of section 28DA empowers the proper officer to ask the importer to furnish further information, consistent with the trade agreement, in case the proper officer has reasons to believe that the country-of-origin criteria have not been met. Similarly, its sub-section (4) enables the proper officer, where the importer fails to provide the requisite information for any reason, to cause further verification consistent with the trade agreement. Moreover, in the Rules, the rule 8 (3) states – “In the event of a conflict between a provision of these rules and a provision of the Rules of Origin, the provision of the Rules of Origin shall prevail to the extent of the conflict.”
Hence, the Officers under charge are directed to be sensitive to applying CAROTAR maintaining consistency with the provisions of relevant trade agreement or its Rules of Origin.
