Time Release Studies (TRS) 2018, just completed by an internal team of JNCH, was unveiled today by Ms Vanaja N. Sarna, Chairman, CBEC at a function at Nhava Sheva. Annual Time Release Studies (TRS) for year 2018 were conducted by Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House (JNCH), under directions and guidance from Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).
These studies assess the impact of measures introduced from time to time. Reduction in the transactions cost and time of moving goods across the border has been key areas in the Government’s initiative on the Ease of Doing Business. Based on guidelines laid down by the World Customs Organization, these studies measure the average time taken for the release of cargo from the time of arrival of goods (represented by the entry inwards of a vessel) till the time of an “out of charge” order by Customs and help monitor the trend in its behavior over a period of time.
The study has used data pertaining to 14,757 bills of entry (we had started with 14973 but excluded 216 bills of entry) filed between 1-7 January 2018 whose movement was tracked for one month. The study shows that the overall average release time for imports has improved significantly from 181.34 hours in January 2017 to 144.18 hours this year with about two-third of the consignments being released in less than this time.
As many as 29% of the consignments were cleared within the target of 72 hours set for sea cargo under the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan.For the first time, the study has sliced time release data across several dimensions such as the category of importer – whether an Authorized Economic Operator or not; the mode of delivery i.e. Direct Port Delivery and delivery from a Container Freight Station; facilitated vs. non-facilitated Bill of entry; advance filed bills of entry vs. those filed after the arrival of goods and finally those requiring intervention by Participating Government Agencies such as FSSAI, Drug Controller, Textiles Committee and those not subjected to such intervention.
Generally speaking, the study concluded that release time decreased progressively with the adoption of each successive measure targeted at reduction of release time by an importer or consignment. Thus, the sharpest decline was observed in cases where the importer holding AEO status filed a bill of entry in advance, the bill of entry was facilitated and the importer took direct port delivery of the consignment. In a side study of auto-components imported from South Korea, the study clocked an average release time of only 58 hours for consignments fulfilling these criteria. This finding strongly vindicates the policy measures introduced by the Government to prune the release time of import cargo. Barring the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau the release time in cases requiring intervention by any of the six Participating Government Agencies in the Single Window project was found to be higher than the overall average of 144 hours.
In a first, TRS 2018 also looked at the release time of export cargo and found the average (excluding domestic transport time) to be 84 hours.
Apart from reflecting on the time-efficiency of operations of all the agencies and stakeholders involved in the clearance of import and export cargo at the border, TRS 2018 arouses wide interest in the context of the ‘Ease of Doing Business Survey and Trading Across Borders’ ranking assigned by the World Bank. While the report shows a very sharp improvement over the data released after the ‘Trading Across Borders survey of 2017’ for imports, the average release time for exports matches the results of that survey quite closely. The findings of the World Bank survey which is perception based are expected to converge with TRS results which are based on data collated from the computer systems of customs, port terminals, PGAs etc over a period of time as trade facilitation reforms acquire wider coverage and depth.
The study has also assessed the impact of certain statutory and administrative changes on nudge the trade towards prompt filing of bills of entry and thereafter payment of duty.
One of the positive side effects of TRS 2018 has been better ownership of trade facilitation measures and the importance of time sensitivity internally within the Customs formations and other stakeholders.
Source:-Indian Express
