Changes to Indian Sea Cargo Manifest Regulations

Please be advised that effective 01 August 2019, The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs in India have issued a change to the regulations for filing Sea Cargo Manifest for all cargo arriving on vessels into India and departing on vessels from India.

It is now compulsory for all shipping lines and the importer/exporter to adhere to the defined timelines for manifest filing of all cargo on a vessel to/from an Indian port.

The rule is applicable for all cargo transhipping, discharging and going via (FROB – Freight Remain on Board) an Indian port.

Departure Manifest:  Export manifest is now required to be submitted to customs prior to the departure/sailing of the vessel from any Port of Loading in India.

Arrival Manifest:   Import Manifest is now required to be submitted to India customs prior to the departure of the vessel from the last foreign port.

To adhere to these new timelines, we will now need

• your shipper’s instruction to be submitted before theses deadlines
• your shipper’s instructions to include the following mandatory details.

1. HS code: 6 Digit HS (Harmonized) code,
2. IEC code (Import Export Code) of Consignee,
3. PAN Numberof notify party (If notify party is from India)

All information (including HBL details) needs to be submitted within these new deadlines. All amendments will also need to be done before these deadlines.

Non-compliance to the above requirements may lead to cargo not being loaded or issuance of original Bill of lading may be held back.

We thank you for your support. We will keep you informed of any further development.

Should you have any questions or require any assistance regarding this new regulation, please do not hesitate to contact your local Maersk representative.