Compliance Information Portal (CIP)

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has introduced another facilitation tool for the trade, named "The Compliance Information Portal (CIP)." This new portal is a one-stop solution for Trade Compliance, and it provides information related to Laws, step-by-step Procedures, and Acts of Customs. The portal also provides information about the requirement of necessary permissions/clearances to be obtained from any Partner Government Agency (PGA) for importing and exporting commodities. The current article briefs the Compliance Information Portal in detail.

Features of Compliance Information Portal

The features of the Compliance Information Portal (CIP) are as follows:

Once the user login to Compliance Information Portal, the information can be obtained by entering either of the following
- Customs Tariff Heading
- Description of Commodity
This new portal covers three stages of Import and Export
- Prepare for Import and Export
- Pre-Import and Pre-Export
- Import and Export
Provides stage-wise detailed process flow chart for all export procedures for exporting any commodity covered under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975.
The process flow chart covers all basic steps required from preparing for import to Out of Charge from Customs at the Import stage.
The process flow chart covers all basic steps from preparing for export to Export General Manifest when the goods are exported.
The Process flow chart also provides information about the requirement of necessary permissions/clearances or requirements of Licenses/Permits/Certificates/Other Authorizations (LPCOs) to be obtained from any Partner Government Agency (PGA) for imports as well as exports.
The portal provides web links to all Partner Government Agencies whose intervention is required for importing or exporting a commodity at any stage.
The portal strives to provide every important detail of each step of the process flow chart to enable the trader to get all necessary information without physically interacting with the Partner Government Agencies. Such as :
- Step description
- Requirement description
- Laws/Regulations Governing the step
- Supporting documents required for the step
- Location and Telephone Numbers where the step is carried out

Procedure to Use the CIP Portal

The applicant can follow the below-mentioned steps to get the details of import/export from the CIP. The user needs access to the official website of the Compliance Information Portal (CIP). From the home page, select the user category (Importer/exporter/Custom Broker). By providing a captcha, a new page will be issued.

CBIC New Compliance Information Portal (CIP) - Homepage

Search for a Commodity

The user can search for a commodity based on the following two options:

If the Chapter Tariff Heading of a commodity is known, the user may enter the CTH
If the user does not know the CTH, the search can be done based on the description of the commodity

Once the user furnishes the CTH or the description of the commodity, the user will be routed to the page where the CTH and its description are available, and the user can now select the most relevant option by clicking on it.

CBIC New Compliance Information Portal (CIP) - HS Code

Import / Export Procedures

The following procedures are available in the compliance portal, the user can get the details of each process by clicking on it.

Import Procedures

Bill of Entry for Home Consumption Procedure for home consumption on payment of duty.
Bill of Entry for Home Consumption Utilizing Export Benefits Procedure for clearing goods where duty liability is discharged through export incentive scrips.
Bill of Entry for Home Consumption with Duty Deferment Procedure for home consumption where goods are cleared with deferred duty payment option.
Bill of Entry for Warehousing Procedure for warehousing goods after assessment for clearance at any subsequent date on payment of duty.
Ex-Bond Bill of Entry for Home Consumption Procedure for clearing warehoused goods for home consumption on payment of duty.
Ex-Bond Bill of Entry for Home Consumption Utilizing Export Benefits Procedure for clearing warehoused goods for home consumption where duty liability is discharged through export incentive scrips.

Export Procedures

Duty-Free Shipping Bill The procedure is meant for exporting goods that do not have export duty liability & without availing any export incentive.
Dutiable Shipping Bill The procedure is meant for exporting goods that have export duty liability & without availing any export incentive.
Shipping Bill Linked with Export Benefits The procedure is meant for exporting goods to avail of export incentives.
Shipping Bill under Duty Drawback The procedure is meant for exporting goods for availing Duty Drawback.
Duty-Free Shipping Bill with self-seal option The procedure is meant for exporting goods that do not have export duty liability & without availing any export incentive with a self-seal option.
Dutiable Shipping Bill with self-seal option The procedure is meant for exporting goods that have export duty liability & without availing any export incentive with a self-seal option.
Shipping Bill Linked with Export Benefits with self-seal option. The procedure is meant for exporting goods to avail export incentives with a self-seal option.
Shipping Bill under Duty Drawback with self-seal option The procedure is meant for exporting goods for availing Duty Drawback with a self-seal option.

Procedure for importing/exporting a commodity

On selecting the procedure, the user will be moved to the next page, which provides step-by-step information for importing/exporting a commodity. The steps have been divided into three following stages:

Prepare for Import/Export Stage - Steps required to start preparation for Import/ Export
Pre-Import/Export Stage - Once the steps at the preparation stage have been complied with, the user must comply with the steps provided in this stage.
Import/Export Stage - The user is ready to import/export the desired commodity once the two steps are complete. This stage provides steps to the user for completing the import/export of the commodity for which the information has been sought.

Note: At any given time, the user can check information for any other commodity based on CTH or its description from the Navigation Bar.