Regulatory

Documents

Pre-Shipment Export Documentation

What are they?

Prescribed by different Government Departments/ Boards for compliance of

formalities under different relevant laws.

Regulatory documents satisfy the statutory requirements of both the
importing and the exporting countries. These documents are related to
government authorities like Directorate General of Foreign Trade, the RBI,
customs and central excise authorities, etc.

Generally there are 9 regulatory documents in use for the pre-shipment stage
of an export transaction:

Central Excise Invoice - Central Excise Authorities

ARE - Central Excise Authorities
Shipping Bill/Bill of Export - Customs Authorities
Export Application - Trust
Receipt for payment of Ports Charges - Port Trust
Vehicle Ticket - Port Trust
Exchange Control Declaration / GR Form/ PP Form - RBI
Freight Payment Certificate - From Steamer Agents
Insurance Premium payment Certificate - From Insurance Co.

Out of these, 3 documents viz. Shipping Bill/Bill of Export,

Exchange Control Declaration (GR Form) and Export
Application have been aligned and standardized. Besides,
"Receipt for Payment of Port Charges" has been incorporated
in the Export Application / Dock challan / Port Trust copy of
Shipping Bill.

Various forms used for foreign exchange declaration

5

GR Form:

Guaranteed

remittance (GR)
forms are for all types of
exports, including software
exports in physical form by
using magnetic tapes or
paper.

SDF form:

For all such exports where the

customs authority has the
facility for EDI (Electronic Data
Interchange) processing of a
shipping bill, and is attached
with a duplicate of the shipping
bill.

PP Form:

Postal

Parcel (PP) forms are

for all the exports by post.

SOFTEX form:

Software

export declaration
forms (SOFTEX) for software
exports in non physical
form,
such
as
data
transmission
through
satellite link.
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Bill of entry:

Bill of entry (for home consumption): It

is used to get goods cleared in one lot
by the importer.

Bill of entry (for warehousing): Using

into bond bill of entry, an importer
can get goods shifted to a warehouse
and get them cleared in small slots.

Ex-Bond bill of entry : For removing

goods from a warehouse, an importer
has to use ex-bond bill of entry.

Shipping Bill/ Bill of Export:

Shipping bill is the main

document required by the
customs
authorities.
The
shipping bill mentions the
description of goods, marks,
port
of
landing,
port
of
discharge, etc.

Documents for central excise

clearance
ARE 1 (Application for
removal of Excisable
Goods 1)

Invoice:

It is issued by the manufacturer in a

set of three copies.

The original copy is for buyer, the

duplicate for the transporter, and the
triplicate for the assessee.

ARE 2 (Application for

removal of Excisable
Goods 2)

This document is used for the refund

of excise duty paid on the finished
good as well as the production inputs
used in the manufacture of final
products.

This document is in the form of an

application to the Excise Superintendent,
made by the exporter at the time of
removal of goods. The exporter has to
submit the ARE - 1 form 24 hours in
advance from the time of removal of
goods.

Once the goods are handed over to the

carrier, the ARE-1 form is endorsed by
the customs and it becomes the proof of
exports.

Documents for central excise

clearance
Personal Ledger account
CT-1:

(PLA):

When the goods are removed after the

payment of duty, a personal ledger account
has to be maintained by the exporter.

The estimated amount of excise duty to be

paid by the exporter is deposited to the
nationalized bank or treasury.

The amount deposited in the bank is shown

as a credit entry in the PLA. At the time of
removal of consignment, the amount of
duty levied is shown as debit entry. An
equivalent amount is again re-credited
after the proof of export has been received.

Thus, debit and credit entries

continuously maintained in the PLA.

This document is used for the

procurement of excisable goods
without the payment of excise duty
for exports.

It gives details such as description,

quantity, value and excise duty
payable on the goods to be removed
duty free on the basis of information
furnished by the exporter.

are

The declaration forms should explicitly contain the following details:

Analysis of the full export value of goods shipped, including the freight, insurance, etc.
Clear indication whether the export is on outright sales basis or consignment basis.
Name and address of the dealer through which export proceeds have been realized or would
10
be realized.
Details of commission or discount due to foreign agent or buyer.

Presented by- Krishna Jaiswal

- Kumar Prins
- Lalji Yadav
- Madhu Kumari
- Mohd. Umar Usmani
- Mohini Mittal