Export Procedure and the Documents required in India

Import and export are the forms of trade. These are one of the most opted ways of carrying business by the entrepreneurs on an international level. The traders who wish to start trading either in the form of export or import need to follow the prescribed procedures and have certain documents. In this blog we are going to discuss the export procedure in detail;

What is the Difference Between Import and Export Procedure?

In foreign trade, one needs to follow the prescribed import and export procedure. Let’s discuss the significant difference between these two;

• Export

Export or exporting means selling of goods and services outside the boundaries of a country. Therefore, selling of products or services outside one country to the other is called an export.

• Import

Import or importing means purchase of goods or services from outside the boundaries of a country. Consequently, when products or services are purchased from another country by the native country is called an import. There are two segments of Import: Direct & Indirect.

Export Procedure to be followed by the Exporters

Here are the following steps which need to be followed to carry export procedure:

• The exporter or the exporting firm needs to have a fair permit before starting export trade.
• To carry out production, the exporter needs to contact his banker after receiving the export license.
• The potential buyers request for the inquiry of the data related to cost, standards and terms and conditions for the transportation of the merchandise. Exporter will quote a Performa Invoice to answer the inquired data.
• The exporter needs to report a pre-shipment examination report along with other documents to ensure the export goods are the best quality products according to specific Indian laws.
• The exporter has to pay the excise duty on the materials used for merchandise creation according to the Central Excise Tariff Act.
• Moreover, the exporters receive a guarantee from the insurance agency in the case of ocean travel.
• The merchandise has to be cleared by the buyer before stacking it on the ship, for this, the exporter submits five copies of the bill he created along with:-
  • Export order
  • Commercial invoice
  • Certificate of origin
  • Letter of credit
  • Certificate of inspection(where needed)
  • Marine insurance policy.
• After the stacking of merchandise on the ship, the captain issues a mate’s receipt containing data about the vessel, bill of merchandise, and date of shipment.
• For analyzing of cargo, the clearing and forwarding specialist (C & F Operator) turns over the mate’s receipt to the transportation organization. The transportation organization issues a bill of lading after accepting the cargo.
• The exporter then issues a receipt of the outgoing merchandise to be paid by the buyer, and the customs confirm these processes.
• The buyer needs certain documents received by the exporter to get the products cleared from the customs like an attested duplicate of the receipt, bill of packing landing bills, insurance arrangement, certificate of origin and a letter of credit.

What are the Documents Required for Export procedure?

There are a particular set of documents required by the exporter to start exporting. Let’s discuss it in detail one by one;

Goods related Documents

• Seller’s Bill: A Seller’s bill contains data related to the products like the number of packages, amount, blemishes on packing, name of the ship, port of destination, terms of delivery to name a few.
• Certificate of Inspection: Organizations like Inspection Board of India etc. approve this document and ensures that export goods are the best quality products.
• Packing List: This document shows the number of packages, detail of the contents of the boxes and their conditions.
• Testament of Origin: This authentication depicts the production country of the goods. Also, this document helps the buyer to avail individual taxes and exemptions.

Shipment related Documents

• Transportation Bill: this document contains data like the recipient’s name, name of the vessel, exporter’s name and address, etc.
• Mate’s Receipt: this document is issued by the captain, containing data about the vessel, bill of merchandise, date of shipment, after stacking the merchandise has on the ship.
• Bill of Lading: To acknowledge the products delivered, the shipping organization issues this document as proof.
• Airway Bill: This document is similar to the shipping bill issued by the airline company containing the information of the products.
• Cart Ticket: The document obtained by the exporter also known as gate pass or cart chit, and contains information like the number of items, shipping charge number, destination port etc.
• Marine Insurance Policy: This document is an agreement between the exporter and the insurance company to avail any loss experienced by the exporter due to any mishap that happened during the transportation of the shipment.

Payment related Documents

• Letter of Credit: The proof issued by the buyer’s bank in the form of a letter to respect the bills of the bank of the exporter.
• Bill of Exchange: This document is a kind of credit instrument between the importer and exporter.
• Bank Certificate of Payment: The importer pays the exporter. As a proof, the bank issues this certificate.

Conclusion

Exporting and importing are very preferred means of trading opted by business entities. Exporting is selling goods and services outside the boundaries of a country and importing is purchasing of goods and services from other countries. Exporting is carried on following specific procedures. Also for shipping, the exporters need to have some documents. The examples of required documents by the exporters are import export code, seller bill, packing list, airway bill, cart ticket, and letter of credit etc.

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