It replaces self-sealing done by exporters now
E-sealing of goods is mandatory for exports through three ports in the State from March 1 and exporters need to register to get the e-seals, according to Ashok, Commissioner of Customs, Tiruchi. Mr. Ashok was in the city on Tuesday to take part in a meeting organised by Federation of Indian Export Organisation on e-sealing. He told The Hindu that e-sealing will replace self-sealing done by exporters now. In e-sealing, the seals cannot be tampered. Exporters need to register on the portal and they can also track the movement of the goods. According to K. Ramesh, Assistant Commissioner – Customs (Cuddalore), who also spoke at the meeting here, e-sealing is mandatory from March 1 for exporters using the Inland Container Depot-Tirupur, and the Chennai and Thoothukudi ports. For the other ports, it is mandatory from April 1. Both, manufacturer exporters and merchandise exporters, are covered under this and the seals are available with Government-identified agencies. All exporters who have applied for the e-sealing have been registered in the portal so far.
Earlier, Mr. Ashok said at the meeting that since Coimbatore is part of the Tiruchi Customs from January 15, exporters or importers who have any problem can write to him with all the details. From the department side, “We are trying to re-engineer business processes such as making reporting easy and controlling costs for the industry,” he said. A. Sakthivel, regional chairman of FIEO – south, said one of the issues that continues to be a matter of concern to the exporters is the delay in getting refunds from the Customs. The department has also acknowledged that there are delays in IGST refunds due to several reasons. The department should permit manual clearing of errors like invoice number in shipping bills, mismatch in amount as in the shipping bill.

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