EXPORT AND IMPORT THROUGH POST, Customs Manual 2023
Indian Customs Manual 2023 explains about the guidelines to be followed when goods are parceled through post offices. Chapter 17 under Customs Manual 2023 updated till 31st December, 2022 elaborates about the Legal Provisions under Postal Imports and Exports, the details about Clearance of Letter Mail Articles, Importability of dutiable items through post, the process on Import of gifts through post, Import of samples through post, Import of Indian and Foreign Currencies by Post, Procedure in case of postal imports, Legal provisions and exemptions in case of postal exports, Procedure in case of postal exports , Procedure for claiming Drawback on exports through pos, Drawback in respect of goods re-exported through post, Export of postal goods under Reward Schemes under Foreign Trade Policy and Re-export of partial consignment not allowed.
Import and Export through Post
Legal Provisions
Clearance of Letter Mail Articles
Importability of dutiable items through post
Import of gifts through post
Import of samples through post
Import of Indian and Foreign Currencies by Post
Procedure in case of postal imports
Legal provisions and exemptions in case of postal exports
Procedure in case of postal exports
Procedure for claiming Drawback on exports through post
Drawback in respect of goods re-exported through post
Export of postal goods under Reward Schemes under Foreign Trade Policy
Re-export of partial consignment not allowed
The extract of Customs procedures and formalities explained in Indian Customs Manual published in 2023 updated till 31st December, 2022 is given below:
Chapter 17: Import and Export through Post
1. Introduction:
1.1 The facility for import and export of goods by Post Parcels is provided by the Postal Department
at is Foreign Post Offices and all the post offices. Customs facilities for examination, assessment,
clearances are available at these post Offices. However, parcels for export will be opened and
examined if required by the Customs at the jurisdictional Postal Department of the Zone as per
Notification No. 31/2017-Customs (N.T.) dated 31.03.2017.
2. Legal Provisions:
2.1 Goods exempted from prohibition under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act,
1992 can be imported through posts are to be classified under the respective Chapter Headings
of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and the applicable rate of duty is charged on all the goods imported
by post. Further, goods again any import licence or customs clearance permit can also be
imported through Post. All goods including alcoholic drinks imported through courier can also be
imported through posts excepting motor vehicles.
2.2 All goods imported or exported by posts are governed by Section 83 and 84 of the Customs Act
1962, excepting Postal Parcels and letter packets.
2.3 In respect of import any through post necessary bill of entry needs to be filed either by the importer,
postal authorities or the Customs Broker containing the details like description, quantity and value
of the goods alongwith the manifest. Further, in respect of exports the procedures stipulated in
Exports by Post Regulations 2018 issued vide Notification No. 48/2018-Customs (N.T.)
2.4 The relevant date for rate of duty and tariff value, if any, applicable in respect of imports through
post is the date on which the postal authorities file the relevant Bill of Entry to the Proper Officer
of Customs alongwith the list containing details of the goods for assessment.
2.5 If the post parcels come through a vessel and the said Bill of Entry is filed by the postal authorities
is before arrival of the vessel, the rate of duty and tariff value applicable shall be as on the date of
arrival of the vessel i.e. Entry Inward of the vessel.
2.6 In respect of export goods, the relevant date for rate of duty and tariff value, if any, applicable, is
the date on which the exporter delivers the goods to postal authorities for exportation and files the
documents prescribed under Notification. No. 48/2018-Customs (N.T.) dated 04.16.2018.
3. Clearance of Letter Mail Articles:
3.1 Letter Mail Articles are generally cleared by the Customs at the time of their presentation by
elimination through scanning unless they appear to contain contraband or dutiable articles. In such
cases, the Letter Mail is subjected to further examination at the Foreign Post Offices or subForeign Post Offices, as the case may be.
4. Importability of dutiable items through post:
4.1 Import of dutiable goods by letter, packet or parcel posts is permitted subject to filling of bill of
entry indicating that the letter/packet may be opened for Customs examination. Dutiable goods
may also be imported by post if Customs is satisfied that the details of nature, weight and value of
the contents in declaration as above are correctly stated.
[Notification No.78-Cus, dated 2-4-1938]
4.2 Items intended for personal use, which are exempt from the prohibitions under the FTP or the
Customs Act, 1962, can be imported by postal channel on payment of appropriate duties under
Tariff Heading 9804 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975.
4.3 Customs duty payable if less than Rs.1000/- is exempt.
[Refer Notification No. 21/02-Cus, dated 1-3-2002]
5. Import of gifts through post:
5.1 Bonafide gifts up to a value limit as prescribed by the Government of India when imported by post,
are exempt from Basic and Additional Customs duties. (Notification No.171/93-Cus, dated 16-9-
1993). Further, only those items can be imported as gifts, which are not prohibited for importation
under Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992.
5.2 The sender of the gift may not necessarily be residing in the country from where the goods have
been dispatched and any person abroad can send the gifts to relatives, business associates,
friends, companies and acquaintances. The gifts should be for bonafide personal use only. The
purpose of this stipulation is that the person receives the gift genuinely free and the payment is
not made for it through some other means. The quantity and frequency of the gifts should not give
rise to the belief that it is used as a route to transfer money. The gifts can be received by
individuals, societies, institutions, like schools and colleges and even corporate bodies.
5.3 For calculating the value limit prescribed the Government of India in case of imports of gifts, postal
charges or the airfreight is not taken into consideration. The value is taken as original value of the
goods in the country from where the goods have been dispatched.
5.4 If the value of the gifts received is more than the prescribed limit the receiver has to pay Customs
duty on the whole consignment, even if the goods were received free, unsolicited. In addition, at
the discretion of the Assistant/ Deputy Commissioner, if the goods are restricted for import, the
receiver has a liability for penalty for such import, even if the goods have been sent unsolicited.
The restricted goods are also liable to confiscation and receiver has to pay redemption fine in lieu
of confiscation in addition to duty and penalty. Certain prohibited goods like narcotic drugs, arms,
ammunition, obscene films/printed material etc. are liable to absolute confiscation and the receiver
is liable for penal action, even if the goods have been sent unsolicited.
5.5 Customs duty is chargeable on gifts assessed over the prescribed limit by the Customs. In case
of post parcel, the customs department shall assess the duty payable and the postal department
collects the assessed duty from the receiver of the gift and subsequently deposits it with the
customs.
6. Import of samples through post:
6.1 Bonafide commercial samples and prototypes imported by post are exempted from Customs duty,
subject to the value limit prescribed by the Government provided that the samples are supplied
free of cost.
6.2 Importers having IEC code number can import commercial samples through post without payment
of duty upto a value of Rs.100,000/- or 15 units in number within a period of 12 months. The goods
so imported shall be clearly marked as “Samples”. The importer is
required to furnish a declaration to the effect that the samples are solely for the purpose of being
shown to the exporters for securing or executing export orders. The importer is also required to
undertake that if declaration is found to be false, he will pay appropriate duty on the goods imported
as commercial samples. [Notification No.154/94 Cus”, dated 13-7-1994]
7. Import of Indian and Foreign Currencies by Post:
7.1 Under the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, no person may bring or send
into India any foreign exchange or Indian currency except with special or general permission of
the RBI. Import of Indian currency notes and coins by post is not permitted.
7.2 To reduce pendency and to avoid delay in clearance of mail articles, Customs may allow import
of both Indian and foreign currencies received by residents by post, provided the value does not
exceed Rs.5,000/-, subject to the following conditions:
(a) Approval is granted by Assistant/ Deputy Commissioner of Customs;
(b) A detailed record should be maintained of the exemptions granted;
(c) Record of the name and addresses of the remitter and addressee in India should be
maintained; and (d) Where a spurt is noticed in the number of covers received over a time,
the matter may be reported to the concerned Regional Office of RBI.
7.3 Parcels/packets containing foreign/Indian currency, etc., in excess of Rs.5,000/- shall be
Detained and adjudicated on merits and released on the basis of “No Objection Certificate” from
the RBI. [Refer Circular No.16/2002-Cus, dated 5-3-2002]
7.4 There is a general permission given to Authorised Dealers to import currency notes from their
overseas branches/correspondents for meeting their normal banking requirements. In view of this,
no specific clearance is required from RBI for such imports.
[Refer Circular No.60/02-Cus, dated 13-9-2002 read with Annexure V to RBl's AD (MA
Series) Circular No.11, dated 16-5-2000]
8. Procedure in case of postal imports:
8.1 Rules Regarding Postal Parcels and Letter Packets from Foreign Ports in/out of India prescribe
procedure for landing and clearing at notified ports/airports/ LCSs of parcels and packets
forwarded by foreign mails or passenger vessels or airliners. The procedure broadly is as under:
(a) The boxes or bags containing the parcels shall be labelled as “Postal Parcel”, “Parcel Post”,
“Parcel Mail”, “Letter Mail” and will be allowed to pass at specified the Foreign Parcel
Department of the Foreign Post Offices and Sub Foreign Post Offices.
(b) On receipt of the parcel mail, the Postmaster hands over to the Customs the following
documents:
(i) A memo showing the total number of parcels received from each country of origin;
(ii) Eliminate the parcels which are letters, documents in consultation with the Customs
Department.
(iii) File the Bills of entry in the prescribed forms along with the senders' declarations and
any other relevant documents that may be required for the examination, assessment
etc. by the Customs Department;
(iv) The relative Customs Declarations and dispatch notes (if any); and
(c) On receipt of the documents, the Customs Appraiser shall scrutinize the particulars given in
the memo and identify the parcels to be detained for examination either for want of
necessary particulars or defective description or suspected misdeclaration or undervaluation of contents. The remaining parcels are to be assessed for duty by scrutinising the
Bill of entry, as the case may be. For this purpose, the Appraisers are generally guided by
the particulars given in the Bill of entry or Customs declarations and dispatch notes (if any).
When any invoice, document or information is required to ascertain the real value, quantity
or description of the contents of a parcel, the addressee may be called upon by way of a
notice to produce or furnish such invoice, document and information.
(d) Whenever necessary, the values from the declarations are considered as per the Bill of entry
and after conversion into Indian Currency at the ruling rates of exchange, the amount of duty
is calculated and entered.
(e) Duty is calculated at the rate and valuation in force on the date that the postal authorities
present a list of such goods or date of filing the Bill of entry with the Customs. In case the
parcels are brought through a vessel and postal authorities present list of goods before
arrival of the vessel, the rate of duty and tariff value shall be the date on which Inward Entry
is granted to the vessel.
(f) All parcels marked for detention are to be detained by the Postmaster and the rest of the
parcels which have been eliminated by the Customs will go forward for delivery to the
addressee on payment of the duty marked on each parcel.
(g) The detained parcels are submitted together with the Bill of entry to the Customs and after
examining the details of contents of value in the Bills of entry Customs Appraiser clears the
bill.
(h) In the case of receipt of letter mail bags, the Postmaster gets the bags opened which is
scrutinized under the supervision of the Customs with a view to identify packets containing
dutiable articles. Those parcels containing non dutiable goods are eliminated and the
dutiable packets are to be detained and presented in due course to the Customs Appraiser
with a bill of entry for the purpose of assessment. The Customs Appraiser will assess the
amount of duty against each item.
(i) All parcels or packets required to be opened for Customs examination are opened, and after
examination, closed by the Post Office officials and are then sealed with a distinctive seal.
The parcels or packets shall remain throughout in the custody of the Post Office officials.
(The Rules and regulations prescribed under Not No. 26/2009- Cus (N.T.) for the handling
of goods in customs areas will be applicable to the postal department.
(j) If on examination the contents of any parcel or packet are found mis declared or the value
understated or consisting of prohibited goods, such parcels or packets must be detained.
The Postmaster shall follow the instructions stipulated in Notification No. 26/2009-Customs
(N.T.) dated 17.03.2019 and shall not allow such parcels or packets to go forward without
the Customs' orders. Adjudication proceedings shall be initiated in such cases by the
competent officer and the parcels released only after payment of fine and penalty, if any,
levied by the adjudicator.
(k) The duties as assessed by the Customs Appraiser in the Bill of entry shall be recovered by
the Post Office from the addressees at the time of delivery of the goods to the importers.
The credit for the total amount of duty certified by the Customs Appraiser at the end of each
bill is given by the Post Office to the Customs Department in accordance with the procedure
settled between the two Departments.
(l) The Bill of entries or the letter mail bills on which assessment is made remain in the custody
of the Post Office, but the duplicates copies are kept in the Customs Department for dealing
with claims for refunds, etc.
9. Legal provisions and exemptions in case of postal exports:
9.1 Goods which are not prohibited or restricted for export as per FTP can be exported by post through
any of the post offices and will be subjected to examination at the specified Foreign Post Offices
or Sub-Foreign Post Offices or Export Extension Counters. Drawback can also be availed for
export through post and also through other export promotion schemes like Advance Licence,
DFRC, EPCG etc. Commercial samples, prototypes of goods and free gifts may also be exported
by the post.
9.2 The rate of duty and tariff value, if any, applicable to any goods exported by post shall be the rate
and valuation in force on the date on which the exporter delivers such goods to the Postal
Authorities for exportation.
9.3 Bonafide commercial samples and prototype of goods supplied free of charge of a value not
exceeding Rs.50,000/- which are not subject to any prohibition or restriction for export under FTP
and which do not involve transfer of foreign exchange, may be exported through post.
9.4 Bonafide gifts of articles for personal use of a value not exceeding Rs.25,000/- which are not
subject to any prohibition or restriction on their export under FTP and which do not involve transfer
of foreign exchange, may be exported through post.
9.5 Export by post of Indian and foreign currency, bank drafts, cheques, National Saving Certificates
and such other negotiable instruments is not allowed unless accompanied by a valid permit issued
by the RBI, except in cases where such negotiable instruments are issued by an authorised dealer
in foreign exchange in India.
9.6 Indian currency notes of Rs.500/- and Rs.1000/- denominations are prohibited by Government of
Nepal. Therefore, the Indian currency notes of Rs.500/- and Rs.1000/ - denominations shall not
be allowed for export to Nepal.
9.7 Prohibitions/restrictions under the FTP and the Customs Act, 1962 apply on the export of various
articles by post. Some of these articles are viz. arms and ammunitions, explosives, inflammable
material, intoxicants, obscene literature, certain crude and dangerous drugs, antiquities, narcotic
drugs etc.
9.8 Export of purchases made by the foreign tourists is allowed through post subject to proof that the
payment has been made in foreign exchange.
10. Procedure in case of postal exports:
10.1 All goods exported by post are required to accompanied by the Declarations filed in the prescribed
form as stipulated under Notification No. 48/2018-Cus (N.T.) dated 04.06.2018.
10.2 In terms of the exports made under claim of benefit under Chapter 3 (Reward Scheme) of FTP,
the exporter shall file a Form prescribed under Notification No. 48/2018 Customs (N.T.) dated
04.06.2018.
10.3 All exports by post, where the value exceeding Rs.50/- and where payment has to be received,
must be declared on the exchange control form viz. P.P. form. When the postal article is covered
by a certificate issued by the RBI (with or without limit) or by an authorised dealer in foreign
exchange that the export does not involve any transaction in foreign exchange upto Rs. 500/-, the
declaration in a P.P. form is not necessary.
10.4 All the letters and parcels before being produced by the postal authorities to Customs officer in
the Foreign Post Office should ensure that that prohibited goods like narcotic drugs, foreign
exchange, currency etc. is not being sent through the parcel. The suspected parcels are to be
presented to the Customs department which can be detained and handed over to the postal
authorities for action as stipulated in Not No. 26/2009-Cus (N.T.) dated 17.03.2009.
10.5 The detained parcels are opened by Customs officer in presence of the postal authorities and if
same do not contain any prohibited or restricted goods and there is no misdeclaration of value the
parcels are re-packed and handed over to postal authorities for export.
10.6 If the detained parcels contain restricted or prohibited goods or mis-declared goods with intention
to avail inadmissible export benefits, the case is investigated and adjudication proceedings are
initiated.
11. Procedure for claiming Drawback on exports through post:
11.1 The exporters claiming any export benefits for the goods exported through post as prescribed in
the Rules shall label the outer packing of the consignment and the exporter shall deliver to postal
authorities a claim in the prescribed Annexure. The date of receipt of claim by proper officer of
Customs shall be the relevant date for filing of claim under the Customs Act, 1962.
11.2 In case the claim is incomplete, a deficiency memo shall be issued within 15 days and if exporter
complies within 30 days, an acknowledgement shall be issued. The date of issue of
acknowledgement shall be taken as date of filing the claim for the purpose under the Customs
Act, 1962.
11.3 Drawback on exports through post is sanctioned by the respective Foreign Post Office.
12. Drawback in respect of goods re-exported through post:
12.1 The goods imported on payment of duty may also be re-exported through post and applicable rate
of Drawback under Section 74 of the Customs Act, 1962 claimed. The Drawback of the duty paid
at the time of import is permissible subject to the fulfilment of the conditions of Section 74 of the
Customs Act, 1962 and Re-export of Imported Goods (Drawback of Customs Duties) Rules, 1995.
The Proper Officer of Customs at Foreign Post Office shall be satisfied about the identity of the
goods being re-exported and if the same cannot be established, no Drawback would be payable.
12.2 The procedure to be followed for claim of Drawback on goods re-exported through post, which is
paid by the Customs Officer in the FPO, is as follows:
(i) Rule 3 of Re-export of Imported Goods (Drawback of Customs Duties) Rules, 1995 requires
the outer packing of the parcel to carry the words “Drawback Export” and exporter shall give
a claim as per Annexure I to said Rules in quadruplicate to the Postal authorities. The date
of receipt of aforesaid Annexure I by Customs from Postal authorities shall be the date of
receipt of the claim for the purposes of Section 74 of the Customs Act, 1962 and exporter
shall be informed.
(ii) If claim is incomplete, a deficiency memo shall be issued within 15 days and if claim is again
filed by exporter after complying with the deficiencies within 30 days, the receipt shall be
acknowledged and this date shall be treated as date of filing the claim for the purposes of
Section 74 of the Customs Act, 1962
13. Export of postal goods under Reward Schemes under Foreign Trade Policy
13.1 Notification Nos. 92/2209, 93/2009, 94/2009 and 95/2009-Cus., all dated 11-9-2009 allow
export of goods by post under claim of benefits under Chapter 3 (reward schemes) of the FTP
from the Foreign Post Offices nominated under Not No. 31/2017 (Cus) (N.T.). The procedure
for availing this benefit is contained in Public Notice No. 13/2013 dated 13- 8-2013 issued by
the Commissioner of Customs (Exports), New Delhi.
[Refer Circular No 29/2013-Cus., dated 5-8-2013]
14. Re-export of partial consignment not allowed:
14.1 If the addressee takes delivery of parcels on payment of duty and then wishes to return to the
sender, they can do so only under claim for Drawback after observing the prescribed
procedure.
14.2 Permitting an addressee to open a parcel and take the delivery of part contents on payment
of duty and repack the balance of the contents for re-export without payment of duty thereon
is not authorised and is irregular.