DHL Express India Pvt Ltd has ‘temporarily suspended’ import shipments from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau for the next 10 days due to recent delays in their customs clearance.
“DHL Express India confirms it is temporarily suspending pick up of import shipments from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau due to recent delays in Customs clearance of shipments into India. We are in close contact with our customers to keep them abreast of the developments,” a statement from DHL Express said.
Since Tuesday, stakeholders in India’s export-import (EXIM) business have been grappling with an ‘internal, oral instruction’ from the Customs to all custodians of cargo, including port terminals, container freight stations (CFS) and airports to hold all containers that have originated from China until they are re-examined and cleared by the Customs.
DHL said severe lag in customs clearance for shipments originating from China, Hong Kong and Macao across all major ports in India has led to uncontrollable queuing, congestion and delays of shipments.
Currently, 70 per cent of total imports pass through the green channel once the bill of entry is filed. This happens online with little or no difficulty; only 30 per cent is examined.
Reportedly, there is a ‘100 percent’ physical check of imports in wake of the recent border clash.
Physical examination includes matching the description to the bill of entry, whether the goods are correctly valued — as these could be undervalued — and whether they are eligible for exemption of duty.
