Customs house agent

In India, a customs house agent (CHA) is licensed to act as an agent for transaction of any business relating to the entry or departure of conveyances or the import or export of goods at a customs station. CHAs maintain detailed, itemized and up-to-date accounts. A CHA license may be temporary or permanent.
Qualifications.
An applicant should: 
An applicant needs to possess a pass in Form G for only one year with written authorization from the Commissioner.
Multimodal transport operators as CHAs.
Multimodal transport operators (MTOs) are appointed under the Multimodal Goods Transportation Act, 1993 by the Ministry of Surface Transport. Their work involves carrying goods by more than one mode of transport between India and abroad. This does not confer a right on them to obtain an appointment as steamer agents or CHAs unless they are otherwise qualified for the appointment.
Licence types.
Temporary.
After accepting an application, a one-year temporary licence is granted under Regulation 8 in Form B. Before receiving a temporary (or regular) licence, the applicant must execute a bond on Forms D and E. For major ports, the surety amount is Rs.25000/; for other ports, Rs.10000/. Surety may also be given in the form of National Savings Certificates or postal security, which should be pledged in the name of the Commissioner. Since a regular licence-holder is allowed to work in more than one Customs station, separate bond and surety must be posted for each customs station.
Regular.
An application for regular licence may be made on Form C by a person who has passed the examinations. Forms A and C are nearly identical, except that while the former is issued under Regulation 5, the latter form is issued under Regulation 10. A regular licence is requested on Form D. The applicant must satisfy the following conditions:
A regular licence is nontransferable, and its term is ten years.
Disqualifications.
Regulation 10(1) specifies that only a person who qualifies in the examination can apply for a regular licence. Sub-regulation 3 provides that the Commissioner may reject the application of a person who fails the examination. If performance criteria are not satisfied regarding quantity and value of clearances or conduct, the application may be rejected. An appeal may be made of an order of rejection within 30 days to the Chief Commissioner, who is also empowered to review regular licence grants within one year.16915032
These Customs House Agents act on behalf of you with customs officials to undergo necessary export and import clearance procedures and formalities. In an export, a customs broker delivers documents to exporter after completing necessary export formalities with customs. In an import trade, goods are delivered to importer by customs broker after completing necessary import customs clearance procedures and formalities with custom department.
Record-keeping.
Accounts should reflect all financial transactions entered into as a CHA. A copy of all documents filed (such as shipping bills, bills of entry and transshipment applications) must be maintained for at least five years and should be available for inspection by departmental officers.
Duties.
Record-keeping: A CHA should not attempt to gather information from government records if they are not provided by the appropriate officer. Access to records should not be denied, removed or concealed when sought by the Commissioner. Records and accounts must be maintained as directed by the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner, and available for inspection. All documents must be prepared in accordance with rules and orders.
If the licence granted to a CHA is lost, the loss should be promptly reported to the Commissioner. If there is failure in compliance with obligations under Regulation 14, the Commissioner may prohibit a person from acting as a CHA.
Handling changes.
Any change in partners or directors should be referred to the Commissioner. If there is a change in the constitution of the firm or company, an application for temporary and regular licences should be made within 30 days of the change. If there are no adverse findings against the firm or company, the Commissioner will grant a licence in the previous category held by the firm or company. In the meantime, the firm may continue as a CHA with application to the Commissioner.
If the CHA is not a firm or company, the Commissioner will grant permission to continue as a CHA if there is any change in the constitution of the concern. If the change is due to the death of a licensed CHA, his legal heir (assisting him in his work as CHA under Regulation 20) may be granted a licence subject to no adverse findings and passage of the examination. Changes in the qualified person acting on behalf of the firm or company should be immediately provided to the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner.
Information technology.
The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has developed basic software to create and file shipping bills (Customs documents) on the Indian Customs website. The software is free to download with IceGate (Indian Customs) registration.
References.
 