Business news : India Goes electronic clearance for express shipments.

Indian customs authorities pass electronic clearance for express shipments. From December 2013 , all commercial shipments must meet certain requirements regardless of their intrinsic value :

Indication of IEC Code ( Importer Exporter id ) of the recipient in India for all commercial shipments . Before shipping and to avoid delays in customs, the sender must ensure that the recipient in India has received a IEC Code from the competent authority. The address on the shipping invoice must match the address on the document IEC delivered to the recipient in India.

Non-objection certificate ( NOC ) for products such as pharmaceuticals , medicines, chemicals, raw leather, food products, wood products, textiles and fabrics, and electronics. The NOC certificate for this type of shipment will be issued by the competent authority after testing a sample. Consequently, the clearance is likely to be delayed. The shipping will be cleared only if the sample is prescribed parameters . The NOC for shipments of textile and fabrics can be obtained by the sender directly by an accredited inspection body.

To avoid any delay in customs for electronic items , the recipient in India may have:

a certificate of registration issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards
a self- declaration in accordance with Indian standards ( Indian Standards IS ) to send to the recipient before the shipment arrives .

Source Fedex