1 minute read
E-facility for Customs payment normalising fast : CBIC
NEW DELHI: About 20 days after its launch, the Electronic Cash Ledger (ECL) for payment of custom duty is now normalising although several exporters and importers continued to complain of problems, said the Central Board of Indirect TaxesandCustoms.
“We are happy to announce that ECLismovingtowardsnormalcyand is receiving more acceptance among users,” the CBIC said, adding that users made customs duty payments ofRs.1,200crorerecently.
Advertisement
Further,18,064e-walletshavebeen activated since the launch of ECL on April 1 and on April 20, 27.78% of challanpaymentsweremadethrough ECL rather than netbanking or NEFT/RTGS,theCBICsaid.
“Wehaveobserveda99.9%success vis-a-vis other modes (netbanking or NEFT/RTGS) on Thursday,” it further said, adding that only 203 wallets continuetobeblockedtodayduetothe ongoing reconciliation exercise but willbeunblockedsoon.
The CBIC is expected to launch the second phase of the facility from May1underwhichpaymentsrelating to courier shipments would be required to be done through ECL. It would also develop other payment functionalities such as auto-debit of self-assessed amount from the ECL whentheliabilitybecomesdue.
LaunchedonApril1,theECLisan automated payment system under which users can maintain non interest bearing deposit for payment of taxes. However, many users also took to social media and complained that the money in their ECL wallet is stuck and the ledger is blocked or the paymentisnotbeingreflected.
“ByandlargetheECLsystemhas stabilised but there continue to be occasional hiccups. These cases should be looked into before the government takes a call on levying of interest,” said Ajai Sahai, DG and CEO, Federation of Indian Export Organisations.
As an interim measure to help traders, the CBIC had previously waived interest on the payment of customs duty through the ECL and subsequently said that this dispensationwouldcontinueforthree days until the system stabilises. Industry is now waiting to see when this dispensation would be continued and is hopeful that the CBIC would wait for some more time before withdrawingit.
