In the year 2015, the World Bank ranked India at 123 in the ‘Trading across Borders” component of “Ease of Doing Business”, out of 189 countries. In view of facilitating ease of doing business in our country, the Government of India simplified the mandatory documents for exports and imports. The DGFT’s Notification dated 12-3-2015, made only three documents would be mandatory documents for ‘Trading across Borders.
The ranking methodology adopted by the World Bank for ‘Trading across Border’ takes into account the number of mandatory documents required for export and import and the time and cost of exporting/importing a container out of/into the country. World Bank’s 2015 Report listed 7 and 10 mandatory documents respectively for export and import from/to India.
MANDATORY DOCUMENTS LISTED BY WORLD BANK IN DOING BUSINESS REPORT 2015
| Sr No | Export | Import |
| 1 | Shipping Bill | Bill of Entry |
| 2 | Commercial Invoice | Commercial Invoice |
| 3 | Packing List | Packing List |
| 4 | Bill of Lading | Bill of Lading |
| 5 | Foreign Exchange Control Form (SDF) | Foreign Exchange Control Form (Form A-1) |
| 6 | Terminal Handling Receipt | Terminal Handling Receipt |
| 7 | Technical Standard Certificate | Certified Engineer’s Report |
| 8 | Cargo Release Order | |
| 9 | Product Manual | |
| 10 | Inspection report |
DGFT’s issued a Notification dated March 12, 2015, which simplified the number of mandatory documents required for export and import and the time and cost of exporting/importing a container out of/into the country. World Bank’s 2015 Report listed 7 and 10 mandatory documents respectively for export and import from/to India. Accordingly, only three documents each would be mandatory for export and import as two documents (Packing List and Commercial Invoice) required by Customs have been merged into one document, whereas one document required by RBI (Foreign Exchange Control Forms – SDF for exports and A-1 for imports) and one document required by Ministry of Shipping (Terminal Handling Receipt) earlier have now been dispensed with. ‘Cargo Release Order’ is not a mandatory document required by any regulatory agency, but is a commercial document issued by the Shipping line to the concerned importer. As regards, the ‘Technical Standard Certificate’/ ‘Certified Engineer’s Report’, ‘Product manual’, and ‘Inspection report’, these documents are required in specific cases/products/tariff lines only and are not mandatory for all products.
MANDATORY DOCUMENTS IN INDIA FOR EXPORT & IMPORT
| Sr.No | Export | Import |
| 1 | Bill of Lading/ Airway Bill | Bill of Lading/ Airway Bill |
| 2 | Commercial Invoice cum Packing List | Commercial Invoice cum Packing List |
| 3 | Shipping Bill/ Bill of Export | Bill of Entry |
The reduction in the number of mandatory documents would also lead to a corresponding reduction in Transaction cost and time. It is expected that this step would not only facilitate the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in respect of ‘Trading across Borders’ but also improve India’s ranking on this parameter.
