MOC warns importers of facing legal action for non-compliance

The Trade Department under the Ministry of Commerce notified on 29 December the importers of liability for non-compliance when they are found to bring in the goods before seeking an import licence.
The Trade Department released Notification 50/2020 stating that all import items except goods stored in customs warehouses that need import licences were not allowed to arrive at the Port before being permitted to comply with the customs regulation.
Additionally, importers were notified of facing legal actions in line with the Export and Import Law if early arrival of the goods without import licence or permit of the departments concerned was found, as per Notification 6/2022.
Nonetheless, before applying for an import licence, customs warehousing will be allowed for 14 import items, according to the bulletin 16/2023 of the Department of Trade.
To expedite the import and storage of goods required for domestic production, the Trade Department notified that the following commodities can be stored in a customs warehouse before applying for import licences, as per customs procedures starting from the issuing date of this bulletin. They are pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical aids, agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizer and pesticides), veterinary medicine, lubricants and other industrial oils, packaging materials, electric vehicles, accessories and spare parts of electric vehicle batteries as per paragraph 1 (I) of Notification 31/2023 issued by the Ministry of Planning and Finance, raw materials for livestock, raw materials of pharmaceutical and raw materials of traditional medicine, industrial raw materials, raw chemicals, raw food materials (raw materials imported from external market as domestic production of raw materials is not sufficient for food production businesses), raw materials used in the enterprises on a Cutting-Making and Packaging basis, machine and machinery needed for domestic industrial production. — NN/EM