7. Amendment of Bill of Entry:
7.1 Whenever mistakes are noticed after submission of documents, amendments to the
Bill of Entry is carried out with the approval of Deputy/Assistant Commissioner. The
request for amendment may be submitted with the supporting documents. For example,
if the amendment of container number is required, a letter from shipping agent is
required. On sufficient proof being shown to the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner
amendment in Bill of Entry may be permitted after the goods have been given out of
charge i.e. goods have been cleared.
8. Prior Entry for Bill of Entry:
8.1 For faster clearance of the goods, Section 46 of the Customs Act, 1962 allows filing of
Bill of Entry prior to arrival of goods. This Bill of Entry is valid if vessel/aircraft carrying
the goods arrives within 30 days from the date of presentation of Bill of Entry. This Bill
of Entry has 5 copies, the fifth copy being called Advance Noting copy. The importer
must declare that the vessel/aircraft is due within 30 days and present the Bill of Entry
for final noting as soon as the IGM is filed. Advance noting is not available for Into-
Bond Bill of Entry and also during certain special periods.
8.2 Often goods coming by container ships are transferred at intermediate ports (like
Colombo) from mother vessel to smaller vessels called feeder vessels. At the time of
filing of advance Bill of Entry, the importer does not know which vessel will finally bring
the goods to Indian port. In such cases, the name of mother vessel may be filled in on
the basis of the Bill of Lading. On arrival of the feeder vessel, the Bill of Entry may be
amended to mention names of both mother vessel and feeder vessel.