The Exim Desk for regular importers and exporters
You ship every month. Your questions should not wait.
The Regular Desk puts an experienced consultant behind every shipment. Duty, origin papers, trade-remedy duties and Customs queries are checked before they cost you, and answered after you ship. From under USD 3 a day.
Start the Regular Desk Call +91 93733 11838Regular Desk
USD 999 a year
That is USD 2.74 a day.
- Pre-shipment checks
- Post-shipment queries
- Customs query replies drafted
Billed annually. You see the invoice before you pay.
One missed claim can cost more than the whole year
Try your own numbers. This shows what a duty gap on a single shipment is worth.
What the law says that most shipping teams miss
Eight points from the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, the exemption notifications and the Foreign Trade Policy. Each one is a place where regular shippers lose money quietly, and what the Desk does about it.
Claim the lower duty, or pay the standard rate
Duty is charged at the standard rate unless the importer claims the preferential rate at the time of importation. Claims under a trade agreement also need the proof of origin that the rules prescribe.
What the Desk does: Tells you, before you ship, which origin papers to arrange and by when.
Source: Customs Tariff Act, 1975, sections 4 and 5
Where your goods come from can change the duty
Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard duties depend on the product and its origin. They can reach goods that are altered or imported unassembled, and in specified cases can apply retrospectively within a 90-day limit.
What the Desk does: Checks each product and origin against notified duties before you place the order.
Source: Customs Tariff Act, 1975, sections 8B, 9 and 9A
Duties expire, get extended, or reappear
Anti-dumping and countervailing duties normally last five years, can be extended after a review, and can continue up to a year while a review is pending. Safeguard measures last up to four years and cannot go beyond ten.
What the Desk does: Keeps a watch on the duties that touch your products. Priority Desk members get alerts.
Source: Customs Tariff Act, 1975, sections 8B, 9 and 9A
Overpaid anti-dumping duty can be claimed back
If an importer proves that the anti-dumping duty paid exceeded the actual margin of dumping, the Act provides for the excess to be reduced and refunded, through the procedure the rules set.
What the Desk does: Reviews your past shipments to see whether this route may apply, and tells you what an application needs.
Source: Customs Tariff Act, 1975, section 9AA
Spares travelling with a machine can take the machine's rate
Accessories, spare parts and maintenance implements imported with an article are charged at its rate when the officer is satisfied that they are compulsorily supplied and no separate charge is made.
What the Desk does: Explains what the rule requires and checks that your documents truthfully reflect your supply terms.
Source: Accessories (Condition) Rules, 1963
Exemptions are conditional, and the rates keep moving
The main effective-duty notification (No. 21/2002-Customs) lists 157 amendments by March 2011 alone in the compilation we hold. Many entries depend on conditions, and failing them can make you liable for the duty. The Government can also raise import and export duties at short notice.
What the Desk does: Checks the conditions, the documents to keep, and the rate in force on your date.
Source: Customs exemption notifications (Appendix-A compilation); Customs Tariff Act, sections 8 and 8A
A missed export obligation can block your next authorisation
Failing an export obligation, or giving incorrect information, can lead to penal action and placement on the Denied Entity List. New authorisations and licences can then be refused until the obligation is met or the penalty paid.
What the Desk does: Helps you track obligations and keep the documents for closure.
Source: Foreign Trade Policy 2023 (ICAI statutory update)
Recognition that saves time: AEO and Status Holder
AEO status aims at less dwell time and related costs. Status Holders can be granted clearances on self-declaration and can be exempt from bank guarantees under FTP schemes, with priority handling. Star ratings start at USD 3 million of export performance.
What the Desk does: Tells you whether you may qualify, and what to document to apply.
Source: Foreign Trade Policy 2023 (ICAI statutory update)
Provisions are summarised in plain words. Confirm the current text before you rely on them. Our Appendix-A compilation is an older copy, so current rates are always checked against the notifications in force.
Around every shipment, before and after
Before you ship
- HS code and every duty that applies, for new or changed products
- Preferential-duty and trade-agreement claim readiness
- Trade-remedy duty and exemption check by origin
- Licence and registration check
- Invoice and document consistency review
- Freight quote comparison and a landed-cost sense-check
After you ship
- Customs queries: we read them and draft the reply
- Assessment and short-levy questions
- Follow-up guidance on drawback and RoDTEP claims
- Whether an anti-dumping refund route may apply
- Export obligation tracking guidance for AA and EPCG holders
- Bank and IDPMS realisation queries
Choose your Desk
One flat annual fee. No per-query billing, no surprises.
Regular Desk
USD 2.74 a day
USD 999 a year
- Up to 15 queries a month, before or after shipment
- Reply within one working day
- HS code, duty, origin and trade-remedy checks
- Customs query replies drafted
- 365 days of support
Priority Desk
USD 4.93 a day
USD 1,799 a year
- Up to 40 queries a month
- Same-working-day reply for messages before 3 PM, Monday to Saturday
- A 30-minute review call every quarter
- A year-end review of up to 10 of your shipments' duty and documents
- Notification alerts for up to 5 of your products
- Everything in the Regular Desk
A query is one question, or one document review, about one shipment or product. Billed annually. Before you pay, you receive an invoice showing the exact amount, currency and tax. New to import or export? See the $1 a Day Exim Desk.
What the Desk will not do
Clear limits are what make the rest believable.
Not promised
- Approvals, refunds or timelines. The authorities decide.
- Legal, tax or financial advice. We say when you need your CA or a lawyer.
- Acting in your name, or using your portals or digital signature, without written permission
Quoted separately, before you commit
- Clearance and shipment handling
- Registrations, licences and certificates
- Representation in appeals and hearings
The person who answers
Shankar Jha
Founder and EXIM consultant, Multimodal Logistic Systems Pvt. Ltd., Pune
Your questions go to the consultant who answers them, not to an account manager. He has 27+ years of consulting experience in Indian Customs and EXIM matters, and the company has served importers and exporters since 2006.
Questions regular shippers ask
Is this for me, or for a start-up?
The Regular Desk is for businesses that already import or export regularly and want an experienced consultant on call. If you are just starting out, the $1 a Day Exim Desk is the better fit.
What counts as a query?
One question, or one document review, about one shipment or product. A Customs query reply counts as one query, however long the reply.
What if I use more than my monthly queries?
We tell you before you reach the limit. You can move to the Priority Desk, or agree extra queries at a fee we confirm first.
Can I upgrade later?
Yes. You can move from the Regular Desk to the Priority Desk at any time, and we confirm the fee difference in writing first.
How do I start?
Message us on WhatsApp or email us. We confirm the plan and send the invoice, and you begin once you are comfortable. The first telephonic consultation is free.
One avoided mistake pays for the year.
Tell us what you ship and where from. We reply with what we would check first.
WhatsApp +91 93733 11838 info@multimodal.bizMultimodal Logistic Systems Pvt. Ltd., 3rd Floor, S. No. 8/12, Library, GV7 Capital, Ambegaon Bk., Pune, Maharashtra 411046 | CIN U63011PN2006PTC128701 | GSTIN 27AAECM7040D1ZQ. General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and rates change.