The `delay' in submission of Bill of Entry by ADs to the RBI has caused considerable hardship to companies, especially to those who have submitted the bills on time. Once a company is found not submitting Bill of Entry to the RBI, the Enforcement Directorate comes into the picture and starts questioning the company about the imports and foreign exchange usage.

It is obligatory on the part of importers to submit exchange control copy of Bill of Entry to the AD -- one of the banks authorised to deal in foreign exchange -- within three months from the date of remittance of money. AD will, in turn, report to RBI on quarterly basis in the BEF statementgiving details of import transaction in the case of importers who have defaulted in submission of copies of Bill of Entry.

``Even though importers submit the required import document to AD within the stipulated time, ADs are taking their own sweet time to register the entries. The entries are not checked by the banks and they send the BEF statements to the RBI in a routine manner just to comply with the quarterly ritual. Most of the entries are not included in the AD's statement,'' said an aggrieved importer. Around 50,000 entries are currently pending in Mumbai alone, banking sources said.

Industry sources say that the importers' documentary record is not properly handled by ADs and, therefore, the erroneous default is marked on the forehead of importers. The RBI on the basis of faulty statement sent by the ADs will inform the Enforcement Directorate about importers who have not submitted Bill of Entries but taken foreign exchange for imports.

Based on the RBI letter, the ED will issue notices tocompanies under Section 33 (2) of the FERA 1993 as non-compliance of import procedures is a punishable offense under the Act. ``The fault is not with the importer but that of ADs and method of follow-up and monitoring at the RBI level. Several companies which have submitted Bill of Entry to the ADs are now at the receiving end as they are being classified as not submitted the documents,'' said an industry source.

The position seems to have been deteriorated further as most of the foreign exchange business is being done in the Nariman Point area, South Mumbai whereas records are dumped in suburbs with remote possibility of accessibility when required. ``Before referring the matter to the ED, the RBI should explore all possibilities to confirm the veracity of the importer's version that he has submitted the exchange control copy of the Bill of Entry. There should be more coordination among the ADs, RBI and the ED,'' said an importer who is facing the wrath even after submitting the bills on time.