1. When the CUSDEC is sent to the Customs Department by the Tea Board, the necessary payments (cess LKR 4 per kg, medical cess of LKR 0.35 and assessment charge of LKR 250, which is about USD 2.5) are taken from the current account that the companies have with the Customs Department. 2. Then an entry paid message is sent to the company electronically via email with the customs declaration number. It is only after the payment process is completed that a printout of the CUSDEC can be obtained. 3. After a printout with the customs declaration sequence number is made, the necessary number of copies are made (four copies: Warrant copy, Statistical copy, Security copy and the Party copy).

1. Up to 10 kilograms (kg) of tea can be sent out of Sri Lanka, as a sample, without lodging a CUSDEC or acquiring a Tea Export Permit. 2. All other tea exports need an Export Permit from the Tea Board. In order to do this, the exporters need to first send a Blend Sheet to the Tea Board (electronically). A Blend Sheet is a list of all the teas that constitute a specific shipment and the document contains details such as date of sale, lot number, broker’s code, invoice number, garden number, grade, weight, price and value. The system automatically generates a lodgement number almost immediately. 3. Once this is received, the exporter prepares the CUSDEC, which includes the lodgement number of the Blend Sheet application and submits the CUSDEC to the Tea Board (electronically). 4. The Tea Board then checks and compares the Blend Sheet and the CUSDEC and informs the exporter (electronically) whether the consignment has been selected for random sampling or not. 5. After that, the Tea Board sends the CUSDEC to the Customs Department (electronically) with the Export Permit for the consignment of tea. 6. In the event a consignment is selected for random sampling, a Tea Board sampling officer will visit the warehouse to take a sample and send it to the Tea Board laboratory for testing. In the CUSDEC there is a space to specify when and where the sampling can be carried out, if selected for sampling. 7. The tea company then calls the Tea Board to find out if the testing has been completed. When it is, the tea exporter takes the CUSDEC and gets a “shipment authorized” seal from the Tea Board, which allows them to continue with the shipment. 8. This sampling/testing process can be completed in about 24 hours. A sampling officer usually comes the day after the request is made and the approval can be acquired the same evening.

1. Before the container reaches the port, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) charges have to be paid by filling an SLPA payment form. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority calculates the charges based on the Shipping Note. The exporter (or agent) presents the Shipping Note, the Cargo Dispatch Note (CDN) and a copy of the CUSDEC as supporting documents. 2. When the container reaches the port, the documents that need to be presented are the Cargo Dispatch Note (about six copies), Shipping Note, Commercial Invoice and the security copy of the CUSDEC. 3. The security/ navy checkpoint at the first gate opens the container and checks it, then seals it in the presence of the exporter (or representative). 4. The container then goes through the Passing Office/export office run by the Sri Lanka Customs Department. They check the seals, the CUSDEC, whether sampling has been carried out, the payments made and the Boat Note for the last time. 5. When the Boat Note has been approved, the container is taken for loading. The Cargo Dispatch Note has is handed over at this point. 6. Security and other checks take an average time of between 30 minutes and three hours depending on the number of export consignments coming in on a particular day.

1. The exporter then takes the CUSDEC Invoice (two copies), the Shipping Note and the Packing List (optional) to the Customs Department (manually) to get it processed. 2. The Customs Department retrieves the declaration information and makes a printout of the Assessment Note, which has a summary of the consignment details, including the payments made. 3. The exporter then proceeds to the Ledger Officer with the Assessment Note and gets the payment amount deducted manually from the Custom Department’s records. 4. After deducting the amount and checking the documents, the Ledger Officer and the OIC sign the documents. 5. They place the Tea Board “Approval Granted” seal or “Selected for Sampling Seal” on the documents (based on the Tea Board decision taken earlier). A final signature is placed by the Superintendent of Customs on behalf of the DGC. At this point, customs decides whether the consignment is chosen for a panel examination or not, and approves the CUSDEC. 6. If selected for panel examination, a request has to be made to customs to hold a panel examination indicating the time and date of the shipment. The amount that needs to be paid to customs differs depending on the distance to the warehouse. 7. An officer is appointed by customs and visits the exporter’s warehouse and conducts the panel examination. After the panel examination is conducted, the examiner seals the container and the seal cannot be broken until it reaches the port. According to the interviewed companies, the cost for a panel examination is around LKR 2,000 for a 40 foot container. 8. Apart from this payment, the exporter has to bear the cost of providing the officer with transport to the warehouse and back. The examination is usually carried out the same day a request is made.