anandnav,
1. Are the contents "genuine" gifts or samples disguised as "goods" or
goods for sale disguised as "samples/gifts" ?
In such cases, Customs will not only look at the paperwork but also
the intention, by observing what is inside, the qty of each, value, etc...
2. If they are genuine gifts, then there was no need for you to apply for
a IEC code and inform it to the customs. All gifts can be cleared without
IEC code. You should have convinced the Customs otherwise.
3. ALL parcels from China (yours is from China since it ends with CN) are
stuck at the Customs Office attached to the EMS centre at Santa Cruz
Domestic Airport for over 1 to 1.5 months. This is because Indian
Importers and Chinese Exporters have been using the EMS route to beat
the system and avoid paying customs duties.
4. For example, our goods (not gifts or samples) were stuck at the Customs
in EMS for over 2 months in spite of all paper work being complete and
willing to pay full duty as per assessment.
If your case is genuine, you can file a
RTI Application with the
PIO at the Customs Office (attached to the EMS centre, opp Centaur Hotel , near Santa Cruz Domestic terminal, Mumbai) asking for the delay and the procedure and clearing of goods.
As per my information, there are only 3 Assessing officers at that post/checkpoint and the backlog (as of last week) was over 6000 parcels from China waiting for inspection. Surprisingly, parcels from other countries do not have similar problems...its only parcels from China whihc are being blocked.