Page 2 - Customs

Chatroom: No GST on sale of uncleared imported goods at ports currently

Importers can transfer goods via bill of lading endorsement without GST if done before customs clearance, while RBI allows simplified closure of small outstanding IDPMS entries

Simplification of customs will be next big reform, says FM Sitharaman

Ahead of Budget 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the simplification of customs would be the next big reform agenda for the government. During the current financial year, the government undertook reforms such as rate rationalisation and simplification of the income tax and Goods and Services Tax (GST) in a bid to boost consumption by providing more cash in the hands of the common man. "We need a complete overhaul of customs... we need to have customs simplified for people to feel that it is not cumbersome to comply... need to make it more transparent," Sitharaman said while speaking at the HT Leadership Summit here. There is a need to bring the virtues of income tax to the customs side in terms of transparency, she said, adding that the proposed reforms will be comprehensive and entail customs duty rate rationalisation. The announcements to this effect can be made in the upcoming Budget, likely to be presented on February 1. "We have brought down customs d

Customs allows post-clearance revisions - of course, conditions apply

New CBIC rules let importers and exporters voluntarily revise shipping bills and pay or claim duty differences after clearance

Privatising PSBs won't impede financial inclusion, says FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's next set of customs reforms is in progress after GST, adding that the country is on track to meet its fiscal goals and become a top-three economy soon

CBIC issues rules allowing voluntary correction of Customs entries

The Board amended the Levy of Fees (Customs Documents) Regulations, 1970 to introduce a ₹1,000 fee for each electronic application filed under the new voluntary revision mechanism

Dubai man takes Customs dept to court over Rolex: Here's what Delhi HC said

The Customs Department seized the Rolex watch of a Dubai resident, alleging that he had failed to declare it. The High Court, however, called the Customs order an error, but still upheld the fine

Wintrack shuts ops over Chennai Customs bribes; dept denies, MoF steps in

Wintrack Inc has stopped its India operations, citing alleged bribery and harassment by Chennai Customs; officials deny the claims, calling them false and misleading

GTRI says some cos misuse duty-free import scheme, calls 'licence to loot'

The duty free import authorization (DFIA) scheme, aimed at cutting input costs for exporters, is being misused by some companies, and it has turned into a "licence to loot" owing to a mix of vague policy definitions, lax enforcement, and judicial interpretations, economic think tank GTRI said on Sunday. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that the government should immediately intervene because if unchecked, DFIA misuse will destroy faith in India's export incentive regime and drive honest exporters out of business. A forensic audit of licences issued in the past five years is urgently needed, alongside recovery of duties from fraudulent imports, it said. When asked about the issue, the commerce ministry said that in the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), there is a permanent mechanism of norms committees across sectors for looking into complaints of misuse of SION (standard input output norms) and misdeclaration of inputs used. "It is also being proposed tha

Trump admin lashes out at NYC, 2nd man arrested in customs officer shooting

The Trump administration lashed out Monday against New York City officials over their sanctuary policies as authorities arrested a second man living in the country illegally in connection with the shooting of an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem called the two suspects, both from the Dominican Republic, scum of the earth. She said they'd accumulated lengthy criminal records in just a few years and should have never been free to commit Saturday's robbery-gone-wrong in a Manhattan park. Noem blamed the mayor and city council, nearly all Democrats, saying the people that were in charge of keeping the public safe refused to do so. Border czar Tom Homan, meanwhile, vowed the administration would flood the zone with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents following the shooting. So sanctuary cities get exactly what they don't want: more agents in the community, he said alongside Noem and other officials during a news .

German customs get creepy surprise as 1,500 tarantulas found in cake boxes

The alarming discovery was made at Cologne Bonn Airport in western Germany, after a seven-kilogram parcel from Vietnam raised suspicion due to an unusual odour

Govt aims to clear SVB backlog in two years with bulk entry processing

The revamped framework aims to reduce paperwork and resolve valuation issues without lengthy disputes

'Appeals in DGGI-led multi-state cases must be filed where CAA is posted'

The clarification resolves confusion in multi-state GST cases by stating appeals must be filed in the jurisdiction of the Common Adjudicating Authority's posting

Steel ministry's order on compliance for inputs can hurt downstream users

The latest order gives a table listing 144 steel items with their IS and the inputs and their IS for making 124 of those items

Customs authorities slap IndiGo with ₹2.76 cr penalty; airline to appeal

IndiGo confirmed in a filing that the principal commissioner of Customs in Ahmedabad has imposed a fine of ₹2.20 crore on it, while the principal commissioner in Meenambakkam has levied an additional

Customs department confiscates Pakistani painting routed via London

Post Pahalgam attack, India has put a ban on all imports from Pakistan, directly or through any other route

CBIC simplifies procedure for temporary import of the air containers

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on Friday simplified and harmonised procedure for temporary import of Unit Load Devices (ULDs) or air containers, a move aimed at trade facilitation. With this simplified procedure, ULDs could also be imported temporarily outside the Customs area on execution of a Continuity Bond by the air carriers/air console agents, who take responsibility to export back within the specified time period. A ULD is a special container which is used to load cargo onto an aircraft. In a statement, the finance ministry said as a first step towards streamlining Customs Protocols, and aligning with the international best practices for movement of ULD outside Customs Area, CBIC has stipulated simplified and harmonised procedure for temporary import of ULDs on the lines of procedure already stipulated for marine containers being handled through the seaports since 2005. Further, the CBIC has also decided to waive the transhipment permit fee for all ..

Reciprocal tariffs: Customs scrutiny to get more strict everywhere

The exporters using any inputs from China should now be wary of the US Customs

Commerce ministry alerts customs to monitor imports, exports vigilantly

The commerce ministry has alerted the customs authorities to maintain strict vigilance on imports and exports amid concerns about possible dumping of goods and re-routing of consignments from India to third countries following imposition of high tariffs by the US on China, an official said. As sweeping tariffs have been imposed on China, its goods have become expensive in the US market, and this could lead to diversion of goods into countries like India. The US has imposed a 125 per cent duty on China. The official said that customs have been alerted about monitoring our exports and imports to see if there is any extraordinary surge. India should not be used as a re-routing destination". The concerned line ministries and industry associations have also been asked to provide inputs on the surge in imports and its impact on the domestic industry.

Customs duty cuts not linked to Trump's tariff war: FM Sitharaman

Replying in the Rajya Sabha to the debate on the Finance Bill, 2025, and the Appropriation Bill of the FY26 Budget, Sitharaman said the government will continue to simplify customs duties

'Merchanting trade' includes supply of goods within same foreign country

The CBEC Circular no.38/97-Customs dated 19th September 1997 says that any group company having status recognition as 'export house' under the FTP can give the corporate guarantee