Govt To Roll Out 30-Day Customs Duty Deferment For Manufacturer-Importers From March

(MENAFN- KNN India) New Delhi, Feb 26 (KNN) The Revenue Department is set to introduce a 30-day customs duty deferral facility for eligible manufacturer-importers from next month to improve liquidity and ease working capital pressures.

Eligible manufacturer-importers under the new facility will be able to clear imported goods immediately and pay customs duty within 30 days, improving capital availability for manufacturing and exports, news agency PTI reported.

In the Union Budget 2026–27, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed extending to eligible manufacturer-importers the same duty deferral benefit currently available to Authorised Economic Operators (AEOs). The measure is also intended to encourage importers to obtain Tier 3 AEO accreditation.

The Budget further extended the duty deferral period for Tier 2 and Tier 3 AEOs from 15 days to 30 days.

Trusted Ecosystem

Speaking at the National Symposium on Customs Reforms–2026, Revenue Department Joint Secretary (Customs) Anupam Prakash said around 6,000 entities currently operate within the Customs 'trusted ecosystem', including 1,500 with Tier 2 and Tier 3 AEO status.

"We want to increase the number of entities in trusted scenarios. For the eligible manufacturer importers, the process will start from next month. They will be getting the same duty deferment feature and the capital available with these importers will improve, and they can contribute to manufacturing and export," PTI quoted him as saying.

He added that the Customs department is in discussions with other government departments on ways to further strengthen and expand this trusted ecosystem.

(KNN Bureau)

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