CBEC abolishes renewals of Licence/Registration of Customs Brokers and Sea Cargo Carriers

CBEC abolishes renewals of Licence/Registration in Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2021 and Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 to Reduce the compliance burden for citizens and business activities.

CBIC has undertaken a series of next generation reforms under the umbrella of ‘Turant Customs’ initiative to enable Faceless, Paperless and Contactless clearance, leading to enhanced Ease of Doing Business.

According to CBEC, one key area which imposes compliance was the necessity of seeking periodic renewal of the licenses/registrations issued under the Customs Act. The period of validity of licenses/registrations under the said regulations was for a certain period after which such licenses/registrations are required to be renewed. Such renewals were legacy requirement, essentially a ground to review the compliance behaviour of the license holder/registration holder.

The renewal exercise was an avoidable interface between the licensee and Customs officers, which is not in sync with the objective of our ‘Contactless Customs’ programme. Also it was a burden on the licensee/registration holder to get it renewed every time. The above reasons justified dispensing with the periodic renewals meaning thereby that the licenses/registrations once issued would be valid for lifetime.

The CBIC has abolished renewals of Licence / Registration in Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2021 and Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 incorporating the following changes:

a. To provide lifetime validity of the licenses/registrations;

b. To enable provision for making the licenses/registrations invalid in case the licensee/registration holder is inactive for the period exceeding 1 year at a time;

c. To empower Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Customs to renew a license/registration which has been invalidated due to inactivity; and

d. To provide for voluntary surrender of license/registration.

Accordingly, the CBIC has issued the Customs Brokers Licensing (Amendment) Regulations, 2021 and The Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment (Fifth Amendment) Regulations, 2021

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