Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Oct 25: In a significant move to simplify trade procedures and promote ease of doing business, the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) has issued a new notification overhauling India’s customs exemption framework. The reform aims to rationalise and harmonise existing customs duty exemptions across multiple sectors.
Under the new framework, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has merged 31 separate Customs Duty notifications into a single comprehensive document, bringing together exemptions for key industries such as renewable energy, metals, fertilisers, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and electronics.
The new structure, formalised through Notification No. 44/2025–Customs dated October 24, 2025, will take effect from November 1, 2025. It consolidates a wide range of legacy notifications into a unified, simplified framework, providing conditional exemptions on Customs Duty, Integrated GST, and Compensation Cess where applicable.
According to the government, the consolidation eliminates redundancy and simplifies compliance while retaining the core benefits of existing exemptions. The reform amends several earlier notifications, including Nos. 11/2018-Customs, 8/2020-Customs, 11/2021-Customs, and 52/2017-Customs, ensuring that the customs regime aligns with budgetary policies and the integrated GST framework.
The reform follows the CBIC’s recent push toward automation and digital facilitation. Earlier this month, the Board introduced system-based auto-approval for IFSC code registration, allowing automatic validation of the same bank account and IFSC combination for an Importer Exporter Code (IEC) across multiple customs locations.
Officials said the initiative is part of CBIC’s ongoing efforts to leverage technology, reduce transaction costs, and enhance procedural efficiency for India’s trade community. The unified customs exemption framework is expected to make compliance faster, clearer, and more business-friendly for importers and exporters nationwide.