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Bonded warehouses may face stricter scrutiny

By Sohail Khan 3 October 2026, 12:51 am

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Business News›News›Economy›Foreign Trade›Bonded warehouses may face 24-hour discrepancy reporting, five-year digital records under proposed customs overhaul

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Bonded warehouses may face 24-hour discrepancy reporting, five-year digital records under proposed customs overhaul
Synopsis

The government is considering tighter compliance rules for bonded warehouses, including a 24-hour deadline to electronically report shortages or discrepancies and mandatory digital records tracking goods from receipt to clearance, transfer or export. The proposed framework also envisages five-year record retention, monthly reporting and insurance against potential customs duty liabilities.

Foreign-Trade---Agencies — The government is weighing tighter bonded warehouse rules that would require operators to digitally track goods, report discrepancies within 24 hours and retain electronic records for five years.

New Delhi: The government is considering tighter compliance norms for bonded warehouses that would require operators to maintain a digital trail of the movement, transfer and clearance of goods, report discrepancies to authorities within 24 hours and keep records for audit, people aware of the discussions told ET.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has begun seeking feedback from stakeholders on the proposed norms and will notify the rules after considering the responses, they said. Bonded warehouses are government-approved facilities where importers can store goods without immediately paying customs duty until the goods are cleared for domestic use or exported.

“The proposed overhaul is part of the broader digitisation of warehousing procedures and seeks to make bonded inventory continuously traceable from receipt to final clearance, export or transfer,” a senior official told ET.

The proposed norms will apply to public and private warehouses licensed under Sections 57 and 58 of the Customs Act but exclude warehouses authorised for manufacturing or other operations under Section 65, the official said.

“The changes will give customs greater visibility to undertake risk-based scrutiny, inspections and transaction audits, while providing an electronic trail to identify discrepancies in the custody and movement of bonded goods,” said the official.

A key compliance change is the proposed 24-hour deadline for reporting discrepancies to the customs department. When goods arrive at a warehouse, its operator will have to verify the security lock and reconcile the quantity and description against customs documents.

Any shortage, excess or other discrepancy will have to be reported electronically to customs authorities within 24 hours of receipt of the goods. Under the proposed framework, warehouse operators will have to maintain electronic records covering the receipt, storage, handling, transfers, permitted operations and removal of goods, along with the quantity remaining in the warehouse.

These records will have to be maintained for five years. Importers or owners of the goods will have to take insurance to cover the customs duty that could become payable if something goes wrong while the goods are in transit, unless they fall under specified exemptions.

The proposed framework will also require detailed monthly reporting covering receipts, transfers, domestic clearances, exports, sampling, permitted operations, extensions of warehousing periods, bank guarantees and relinquishments. A separate filing will identify goods approaching the end of their permitted warehousing period.

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bonded warehouses compliancedigital trail goods movementcustoms duty regulationsbonded inventory traceabilityCentral Board of Indirect Taxes and Customsreporting discrepancies customswarehouse operators guidelineswarehousing period regulationsimporters customs requirements

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