New Delhi, February 26 The revenue department will roll out a 30-day duty deferral facility for eligible manufacturer-importers starting next month, which will help such importers better manage their liquidity, a senior official said on Thursday.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had proposed in the Budget for 2026-27 to provide the same duty deferral facility to eligible manufacturer-importers as is available to Authorised Economic Operators (AEOs).
This was done to encourage such importers to obtain full-fledged Tier 3-AEO accreditation.
The Budget had also extended the duty deferral period for Tier 2 and Tier 3 AEOs from 15 days to 30 days.
Speaking at the National Symposium on Customs Reforms-2026, Revenue Department Joint Secretary (Customs) Anupam Prakash said that currently, there are about 6,000 entities operating within the Customs "trusted ecosystem," of which 1,500 entities have AEO T2 and T3 accreditation.
"We want to increase the number of entities in trusted scenarios. For eligible manufacturer importers, the process will start next month. They will be able to avail the same duty deferment feature, and the capital available with these importers will improve, allowing them to contribute to manufacturing and exports," Prakash said.
He also said that the Customs department is also discussing with other government departments on how this trusted ecosystem can be further enhanced.
This would mean that starting next month, eligible manufacturer-importers can clear goods on the day of import and have the option to pay customs duty within 30 days.