Bonded warehouses may face 24-hour discrepancy reporting, five-year digital records under proposed customs overhaul
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.
New Delhi: The Indian government is proposing stricter rules for bonded warehouses, mandating operators to maintain a digital record of goods' movement, transfer, and clearance, report discrepancies within 24 hours, and retain records for a minimum of five years. These changes are part of a broader digital transformation of warehousing procedures, aiming to enhance customs visibility for risk-based scrutiny, inspections, and transaction audits.
The proposed norms, to be applied to licensed public and private warehouses, will require operators to reconcile quantities and descriptions against customs documents upon receipt and electronically report any discrepancies within 24 hours. Detailed monthly reports will cover various warehouse activities, including receipts, transfers, domestic clearances, exports, sampling, permitted operations, and extensions, with a specific filing to identify goods nearing the end of their permitted warehousing period.
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