CBIC notifies amended information and document guidelines for grant of deferred duty payment to ‘eligible manufacturer importers’

In brief

In February 2026, as a facilitation measure, the government has extended the benefit of customs duty deferment to ‘eligible manufacturer importer’ on their imports. The facility is to be available to such importers upto 31 March 2028 with the objective that such importers during this period get accredited as either an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Tier 2 or 3 with Customs.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has notified detailed guidelines covering eligibility, application and approval process, etc. The facility is in operation since April 2026. However, based on the representations received from the trade on the challenges in the application process, including in terms of compliance and information requirements, revised guidelines to simplify the application process and ease the documentation and information burden have now been issued¹ .