The trust-based “Eligible Manufacturer Importer” (EMI) scheme, effective April 1, will allow approved companies to defer customs duty payments, the CBIC said, adding it has also notified eligibility criteria and operational guidelines for the programme.
Applications under the EMI scheme can be submitted online from March 1, 2026, and the facility will run through March 31, 2028. Under this initiative, EMIs would be able to clear imported goods without paying customs duty at the time of clearance. Instead, the applicable duty can be paid on a monthly basis as prescribed under the Deferred Payment of Import Duty Rules, 2016.
The deferred payment facility will be available to EMI meeting prescribed criteria related to customs and goods and services tax (GST) compliance, revenues, financial standing, and past track record.
Customs commissioners will monitor usage through ICES dashboards to ensure timely payments. Approval can be suspended or revoked if eligibility conditions are breached.
“This reform is expected to significantly improve ease of doing business, strengthen the compliance culture, promote wider participation in the AEO programme and provide a boost to domestic manufacturing,” the ministry said.
Conditions ApplicableIn a separate circular, CBIC said the applicant must be a manufacturer-importer with a valid importer exporter code and at least one active GST registration, having filed a minimum of 25 export-import documents such as bills of entry or shipping bills in the previous financial year and having an annual aggregate turnover exceeding ₹5 crore.
The applicant must have carried on business for at least two financial years, have filed all pending GST return-3B forms, and must not have collected tax without depositing it with the government. Further, the entity must have no record of arrest, conviction, prosecution, insolvency or bankruptcy under the law with positive net worth for the last two financial years, supported by a certificate issued by a chartered accountant.