Customs rolls out auto-approval for IFSC code to enhance ease of business

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) In another step towards streamlining Customs procedures and enhancing trade facilitation, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has introduced system-based auto-approval for IFSC code registration to enhance the ease of doing business, according to an official statement issued on Tuesday.

The system will automatically approve requests for registration of the same incentive bank account and IFSC code for a particular Importer Exporter Code (IEC) at multiple Customs locations, provided the same combination has already been approved at any one location. Thus, manual intervention by the port officer will be eliminated, and the system will directly approve such requests, as per the statement.

This initiative is aimed at the swift processing of bank account and IFSC code approval requests, simplifying the registration process at multiple ports, ensuring faster and seamless credit of export incentives into exporters’ bank accounts and enhancing overall trade efficiency.

Export-related benefits will come into the bank account declared by the exporter in the customs automated system. There is already a facility for online registration of the Authorised Dealer (AD) Code by the exporter on ICEGATE.

Requests for registration of incentive-linked bank accounts and IFSC codes under an IEC required approval by Customs officers at each port location. This often resulted in duplication of efforts and pendency of requests, particularly when the same bank account and IFSC combination is being registered across multiple customs stations.

The move comes as part of the CBIC’s initiatives to leverage technology to simplify procedures, reduce transaction costs, and enhance the ease of doing business for India’s trade community, the statement added.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has also emphasised that it was the duty of tax department officials to serve taxpayers and they should undertake this task with "transparency and integrity".

"To provide service to the taxpayer is our duty. While serving the taxpayers, transparency and integrity are crucial in earning their trust and confidence. Confident that the Board and the field formations will remain sensitive and responsive," she had said recently.

--IANS

sps/vd