CUSTOMS BROKER LICENSING IN INDIA

ALO Law Office- IDT Tax I Arbitration I Litigation

Date: 25.03.2026

CUSTOMS BROKER LICENSING IN INDIA

Introduction:

The Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018 is the regulating legal provision for the grant of the license for working as a Customs Broker in India.

These regulations shall apply to, a Customs Broker who has been licensed and such other persons who have been employed or engaged by a licensed Customs Broker under these regulations or the Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 1984 or the Customs House Agents Licensing Regulations, 2004 or the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2013.

A Customs Broker has been defined under Regulation 2(d) as “Customs Broker” means a person licensed under these regulations to act as an agent on behalf of the importer or an exporter for purposes of transaction of any business relating to the entry or departure of conveyances or the import or export of goods at any Customs Station including audit.

Typres of Customs Broker Licenses/permits:

1.  “F card holder” means a person who has passed the examination referred to in regulation 6 and has been issued a photo identity card in Form F;
2. “G card holder” means a person who has passed the examination referred to in regulation 13 and has been issued a photo identity card in Form G;
3. “H card holder” means a person who has not passed the examination referred to in regulation 13 and has been issued a photo identity card in Form H;

Conduct of Exams:

The National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) shall conduct the CBLR exams every year it invites applications for conducting examination and subsequent grant of license to act as Customs Broker in “Form A” by publication in two leading national daily newspapers in English and Hindi in addition to disseminating the information on the web portal.

We update the prospective candidates Notifications as & when they are released by NACIN.

Eligibility Criteria:

An applicant shall be allowed a maximum of six attempts to clear the examination. The applicant for a license to act as a Customs Broker in a Customs Station, shall before applying to the Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs, meet the following conditions that: –

(a) he is a citizen of India;

(b) he is a person of sound mind;

(c) he is not adjudicated as insolvent;

(d) he holds an Aadhaar number;

(e) he holds a valid PAN card;

(f) he has not been penalised for any offence under the Act, the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944), the Finance Act, 1994(32 of 1994), the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017 (12 of 2017)and Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (13 of 2017);

(g) he has neither been convicted by a competent court for an offence nor any criminal proceeding is pending against him in any court of law;

(h) an individual applicant or in case the applicant is a firm, its partner or in the case of a company, its director or an authorised employee who may handle the Customs work shall-

(i) be a graduate from a recognized University; and

(ii) possess a professional degree such as Masters or equivalent degree in Accounting,

Finance or Management, CA/CS/MBA/LLM/ACMA/FCMA or Diploma in Customs Clearance work from any Institutes or University recognised by the Government or is having at least two years’ experience in transacting Customs Broker work as G-Card holder;

(i) the applicant has financial viability as evidenced by a certificate issued by a Scheduled Bank or such other proof acceptable to the Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, in terms of possession of assets of value of not less than five lakhs rupees.

(2) A retired Group A officer from the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) having a minimum of five years’ experience in Group ‘A’ post shall also be eligible to apply for a license to act as a Customs Broker provided, he satisfies the conditions specified at (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) and (i) of sub-regulation (1)above.

Syllabus:

The examination may include questions on the following topics:

(a) preparation of various kinds of bills of entry, bills of export, shipping bills, and other clearance documents;

(b) arrival entry and clearance of vessels;

(c) tariff classification and rates of duty;

(d) determination of value of imported and export goods;

(e) conversion of currency;

(f) nature and description of documents to be filed with various kinds of bills of entry, shipping bills and other clearance documents;

(g) procedure for assessment and payment of duty including refund of duty paid;

(h) examination of goods at Customs Stations;

(i) prohibitions on import and export;

(j) bonding procedure and clearance from bond;

(k) re-importation and conditions for free re-entry;

(l) drawback and export promotion schemes including the Special Economic Zone scheme;

(m) offences under the Act;

(n) provisions of the allied Acts including the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017 (12 of 2017) and section 5 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (13 of 2017), the Indian Explosives Act, 1884 (4 of 1884), the Destructive Insects and Pests Act 1914 (2 of 1914), the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930 (2 of 1930), the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 (23 of 1940), the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944), the Copy Right Act, 1957 (14 of 1957), the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act 1958 (43of 1958), the Arms Act 1959 (54 of 1959), the Patents Act, 1970 (39 of 1970), the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (61 of 1985), the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986), the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulations) Act, 1992 (22 of 1992), the Foreign Exchange Management Act,1999 (42 of 1999), the Design Act, 2000 (16 of 2000) and the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 (No. 34 of 2006), The Legal Metrology Act, 2009, The BIS Act, 2016, The Waste Management Rules of CPCB and other laws for the time being in force applicable to EXIM trade and the rules and regulations made under these Acts in so far as they are relevant to clearance of goods through Customs;

(o) provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (49 of1988);

(p) procedure for appeal and revision applications under the Act; and

(q) online filing of electronic bills of entry and shipping bills vide the Indian Customs and Central Excise Electronic Commerce or Electronic data interchange gateway (ICEGATE) and Indian Customs Electronic data Interchange System (ICES).

(r) knowledge of regulations, rules, notifications, etc. under the Customs Act and other Allied Acts.

Validity of License:

A license granted under regulation 7 shall be valid for a period of ten years from the date of issue and shall be renewed from time to time in accordance with the procedure specified in sub-regulation (2):

Obligations of Customs Brokers:

A Customs Broker shall –

(a) obtain an authorisation from each of the companies, firms or individuals by whom he is for the time being employed as a Customs Broker and produce such authorisation whenever required by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be;

(b) transact business in the Customs Station either personally or through an authorized employee duly approved by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be;

(c) not represent a client in any matter to which the Customs Broker, as a former employee of the Central Board of Indirect taxes and Customs gave personal consideration, or as to the facts of which he gained knowledge, while in Government service;

(d) advise his client to comply with the provisions of the Act, other allied Acts and the rules and regulations thereof, and in case of non-compliance, shall bring the matter to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be;

(e) exercise due diligence to ascertain the correctness of any information which he imparts to a client with reference to any work related to clearance of cargo or baggage;

(f) not withhold information contained in any order, instruction or public notice relating to clearance of cargo or baggage issued by the Customs authorities, as the case may be, from a client who is entitled to such information;

(g) promptly pay over to the Government, when due, sums received for payment of any duty, tax or other debt or obligations owing to the Government and promptly account to his client for funds received for him from the Government or received from him in excess of Governmental or other charges payable in respect of cargo or baggage on behalf of the client;

(h) not procure or attempt to procure directly or indirectly, information from the Government records or other Government sources of any kind to which access is not granted by the proper officer;

(i) not attempt to influence the conduct of any official of the Customs Station in any matter pending before such official or his subordinates by the use of threat, false accusation, duress or the offer of any special inducement or promise of advantage or by the bestowing of any gift or favour or other thing of value;

(j) not refuse access to, conceal, remove or destroy the whole or any part of any book, paper or other record, relating to his transactions as a Customs Broker which is sought or may be sought by the Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs, as the case maybe;

(k) maintain up to date records such as bill of entry, shipping bill, transhipment application, etc., all correspondence, other papers relating to his business as Customs Broker and accounts including financial transactions in an orderly and itemised manner as may be specified by the Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs or the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case maybe;

(l) immediately report the loss of license granted to him to the Principal Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be;

(m) discharge his duties as a Customs Broker with utmost speed and efficiency and without any delay;

(n) verify correctness of Importer Exporter Code (IEC)number, Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN), identity of his client and functioning of his client at the declared address by using reliable, independent, authentic documents, data or information;

(o) inform any change of postal address, telephone number, e-mail etc. to the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, of all Customs Stations including the concerned Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner of the Commissionerate who has granted the license immediately within two days;

(p) maintain all records and accounts that are required to be maintained under these regulations and preserve for at least five years and all such records and accounts shall be made available at any time for the inspection of officers authorised for this purpose; and

(q) co-operate with the Customs authorities and shall join investigations promptly in the event of an inquiry against them or their employees.

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