CBIC Extends Strait of Hormuz Customs Relaxations Till 30 June 2026

 

What happened

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) issued Circular No. 25/2026-Customs dated 14-05-2026 to extend multiple trade facilitation measures granted earlier due to maritime disruptions from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

 

Circulars extended

Validity of the following 6 circulars has been extended up to 30-06-2026:

- Circular No. 09/2026-Customs dated 08-03-2026

- Circular No. 10/2026-Customs dated 10-03-2026

- Circular No. 12/2026-Customs dated 17-03-2026

- Circular No. 15/2026-Customs dated 27-03-2026

- Circular No. 19/2026-Customs dated 10-04-2026

- Circular No. 21/2026-Customs dated 15-04-2026

 

Legal basis

Issued under Section 143AA of the Customs Act, 1962 to mitigate challenges arising from ongoing disruptions in maritime routes due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

 

Key facilities extended

All facilities, procedural relaxations, terms and conditions under the above circulars continue unchanged till 30-06-2026. These cover:

 

1. Returned export cargo handling

   - Simplified procedure for export cargo brought back to Indian ports due to Hormuz disruption.

   - If vessel is within Indian territorial waters and EGM/SDM not filed: Can berth without Sea Arrival Manifest, containers offloaded without Bill of Entry after verification.

   - Back to Town facility permitted on request.

   - For vessels landing at a different Indian port than departure: SAM to be filed, dummy port code generated, seal integrity checked, 100% exam if tampered.

 

2. LEO and Shipping Bill cancellation

   - Let Export Order and Shipping Bills to be cancelled for returned cargo.

   - ICEGATE to share cancellation details with RBI and DGFT to prevent export incentive claims.

   - Manual recovery of IGST refund/drawback if already disbursed.

 

3. SEZ export cargo

   - Special procedure for cancellation of LEO for SEZ export cargo affected by Hormuz disruption.

   - CBIC directed uniform procedure for transhipment and BTT when vessels return to a different Indian port.

 

4. Other relaxations

   - Waiver of Bill of Entry for containers returning to same Indian port without calling at foreign port.

   - International transhipment of FCL and LCL cargo permitted from all seaports and airports.

 

Background

The Strait of Hormuz has seen major disruption following conflict between US-Israeli coalition forces and Iran. Iran introduced a new governance mechanism requiring transit permits and up to $2 million per vessel in Chinese yuan. Shipping through Hormuz was virtually halted since the Iran war began at end of February 2026.

 

Issuing authority

Signed by Indrajit Panda, Under Secretary (Cus-IV), Customs Policy Wing, CBIC.

 

What remains unchanged

All other facilities, terms and conditions as stipulated in the original 6 circulars remain the same. Difficulties in implementation to be reported to Board.