New Delhi: The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has allowed remote cargo clearance, doing away with mandatory physical boarding of vessels by customs officers in a revamp of vessel entry and departure procedures aimed at speeding up port operations and reducing delays.

In a circular issued last week, the board also mandated online filing of the 'sea arrival manifest' and 'sea departure manifest' cargo declaration messages under the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations to enable customs officers to grant clearance remotely.

The move is aimed at streamlining port operations, reducing delays and promoting a faceless, paperless and risk-based customs administration across India.

The board has asked the field formations to grant 'entry inward' and 'sail-out clearance' promptly upon filing of the requisite documents and on completion of the prescribed checks, without insisting on physical boarding of the vessel.

Physical boarding of vessels by customs officers will be undertaken on the basis of risk profiling of the vessels, according to the CBIC. It has advised customs officers to devise a suitable mechanism, considering compliance behaviour, nature of voyage and other relevant parameters having a bearing on safety and security of cargo.