The prime minister's office has paved the way for round-the-clock customs clearances at identified sea ports and airports.
The four airports where the facility would be available are Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, and Mumbai; for the four ports the locations are Chennai, Kolkata, Kandla and JNPT and Mumbai.
Round-the-clock non-availability of customs clearances and other facilities at airports and sea ports is seen as a major constraint for global trade.
The facility would be made available on a pilot basis, with customs operations and complementary services. With customs clearances, other government agencies, such as the concerned port or airport authority, drug controller, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, quarantine and private players, Customs House Agents, banks and transporters, would also have to work 24x7
in tandem.
"This would be initially for four months, after which efforts would be made to expand similar operations at other locations," the PMO said in a release.
The department of revenue will assess the pilot and proposed expansion of coverage, if required. The facility would be available for certain categories of imports and exports.
For imports, the category "No assessment no examination" will be covered, accounting for 70 per cent of imports.