The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has said that companies can now use UPI, debit or credit cards to pay custom duty on the department’s IceGate portal. The ICEGATE (Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange Gateway) e-payment platform has enabled payment aggregators as an authorized channel to facilitate custom duty payments, CBIC said in a circular. Icegate basically acts as a vital digital infrastructure for Indian Customs Duty.
It serves as an interface through which importers and exporters file documents, track clearances and make duty payments. Although the system has evolved significantly over time, the payment system has remained largely confined to a limited number of authorized banks and traditional channels like net banking and NEFT/RTGS.
Companies will be able to use UPI
Ikesh Nagpal, head of indirect tax at AKM Global, a tax and consultancy firm, said that with the introduction of payment aggregator on Icegate, fee payments are no longer limited to specific banking channels. Companies can now use UPI, debit or credit cards and access a wider banking network, providing greater ease and convenience in making payments and managing transactions. This will reduce dependence on a limited group of banks. This will bring greater flexibility and speed, especially in cases of time-sensitive clearances.
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Importers and exporters will benefit
Nagpal said that more importantly, the introduction of UPI is an important convenience because it is simple, widely accessible and does not generally involve transaction costs, thereby significantly benefiting small taxpayers. This is a step taken towards increasing ease of doing business. Vimal Pruthi, tax partner, EY India, said the reform simplifies transactions for importers and exporters, reduces hurdles in the clearance process and brings greater speed and transparency in cash flow management…and strengthens India’s commitment to ease of doing business.