The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has introduced a payment aggregator facility on the Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange Gateway (ICEGATE) platform to enhance ease of doing business. This will allow businesses to pay customs duty using the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), credit cards and debit cards. Internet banking through the payment aggregator mode will now support 41 banks instead of the previous 23 banks integrated directly with the platform, the CBIC said.
“This payment aggregator option will complement the existing payment modes such as internet banking through the authorised banker mode and NEFT/RTGS payment through RBI,” the CBIC stated in a circular.
Beyond Traditional Banking
The board added that the payment aggregator mode also enables importers to make transaction-wise payments on the platform. The system instantaneously routes these payments through the Electronic Cash Ledger before accounting for the duty.
The CBIC introduced the electronic cash ledger in April 2023 for seamless bank integration and deposit-based duty payments. It extended the facility to courier shipments in March 2024.
Experts described the introduction of the payment aggregator as an important step in India’s digital customs transformation.
Digital Transformation
Vimal Pruthi, Tax Partner, EY India, said the government has significantly broadened accessibility for businesses of all sizes by enabling UPI, debit and credit cards, and a wider net-banking ecosystem for duty payments. “This reform simplifies how importers and exporters transact, reduces hurdles in the clearance process, and brings greater speed and transparency to cash flow management,” he said.
Ikesh Nagpal, Lead-Indirect Tax, AKM Global, said the rollout of the payment aggregator on ICEGATE means duty payments are no longer confined to specific banking channels.
“From a trade perspective, the impact is quite tangible. It brings greater flexibility and speed, particularly in time-sensitive clearance situations, by reducing dependence on a limited set of banks. More importantly, the introduction of UPI is a significant enabler, being simple, widely accessible, and typically free of transaction costs, which makes a real difference for smaller taxpayers,” Nagpal said.