The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has asked for mandatory details of international travellers with Indian Customs authorities from April 1, 2025, as per reports.
All air transport service providers operating flights to/from India will have to register with the National Customs Targeting Centre-Passenger (NCTC-Pax) by January 10, 2025, as per the notice of CBIC.
To enhance the interdiction capabilities of authorities, the CBIC rolled out the Passenger Name Record Information Regulations, 2022 under which airlines were notified to share passenger name record (PNR) details of foreign travellers.
The lapse of this sharing of the data will attract a fine of ₹25,000-₹50,000, suggested the reports.
In a notice shared by CBIC this month, it is said that the system to implement the regulation is being developed by NCTC-Pax and the latter’s phased rollout is envisaged from January 2025.
“The system will be implemented on a pilot basis with some airlines who have expressed willingness to participate in the same. The pilot phase is scheduled to be implemented by February 10, 2025. Thereafter, full-scale operation is planned from April 1, 2025 for individual airlines and from 1st June 2025 for airlines intending to operate through GDS (global distribution system),” said CBIC.