New Delhi, Delhi, 26th of February, 2026 : The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Government of India, along with Permanent Mission of India to the WTO in Geneva, organised special sessions on trade on 24th February 2026 on the sidelines of the meeting of the Committee on Trade Facilitation at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva.
The Special Secretary and Member (Customs), Shri Surjit Bhujabal led the Indian delegation at the CBIC sessions at WTO in Geneva. The event comprised of two focused sessions on Trade Facilitation and Capacity Building highlighting India’s transformative reforms under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The programme was also held in the run up to the 8th Trade Policy Review of India, due in July 2026. The event witnessed wide participation from WTO Members and Secretariat, with delegates from around 40 countries, reflecting strong interest in India’s experience and best practices.
Having achieved compliance with WTO TFA commitments, India has moved towards “TFA Plus” measures under the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP 3.0), aiming to go beyond the minimum requirements and align with evolving global best practices. During the session on Trade Facilitation, Indian Customs delegation highlighted it’s ‘whole-of-government approach’ in Customs reforms, and pioneering efforts in creating a faceless, contactless and paperless Customs ecosystem through extensive digitalization and process re-engineering.
India has notified 100% of its TFA commitments within the stipulated timelines. The progress reflects India’s sustained commitment to:
- Enhancing transparency
- Improving inter-agency coordination, and
- Simplifying cross-border trade procedures
The CBIC showcased its advanced and indigenously developed systems as following:
- Comprehensive Customs Automated System with Single Window Interface
- A robust Risk Management System (RMS)
- The Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Programme
- Pre-arrival customs processing and Electronic Exchange of Origin Data (EODES)
- Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS)
- Network of modern Customs Control Laboratories, and
- Initiatives on Coordinated Border Management (CBM) and Virtual Trade Corridors (VTC)
The session on Capacity Building underscored India’s proactive engagement in sharing its expertise with developing and least-developed countries, particularly from the Global South. Through the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics (NACIN), India conducts structured training programmes for officers of Indian and foreign customs administration. The training courses undertaken by Central Revenue Control Laboratory (CRCL) of India for the international participants were highlighted. Both these are recognised by WCO as Regional Training Centre for Asia-Pacific and Regional Customs Laboratory respectively. It was stated that, since 2022, NACIN has conducted 65 trainings and more than 1,800 international participants from around 30 countries were benefited by these initiatives. Several of them were done in collaboration with various international organisations such as WCO, ADB and others. Similarly, CRCL trained more than 300 international participants. India expressed its willingness to partner with countries especially developing countries to strengthen their capacity for implementing trade facilitation Agreement commitments. The participants appreciated the state-of-the-art infrastructure of these institutions and the training offered by the premier institutions of India.
The Special Secretary and Member (Customs), Shri Surjit Bhujabal, remarked that India’s digitisation and modernisation of customs procedures over the past decade have contributed meaningfully to trade growth, and deeper integration into global value chains. Indian Customs digital ecosystem connects traders, customs authorities, banks and logistics operators, facilitates electronic processing of customs documentation, leading to reduced transaction costs and faster clearance times. Special emphasis was placed on the role of digital reforms in empowering Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by lowering compliance burdens, improving predictability, and enabling greater participation in e-commerce exports. Initiatives such as simplified documentation, advance rulings, and the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme have helped onboard smaller exporters into global trade networks.
CBIC’s Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) reforms for 2026 has renewed focus on digital trade facilitation through single, interconnected digital window for custom clearance and Custom Integrated System and Trust based systems with trusted importers recognised in risk systems, reducing physical verification and enabling factory-to-ship clearance. Key reforms also include removing the ₹10 lakh value cap on courier exports, allowing exporters to ship goods of any value via courier, benefiting MSMEs and e-commerce exporters; the Return to Origin (RTO) for returning unclaimed or uncleared international courier shipments to foreign senders, and a simplified, risk-based customs framework for handling e-commerce export returns.
The Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO Geneva, Dr Senthil Pandian, stated that India has pursued trade facilitation reforms as a core pillar of its trade policy. According to the UNESCAP Global Survey 2023, India achieved an overall trade facilitation implementation score of over 93 percent, placing it among the leading performers in the Asia-Pacific region and the highest in South Asia. India secured full implementation scores in areas such as Transparency, Formalities, Institutional Arrangements and Cooperation, and Paperless Trade. These outcomes reflect sustained efforts to align domestic reforms with the objectives and disciplines of the TFA.
The event evoked a positive response from the partner countries and reaffirmed the importance of the WTO as a platform for exchange of national experiences and technical cooperation. In the spirit of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” — the world is one family — India reiterated its commitment to strengthening trade facilitation frameworks and building capacities across developing countries.
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