CBIC releases Time Release Study 2026 of Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House

Mohan Kumar Singh, Member (IT, Taxpayer Services & Technology), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), on August 28, 2026, released the Time Release Study (TRS) 2026 of Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House (JNCH), during his visit to Mumbai Customs Zone-II. Vimal Kumar Srivastava, Chief Commissioner of Customs, Mumbai Zone-II, senior officers of the Zone, and representatives of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), Port Terminal Operators, Customs Brokers, Trade Associations and other stakeholders were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, the Member CBIC commended the officers of JNCH and all participating stakeholders for the sustained improvement in cargo clearance timelines, and reiterated CBIC’s commitment to using data-driven studies such as TRS to further trade facilitation and Ease of Doing Business. He noted that as India advances towards Viksit Bharat @2047, an efficient, technology-driven and globally competitive cross-border trade ecosystem shall be critical to the nation’s deeper integration with global value chains.

TRS is a performance measurement tool recommended by the World Customs Organization (WCO) to assess the time taken for release and clearance of cargo, enabling identification of bottlenecks and targeted trade facilitation measures. JNCH has been conducting TRS annually.

The TRS 2026 report shows that the Average Release Time (ART) for import cargo has improved to 65 hours 53 minutes, down from 72 hours 52 minutes in TRS 2025, a reduction of about 9.6%, despite a 16% rise in the number of Bills of Entry handled. AEO consignments recorded an ART of 40 hours 40 minutes, well within the 48-hour NTFAP benchmark, as against 76 hours 59 minutes for non-AEO consignments.

On the export side, the overall release time for Shipping Bills declined to 195 hours 49 minutes, from 208 hours 15 minutes observed during the previous TRS. Further, customs clearance of exports took only 2 hours 12 minutes on average, while the remaining time pertained to logistics-related operations.