Air passengers will now be able to clear Gems, Jewellery, and Prototypes Faster with E-Processing from 1 May 2025. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has introduced electronic processing of Bill of Entry/ Shipping Bill pertaining to gems and jewellery/samples/prototypes through personal carriage. The e-processing will be carried at specified airports. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Coimbatore, and Hyderabad are some of the airports where e-processing of bill of Entry/ Shipping Bill will be available.

The e-processing will promote ease of doing business for this mode of transaction especially for gems and jewellery and high-end manufacturing, stated Ministry of Finance in an official release. It will result in faster clearance of these items, simplify procedures at the airport, and reduce delays.

Ministry of Finance further mentioned that the export/import through personal carriage shall be subject to the provisions of Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 and Handbook of Procedures (HBP), 2023.

Airports Offering This Facility

However, this facility of personal carriage will be available only at select airports across the country. Here’s a look at the airports where it will be available:

a) Nine airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Jaipur will allow personal carriage for export of gems and jewellery.

b) Seven airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Jaipur will allow the personal carriage of imported gems and jewellery.

c) Four airports at Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, and Mumbai will allow the personal carriage of samples/prototypes of machinery.

What Is E-Processing?

Electronic processing refers to the processing of documents and applications, applicable to the Bill of Entry/Shipping Bill for the import and export of goods like gems, jewellery, and prototypes digitally. The e–processing allows the air passengers to complete all procedures digitally instead of paper-based documentation.