The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has introduced a system improvement in the Food Import Clearance System (FICS) integrated with SWIFT, allowing importers to make payment of inspection and testing fees after visual inspection instead of before. This change aims to streamline clearance processes, reduce delays caused by payment bottlenecks, and enhance operational efficiency while ensuring that final clearance certificates are issued only after complete fee payment.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has implemented a system improvement in the Food Import Clearance System to streamline import clearance procedures. Earlier, payment of applicable fees was required before visual inspection and sampling, often causing delays when payments were not completed on time.
The revised workflow introduces flexibility in payment timing, allowing better coordination between inspection, sampling, and administrative processes.
Key operational changes under this update include:
- Importers can now pay fees after completion of visual inspection
- Payment is no longer mandatory before inspection and sampling stages
- Fee payment must be completed before PNOC, NOC, or NCC generation
- Parallel processing of inspection and payment reduces clearance delays
- Applies to consignments processed through FICS integrated with SWIFT/ICEGATE
- Minimizes dependency on sequential processing within the clearance workflow
- Improves coordination among importers, customs brokers, and regulatory authorities
This change is expected to improve operational efficiency, reduce dwell time of imported food consignments, and significantly enhance ease of doing business in the food import sector.