KOLKATA: Reinforcing its commitment to strengthening India’s Customs and trade facilitation ecosystem, the Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) actively participated in the 20th Customs Consultative Group (CCG) Meeting, held in Kolkata on 13–14 July 2026.
The meeting was chaired by Shri Yogendra Garg, Special Secretary & Member (Customs), Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), in the presence of Shri S. K. Sharma, Principal Director General, Export Promotion, and brought together senior Customs officials and leading trade stakeholders to deliberate on policy reforms aimed at enhancing India’s trade competitiveness.
The FFFAI delegation comprised Mr. Amit Kamat, Chairman; Mr. Dushyant Mulani, Immediate Past Chairman; Mr. S. Nataraja, Chairman Elect; and Mr. Sudip Dey, Honorary Secretary.
Representing the Customs Broking and freight forwarding fraternity across the country, FFFAI submitted a comprehensive agenda highlighting several key issues that directly impact trade facilitation and operational efficiency. Among the major recommendations placed before CBIC were strengthening the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations (CBLR), 2018, promoting a trust-based compliance framework, introducing further reforms in Faceless Assessment, and enhancing the functionalities of SWIFT 2.0, ICEGATE and the Customs Brokers Licensing Management System (CBLMS).
The Federation also advocated for speedier refund processing, reduction in litigation, streamlining Partner Government Agency (PGA) clearances, deeper digital integration across Customs processes, and implementation of measures aimed at reducing logistics costs while expediting cargo clearance.
The deliberations witnessed constructive engagement between CBIC officials and industry representatives, with discussions focusing on practical reforms to improve transparency, efficiency, digitalisation and ease of doing business in India’s Customs ecosystem.
FFFAI stated that the Consultative Group Meeting once again provided an important platform for meaningful dialogue between policymakers and trade stakeholders, enabling industry concerns to be addressed through collaborative policy formulation.
Reaffirming its commitment to the country’s trade and logistics sector, FFFAI expressed its resolve to continue working closely with CBIC, Customs authorities and all stakeholders in building a modern, technology-driven, transparent and trade-friendly Customs administration, aligned with the Government of India’s vision of facilitating seamless cross-border trade and improving India’s global logistics competitiveness.
