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Business Standard

Govt aims to clear SVB backlog in two years with bulk entry processing

The government plans to clear the backlog of Special Valuation Branch (SVB) cases within two years and upgrade customs systems to allow bulk finalisation of Bills of Entry — a significant relief for companies whose imports from related entities are scrutinised by SVB to ensure fair valuation and prevent revenue loss, a senior official said. According to sources, thousands of such cases are pending nationwide, involving companies such as Adani Enterprises, Ambuja Cements, GE Power Services India and Asian Paints, among others. Emails sent to these companies and the Finance Ministry remained unanswered at the time of publishing. The official said the Centre plans to issue a detailed circular on the SVB revamp by July. The new framework will adopt a more consultative approach, with customs engaging importers earlier in the process. It will also reduce paperwork and seek to resolve valuation issues without prolonged disputes. 'While consultations are part of the current SVB process, they often take considerable time due to repeated document checks and extended correspondence. The reforms aim to simplify this by streamlining paperwork, introducing time limits, and using digital platforms for faster resolution,' the official added. These changes align with the Union Budget 2025 proposal to complete provisional assessments within two years — a timeline that would apply to both pending and future SVB matters. As part of the reforms, customs is upgrading systems to allow officers to finalise multiple import shipments at once, instead of handling each shipment individually. 'Previously, customs officers had to finalise each Bill of Entry one by one because each shipment had separate records, values, and duty calculations. The upgraded system will allow officers to upload data for several shipments and finalise them in bulk. This will significantly reduce delays and save time for both customs and importers,' the official said. Another senior official noted that the reforms will address long-standing procedural bottlenecks that persist despite the 2016 guidelines. These include non-issuance of investigative reports to importers, lack of a mechanism to adjust Extra Duty Deposits (EDD) — security deposits collected during investigations — against final customs duty, and delays in show cause notices, adjudication and closure of assessments. Vimal Pruthi, Partner, Customs and Indirect Tax at EY, said there is a strong need to modernise SVB procedures, given the significant backlog. He said that in recent discussions with customs officials, industry stakeholders were informed of efforts to clear pending matters through simplified documentation and faster processes. 'Industry hopes that for future imports, a more trust-based system will be adopted, where importers can submit concise declarations and, unless the declared price is marked as provisional, transactions may move directly to final assessment without lengthy delays,' Pruthi said.