Indian Customs · CBIC permitted · JNPT, Mundra, Chennai, Kolkata accepted

Customs surety bond — clear your shipments, free the bank line.

Indian Customs requires a bond against most duty-deferred or use-conditional imports — warehouse, EPCG, advance authorisation, project import, re-export. A customs surety bond replaces the bank guarantee customs would otherwise demand. No FD lien, no CC limit eaten, no LC margin doubled up.

Get a customs bond quote → All BG replacements
Premium
0.60–1.40% p.a.
Bond capacity
Up to ₹500 cr
Quote SLA
4 working hours
— 01 — DEFINITION

What a customs bond covers.

A three-party guarantee — between the importer, Indian Customs, and an insurer — securing customs duty payment or compliance with specified-use conditions.

The customs problem

Every duty-deferred import — bonded warehouses, EPCG capital goods, advance authorisation raw materials, project imports, temporary re-export — needs a bond. Banks demand 10–25% FD margin and tie up your CC limits for years (EPCG bonds run 6–8 years; warehouse bonds 5 years).

What the surety bond does

The customs surety bond covers the same obligation — the insurer pays customs if you default on duty payment or fail to meet the specified-use condition. No FD, no CC limit, no bank file. Bond goes directly to the customs commissionerate.

— 02 — BOND TYPES

Every customs bond, covered.

Six common Indian customs bond categories that can be issued as insurance surety bonds.

Section 59

Warehouse bond

For goods stored in a customs bonded warehouse before duty payment. Tenure typically 5 years, renewable. Required for every bonded warehouse operator.

EPCG

EPCG bond

Export Promotion Capital Goods scheme — import capital goods at zero duty against export obligation. Bond face value typically 3× duty saved. Tenure 6 years.

AA

Advance authorisation bond

Duty-free import of inputs required to manufacture export goods. Bond covers the input duty and export obligation. Tenure typically 18 months.

Project

Project import bond

Concessional duty on capital goods imported for an approved project — power plants, refineries, ports, metro rail. Bond covers the duty differential.

Re-export

Re-export bond

Goods imported for repair, testing, exhibition or temporary use, to be re-exported within the bond tenure. Bond covers full duty if re-export fails.

Provisional

Provisional assessment bond

When duty cannot be finally determined at clearance — classification or valuation in dispute — a bond is filed for the contested amount.

— 03 — COMPARISON

Customs surety bond vs customs BG.

Same legal obligation to Indian Customs. Very different impact on your import finance.

Dimension
Customs bank guarantee
Customs surety bond
FD margin
10–25% of bond value blocked as FD
None for standard cases
CC/OD limit
Sub-limit reduced for full bond value
Untouched
Tenure issue
EPCG bonds run 6–8 years — long FD lockup
Premium paid annually; no margin lockup
Annual cost
1.00–1.50% commission + FD opportunity cost
0.60%–1.40% premium only
Customs acceptance
Yes
Yes — per CBIC circular
Multi-port use
Bank often issues port-specific BGs
One bond can cover multiple ports
— 04 — ACCEPTANCE

Where Indian Customs accepts surety.

Major Indian ports and ICDs accept insurance surety bonds in lieu of customs bank guarantees. Confirm per consignment with the assessing officer.

✓JNPT — Nhava Sheva
✓Mundra Port
✓Chennai Port
✓Kolkata Port
✓Kandla Port
✓Cochin Port
✓Visakhapatnam
✓ICD Tughlakabad
✓ICD Patparganj
✓ICD Whitefield
✓Air Cargo (DEL, BOM, MAA, BLR)
✓DGFT EPCG & AA cells
— 05 — COST

Premium economics.

Indicative bands. Final premium depends on bond tenure, importer track record, and underlying duty exposure.

0.60%
Lower band — strong importer, short tenure
0.95%
Mid band — typical EPCG/warehouse case
1.40%
Upper band — long tenure, first-time file
— 06 — PROCESS

How we place your customs bond.

One file. 15 insurers see it simultaneously. They compete on rate.

Tell us the bond

Bond type, port/commissionerate, duty exposure, tenure, IEC code, EPCG/AA reference if applicable.

One file built

KYC + financials + IEC + GST + license + customs bond format — standardised into one underwriting file.

Panel sees it

Routed to all 15 surety insurers simultaneously. They quote within 24–48h. We surface them on one sheet.

Bond submitted

You pick. We bind. Bond executed on stamp paper, submitted to your customs commissionerate.

— 07 — FAQs

Customs bond questions.

Six common questions. Same answers feed the FAQPage schema for Google rich snippets.

What is a customs bond in India?
A customs bond is a surety instrument given to Indian Customs that guarantees compliance with customs obligations — duty payment, re-export, warehousing or specified-use of imported goods. It replaces a customs bank guarantee for importers, exporters and EPCG license holders.
What types of customs bonds can be issued as surety bonds?
Warehouse bond (Section 59) for bonded warehouses, EPCG bond for capital goods import without duty, advance authorisation bond for duty-free input import, project import bond for concessional project imports, re-export bond for goods imported for re-export, and provisional assessment bond.
Does Indian Customs accept surety bonds instead of bank guarantees?
Yes. CBIC has explicitly permitted insurance surety bonds as a substitute for bank guarantees on customs obligations. Acceptance is per-port and per-circular — most major ports (JNPT, Mundra, Chennai, Kolkata, Cochin, Kandla) and inland container depots accept surety bonds.
How much does a customs surety bond cost?
Premium is typically 0.60% to 1.40% of bond face value per year. Customs bonds usually have longer tenures (3–8 years for EPCG, 5 years for warehouse), so total premium spread over tenure is often well below the FD margin opportunity cost on a bank guarantee.
How fast can a customs bond be issued?
Indicative quote in 4 hours. Underwriting decision in 24–48 hours. Bond document executed and submitted to customs in 2–5 working days. Useful when imports are stuck pending bond filing.
What documents are required for a customs surety bond?
Company KYC, last 2 years' audited financials, Importer Exporter Code (IEC), GSTIN, the customs bond format from the port or commissionerate, the bill of entry or shipping bill, EPCG or advance authorisation license if applicable, and details of the duty amount.

Clear the shipment. Save the bank line.

Tell us the import case. Four working hours later you have an indicative rate band and panel availability for your customs bond.

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