The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued Circular No. 13/2026-Customs dated March 24, 2026, outlining a major facilitation measure to enhance ease of customs duty payment through the introduction of a Payment Aggregator on the ICEGATE e-payment platform.
CBIC has been undertaking several trade facilitation initiatives in recent years, including simplification of procedures, digitalization of processes, and enhancement of transparency, leading to reduction in time and cost for importers and exporters. The Electronic Cash Ledger (ECL), introduced in April 2023 and later extended to courier shipments in March 2024, has been a key step in this direction.
Taking this initiative forward, the ICEGATE platform now enables payment through a Payment Aggregator as an authorised mode. This new facility introduces, for the first time, the option to make customs duty payments using Credit Cards, Debit Cards, and Unified Payment Interface (UPI). Additionally, the Payment Aggregator mode significantly expands internet banking access by allowing payments through 41 banks, compared to the earlier 23 banks integrated directly.
The Payment Aggregator facility complements the existing modes of payment such as internet banking through authorised banks and NEFT/RTGS through RBI. It also allows transaction-wise payments with instant routing through the Electronic Cash Ledger before duty accounting, ensuring seamless processing.
At present, banks such as ICICI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, State Bank of India, and HDFC Bank have been onboarded as payment aggregators, with more banks to be added in a phased manner.
It is further clarified that any commission applicable on deposits made through the Payment Aggregator mode shall be borne by the user, as per the provisions of the Customs (Electronic Cash Ledger) Regulations, 2022. Necessary legal backing for this initiative has been provided through Notification No. 30/2026-Customs dated March 24, 2026.
A detailed user manual for the Payment Aggregator facility has been made available on the ICEGATE platform to assist stakeholders. Field formations have been advised to widely publicize the facility and assist trade in adopting the new system.
The Circular can be accessed at: https://taxinformation.cbic.gov.in/view-pdf/1003313/ENG/Circulars
