The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, has issued Circular No. 29/2026-Customs dated July 01, 2026 regarding the Pan-India implementation of the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment Regulations (SCMTR), 2018. The circular has been issued under No. 450/58/2015-Cus.IV(Pt.I) from Room No. 16049, Kartavya Bhavan-I, New Delhi.
The circular states that the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment Regulations, 2018 were issued vide Notification No. 38/2018-Customs (N.T.) dated 11.05.2018, as amended from time to time. The Board had received various representations from trade for smooth implementation of SCMTR, 2018.
The due date for complete rollout of SCMTR, 2018 was prescribed as 30.06.2026 by the Board vide Notification No. 31/2026-Customs (N.T.) dated 30.03.2026. DG Systems implemented the SCMTR message framework in a phased manner across four functional segments, namely sea messages to gateway port on arrival, gateway port to foreign sea ports on departure, gateway port to inland customs locations for import transshipment, and inland customs locations to gateway port for export transshipment.
CBIC has noted that SCMTR messages relating to cargo movement between gateway ports and foreign sea ports for arrivals and departures have already been implemented successfully on a Pan-India basis. For export transshipment, SF, ASR and SFCN messages have been implemented nationwide, while the remaining DP, DT, AR and AT messages were implemented Pan-India on 30.06.2026.
Accordingly, all message developments under SCMTR, 2018, except Import Transshipment (ITP) messages, will be fully operational with effect from 01.07.2026. DG Systems has also issued necessary advisories for implementation of SCMTR, 2018.
The Board has directed field formations and DG Systems to take all necessary steps to ensure filing of required electronic messages by stakeholders. Weekly outreach sessions may be conducted by each Zone to identify and address difficulties faced by stakeholders in implementation of SCMTR messages.
To facilitate trade, the Board has extended the transitional provisions under SCMTR, 2018 up to 31.08.2026 vide Notification No. 61/2026-Customs (N.T.) dated 01.07.2026. This extension is intended to encourage stakeholders, including authorised sea carriers, shipping lines, authorised sea agents, steamer/shipping agents, authorised carriers, transshippers and other notified carriers, terminal operators and custodians, to file all prescribed SCMTR messages electronically with effect from 01.07.2026.
The circular further provides that no penal action shall be initiated against trade for technical or procedural difficulties faced by stakeholders up to 31.08.2026 in the online filing mechanism under SCMTR, 2018.
Field formations have been advised to issue suitable Public Notices and resolve system-related issues in coordination with DG Systems. Policy-related issues, if any, shall be brought to the notice of the Board. Difficulties in implementation may also be brought to the notice of the Board.
The Circular can be accessed at: https://taxinformation.cbic.gov.in/view-pdf/1003330/ENG/Circulars
