The Central Government has amended the import policy conditions under Chapter 74 and Chapter 76 of the ITC(HS), 2022, relating to imports covered under the Non-Ferrous Metal Import Monitoring System (NFMIMS). The amendment has been notified by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade through Notification No. 22/2026-27 dated June 30, 2026.
The notification amends Chapter 74 — Policy Condition 3, sub-para (c) of the ITC(HS), 2022. Under the revised provision, importers of items covered under Annexure-I for copper and Annexure-II for aluminium shall continue to submit advance information in the online NFMIMS system and obtain an automatic Registration Number by paying the prescribed registration fee. However, the timing for obtaining such registration has been relaxed from before arrival of import consignment to before final clearance / ‘Out of Charge’ of the consignment.
Similarly, Chapter 76 — Policy Condition 1, sub-para (c) has also been amended on the same lines. Importers covered under this chapter will now be permitted to obtain NFMIMS registration at any time before issuance of the Customs ‘Out of Charge’ order, instead of being required to complete registration before the arrival of the import consignment.
The notification retains the condition that registration may be applied for not earlier than 60 days before the expected date of arrival, and the automatic Registration Number issued under NFMIMS shall remain valid for a period of 75 days.
The amendment has been issued in exercise of powers conferred under Sections 3 and 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, read with paragraphs 1.02 and 2.01 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023.
The move is aimed at easing compliance requirements for importers of copper and aluminium products by allowing registration before the final Customs clearance stage. It is expected to facilitate smoother import clearance and reduce procedural difficulties by permitting NFMIMS registration before the Customs ‘Out of Charge’ order, which allows removal of goods from the Customs area.
The Notification can be accessed at: https://a2ztaxcorp.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/english_0005.pdf
