# Eligible Manufacturer Importer scheme: how manufacturers can defer import customs duty to the next month

> From 1 April 2026, approved manufacturers can clear imports first and pay customs duty by the 1st of the following month (31 March for March). Who qualifies, how to apply, and what it does to cash flow.

- Source: https://www.lexiplatform.com/articles/money-home/eligible-manufacturer-importer-deferred-customs-duty-payment
- Published: 2026-10-13  ·  Last updated: 2026-10-13
- Next scheduled review: 2026-12-15
- Reviewed by: Dipender Bhamrah
- Publisher: LEXI Platform Pvt. Ltd.

## Can an importer defer customs duty payment under the EMI scheme?

Yes, once approved as an Eligible Manufacturer Importer. From 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2028, an approved manufacturer can clear imports without paying customs duty at clearance and pay it by the 1st day of the following month. Duty on March bills falls due on 31 March. Applications go online through the AEO portal.

Normally an importer pays customs duty before the goods leave the port. The
Eligible Manufacturer Importer scheme, EMI for short, lets approved
manufacturers clear the goods first and pay the duty later. The duty is not
waived. Only the date moves.

CBIC set out the scheme in Circular 08/2026-Customs of 28 February 2026. It
rests on Notification 12/2026-Customs (N.T.) of 1 February 2026, which adds
Eligible Manufacturer Importers to the importers allowed to defer duty under
the proviso to section 47(1) of the Customs Act, 1962. The notification
permits the deferral "up to the 31st March, 2028". The circular says the
facility is available from 1 April 2026.

## When the duty falls due

The circular says the facility is governed by the Deferred Payment of Import
Duty Rules, 2016, as amended. Notification 13/2026 rewrote the due dates in
rule 4, from 1 March 2026. The circular repeats them:

- "For goods corresponding to Bill of Entry returned for payment from 1st day to
  the last day of any month other than March, the duty shall be paid by the 1st
  day of the following month."
- For Bills of Entry returned for payment from 1 to 31 March, "the duty shall be
  paid by 31st March."

In practice, a Bill of Entry returned for payment on 3 June is due on 1 July,
and so is one returned on 28 June. The wait runs from a day to about a month,
depending on the date. March is the exception: nothing carries past 31 March.

The PIB release describes the cash-flow point: approved manufacturers "will be
able to clear imported goods without paying Customs duty at the time of
clearance", and pay "on a monthly basis". You may also pay earlier. The
circular lets an EMI select the challans in the deferred period and pay "anytime,
even before the due date".

## Who can apply

Paragraph 3 of the circular lists fifteen conditions. The main ones:

- **Manufacturer and importer.** You must be an importer and a manufacturer as
  defined in the CGST Act. If you are not a manufacturer, you qualify only if
  you send inputs or capital goods, without paying tax, to a job worker under
  section 143 of the CGST Act. In that case you must have filed the last two
  half-yearly ITC-04 returns, and the job worker must be registered as a
  factory or manufacturing unit.
- **Valid IEC and an active GST registration.**
- **Customs footprint.** At least 25 Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills filed in
  the previous financial year. For an MSME the minimum is 10. Your export
  shipping bills count towards the number.
- **Turnover.** Annual aggregate turnover of all GSTINs under your PAN must
  exceed Rs 5 crore in the last financial year.
- **Time in business.** Business activity for at least two financial years
  before you apply.
- **GST compliance.** All pending GSTR-3B returns filed, and no GST collected
  but not deposited. The same test applies to central excise and service tax.
- **Solvency.** Financially solvent in the two financial years before the
  application, with a Chartered Accountant's certificate in the prescribed form.
- **Clean record.** Neither you nor your proprietor, partners or directors
  arrested or convicted, or facing pending prosecution, under the Customs Act,
  Central Excise Act, Chapter V of the Finance Act 1994, the CGST or SGST Act,
  or any other law. An earlier EMI application must not have been rejected, and
  an earlier EMI approval not suspended, for false information or forged
  documents.

The circular adds that existing AEO-T1 entities, MSMEs included, that meet these
conditions can also apply. It expects approved EMIs to obtain AEO T2 or T3
accreditation before the facility ends in March 2028.

## How to apply and how it works

1. **Apply online.** Register at www.aeoindia.gov.in and use the "Eligible
   Manufacturer Importer" tab. Applications opened on 1 March 2026. You fill the
   form in Appendix-I of the circular and upload the documents in Appendices II
   and III.
2. **Wait for approval.** A designated officer of the Directorate of
   International Customs, CBIC, approves the application and updates the
   customs system. The circular says no further action is needed from you to
   use the facility.
3. **Set up your nodal person.** After approval, the person you authorise
   gets an ICEGATE login. This person confirms all customs
   transactions on your behalf.
4. **Flag each Bill of Entry.** Mark "D" in the Payment Method column. Your nodal
   person then confirms the intent with a one-time password sent to their
   registered email or phone, and can confirm several Bills of Entry at once.
   The circular says customs clearance is given "only on such authentication".

The circular also says the designated officer "may suspend/revoke" the approval
if you stop meeting the eligibility conditions at any point. On a
missed payment, the circular only says officers should watch for timely
payment and may report non-payment to CBIC. It states no consequence. The 2016
Rules govern that, so read them or ask the helpdesk before you rely on a late
payment. CBIC's EMI helpdesk is emihelpdesk-dic@gov.in.

## What to do on Monday

1. Check your turnover, years in business and GSTR-3B status against the list
   above, GSTIN by GSTIN.
2. Count your Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills for the last financial year.
3. Ask your Chartered Accountant for the solvency certificate in the prescribed
   form.
4. If you qualify, apply on the AEO portal. Do not build deferred duty into
   your cash plan until the approval arrives.
5. Once approved, work out the month-end dates for each Bill of Entry. Duty on
   a late-month import is due almost at once. A [longer payment term to your own buyer](https://www.lexiplatform.com/articles/pricing/export-payment-term-cost-working-capital) then
   needs a plan for the gap between that date and the day you are paid.

## Sources

- [CBIC Circular No. 08/2026-Customs, 28 February 2026: extension of deferred payment of customs duty to Eligible Manufacturer Importers](https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2026/mar/doc202631807301.pdf) — checked 2026-10-13
- [PIB release, 1 March 2026: CBIC introduces deferred customs duty payment facility for Eligible Manufacturer Importers](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=2234116&reg=3&lang=2) — checked 2026-10-13
- [Notification No. 13/2026-Customs (N.T.), 1 February 2026: Deferred Payment of Import Duty (Amendment) Rules, 2026, which set the due dates in rule 4](https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/cen/cus1326.pdf) — checked 2026-10-13
- [Notification No. 12/2026-Customs (N.T.), 1 February 2026: adds Eligible Manufacturer Importer as a class under Notification 135/2016-Customs (N.T.)](https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/cen/cus1226.pdf) — checked 2026-10-13