Lok Sabha Question No. 2299 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-12
Subject: Major and Non-Major Ports
Ministry: PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS
Asked by: Shri Arun Govil, Shri Damodar Agrawal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2299

ANSWERED ON 12.12.2025

## MAJOR AND NON-MAJOR PORT

2299.  SHRI ARUN GOVIL: SHRI DAMODAR AGRAWAL:

Will the Minister of PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS be pleased to state: पȅन , पोत पįरवहन और जलमागŊ मंũी

- (a) the number of major and non-major ports in the country including Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, State-wise and category-wise;
- (b) the  number  of  dry  ports  built  by  the  Government  across  the  country  including Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, State-wise;
- (c) the eligibility criteria for setting up dry ports/inland ports by the Government across the country;
- (d) whether the Government is proposing a plan to build new dry ports/inland ports across the country with a view to boost industries; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS (SHRI SARBANANDA SONOWAL)

- (a) There are 12 functional Major Ports and 217 Non-Major Ports (out of which 68 are cargo handling) in the country. Details are given at Annexure-I . There are no Major or Non-Major ports in the states of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
- (b) 134 Inland Container Depots (ICDs, commonly known as Dry Ports) have been notified  u/s.  7(1)(aa)  of  the  Customs  Act,  1962.  State-wise  list  including  entries  for Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh is attached at Annexure-II .
- (c) Eligibility Criteria for setting up of ICDs has been provided in para 4 of the Circular No. 50/2020-Customs dt. 05.11.2020. (Annexure-III)
- (d) & (e) The ICDs/Dry Ports are typically setup by Private Logistics Operators or by State or Central Undertakings. The applications for setting up such EXIM logistics facilities are

considered  in  terms  of Circular  No.  50/2020-Customs dt.  05.11.2020  issued  by  the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC). Under the policy and guidelines for setting up Inland Container Depots / Container Freight Stations / Air Freight Stations, an Inter-Ministerial Committee which meets every quarter, takes appropriate decisions on such proposals based on considerations such as present availability of such facilities, their capacity & current utilization, trade generation, export-import potential and the need for new facilities.

|   S.No. | Ports                                 | State           |
|---------|---------------------------------------|-----------------|
|       1 | Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority | West Bengal     |
|       2 | Paradip Port Authority                | Orissa          |
|       3 | Visakhapatnam Port Authority          | Andhara Pradesh |
|       4 | Chennai Port Authority                | Tamil Nadu      |
|       5 | Kamarajar Port Limited                | Tamil Nadu      |
|       6 | V.O. Chidambanar Port Authority       | Tamil Nadu      |
|       7 | Cochin Port Authority                 | Kerala          |
|       8 | New Mangalore Port Authority          | Karnataka       |
|       9 | Mormugao Port Authority               | Goa             |
|      10 | Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority       | Maharashtra     |
|      11 | Mumbai Port Authority                 | Maharashtra     |
|      12 | Deendayal Port Authority              | Gujarat         |

<!-- image -->

|                         |                           | List of Non-Major Ports             | List of Non-Major Ports   | List of Non-Major Ports                    |                |                                                     |
|-------------------------|---------------------------|-------------------------------------|---------------------------|--------------------------------------------|----------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
| S.No.                   | PORTS                     | S.No.                               | PORTS                     | S.No. PORTS                                | S.No.          | PORTS                                               |
| GUJARAT                 |                           |                                     |                           |                                            |                | ODISHA                                              |
| 1 Alang                 |                           | 64 Karanja                          | 124                       | Manki                                      | 183            | Gopalpur                                            |
| 2 Bedi                  |                           | 65 Kelshi                           | 125                       | Old Mangalore                              | 184            | Bahabalpur (Sone                                    |
| 3 Beyt                  |                           | 66 Kelwa-Mahim                      | 126                       | Padubidri                                  | 185            | Bahudamuham pur)                                    |
| 4 Bhagwa 5 Bharuch      |                           | 67 Kiranpani Kumbharu               | 127 128                   | Pavinakurve Tadadi                         | 186 187        | Palur Baliharichandi                                |
| 6 Bhavnagar             | 68                        | Malvan                              |                           |                                            |                |                                                     |
| 7 Bhogat                | 69                        | Mandad                              | 129                       | Keni                                       | 188 189        | Astaranga                                           |
| 8 Billimora             | 70                        | Mandwa                              | 130                       | LAKSHADWEEP Agatti                         | 190            | Jatadhar Muhan Bichitrapur (Talashari)              |
| 9 Chhara                | 71                        |                                     | 131                       | Amini                                      | 191            |                                                     |
|                         | 72 73                     | Manori                              |                           |                                            |                | Dhamra                                              |
| 10 Dahej 11 Ghogha      |                           | Mora Murud- Junjira                 | 132 133                   | Androth Bitra                              | 192 193        | Chudamani Inchudi                                   |
| 12 Hazira(Surat)-       | 74 HPPL & AHPPL 75        | Nandgaon                            | 134                       | Chetlat                                    | 194            | Chandipur                                           |
| 13 Jafarabad            | 76                        | Navapur                             | 135                       | Kadmat                                     | 195            | Subanarekha Mouth (Kirtania )                       |
| 14 Jakhau               |                           |                                     |                           | Kalpeni                                    | 196            | Riverine                                            |
| 15 Jodia                | 77 78                     | Nivati Palshet                      | 136 137                   |                                            |                | KERALA                                              |
| 16 Khambhat             |                           | Purnagad                            | 138                       | Kavaratti                                  | 197            | Vizhinjam                                           |
|                         | 79                        |                                     |                           | Kiltan                                     |                |                                                     |
| 17 Kolak 18 Kotda       | 80                        | Rajpuri / Dighi                     | 139                       | Minicoy                                    | 198 199        | Valiyathura(Thiruvananthapuram) Kollam(Thankaserry) |
| 19 Koteshwar            | 81 82                     | Ratnagiri Redi                      | 140                       | ANDAMAN & NICOBAR Campbell Bay             | 200            | Neendakara                                          |
| 20 Madhvad              | 83                        | Revdanda                            | 141                       | Chowra                                     | 201            | Alappuzha                                           |
| 21 Magdalla             |                           | 84 Rewas (Thal)                     | 142                       | Cinque & South cinque Islands              | 202            | Kodungallore(Munambam)                              |
| 22 Mahuva               | 85                        | Satpati                             | 143                       | Diglipur(Port Cornwalis)                   | 203            | Ponnani                                             |
| 23 Mandvi               | 86                        | Shriwardhan                         | 144                       | Dugong Creek                               | 204            | Kozhikkode                                          |
| 24 Adani Ports          | & SEZltd.(GAPL) 87        | Tarapur                             | 145                       | East Island                                | 205            | Beypore                                             |
| 25 Mangrol              | 88 89                     | Thane                               | 146                       | Swaraj Dweep (Havelock)                    | 206            | Thalassery                                          |
| 26 Maroli 27 Mul-Dwarka |                           | Trombay                             | 147                       | Hut Bay                                    | 207            | Kannur                                              |
| 28 Mundra               | 90 91                     | Ulwa-Belapur(Panvel)                | 148                       | Katchal (East Bay)                         | 208 209        | Kasaragod Neeleswaram                               |
| (Old) 29 Nargol         | 92                        | Uttan Vasai                         | 149 150                   | Kondul Macpherson ( Jolly                  | 210            | Azhikkal                                            |
| 30 Navabander           |                           | Varoda (Tiwari)                     | 151                       | bouy) Car Nicobar (East)                   | 211            | Kayamkulam                                          |
| 31 Navlakhi             | 93 94 95                  | Vengurla                            | 152                       | Mayabunder                                 | 212            | Vadakara                                            |
| 32 Okha                 |                           | Versova                             | 153                       | Port Meadow                                | 213            | Manjeswaram                                         |
| 33 Onjal Pindhara       |                           | 96 Vijaydurg                        | 154                       | Mus Carnicobar (West)                      |                |                                                     |
| 34                      | (GPPL)                    | ANDHRAPRADESH 97                    | 155                       | Nancowry Harbour(Camotra)                  |                | PUDUCHERRY Pondicherry                              |
| 35 Pipavav 36 Porbandar |                           | Bhavanpadu 98 kalingapatnam         | 156 157                   | Shaheed Dweep (Neil Island) Pillomillow    | 214 215        | Karaikal                                            |
| 37                      | Pipanav(Victor)           | 99 Gangavaram                       | 158                       | Port Blair                                 | 216            | Chemplast Sanmar                                    |
| 38 Rajpara              |                           | 100 Bheemunipatnam                  | 159                       | Rangat(Elephinston Horbour)                |                | (Karaikal)                                          |
| 39                      | Rupen                     | 101                                 | 160                       | South Bay                                  |                |                                                     |
|                         | Sachana                   | Nakkapalli 102                      |                           | Teressa                                    |                | WEST BENGAL                                         |
| 40                      |                           | Kakinada Anchorage Port             | 161                       |                                            | 217            |                                                     |
| 41 Salaya               |                           | Kakinada Deepwater Port             | 162                       | Tillanchong                                |                |                                                     |
|                         |                           |                                     |                           | Bay)                                       |                | Tajpur                                              |
| Sikka                   |                           | Rava Port                           | 163                       |                                            |                |                                                     |
| 42                      |                           | 103                                 |                           | Tillanchong (Castle                        |                |                                                     |
| 43 Talaja 44 45         | Umargam Umarsadi          | 104 Narasapur 105 Krishnapatnam 106 | Port                      | TAMIL NADU 164 Colachel                    |                |                                                     |
| 46 47                   | Valsad Vansi-Borsi        | 107                                 | Machilipatnam Vodaravu    | 165 Cuddalore Ennore Minor                 |                |                                                     |
| 48                      | Veraval                   |                                     | 166                       | Port Kanyakumari                           |                |                                                     |
|                         |                           | 108 109                             | Nizampatnam Ramayyapatnam |                                            |                |                                                     |
|                         |                           |                                     | 167 Port) 168             |                                            |                |                                                     |
|                         | MAHARASHTRA               | 110                                 | K-SEZ Port(Kakinada SEZ   | Kattupalli                                 |                |                                                     |
| 49 50                   | Arnala (Datiware)         | 111                                 | Meghavaram GOA            | 169 Koodankulam                            |                |                                                     |
| 51                      | Achara Bandra             | 112                                 | Betul                     | 170 Thirukkadaiyur 171 Nagapattinam        |                |                                                     |
| 52 53                   | Bankot Bhiwandi Borya     | 113 Chapora 114 115                 | 172 173                   | Pamban Thiruchopuram PY-3 Oil field        |                |                                                     |
| 54                      | Borli                     | Panaji Talpona                      | 174                       |                                            |                |                                                     |
| 55                      |                           | Tiracol                             |                           |                                            |                |                                                     |
| 56                      | Mandala                   |                                     |                           | Rameswaram                                 |                |                                                     |
| 57                      |                           | 116                                 | 175 176                   | Panaipur                                   |                |                                                     |
|                         | Dahanu Dabhol             | KARNATAKA 117 Belekeri              | 177                       |                                            |                |                                                     |
| 58 59                   | Deogad Dharamtar (Alibag) | 118 Bhatkal 119 Hangarkatta         | 178 179                   | Silambimanglam Parangipettai Thirukkuvalai |                |                                                     |
| 60 61                   | Harnai Jaigad             | 120 Karwar                          | Honnavar                  | 180                                        | Udangudi & DIU |                                                     |
| 62                      |                           | 121                                 | 181                       | DAMAN                                      |                |                                                     |
|                         |                           | Kundapur                            |                           | Daman                                      |                |                                                     |
| 63                      |                           | 122 Malpe                           |                           |                                            |                |                                                     |
| Source : State          | Jaitapur Kalyan           | 123                                 |                           | Diu                                        |                |                                                     |
|                         | Maritime Boards/          |                                     |                           |                                            |                |                                                     |
|                         | States/ Uts               |                                     | 182                       |                                            |                |                                                     |

## Annexure-II

<!-- image -->

| S. No.   | Inland Container Depots                                                 | State/UT       |
|----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------|
| 1        | Anaparthi                                                               | Andhra Pradesh |
| 1        | Chirala                                                                 | Andhra Pradesh |
| 1        | Hyderabad                                                               | Andhra Pradesh |
| 1        | Kakinada                                                                | Andhra Pradesh |
| 1        | Karedu                                                                  | Andhra Pradesh |
| 1        | Raddipalem                                                              | Andhra Pradesh |
| 1        | Chimakurthy Village (Chimakurthy Mandal) of Prakasam District           | Andhra Pradesh |
| 1        | Marripalem Village in Taluk Edlapadu, District Guntur                   | Andhra Pradesh |
| 1        | Thimmapar Village, District Mahbubnagar                                 | Andhra Pradesh |
| 2        | Amingaon (Gauhati)                                                      | Assam          |
| 2A       | Bihta                                                                   | Bihar          |
| 3        | Patparganj                                                              | Delhi          |
| 3        | Tuglakabad                                                              | Delhi          |
| 4        | Ahmedabad                                                               | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Baroda                                                                  | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Kapadra (Surat)                                                         | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Sachin (Surat)                                                          | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Rajkot                                                                  | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Village Valvada, Taluka Umbergaon, District Valsad                      | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Ankleshwar                                                              | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Gandhinagar                                                             | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Katargram, Chauryasi (Surat)                                            | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Village Mithirohar, Gandhidham                                          | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Village Tumb, Taluka Umbergaon, District Valsad                         | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Village Sachana, Viramgam, District Ahmedabad                           | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Viramgam, Village Bhojwa, Taluka Viramgam, District Ahmedabad (Gujarat) | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Village Varnama, Taluka District Vadodara                               | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Taluka Maliya, Distt. Morbi                                             | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Village Dahej, Taluka Vagra, Distt, Bharuch                             | Gujarat        |
| 4        | Virochannagar, Ahmedabad                                                | Gujarat        |
| 4A       | Verna                                                                   | Goa            |
| 4A       | Balli                                                                   | Goa            |

<!-- image -->

| 5   | Babarpur                                                       |                   |
|-----|----------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------|
| 5   | Faridabad                                                      |                   |
| 5   | Rewari                                                         |                   |
| 5   | Garhi Harsaru Junction (near Gurgoan)                          |                   |
| 5   | Kundli (Sonepat)                                               |                   |
| 5   | Patli, Gurgaon                                                 | Haryana           |
| 5   | Village-Panchi Gujaran-District Sonepat                        |                   |
| 5   | Village Janoli-Bhagola, Tehsil Palwal                          |                   |
| 5   | Village Jattipur, near Samalkha, Panipat                       |                   |
| 5   | Village Barhi, Gannaur, District Sonepat                       |                   |
| 5   | Dhirpur, Kurukshetra                                           |                   |
| 5A  | Jamshedpur                                                     | Jharkhand         |
| 5B  | Bari Brahmana, Jammu                                           | Jammu and Kashmir |
|     | Bangalore                                                      |                   |
|     | Mysore                                                         |                   |
| 6   | Hassan                                                         | Karnataka         |
| 6   | Vemgal Industrial Area, Koorgal Village, Kolar Taluk and Kolar | Karnataka         |
| 6   | District                                                       | Karnataka         |
| 6A  | Arror                                                          | Kerala            |
| 6A  | Village Nattakom, Distt. Kottayam, Kerala                      | Kerala            |
| 6A  | Mathilakam (Thrissur)                                          | Kerala            |
| 6A  | Kannur                                                         | Kerala            |
| 6B  | Balasore                                                       | Orissa            |
| 6B  | Kalinganagar                                                   | Orissa            |
| 6B  | Jharsuguda                                                     | Orissa            |
| 6B  | Jajpur                                                         | Orissa            |
| 7   | Amritsar                                                       | Punjab            |
| 7   | Bhatinda                                                       | Punjab            |
| 7   | Jalandhar                                                      | Punjab            |
| 7   | Ludhiana                                                       | Punjab            |
| 7   | Dappar (Dera Bassi)                                            | Punjab            |
| 8   | Malanpur (Gwalior)                                             | Madhya Pradesh    |
| 8   | Pithampur                                                      | Madhya Pradesh    |
| 8   | Raipur                                                         | Madhya Pradesh    |
| 8   | Mandideep, District Raisen                                     | Madhya Pradesh    |
| 8   | Dhannad Rau, District Indore                                   | Madhya Pradesh    |
| 8   | Ratlam                                                         | Madhya Pradesh    |
| 8   | Powarkheda, District Hoshangabad                               | Madhya Pradesh    |

<!-- image -->

| Village Tihi, Tehsil-Dr. Ambedkar Nagar(Mhow), District Indore   |             |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------|
| Village Kheda, Pithampur                                         |             |
| Jalgaon                                                          | Maharashtra |
| Nagpur                                                           | Maharashtra |
| Nasik                                                            | Maharashtra |
| Dighi (Pune)                                                     | Maharashtra |
| Waluj (Aurangabad)                                               | Maharashtra |
| Wanjanvadi and Maliwada (Aurangabad)                             | Maharashtra |
| Miraj                                                            | Maharashtra |
| Bhusawal                                                         | Maharashtra |
| Village Palaspe, Panvel, Dist. Raigad, Maharashtra               | Maharashtra |
| Ajivali Village in Taluka of Panvel, District Raigad             | Maharashtra |
| Janori, Taluka-Dindori, Nashik District                          | Maharashtra |
| Talegaon, District Pune                                          | Maharashtra |
| Wardha                                                           | Maharashtra |
| Mahagaon (Thane)                                                 | Maharashtra |
| Village Bhambholi, Taluka Khed, District Pune                    | Maharashtra |
| Jalna                                                            | Maharashtra |
| Bhilwara                                                         | Rajasthan   |
| Bhiwadi                                                          | Rajasthan   |
| Jaipur                                                           | Rajasthan   |
| Jodhpur                                                          | Rajasthan   |
| Kota                                                             | Rajasthan   |
| Udaipur                                                          | Rajasthan   |
| Ravatha Road, Kota                                               | Rajasthan   |
| Mandavariya (Kishangarh), District Ajmer                         | Rajasthan   |
| Hindaun City, District Karauli                                   |             |
| Kathuwas and Mandhan Village, District Alwar                     |             |
| Dhanakya                                                         |             |
| Kishangarh                                                       |             |
| Coimbatore                                                       |             |
| Madurai                                                          |             |
| Salem                                                            |             |
| Singnallur                                                       |             |
| Tirupur                                                          |             |
| Pullichappallam Village, Vanur Taluk                             |             |
| Karur                                                            |             |

<!-- image -->

|   11 | Melapakkam, Arakkonam                                                                                      | Tamil Nadu       |
|------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------|
|   11 | Coimbatore                                                                                                 | Tamil Nadu       |
|   11 | Inland Container Depots, Tuticorin                                                                         | Tamil Nadu       |
|   11 | Irugur Village, Distt. Coimbatore                                                                          | Tamil Nadu       |
|   11 | SIPCOT Industrial Park, Irungattukottai, Kattrambakkam Village, Sriperumbudur Taluk, Kancheepuram District | Tamil Nadu       |
|   11 | Tondiarpet (TNPM), Chennai                                                                                 | Tamil Nadu       |
|   11 | Hosur                                                                                                      | Tamil Nadu       |
|   12 | Agra                                                                                                       | Uttar Pradesh    |
|   12 | Kanpur                                                                                                     | Uttar Pradesh    |
|   12 | Meerut                                                                                                     | Uttar Pradesh    |
|   12 | Moradabad                                                                                                  | Uttar Pradesh    |
|   12 | Saharanpur                                                                                                 | Uttar Pradesh    |
|   12 | Varanasi                                                                                                   | Uttar Pradesh    |
|   12 | NOIDA Special Economic Zone                                                                                | Uttar Pradesh    |
|   12 | Surajpur (Greater Noida)                                                                                   | Uttar Pradesh    |
|   12 | Dadri, Greater Noida                                                                                       | Uttar Pradesh    |
|   12 | Bhadohi District, Sant Ravidas Nagar                                                                       | Uttar Pradesh    |
|   12 | Loni, District Ghaziabad                                                                                   | Uttar Pradesh    |
|   12 | Madho Singh (Near Railway Station), District Sant Ravi Das Nagar                                           | Uttar Pradesh    |
|   12 | Modinagar, District Ghaziabad                                                                              | Uttar Pradesh    |
|   12 | Khurja, District Bulandshahr                                                                               | Uttar Pradesh    |
|   12 | Dalpatpur, Moradabad                                                                                       | Uttar Pradesh    |
|   13 | FALTA Special Economic Zone                                                                                | West Bengal      |
|   13 | Inland Container Depot in Export Promotion Industrial Park, Durgapur                                       | West Bengal      |
|   13 | Village Dabgram, Tehsil Bhakti Nagar, District Jalpaiguri                                                  | West Bengal      |
|   14 | Baddi - District Solan                                                                                     | Himachal Pradesh |
|   15 | Pantnagar, District Udham Singh Nagar Kashipur District U.S. Nagar                                         | Uttarakhand      |

To,

## F.  No.  394/29/2020-Cus (AS)

Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue Anti-Smuggling Unit (CBIC)

Room No.  512,  5th  Floor,  Hudco Vishala Building, R.  K.  Puram, New Delhi. Dated 05.11.2020

All Principal Chief/Chief Commissioners of Customs, All Principal Chief/Chief Commissioners of Customs(P), All Principal Chief/  Chief Commissioners of Customs & CGST, Webmaster, CBIC.

Madam  /Sir,

## Subject: Policy and Guidelines for setting up of Inland Container Depots (ICDs), Container Freight Stations (CFSs) and Air Freight Stations (AFSs)-Reg.

## 1. Introduction

- 1.1. An  Inter-Ministerial  Committee  ([MC)  was constituted  in  1992 to  act as a  single window for  clearance of proposals  to  set  up  Inland  Container  Depots  (ICDs),  Container Freight  Stations (CFSs)  and  Air  Freight  Stations  (AFSs).  The  Ministry  of Commerce  and Industry  Guidelines,  1992  prescribed  the  requirements  for  setting  up  of  the  ICDs  and CFSSs.  The  subsequent  guidelines  issued  by  the  Department  of  Commerce  (DoC)  and Central Board of Indirect  Taxes  and  Customs  (CBIC)  set  the rules  for  establishment & functioning  of  these  facilities.  The  matters  relating  to  setting  up  of  1CDs/CFSs/AFSs were  brought  under  CBIC  in  2018.  Accordingly,  the  Board  had  reconstituted  the  Inter Ministerial Committee vide order issued under F.No. 434/04/2018-Cus.IV dated 20.06.2018.
- 1.2. In  the last two decades,  both the cargo volumes  and capacities of ICDs/CFSs have increased  manifold.  A few  key  initiatives  transforming  the  manner  of  trade  in  recent years,  such  as  implementation  of  the  Authorized  Economic  operator  (AEO) programme, rising  penetration  of the  Direct  Port Delivery(DPD) and  Direct Port Entry(DPE)  initiatives, Self-Sealing (RFID  seals), Self-Assessment,  Electronic Cargo Tracking System  (ECTS)  and RMS based facilitation  have  completely changed the  operation of Export-Import logistics. The  CBIC  is  also  targeting higher  DPD,  DPE  numbers  with  minimum  but more  effective Customs interventions aided by technological measures.
- 1.3. Similarly,  physical  infrastructure  has  undergone  exponential  improvements  with the development of expressways, national highways connecting ports to  hinterland.  Many new  private  ports & terminals  within  the  existing ports  have  come  up  on  both  Western and  Eastern  coasts  of  the  country.  The  operationalisation  of  Western  and  Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridors is near future  is expected to  completely change the dynamics of cargo movement.

- 1.4. At  present, majority of CFSs are located up to  50 kms away from the port and are concentrated in high numbers in the western and southern India.  ICDs on the other hand are concentrated in  the northern hinterland. Similarly, the traffic  across ICDs  is  also not distributed evenly, only 25  ICDs  cater 83% of the total volume  (in  terms of Shipping Bills and Bills of Entries).
- Therefore,  on  account  of plethora  of changes  in  the  policy,  technology  landscape and  the  logistics  ecosystem  over  the  time,  there  is  a  need  for  revising  the  policies  and procedure for setting  up  of  new  ICDs/CFSs/AFSs  to  meet the  requirement  of  the changing paradigm and the aspirations of the trade. 1.5.
- 1.6. Accordingly, the new policy:
- i takes  into  account  the  present  capacity,  future  growth  potential  and  regional imbalances and also addresses the need for  bringing uniformity,  transparency and seamless approval process;
- ii addresses the identified regulatory and  logistics concerns  associated with  the hard and soft infrastructure of ICDs/ CFSs/AFSs in India;
- iii. establishes  a  framework  of  functional  requirements  pertaining  to  the  design  and operation of dry ports, as well  as establish certain  processes to enable  sustainable growth of the sector; and
- iv. aims to lay down appropriate institutional, administrative and regulatory frameworks  for  development and smooth  operation of ICDs/CFSs/AFSs,  including procedures  for regulatory  inspection  and  the  execution  of  applicable  customs control and formalities.

## 2. Distinction between ICD, CFS and AFS

## 2.1 Inland Container Depot (1CD):

2.1.1.  An off  seaport (or port) facility.  having  such  fixed installations  or  otherwise, equipment,  machinery etc. providing  services for handling /  clearance of laden import, export containers for home use,  warehousing,  temporary admissions,  re-export  etc under Customs control and with storage facility for customs bonded or non-bonded cargo.

2.1.2.  An  ICD  is  a  "self-contained  Customs  stationGLYPH<28> like  a  port  or  air  cargo  unit  where filing  of  Customs  manifests,  Bills  of  Entries,  Shipping  Bills and  other  declarations, assessmnent and all the activities related to  clearance of goods for home use, warehousing, temporary  admissions, re-export,  temporary  storage  for onward  transit  and  outright export,  transshipment,  etc.,  take  place.  An  ICD  would  have  its  own  automated  system with a separate station code (such as INTKD 6,  INSNF6  etc.)  being allotted by Ministry of Commerce and with in-built capacity to enter examination reports and enable assessment of documents, processing of manifest, amendments, etc.

## 2.2. Container Freight Station

2.2.1. An off  seaport (or port) facility  having  such  fixed installations  or  otherwise, equipment,  machinery etc. Providing  services for  handling  /  clearance  of laden  import, export containers for home use, warehousing, temporary admissions, re-export etc under customs control and with storage facility for customs bonded or non-bonded cargo.

2.2.2.  Though by definition, both ICD  and CFS  are similar, a CFS  is only a Customs area notified  under  section  8  of  the  Customs  Act, 1962,  located  in  the  jurisdiction  of  a Commissioner  of  Customs  exercising  control  over  a  specified  Customs  port,  airport, LCS/ICD  while  an  ICD  is  notified  under  section  7  of  the  Customs  Act, 1962.  A  CFS cannot have an independent existence and has to  be linked to  a  Customs station within the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Customs. It is an extension of a Customs port set up with the main objective of decongestion. In a CFS only a part of the Customs processes mainly the examination of goods is  normally carried  out by Customs  besides  stuffing/de stuffing  of  containers  and  aggregation/  segregation  of  cargo.  Thus,  Custom's functions relating  to processing  of manifest,  import/  export  declarations and  assessment  of Bill  of Entry/Shipping Bill are  performed  in  the  Custom  House/Custom  Office  that  exercises jurisdiction over the  parent port/airport/ICD/LCS to which  the  said CFS  is attached.  In the  case  of  Customs  Stations  having  facility  of  automated  processing  of  documents, terminals are provided at such CFSs for recording the result of examination, etc.  In  some CFSS,  extension  Service  Centers  are  available  for  filing  documents,  amendments  etc. However, the assessment of the documents etc. is carried out centrally.

2.2.3.  An  ICD  may also  have  several  CFSs  attached  to  it  within  the jurisdiction  of  the Commissioner of Customs just as in the case of a port.

## 2.3. Air Freight Station (AFS)

2.3.1.  An  off-airport  common  user facility  equipped  with  fixed  installations of minimum requirement  and  offering  services  for  handling  and  temporary  storage  of  import  and export cargo etc.

2.3.2.  While CFS handles maritime cargo, an AFS is meant to handle air  cargo.

## 2.4. Important centers of  activity relating to ICDs/CFSs/AFSs

2.4.1.  Rail  Siding (in  case of a rail-based terminal): The place where  container trains are received,  dispatched and handled in  a  terminal. Similarly, the  containers are loaded on and unloaded from  rail  wagons  at the  siding through  overhead  cranes and  /  or  other lifting equipment.

2.4.2.  Container Yard:  Container yard  occupies  the largest  area  in  the  ICD/CFS. is stacking  area  where  the  export  containers  are  aggregated  prior  to  dispatch  to  port, import  containers  are  stored till  Customs clearance  and where  empty containers  await onward  movement.  Likewise,  some  stacking  areas  are  earmarked  for  keeping  special containers such as refrigerated, hazardous, overweight/over- length etc.

- 2.4.3.  Warehouse:  Public warehouse  appointed  under  section  57  or  private  warehouse licensed  under  section  58  is  a  covered  space/shed where  export  cargo  is  received  and import cargo stored/delivered;  containers are  stuffed/stripped or reworked; LCL exports are  consolidated  and  import  LCLs  are  unpacked;  and  cargo  is  physically  examined  by Customs.  Export  and  import  consignments  are  generally  handled  either  at  separate areas in a warehouse or in different nominated warehouses/sheds.
- 2.4.4 Gate  Complex:  The  gate  complex  regulates  the  entry  and  exits  of  road  vehicles carrying  cargo  and  containers  through  the  terminal.  It  is  place  where  documentation, security and container inspection procedures are undertaken.

## 3. Functions and benefits of ICDs/CFSs/AFSs

- 3.1. The  primary  functions  of ICD/CFS/AFS  include  receipt  and  dispatch/delivery  of cargo,  stuffing  and  stripping  of containers, transit operations by  rail/road  to  and  from serving  ports;  customs  clearance,  consolidation  and  desegregation  of  loose  Container Load  (LCL)  cargo, temporary storage of cargo and containers, reworking of containers; and maintenance and repair of container units.
- 3.2. ICD/CFS/AFS,  inter alia,  offer the  following  benefits to the  trade,  namely, serving as  concentration  points  for  long  distance  cargo  movement  and  transit  facility,  making available customs clearance facility available near the centers of production and consumption  free movement  of  cargo  at  gateway  ports  and  decongesting  the  ports, reducing  the  costs  of transport,  inventory,  demurrage  and  level  of  pilferage;  enabling intermodal transshipments &  repositioning of containers for  shipping lines.

## 4. Criteria for new ICDs/CFSs/AFSs

## 4.1. Geographical Criteria  for approvals

- 4.1.1.  It  has  been  seen  in  the  past  that  the  tendency  of developers  to  set up  facilities  in few  selected areas  led  not  only  to  proliferation at those  centers  but  also  has resulted in investments  being  made  near  big  cities/ports,  far  from  the  manufacturing/exporting units.  Moreover,  such distorted penetration results in higher costs for  inland units apart from  creating manpower issues for  the departments.
- 4.1.2.  Therefore, it  has been  decided  to  group  the  country in  three  types  of areas for  the purposes of opening of new ICDs/CFSs as under following:
- Green  Zone: States  low  on ICD/CFS  infrastructure.  These will  be open  for proposals  (Himachal  Pradesh,  Bihar,  Jharkhand,  West  Bengal,  Sikkim,  Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya and Telengana and Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh);
- Bue Zone:  States  where  the  proposals  can  be  accepted  only  for  specific  trade generating  locations  with no existing facilities or  with over utilized facilities (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala and Union Territories of Pudhucherry, Diu and Daman); and
- Red Zone: The identified states have adequate ICD/CFS infrastructure. These may be closed for  any new CFSs development indefinitely. However,  in exceptional cases

IMC  may  approve  the  setting up of ICDs  in  trade  generating locations  with  high export  &  import  potential  and  need  of  new  facilities (all  the  states  and  union territories not listed in Green and Blue Zones).

- 4.1.3.  Distance of  ICD from ports Rail trarnsport is price competitive with road transport when  the  lead  distance  is  more  than  200  kms.  Rail  connected  ICDs  are  favored  at hinterland locations with lead distances up  to 1,500 kms in north India. The development of ICDs  within  200  kms  of a connecting/Nearest  serving  seaport  shall  be discouraged.  The  measure  is  expected  to  further  encourage  DPD  & DPE  movement between hinterland &  ports.  For calculation of distance, the chargeable route by rail and shortest road (National Highway  / State Highway)  from serving port shall be  considered. This rule shall be  applicable across all geographical zones.
- 4.1.4.  Distance  between  ICDs  - No  Greenfield  ICD  shall  be  permitted  to  be  established within 100kmsdistance  from  existing  ICD. Distance  will be referred as  chargeable railways route (both directions) between  ICDs  and  shortest  road distance(National Highway  /  State Highway,  both  directions)  in  case of road linked ICD.  This  rule shall be applicable across all Geographical zones.
- 4.1.5.  Development in States with  low Logistics  nfrastructure - To  support infrastructure development  in  states  with  limited  logistics  infrastructure,  priority  should  be  given  to Identifying  and  promoting  ICD/CFS/AFS  facilities  where  presence  of  such  facilities  is limited.  These  are  clustered  in  Green  Zone  as  proposed  above.  IMC  can  give  relaxation on Distance rules in Green Zone.
- 4.1.6. National  Logistics  Action Plan/ Policy  -The  approval  and  notification  of  all  new ICD/CFS,  including existing  and  new  MMLPs  will  be  processed  in  consonance with  the national logistics  action  plan/policy.
- 4.1.7. Inland  National  Waterways  - Development  of  ICDs  based  on  Inland  National Waterways as  mode  of transportation will be encouraged with  relaxation  being given  on Geographical Zone& Distance rules.
- 4.1.8.  Railways  Freight  Corridors  - Approval  of  Greenfield  ICDs  directly along/ Linked with  DFCs  (Eastern  & Western  DFCs  and  any  new  operationalized  railways  freight corridor)  will  be  accorded  with  no  more  than  one  ICD  directly  connected  with  these corridors  within  chargeable  distance  of  100  kms  in  both  directions.  It  is  expected  that some of existing ICDs will get connected directly to freight  corridors and while  some  will operate in Hub &  Spoke model in future. With  priority of increasing utilization of Freight corridors as they operationalize and  lowering the logistics costs,  IMC can  accord approvals  to these  facilities  in  any  zone  while  maintaining  distance  rules  on the corridors.
- 4.1.9.  Exceptions - IMC can approve creation of additional facilities near existing ICDs (all 3 zones)  if the demand exceeds  the  existing capacity  of 1CDs/CFSs  in  trade  generating location/area.  This  can  be  determined  by  analyzing the  existing  utilization  of  ICDs  in designated trade generating location/area.
- 4.1.10.  In no case  a new  CFS  shall be  set  up  which  is  linked  to  an  ICD.  Only  CFSS connected to ports in the permissible Zones  (as mentioned above)  shall be allowed  after considering existing capacity and utilization paranmeters.

4.1.11.  AFSS  are  relatively  new  to  India,  hence,  in  the  case  of  AFSs,  the  IMC  while considering the application, will  only  take into account the demand-supply gap  and take appropriate  decision.

## 4.2.  Volume

4.2.1.  The facility must be economically viable to  manage and attractive to  the users, to the  railways  for full  train  load  movements;  to  other  transport  operators;  seaports; shipping lines;  freight forwarders etc.  and  must operate  at certain minimum amount of traffic.  The applicants must therefore  study carefully the viability of the project from  the point of view of the TEU traffic availability.

4.2.2.  In  the  time  of  growing  international  trade,  the  creation  of  any  infrastråcture facility  must  commensurate  with  the  generation  of  demand  in  actual  terms.  This  is particularly  important  as  such  facilities  have  a  long  gestation  period  for  being  fully operationalized. Accordingly, the  minimum threshold performance shall be 7200 TEUs/consignments' per year  (two  way)  for  an  ICD  and  1200  TEUs/consignments per year (two way)  for  a CFS.  However,  no  such  threshold  performance  is prescribed  for  an AFS.

## 4.3. Land

4.3.1.  The  minimum area requirement  is  seven  hectare  for  ICD  having minimum  area of four hectares as Customs Notified Area and minimum one hectare nominated for  DPD & DPE  nominated  space.  For  states in  Green  Zone,  ICD  with  three  hectares  for  customs notified  area  and  one  hectare  for  DPD  & DPE  may  be considered.  The  minimum  area requirement  shall  be  two  hectare  for  a  CFS.  For  AFS  1000  Sq.  meters  of covered  area each for imports and exports respectively shall be made available.

4.3.2.  Ownership of Land -The applicant must have the legal rights over the land which is proposed for  ICD/CES construction.  If the  land is  not  owned  and  the  land is  leased,  the lease  agreement  with  lessor  must  be for period  of  30  years.  Change of  Land Use certificate,  wherever  required  shall  accompany  the  application  and  land  should  be  free from  acquisition proceeding at date of application. The  land parcels should be  contiguous with only exception for  setting up non-bonded storage facility.

## 4.4. Other Criteria

4.4.1.  Legal  entity  The applicant  must be  a legal  entity in  India  under  applicable  1law. The  entity  must possess  a valid  GST  registration  and  should  have  been  operating for  a minimum period of three years.

4.4.2.  Prior experience - The applicant must have prior experience of operating as CCSP or should  have  other  trans-border  logistics  experience  such  as  logistics  service  provider incuding  customs  brokers,  transporters,  freight  forwarders,  shipping  lines  and  port terminal operators.

1 Consignments here refers to  Shipping Bill/ Bill of Entry

## 5. Application and Approval Procedures

## 5.1. Setting up  of  new  ICD/CFS/AFS

- 5.1.1.  The  application  for  setting  up  of  new  1CD/CFS/AFS  shall  be  submitted  to  the Member  (Customs),  CBIC,  Office  of  the  Commissioner  (RI&I),  5th  floor,  Hudco  Vishala Building,  Bhikaji  Cama  Place,  New  Delhi  110066,  email:  mgt.valavan@nic.in,  in  the format  provided  in  Annexure-I.  Application  shall  also  accompany  a  Detailed  Project Report (DPR)  in format  provided  in  Annexure-II. The application should be  submitted in six  copies  with  one  advance  copy  to  jurisdictional  Commissioner  of  Customs  for  his recommendation on feasibility and five copies to  Member (Customs),  CBIC.  No  application fee  will be  charged from the  applicants.  Without waiting for  the  report from jurisdictional Commissioner, the other copies of the application shall be sent by office of the Commissioner (RI&1)  to  all the members of IMC for their comments.
- 5.1.2.  Aplicants  shall  familiarize  themselves  with  statutory  Customs  requirements  in relation to bonding, transit  bond, security, insurance, other necessary procedural requirements and cost recovery charges payable before filing the application.
- 5.1.3.  The jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs, upon receipt of the advance copy, will examine the feasibility of the proposal and send his recommendations,  along with reasons thereof,  to  Member  (Customs),  CBIC,  within  30  days  of  receipt  of  the  application.  The recommendations  of  jurisdictional  Commissioner  shall  take  into  account  manpower availability, existing ICD/  CFS capacity and its utilization, future  projections, reduction in logistics  cost  and  the impact  on  local  trade  stakeholders of the  new  proposed  facility  in lines with  policy.  The jurisdictional  Commissioner  shall  do  his  own  analysis  based  on historical data and existing facilities working in the vicinity. The jurisdictional Commissioner while  forwarding  his  recommendation  shall make  a categorical  statement whether an application merits consideration or rejection.
- 5.1,4.  On  receipt  of  the  proposal,  the  members  of  the  IMC  will  furnish  their  comments within 30 days.
- 5.1.5.  Proposals  for  setting  up  1CD/CFS/AFS  will  be  considered  on  merits  by  the  IMC. Normally,  the  IMC  meetings  will be  held  twice  in  a year.  The  committee  may  approve  or refuse  to  grant  approval  for  setting  up  of ICD/CFS/AFS.  The  recommendations  of the jurisdictional Commissioner will  be  a relevant  factor  but not  necessarily  binding  on  the IMC.  The IMC  can independently decide about approval/rejection of any project based on the  valid  considerations.  The  applicant  shall  not  make  any  investment  before  obtaining the  approval  from  IMC. The  "in-principle"  approval  from the  jurisdictional  Customs Commissioner regarding the feasibility  of the proposed facility  shall not be  considered  as final. Any investment made by the prospective developer  before the  approval of IMC  shall be  at  the  risk  of  developer  and  as  a  result  would  not  constitute  a  relevant  factor  for approval of the facility.
- 5.1.6.  On  approval of a proposal,  a Letter of Intent  (LOI)  will be  issued to  the  applicant with  conditions  as may  be considered necessary, which will enable  applicant to initiate steps to create infrastructure. The applicant would be required to set  up  the

infrastructure within one year from the date of approval.

5.1.7.  The LOI will  have  a  validity  of  12  months.  It  will  be  further  extendable  by  a maximum of 12 months once only.  Only in exceptional cases,  IMC would further extend it by 6 months in one  go  for  maximum  2 terms. Therefore, no  extension  after  this time will be provided and proposal will be  deemed as rejected.  Once rejected, new proposal must be submitted afresh.

5.1.8. The IMC has right to  suspend or revoke the approval granted in the following cases:

- on breach of any conditions of applicable law or contained herein; or i.
- ii. the  setting  up/continuance  of  the  ICD/CFS/AFS  would  be  prejudicial  to  public interest; or
- iii if the  ICD/CFS/AFS entity or any of its promoters is  convicted of an offence under the provision of any Act in  force.

## 5.2. Applications for other purposes

5.2.1.  Change  of CFS to ICD and  vice versa and notification  of  AFS in Existing ICD -When  a CFS  operator  wants  to  upgrade  the  facility  to  ICD  or  convert  the  ICD  to  CFS,  he  shall approach the IMC  for approval for  such a change.  Such applications shall be  processed in the similar manner as that of a new facility.

Jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs can approve  the change of custodian of existing facilities  under  section 45  of the  Customs Act,  1962  and the  change  may  be  informed  to  the  Commissioner  (RI8:1).  There  will be no  need  to approach  IMC  for  change in  ownership  provided  the  residual  entity  meets  turnover  and other  requirements  established  within  the  framework  of  this  policy.  However,  any  pre condition  prescribed  in  this  policy which  the  original developer  is  required  to  fulfill,  shall be  met  by  the  new  owner  as wel.  The new  owner  shall ensure  and  confirm  that  all  the liabilities  under  the  Customs Act,  1962  and regulations thereof,  payable  by  the  cxisting operator are duly discharged before such change of ownership. 5.2.2.  Change in  Ownership

5.2.3.  Change in  Location  For  change of location  of an  existing  facility,  the  operator  of the facility  shall approach IMC.  If the new location  is  in  the  same locality  of the  existing cluster of CFSs/AFSs, and serves to the same gateway port,  the  IMC  after  consulting the jurisdictional Commissioner  of  Customs,  may  approve  such  request. However,  in  case such change of location involves substantial geographical change (outside existing District or  involves  change of port to  which  the CFS  serves), it should be  treated as closure of the existing facility and setting up of a new facility.

## 6. Post Approval Obligations

## 6.1. Operationalising the  facility

6.1.1.  The applicant  shall take  all  necessary actions  to  operationalise  the  facility  within the validity  period  of the  LOI.  The  applicant must put up  the  required infrastructure and

meet the regulatory requirements in compliance with applicable law to become functional. The Check list for various requirements is given  at the  Annexure-III.

- 6.1.2.  The applicant, after receipt of LOI, shall send monthly progress report to jurisdictional Commissioner  of Customs in  the  proforma as  may  be  prescribed  by  him. Failure  to  submit progress report would have  an adverse effect  in  cases where  extension is  to  be  sought.  Non-compliance  to  send  reports  shall  be  a  valid  ground  for  rejection  of request for  extension.
- 6.1.3.  After  development  of infrastructure  as  per  requirements,  applicant  shall  apply  to CBIC  for  notification  of facility  as  ICD  or AFS  under Section  7(aa)  of Customs Act,  1962 through the jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs.
- 6.1.4. Further, applicant will approach jurisdictional Commissioner  of Customs  to  issue notifications  under  section  8 of the  Customs  Act  1962  for  approving  landing  place  and specifying limits  of Customs area  and under Section 45(1)  of the Customs Act,  1962  for declaration as "Custodian".
- 6.1.5.  These notifications will be issued only if the Board or the jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, is fully  satisfied with the readiness of the facility  and  fulfillment  of  compliances  under  the  Handling  of  Cargo  in  Customs  Areas Regulations (HCCAR),  2009.
- 6.1.6.  Further,  after  the issuance  of  LOI  and before  the issuance  of the notifications as mentioned  above,  the jurisdictional  Commissioner of Customs  shall  coordinate with  the Directorate  General  of Human  Resource  Development  (DGHRD)  for  creating the required numbers of cost recOvery pOsts.
- 6.1.7.  The jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs while forwarding  the recommendation for  issuance of notification  shall:
- a satisfy  himself  about  the  readiness  of  the  facility  including  fulfillment  of  the requirements listed at Annexure-III;
- b. ensure that the required number of cost recovery posts are created; and
- c. confirm that once the facility is notified the Commissionerate will be able to deploy the officers.

## 6.2. Regulatory and other compliances

- 6.2.1. The facility operator who is appointed as custodian of the goods meant for import and export shall be required to  comply with provisions of the  Customs Act,  1962, rules and regulations thereof and circulars/instructions issued from time to time by the Board in relation to the custody,  storage, handling  and  disposal of  cargo  incuding  the Handling of Cargo in Customs Area Regulations, 2009.
- 6.2.2. The operator shall comply with the laws  relating to  Indian Railways  (for  safety of siding and smooth rake operations in the facility),  labor, environment (including the laws

relating  to  the  storage  of  hazardous  goods,  legal  metrology  (certification  for  installed weighing instruments incuding weight bridges etc.)  food  safety (certification of facility by FSSAI  for  storage)  etc.

- 6.2.3. The  operator  shall  also  comply  with  the  circulars/instructions  issued  by  the Board on cost recovery charges from  time to  time for  the officers deployed.  The payment of  cost  recovery  charges  for  the  officers  and  staff deployed  and  exemption  from  such payment shall be governed  by the extant rules, policy and circulars in this regard.
- 6.2.4. No  alteration of the plan of the  ICD/ CFS shall be made without the concurrence of  the  jurisdictional  Commissioner  of  Customs.  Further,  no  reduction  in  minimum prescribed physical area shall be allowed.
- For  Rail  linked  ICDs,  investors will  be  required  to  provide  at  their  own  cost  all infrastructure facilities including land, track, and maintenance of assets including track, rolling  stock,  etc.  as  per  extant  railway  rules applicable  to  such  sidings.  The  cost of the railway staff would be governed as per the prevailing Indian Railways policy. 6.2.5.
- 6.2.6. The custodians should strictly follow any  guidelines/  directions issued on account of force-majeure of Government of India from time to time.

## 6.3. Record keeping handling, receipt and storage

6.3.1. For  the  proper  discharge  of duties,  the  custodian  shall execute  a  Bond covering the  value  of the  goods  stored  in  the  ICD/CFS  with  the Assistant/ Deputy Commissioner of  Customs.  The custodian shall  ensure  that  all goods held  in the  ICD/CFS  are adequately covered as per extant circulars issued by the  Board.

- 6.3.2. The custodian shall provide safe, secure  and spacious place for loading, unloading and storage of the  cargo.
- 6.3.3. The  custodian  shall  also  provide  sufficient  modern  handling  equipments  in operating condition for handling the cargo in the notified area.
- 6.3.4. The  custodian  shall  be  responsible  for  the  proper  receipt,  handling,  storage  and shall  be accountable  for the  loss  of  imported  goods after  the  landing  and before clearance, and also for  goods  meant for  export/transshipment. They shall also maintain proper  records  of  all  such  goods  including  the  records  of goods  which  are cleared with the permission of the Customs or disposed of,  under section 48 of the Customs Act  1962 or  otherwise.  Further,  custodians  shall  share  available data  with the  Government Departments/Agencies ensuring reasonable commercial and individual privacy.
- 6.3.5. If  any  imported  goods  are  pilfered  or  lost after  unloading  in  the  customs  area while in  the custody of the custodian, then in terms of provisions of section 45(3)  of the Customs Act  1962, they shall be liable to pay the duty on such pilfered goods.

## 6.4. Infrastructure and other  facilities

6.4.1. The  custodian  shall also  take  steps  to  bring  about  necessary  improvements  in the infrastructural facilities and other amenities required to  be provided to  the trade and to  Customs staff,  as may be  necessitated from  time to time, consequent upon the growth in the volume of Import and Export Trade handled at the ICD/CFS.

6.4.2. In  case  the  custodian  wants  to  sublet  any of  the  functions  inside  the  customs area or connected with  the  custonms  area,  the  same  should  be  done  with  prior approval of  the  Commissioner  of  Customs  and  the  custodian  shall  remain  responsible  for  the omissions and commissions of the said agency.

## 6.5. Performance Monitoring

6.5.1 The  Commissioner  of  Customs  shall ensure  that  annual  audit/inspection  of  the notified  facilities  are  conducted  in  terms  of  the  circulars/  instructions  issued  in  this regard.

- 6.5.2 The  jurisdictional  Commissioner  of  Customs  shall, based  on  the  findings  of  the annual  inspection  report  or  otherwise,  take  necessary  remedial  action  including  penal action,  for  any  contravention,  under the  Customs Act,  1962  read  with  HCCAR,  2009.  It may be noted that each violation  shall be treated as separate for  the  purpose of initiating penal  actions.
- 6.5.3 The jurisdictional  Commissionerates must list  out functional,  non-functional and approved count of ICDs on their websites, latest figures of volume handled,  Infrastructure profiles,  compliance with  HCCAR  2009  rules  to  be maintained on  month  on  month basis on the Commissionerate's  web-portal.

## 7. Term, renewal and de-notification of the facility

- 7.1. The duration  of the  award  for  the  operation of the  facility  shall  be  governed  by HCCAR  2009  unless  otherwise  mentioned  in  any  other  guidelines.  The  applicant  shall get  the award renewed by the jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs.
- 7.2. At the time of renewal, the jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs shall satisfy himself about the functioning  of the  facility  including the  minimum volume  projected at the  time  of initial  proposal.
- 7.3. The  ICDs  not  meeting  the  minimum  prescribed  threshold  performance  for  four consecutive  financial  years will  be  considered for  de-notification  by  the  Board  based  on the  recommendation  of  the jurisdictional Commissioner  of  Customs.  As  regards  CFSs, jurisdictional Commissioner  can  de-notify  the  facility  if  it  failed  to  meet  the  prescribed minimum threshold performance for four consecutive financial years. In the case of AFSs, the  Board  may  analyze  the  performance  of  the  facility and  may consider  the de notification  wherever  necessary,  based  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs.

- 7.4. The  jurisdictional  Commissioners  of Customs  can  order  for  closure  of a  facility when  requested  by  a  custodian.  Such  requests  should  be  approved  within  6  months subject to  clearance of dues of Cost Recovery  Charges,  disposal of detained/Seized cargo & cases  against  CCSP  if any.  Jurisdictional Commissioner will  take  no  dues  certificate thereafter  commissioner  may  de-notify  any  CFS/AFS  and  in  the  case  of  ICD  he  shall forward the proposal for de-notification to the Board.

## 8. Scope and applicability

The policy  and guidelines  prescribed  here will be applicable to all the  new proposals that are submitted to IMC after the date of issue of this circular. The proposals already submitted but are yet to be considered by the IMC shall also be governed by these guidelines.  As  regards the existing facilities  and the  proposals for  which  Letter  of Intent has already been issued but the facilities are yet to commence their operations,  shall also be  governed  by  these guidelines to  the  extent to  which  they are  applicable  (such  as post approval  obligations,  term,  renewal  and  de-notification  etc).  The  proposals  which  have been approved by IMC will be scrutinized under old policy.

- 9 The above guidelines may be circulated among the stakeholders and public and the field formations may be sensitized suitably.
10. Any  difficulties  in  the  implementation  of these  guidelines  may  be  brought  to  the notice of the Board immediately.

<!-- image -->

Yours  faithfully,

(Amit  Singh  handel) oSD  (Anti-Smuggling)

## Format  of  Application  for  Setting  up  of  an  Inland  Container  Depot/Container Freight Station/Air Freight Station

Note: Five  Copies  shall  be  submitted  to the  Member  (Customs),  CBIC,  Office  of  the Commissioner  (RI&1),  5th  floor,  Hudco  Vishala  Building,  Bhikaji  Cama  Place,  New  Delhi 110066, email: mgt.valavan@nic.in; one advance copy shall be submitted to the jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs.

Name of the Entity:

Entity Type:

Registered Office Address:

Authorized Economic Operator-Logistics  Operator Status Holder

(If  yes, please provide details) Yes/ No

Application for (Mark whichever applicable)

Geographical Zone Facility? (Mark whichever applicable)

State of facility  proposed

District of facility  proposed

Nearest  ICD/CFS/AFS  with distance from facility. proposed

Concerned Customs Zone

earlier Has  proposal  been  rejected

If yes, when

If the proposal  has  been rejected  earlier,  whether  the instant proposal  brings  out any fresh facts for

Public  Ltd. / Pvt.  Ltd./Individual

- [ ] 0 CFS

- [ ] O AFS

- [ ] CFS to  ICD

Yes  /No

- [ ] 0 Change  of location of an existing ICD/CFS/AFS

- [ ] Green

- [ ] O Blue

- [ ] I Red

DD/MM/YYYY

Yes/ No

- [ ] • ICD

2  Refer para 4.1.2 of the Circular

consideration of IMC? (Details to be furnished separately)

Date of submission of Advance Copy of application jrisdictional to Commissioner of Customs

Whether detailed Project Report enclosed with the application

Yes/  No

Details  of other  documents submitted  (if  any)

1

Contact details Authorized Signatory

1. I signatory of.. application is true and correct. S/o. the authorised hereby  certify that  the content  of  this

2

3

Declaration  (strike out whatever not applicable):

of

Name:

Place:

Date:

E-Mail:

Contact No:

2. Neither me,  my entity nor the promoter has been convicted of any offence by  any court in India or abroad

3. I undertake to comply with  the Customs Act,  1962,  the  regulations and circulars issued from  time to  time  therein relating to functioning of ICD/CFS/AFS.

4. I  confirm  that  the  previous  owner  of the  facility  has  no  amount  payable  to  the Commissioner of Customs, .pending as  on  this  date.

Signature of Authorized Signatory

## Instruction for submission of  the Detailed Project Report for setting  up of ICD/CFS/AFS

(Note: The details shall be supported by relevant documents wherever necessary)

## 1.  General Instructions

- 1 A  power of attorney from the Board of Directors of the entity in favor of the signing authority (who  signs all documents related to  the demonstration of commitment, including this DPR) should be furnished.
- ii Container figures  in this DPR  should be quoted in TEUs  and all financials should be  quoted in  INR.
- iii. All  pages  of  the  DPR  should  be  initialed  by  the  signing  authority  of  the applicant.
- iv. The  Inter-Ministerial  Committee  (IMC) reserves  all  rights  to check  the veracity  of  the  supporting  documents.  This  includes  the  right  to  call  for original documents at any point in the appraisal process.
- V IMC  also  reserves  the  right  to  ask  for clarifications  and/or  additional documents/information,  providing of which  within  the  specified  timelines would be binding on the applicants.
- vi. All  data  points  used  in  the  DPR  should  be  supported  by  reliable  sources (cited  in  footnotes  on  same  page) and copies of the relevant source page be appended to  the  document.
- vii. For  data  points  generated  by  primary  research,  copies  of  survey  forms should be  appended to the document.
- viii. All  assumptions  used  in  the  document  should  be  supported  by  detailed justification and source for  data as applicable.

## 2.  Details of  Applicant Entity

1. Registration details with RoC,  details of registered office and corporate office etc.
2. Registration with various tax authorities (GST,  PAN  etc.). ii.
3. ii Memorandum of Association.
4. iv Articles of Association.
5. Constitution  of  the  Board  of  Directors  (including  brief  bios  of each  director,  the roles envisaged for each of them). V.
- vi. Capability statement of the Applicant.
- vii. Details of Similar projects executed in last 3Financialyears.
- viii. Copy of Balance sheets for last 3 financial years.
- ix. Undertaking on Rs.  100/- Non-Judicial Stamp in terms of HCCAR, 2009.

## 3.  Background and Broad Project Rationale

- i. Provide details of the project, including:
- a. High level capacity creation and capital outlay.
- b.  Technology& Automation proposed for cargo/container handling and IT  systems.

:

- C. Target hinterland/trade generating location.
- d. Market segment proposed to be addressed.
- e. Business Activities &  Specific Services Offered.
- ii. Write  up  on  how  the  proposed  project  will  enhance  the  export  import  logistics Infrastructure in  country.
5. iii Write up on how project aims to lower cost of logistics for target location.
6. iv Write  up  on  how  the  proposed  project  plans  reduction  of  dwell  time  of containers in  its  premises.
7. Stakeholder  analysis (inclu ding  investors, Export &s Import Industries, traders, cross-border trade, logistics ecosystem, and affected population).
8. Vi. Plan for traffic management and decongestion of approach roads ICD/CFS/AFS. for

## 4.  Overview of Business Landscape

Overview of business environment with analysis (such as PESTLE/SWOT).

## 5.  Traffic Assessment

- i. Location:  Proposed  location  should  be  defined  in  detail  covering  following aspects:
- a. Location identification details.
- b. Distance from  nearest State/  National highway.
- C. Nearest serving  Railway  station/Railhead  from  which  connectivity  is proposed.
- d. Distance from ports. (Shortest railways rationalized route for containers).
- e.  Mapping of nearest ICDs in  100 kms distance from Road &  Rail.
- f. Area of land and land available for future expansion.
- g.  Status of land(Owned or leased).
9. 11 Hinterland  Mapping:  Identify  Primary  & Secondary  Hinterland and include their detailed  profile.  Each of trade generating location  should  have  enough potential  along  with  geographical  proximity  to  proposed  dry  port  location. Location  geographical  maps  with  indicative  hinterlands  should  be  clearly depicted  in  this  section. Existing  facilities  catering  to  these  hinterlands should also  be mapped.
- iii. Commodity wise data: Potential traffic should be also provided with Commodity  wise  segregation  for  both  primary  and  secondary  hinterland. For  these,  preferred mode  of transportation, competing 1CDs,  percentage of containerization, DPD & DPE percentage should be captured.
- iv. Primary Survey: It is to be conducted in the areas mapped as hinterlands/trade generating locations to obtain insights form the stakeholders. Stakeholders should  incude industries  in region,  chambers of  commerce,  EXIM  associations  and  other  trade  bodies,  ICDs  &  CFS  in region,  forwarders,  Customs  Brokers,  District  Industrial  Centers  of  State government, local transporters. Survey should be combination of structured and unstructured  questionnaires  to  obtain  better  understanding  of cargo flow patterns  (inflow  &  outflow) of  various  commodities  from targeted

hinterland.

- V. Open  Market potential and target market  potential:  Post survey,  indicative figures for open market potential, volume distributions across other competitors  and  target  market  potential  should  be  clearly  depicted  and should be  realistic based on facts/historical data.
2. V1. Traffic  Forecast:  Capture growth drivers for  traffic,  forecast traffic  based on commodity profiles and growth potential for EXIM trade that reflects ground realities.  Forecast  should  be  provided  for 10  years  or  expected  pay  back period  whichever is  less.  Alternate  traffic  forecasts  should  also  be  worked out based on different scenarios.
3. vii Logistics  Cost  Analysis:  Traffic  study  should  provide  cost  savings  in  per metric ton  comparison which will be  derived after setting up of facility.  This study  should  be  done  at  commodity level  to  each  gateway  port  connection separately.

## 6.  Project  Execution/  Implementation Strategy

- i Creation  of Infrastructure and  strategy for  securing/  implementing the same.  Plans  for  Land/site  development,  Planned  Railway  Connectivity, Application under Private Freight terminal, Approach Road etc.
- ii Project management framework and philosophy.
- iii. Cost & Time overrun contingency measures.
- iv. Planning  Considerations  of  Port Facilities  requirements  specified  by policy.
- Selection of Cargo Handling Equipment. V.
- Vi. Project  Phasing  (Quarterly  activity  plan  supported  by  detailed  Gantt Charts) including major milestones.
- vii. Key  Activities  by  quarter.
- viii. Organization  Structure proposed  (with details of management team and role  of partners) up  to  three  levels  (starting with  CEO).  Also  append the profiles of the personnel proposed as well as the roles and responsibilities of each.
- ix. Details  of  permissions,  clearances  and  fulfllment  of  other  statutory requirements for  the  projects,  accompanied by  a detailed note  on  plans for fulfillment of each.

## 7. Project Financials

- i Capital cost estimation.
- Operating and maintenance costs. ii.
- iii. Financial indicators (NPV, IRR, Breakeven period by volumes).
- iv. Tariff plan & considerations.

## 8.  Risk Impact Analysis

- i. Project  Financial  Viability  and  Going  Concern  viability  analysis  and details.
2. ii Business Sustainability  Plan.
3. Risk  Analysis (financial  and  business) for ICD, along  with  financial impact  estimation  of  risk  factors (upside  and  downside)  like  shift  of trade, Increase in Rail freight etc. iii.
- iv. Risk Mitigation  Plan including costs associated with the individual plans.
- V. Detailed  estimation  of  risk  due  to cost  or  time  overruns  for project implementation and mitigation plans for the same.

## 9.  Environmental Impact Assessment

- i Details regarding the Environment impact assessmnent including Mitigation,  Monitoring, and Risk Assessment should be provided.
- ii Details of proposed environment protection measures like  management of  runoff water  from  port  premises  by  installing  rainwater  harvesting infrastructure,  plan  for  generation  of  renewable  energy  by  means  of installation  of  solar  panels  on  Warehou se,  Admin  building  should  be enclosed.
- iii. Mitigation  measures  for  wastewater  generated  from  container  repair and washing activities especially of tank containers/ containers carrying hazardous commodities activitics should be  provided.

## Checklist for the infrastructural requirements and regulations compliance (to  CBIC  Circular No.  50/2020)

1. Design and lay-out: The design and layout should be the most modern state-of art equipped with mechanical/electrical facilities of international standards. Key to a good lay-out  is  the  smooth  flow  of  containers,  cargo  and  vehicles  through  the ICD/CES.  The design  and  layout  should  consider  initial  volume  of business,  estimated  volume  in  10 years'  horizon  and the type of facilities  traders would  require.  ICD  /CFS facility shall have covered and  open  storage  areas  separated for  import,  export  and  transshipment,  and  for substances. perishable goods, high-value cargoes and dangerous cargoes, including hazardous
2. Port's layout defines the physical location of main facilities  required to efficiently handle the incoming and  outgoing traffic.  Flexibility  should be  built in layout  so  that it can  accommodate future  changes  and  new  development  opportunities.  Further,  layout should offer lexibility to  accommodate  infrastructure  requirements  for  supporting  new reforms by CBIC.
3. 3 All  designs and construction shall detail and  be  compliant with  rules of HCAAR, 2009  regarding  the  following but  not  limited  to, wall specifications,  transit/  bonded warehouse, entry and exit gates,  demarcated area for  hazardous goods, lighting through high  masts,  demarcated  areas  for  export  and  import,  storage  for  fumigation  and  post fumigation and storage area for auction cargo.
4. PGA  office &  Laboratory space:  Office  and laboratory  space for  PGAs  shall be provided  at no  cost  to  reduce  the  dwell  time  of export  &  imports.  No  charges  including office  rent,  electricity charges should be  billed to  Public Government Agencies (PGA's)  for their  deployment.  Alternatively,  in  case  of a group  of ICDs  located  in  proximity  of each other, a common testing facility may be considered for cost rationalization.
5. Rail Linkage:  In  case  of  rail  linked  ICDs,  rail  infrastructure  provided  inside  a container  depot  should  allow  receipt  and  dispatch  of  ful-length  unit  container  trains running between a single origin and a single destination, without requiring to  be  broken up or remarshaled outside the ICD/CFS. Container Yard  (CY)  should be designed around rail access and not the reverse.  Loading and unloading of trains would ideally take place in  centrally  located  sidings  comprising  at  least  three  tracks  -loading,  unloading  and locomotive release.  For  a reach-stacker  served facility,  container  stacks at  the  CY  shall be  located  on  either  side  of  the  tracks  (to  allow  for  separation  of  import  and  export containers and for loading and unloading on both sides at a time). Rail loading/unloading tracks shall be centrally located, permitting the operation of handling equipment on  either side.  The layout described above  is only indicative  of best practice. Additionally, all  operational  and  other  requirements  as  per extant  rules  of  Indian Railways need to be complied with.
6. Access  Road/  Connection  with  State  Highways  or  National  Highways:  An

approach  road of  indicative  15  meters width  with  proper  drainage  on  each  side  will  be provided  for  the gate  complex.  If the entry &  exit gates of the  ICD  are planned in  vicinity of each  other,  then  additional  space  to  enable  smooth  flow  of traffic  will  be  factored  into the  design.  Road  connections  to  ICD/CFS  will  be  via  slip  roads  off  local  or  national highway  system.  Road  connections  should  be  suitable  for  container  and  break-bulk trucks conveying containers or break-bulk cargo between cargo  sources and the ICD/CFS port.

- Design  of access junctions: Access  junctions are  locations  at  which ICD site access  roads  meets  the main  roads.  The  design  should  cater for  unhindered  traffic  flow even  at  peak  capacity  of the  ICD. 7.
8. CFS &  Customs Examination Area: A  critical function  of CFS  is  to  pack and unpack cargo into and from  containers which are moved  to  and from  the  a.  Keeping this in  mind  CFS  facilities  should be  designed  with  container bays  facing  a  raised loading/ unloading  platformn on one  side and  truck  loading/ unloading  bays on the other. Containers  can  be  packed  and  unpacked  by  forklift  trucks  while  still  on  their  trailers. Similarly,  break-bulk  trucks  can  be  loaded  and  unloaded  from  raised  platform  by smaller forklifts (having two-three-ton capacity). Area required for  CFS may be calculated on  basis  of  some  proportion  of loaded  import  and  export  containers  in  the  CY  moving through CFS. The customs  examination  area  should  be clearly  marked, and  no examination shall be  permitted outside the marked area.  The  examination  area shall be covered under a 24X7 CCTV surveillance system with strict access control.
- 9 DPD  & DPE  Area:  Separate  area  for DPD  &  DPE  containers  as  per  land requirements of this  policy  should  be  provided  in  ICD.  The  nominated DPD  & DPE  area should  have  separate  entry/exit  gates  with  clear  demarcation  from  customs  notified arca. Further, DPD & DPE traffic should not impact the regular ICD operations.
10. Truck  Circulation  Area:  Efficient  operation  of  ICD depends  on  unimpeded, circulation of trucks throughout the ICD area.  An  exception  to  this design requirement is an  intersection  with  rail  access  line,  which  needs  to  be  protected  by  automatic  level crossing barriers and warning devices. Internal roads shall be constructed with indicative width of 15 meters, to allow handling equipment and trucks to pass safely.
11. Storage  of Hazardous  goods  in  warehouses:  Hazardous  goods  warehouses must be sealed from  all directions, i.e.  in relation to  the soil  and groundwater, as well as in  relation  to  the  atmosphere.  Leakages,  for  instance,  are  diverted  into  sumps  from which the fluids can be removed by external pumps.
- Storage  of  containers  with  Hazardous  goods  in  yard:  Storage  space  for minimum  50  TEUs  should  be  marked,  this  yard  location  should  have  unhindered transportation  access,  round the clock monitoring, fire  hydrant facility,  fixed  firefighting equipment  &  sensors  to cater for gas leakage and  fire detection capabilities. All regulatory  approvals  from State Pollution  Control  Board  should  be in place  before handling, storage &  Transportation of Hazardous goods within ICD premises. 12.
13. Fumigation and post fumigated storage sites: Fumigation  and  post fumigation

storage  sites  shall  be  provided  to  enable  Plant  Quarantine  authorities to carry  out necessary checks for  both imported /  export goods.

14. Marked Container repair yards&s tank container cleaning stations: The allied services  of  container  repair  stations,  tank  container  cleaning  stations  should  be  clearly marked in the yard plan.
15. Provision of  space  for installation of  Container/Cargo scanners:  The custodian  shall  provide  adequate  and  suitable  land  for  installation  of  the  scanner  if necessary in future.
16. Parking Space: Ample  parking  space  for  trailers  shall  be  provided  in  facility  so that no road congestion is reported even at peak designed capacity of the  ICD.
17. Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) facilities:  Designated lanes  /Priority at Entry/Exit  gates, prioritized Cargo handling  &Warehousing  operations should be provided to AEO's. Special counter should be created in EXIM  transactions cel1 for  AEOs by  Custodians.  Further,  AEO  customer  care  representative  should  be  appointed  and displayed by Custodians.
18. Gender  Specific  Facilities:  Custodians  should  create  gender  mainstreaming infrastructure  including  special  Exim  counters  for  female customs  brokers/traders, separate workplace, customer care cells, essential utilities, restrooms etc.

## 19. Other essential infrastructure requirements

- 19.1. Weighbridges: Static weighbridges above  60  MT  capacity should  be  installed in  al facilities.  These should always be remain calibrated &  certified by respective states Weight Measurement department.
- 19.2. Fire Pighting Equipment: Adequate firefighting equipment  (Fire  extinguishers/Water Hydrants)  should  be  provided  across  customs  notified  area  including  Warehouse,  CFS area,  yard  and  entry/exit  gates,  weighbridges,  container  yard  area,  CFS  area  and  at administrative building.
- 19.3. High  Masts:  Adequate  numbers  of 30  meters  high  mast  lighting  tower  with  LED flood  light  should  be  installed.  The  LED  should  have  minimum  lumen level  of  20  lux  in the  ground  up  to  50  meters from  center of high  mast.  Beam  angle  of luminaries/  lamps positioning must be  suitable to  cover illumination  in ground  as well  as  stored containers in the yard up to  16  meters  high.
- 19.4. Yard Paving:  Yard paving must utilize Pavement Quality  Concrete  grade  of M40  or dry lean concrete with M30/M50 blocks or higher specification.
- 19.5. CCTV Coverage: The  CCTV  network should at minimum  cover the  ICD  entry/  exit gates, warehouse gates, warehouse storage area, admin building entry points, commnercial transaction area, container storage yard area and e-sealing work zones. CCTV  equipment must  have night vision recording  capabilities. The system should  have  minimum capability to  record  & hold  data  for  three  months  and  24x7  hours  access  and  remote

monitoring  facility  shall  be  provided  to  Customs  in  addition  to  access  within  admin building of the ICD.

19.6. Security  Deployment:  The  entry and  exit gates, warehouses,  admin building, Container  yard  to  be  adequately  manned  24X7  as  per  the  satisfaction  of  presiding customs authority.

19.7. IT Infrastructure: AIl IT infrastructure shall be provided and  upgraded by custodians as prescribed by DG  Systems.

19.8. Custodian systems: All container and cargo handling operations should be initiated and  recorded  through  IT  systems.  Al  existing  facilities  shall  be  migrated  to  automated systems which will cover yard management, rail side operations, warehouse management. The  system  should  be  audit  compliant  and  any  information  should  be available to customs for  minimum period of one year.  No  operational events e.g.  job order generation shall be  done manually. Custodians should digitize  all  its  operations  wherever  possible with  Government of India  or its  authorized  e-platform  like PCS  lx, while maintaining its commercial privacy.

19.9. Container location:  All ICDs & CFSs shall have a  container location tracking system and  accurate  information  availability  to  all  stakeholders  through  electronic  or  smart phone  application  interfacc. All  cvents of  physical movement  of  container  shall  be recorded and accessible to customs officer via such electronic interface.

19.10.  Access  control: Entry  to  the  customs  notified  arca  shall  be  controlled  by  KYC based/  RFID  enabled  tags  for  all  authorized  personnel  including  customs,  custodians, manual workmen,  vehicle  drivers  etc.  Entry/  exit  data  should  always  be  electronically available to customs authorities.

19.11. Handling equipment: An applicant should propose most modern handling equipment  for  loading,  unloading  of  containers  from  rail  flats,  chassis,  their  stacking, movement,  cargo  handling, stuffing/  de-stuffing, etc.  Equipment  must have  a minimum residual  life  of  8  years  duly  certified  by  the  Original  Equipment  Manufacturer  or  a recognized inspection agency.

19.12. For  handling scrap  cargo,  provision  of a compact  track  loader  of reputed make in good working condition and equipped with a telescopic  spreader for  operations in  both 20 ft and 40 ft boxes should be ensured.

19.13.An additional unit of equipment should be provided when the throughput exceeds 8,000  TEUs per  annum  or  its  multiples  for lift  truck-based  operations.  Terminals resorting  to purely  chassis-based  operalivns  do not  require  dedicated  box  handling equipment.  However,  chassis-based operations should  be  restricted  to  CFSs  proposed to be  set up near ports.

20. Safety:  The design must prevent leakage inlo  the envirurIrient in the  event of ar1 accident. It shall have provision for emergency services to reach the scene of the accident in  an  unhindered  and  safe  manner.  The  roof,  walls,  foundations  and  doors  must  be resistant to  fire  and the  stored substances must be  separated  by permanently installed

isolating bulkheads.  Equipment  must at the minimum cater for  forced ventilation,  fxed fire  extinguishers, smoke and gas detection systems as well as explosion-proof devices.

21. Air Freight Station: AFS  can be  an  independent unit or can exist within  ICDs customs  notified  warehouse  area.  Detailed  guidelines  in  respect  of  setting  up  of  AFS facilities,  have  been  issued  by  the  Ministry  of  Civil  Aviation  and  the  same  shall  be complied with.
22. Equipment  in  respect  of AFS  shall  be  as indicated  in  the  detailed  guidelines  for AFS as issued by Ministry of Civil Aviation.