Policy and Guidelines for setting up of Inland Container Depots (ICDs), Container Freight Stations (CFSs) and Air Freight Stations (AFSs)

1. Introduction

1.1. An Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) 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 CFSs. The subsequent guidelines issued by the Department of Commerce (DoC) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) set the rules for establishment 86 functioning of these facilities. The matters relating to setting up of ICDs/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 86 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).

1.5. 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.

1.6. Accordingly, the new policy:

• 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;
• addresses the identified regulatory and logistics concerns associated with the hard and soft infrastructure of ICDs/CFSs/AFSs in India;
• 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
• 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 (ICD) :

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 station” like a port or air cargo unit where filing of Customs manifests, Bills of Entries, Shipping Bills and other declarations, assessment 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. It 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 1CD/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);
• Blue 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 transport 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 100krnsdistance 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 Infrastructure – 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 ICDs/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 parameters.

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 infrastructure 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 8v 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/CFS 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 law. 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 including customs brokers, transporters, freight forwarders, shipping lines and port terminal operators.

Enter your email address:

Subscribe to faceless complainces