Updated 14 November 2026. A plain-language summary for exporters, logistics firms and software teams, not legal advice. Check the circular, your zone's Public Notice and ICEGATE before you change any filing process.
Short answer: CBIC Circular No. 47/2026-Customs (1 November 2026) says the older export-side manifest messages will be switched off zone by zone, and filing must move to the messages prescribed under the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations (SCMTR), 2018. The first zone is Thiruvananthapuram on 16 November 2026, and the last group (Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune) is proposed for 6 January 2027. The overall transition date has been moved to 31 January 2027 by Notification No. 90/2026-Customs (N.T.). CBIC has said no penal action should be taken during this implementation phase.
What changed this month
SCMTR was notified in 2018 (Notification No. 38/2018-Customs (N.T.)) to move sea cargo manifests to advance electronic declarations. According to the circular, as summarised by TaxGuru, DG Systems has deployed all import and export messages under SCMTR, but export-side filing is still limited to certain ports. Custodians, terminal operators and trans-shippers have not fully moved over, and the circular links this to their dependence on third-party software and the time needed for integration.
So CBIC chose a phased switch-off instead of a single date. A second summary with the same zone list is on A2Z Taxcorp. The official texts are on the CBIC website.
Zone-wise dates (Annexure A, proposed)
| Customs zone | Proposed date |
|---|---|
| Thiruvananthapuram | 16 November 2026 |
| Bengaluru | 23 November 2026 |
| Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad | 27 November 2026 |
| Bhubaneswar | 1 December 2026 |
| Trichy Preventive, Chennai | 7 December 2026 |
| Kolkata and Guwahati, Patna and Bhopal | 14 December 2026 |
| Delhi and Delhi Preventive, Meerut; Ahmedabad; Mumbai Zone I and II, Nagpur and Pune | 6 January 2027 |
The annexure is titled a proposal. Field formations are expected to issue Public Notices and run outreach, so watch your zone's notice for the final date and any local instructions.
Who has to act
The circular names custodians, terminal operators and trans-shippers as the stakeholders who have not fully moved, and asks all stakeholders to adopt SCMTR-compliant software and message formats. In practice, filings under SCMTR are made by the parties who hold the cargo and vessel data. A plain-English explainer from Scapex Logistics describes the main roles:
- Shipping lines and vessel agents file the arrival and departure manifests (SAM and SDM).
- Consolidators and NVOCCs file house-level details under the master (Cargo Summary Notification).
- Custodians file some of the entry and exit messages, depending on the message.
- Exporters and importers usually do not file manifests themselves, but they supply the data. Wrong or late shipper data is a common reason a filing is rejected and cargo is held.
What it means for an exporter
Even if you never touch ICEGATE, the switch-over can affect you. Your carrier, CFS or customs broker may ask for cleaner data earlier: exact party names and addresses, HS codes, package counts, weights and container numbers that match the shipping bill. If their system is still on the old message format when your zone switches, cargo can sit at the terminal. Ask your partners now whether they are ready for your zone's date.
Software checklist for logistics and CFS teams
Most of the readiness work is software work. If you run an in-house system or depend on a vendor, use this list:
- Message mapping: list every export message you send today and map each to its SCMTR equivalent. Remove any code path that still produces the old format after your zone's date.
- Validation before submit: check mandatory fields, code lists and party details inside your system, so ICEGATE rejections become rare instead of routine.
- Acknowledgement handling: read and store every acknowledgement and error response, and show it to the operator with a clear next step.
- Amendments: make corrections a first-class flow with an audit trail, not an email to IT.
- Data from shippers: give exporters a form or API to send structured data early, instead of retyping PDFs.
- Zone-aware switch: a per-port setting lets you move each location on its own date without a fresh release.
- Testing: run sample filings through your vendor or the DG Systems test route before go-live, and keep a fallback contact for system issues.
Other date-driven changes are landing at the same time. E-way bill numbers grow from 12 to 14 digits on 1 January 2027, see our e-way bill software checklist. If you plan both changes together you only test your dispatch flow once.
Where to raise problems
The circular routes system issues through field formations to DG Systems and policy issues to the Board. Keep screenshots and error codes, note the date and port, and share them with your zone's helpdesk or trade facilitation cell.
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