The Customs department has initiated three digital initiatives at the inland container depot (ICD) at Tughlakabad in the national capital.

       It has launched an online facility for scheduling examination of import cargo to expedite clearance of inbound shipment.

       The facility is aimed at minimising the physical interface of trade with the customs department, the finance ministry said in a statement here.

       With this, customs, CONCOR, customs brokers and importers will have a shared view of scheduling examination of goods on the same platform.

       The ICD will also have a baggage scanner which will result in non-intrusive examination of unaccompanied baggage while ensuring swifter clearances.

       This will help the customs in targeted intervention to check smuggling.

       A few days earlier, an electronic tracking of containerised cargo through use of smart locks and an application built on blockchain technology was launched. This enables customs to monitor and track movement of non-duty paid goods through GPS tracking while reducing compliance burden on trade in terms of documentation.

       ICD Tughlakabad has also launched customs clearance work on Sunday and all public holidays. This facility will be implemented from the coming Sunday.

       ICD Tughlakabad, the second land port set up in the country after Bangalore in 1993, handles around 2,50,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) of cargo and is well connected with four full length rail lines to gateway ports such as Mumbai, Nhava Sheva, Chennai, Mundra etc.