A high-level delegation of the Chamber of Industrial & Commercial Undertakings (CICU), led by President Upkar Singh Ahuja, met IRS Sanjay Gupta, Chief Commissioner, Customs (Preventive), Delhi Zone, during his visit to the Customs Commissionerate, Ludhiana. The interaction focused on exporters’ concerns and ways to strengthen trade facilitation.

The meeting was also attended by IRS Nasim Arshi, Commissioner of Customs, Ludhiana, alongside senior industry leaders and exporters. Welcoming the Chief Commissioner, Ahuja highlighted CICU’s role as a key industry body representing MSMEs and large exporters from Punjab, committed to policy advocacy and ease of doing business.

Among the major issues discussed included, Export General Manifest (EGM) Delays due to which several hardships are being faced by exporters. CICU suggested replacing Show Cause Notices with a simpler written communication system. CICU also proposed that importers should not be forced to furnish bank guarantees for every shipment from the same supplier, rather a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) should be adopted to prevent unnecessary compliance costs.

Besides this the businessmen also opined once Certificate of Origin of buyer, supplier is verified, repeated bank guarantee submissions should not be required. CICU delegation also called for customs to engage with shipping lines to secure practical relaxations, particularly in unavoidable delay cases. A fast-track clearance mechanism was proposed to help exporters meet vessel schedules and boost India’s global trade reliability.

Commissioner of Customs, Ludhiana, Nasim Arshi, assured exporters of proactive grievance redressal and encouraged direct engagement with Customs offices. Chief Commissioner Sanjay Gupta gave a patient hearing and promised to take up the issues with relevant authorities, reaffirming Customs’ commitment to transparency, ease of doing business, and supporting the government’s Make in India for the World vision.

Expressing gratitude, Ahuja assured full cooperation from CICU and the exporting community in working closely with Customs for smoother trade facilitation and strengthening India’s export competitiveness.

The delegation included eminent industrialists and CICU office bearers such as Padma Shri Onkar Singh Pahwa (Avon Cycles), Narinder Chugh, Honey Sethi (General Secretary, CICU), Saravjit Singh, Ankur Garg, Vinod Sharma, Ram Lubaya, JS Bhogal, Gautam Malhotra and Vinod Kumar.

CICU Ludhiana Exporters Chief Commissioner Customs IRS Sanjay Gupta IRS Nasim Arshi EGM Delays Bank Guarantee Trade Facilitation Make In India MSME