Circular 26/2026-Customs
Standardises grant of Entry Inward and Vessel Sail-out Clearance and confirms that these clearances must not be made contingent on physical boarding of Customs officers.
What changed
Standardises grant of Entry Inward and Vessel Sail-out Clearance and confirms that these clearances must not be made contingent on physical boarding of Customs officers.
Application controls
- Open the official record and confirm publication and effective dates.
- Identify the affected provision, tariff item, notification, form or portal service.
- Check whether the change is permanent, temporary, conditional or superseded.
- Apply it only to transactions within the operative period.
- Preserve the prior version for historical-period matters.
Official source
Open official record or source page
Source review date: 2026-07-28.
Official sources and scope
This page is an analytical or operational guide. The controlling wording, tariff item, notification conditions, portal version and judicial status must be checked in the official source applicable to the transaction date.
Source review date: 2026-07-28. Historical matters require the law and instrument version applicable to the relevant date.
Operational decision map
- Entry Inward is governed by sections 30 and 31 of the Customs Act, 1962.
- Vessel Sail-out Clearance is governed by sections 41 and 42.
- Physical boarding under section 37 and the Imported Stores (Retention on Board) Regulations, 1963 is an independent risk-based process.
- SAM/SDM and required electronic documents should support remote clearance; field formations should not insist on boarding as a precondition.
Implementation: retain the filed manifest/message, document references, clearance timestamp, any risk-based boarding direction and port public notice.