India, Bhutan hold joint Customs meet in Kerala

• The seventh India-Bhutan Joint Group of Customs (JGC) meeting was held in Munnar on April 21 and 22.

• India and Bhutan share close and longstanding trade relations, with India being Bhutan’s largest trading partner, accounting for nearly 80 per cent of Bhutan’s total trade. 

• Bilateral trade between the two countries exceeded $1.9 billion in FY 2024-25, registering a growth of over 46 per cent compared to the previous financial year.

• As part of the institutional framework for bilateral engagement, the JGC meetings serve as an important platform for addressing issues related to Customs cooperation, trade facilitation, and border management. 

• Given Bhutan’s landlocked geography, trade through land customs stations holds particular importance. 

• Currently, there are 10 notified land customs stations along the India-Bhutan border, located in the states of West Bengal (6) and Assam (4).

• During the meeting, both sides held detailed discussions on a range of priority areas.

These include: 

i) Coordinated Border Management (CBM).

ii) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on pre-arrival exchange of customs data.

iii) Strengthening of anti-smuggling mechanisms through intelligence sharing and enforcement cooperation. iv) Digitisation of customs processes.

v) Facilitation of transit cargo movement under the Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS). 

• The meeting also discussed and reviewed issues like improvement of border infrastructure, enhancing trade facilitation and harmonisation and  streamlining of customs procedures.

• The discussions reaffirm the shared commitment of both countries under the Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit to promote free and seamless cross-border trade.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)