31 customs notifications consolidated into 1 to enhance Ease of Doing Business

In a step towards simplification, transparency, and enhancing Ease Of Doing Business, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) consolidated 31 separate Customs Duty notifications into a single comprehensive document.This new notification -- Notification No. 45/2025, dated October 24, 2025 -- will come into force on November 1, 2025.It essentially retains all the existing benefits and duty exemptions from those older notifications but organises them into a unified, structured format. Also, this consolidation marks another milestone in the government's ongoing efforts to promote the Ease of Doing Business in India.Over the years, importers and customs officers have had to navigate a complex web of multiple notifications to determine applicable duty rates, exemptions, and conditions. From November 1, 2025, importers, exporters, and customs brokers will only need to refer to Notification No. 45/2025-Customs for applicable exemptions or duty reliefs, instead of consulting multiple prior notifications.The new consolidated notification effectively merges all relevant exemptions and procedural details into a single framework, eliminating redundancy while preserving the substance of existing benefits.Understandably, this will make it easier for both businesses and customs officials to access accurate information in a single source, improving consistency in customs administration.On a broader level, DPIIT, the Nodal Department for coordinating the initiatives under Ease of Doing Business, coordinates with Ministries/Departments and States/UTs for initiatives to reduce compliance burden on citizen and business activities. The objective of this exercise is to improve Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living by Simplifying, Rationalising, Digitising and Decriminalizing Government to Business and Citizen Interfaces across Ministries/States/UTs.