Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman released fifth edition of National Time Release Study (NTRS), during the CBIC Conclave held in New Delhi, today.

The Time Release Study (TRS) is a performance measurement tool that provides a quantitative assessment of the time taken for cargo release, helping to evaluate the efficiency of the clearance process. Since 2019, TRS has been conducted at 15 major locations, including seaports, Air Cargo Complexes (ACCs), Inland Container Depots (ICDs), and Integrated Check Posts (ICPs).

A key strength of India’s TRS lies in its use of accurate and reliable data sourced directly from the Customs Automated System, operated by the Directorate General of Systems and Data Management, CBIC. Over the years, the scope of TRS has significantly expanded. What began as a report measuring release time across select gateway ports went on to include other areas of considerable importance such as transit cargo, courier shipments, and commodity-specific assessments.

The fifth edition also adopted advanced methodologies to enable stage-wise and process-specific evaluations. This edition marked another milestone by widening its geographical coverage to three additional ports: Kochi Seaport, Garhi Harsaru ICD, and Jaigaon LCS.

In the import segment, Average Release Time (ART) declined between 2023 and 2025 across seaports (~6 hours), ACCs (~5 hours), and ICPs (~18 hours), while ICDs saw an increase of around 12 hours. Performance against NTFAP 3.0 targets showed that 93.33% of import cargo at ICPs met the 48-hour target, followed by air cargo complexes (55.03% within 24 hours), seaports (51.76%), and ICDs (43.70%).

Key contributors to improved timelines include the “Path to Promptness” framework—featuring advance filing, RMS-based facilitation, AEO accreditation, and Direct Port Delivery (DPD). However, delays were observed in processes such as duty payment, amendment/query resolution, PGA interventions, and post-clearance logistics.

Export cargo analysis, from arrival to final departure, revealed varied patterns across port categories. Regulatory clearance (arrival to Let Export Order) was fastest at air cargo complexes (under 4 hours) and ICPs (06:10 hours). At seaports, regulatory clearance averaged 29:36 hours, with post-LEO logistics extending to 157:50 hours. At ICDs, regulatory clearance of exports took 30 hours, with improvement in post-LEO logistics time to 99:51 hours.

High levels of facilitation (87–93%) were observed across ports. Release times were also influenced by cargo characteristics. For instance, refrigerated goods moved faster through air cargo, factory-stuffed cargo was cleared quicker than ICD-stuffed cargo.

The full report of the National Time Release Study 2025 is available on the following links:

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

Time Release Study shows varied customs clearance efficiency across port types, highlighting bottlenecks and facilitation measures. The fifth edition of the National Time Release Study provides stage-wise, process-specific assessment of Average Release Time across seaports, air cargo complexes, ICDs and ICPs using Customs Automated System data, reports import-side declines in ART at several port categories with an ICD increase, measures performance against NTFAP targets, attributes gains to the Path to Promptness measures (advance filing, RMS facilitation, AEO, DPD), and identifies delays in duty payment, amendment resolution, PGA interventions and post-LEO logistics; export analysis shows faster regulatory clearance at air cargo and ICPs and longer post-LEO logistics at seaports and ICDs.