CBIC puts in response teams for faster clearance of Covid vaccine shipments

The CBIC has put in place a COVID-19 Vaccine Response Team (CVRT) at air cargo/courier terminals which will function as a single point of contact for all such clearances and ensure that vaccines are given instant delivery upon arrival, the Finance Ministry said on Friday. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has put in place a COVID Response Plan (CRP) for speedy clearances of COVID-19 vaccines at all major airports.

The plan provides for setting up of a COVID-19 Vaccine Response Team (CVRT) at each Air Cargo/Courier Terminal.

“The CVRT will function as a single point of contact for all the clearance related to COVID-19 vaccine shipments and coordinate among the concerned stakeholders to ensure that vaccines are given instant delivery upon arrival,” it said.

So far, India has allowed domestically manufactured Covid vaccines and import of one from Russia (Sputnik V).

Additionally, the CBIC has enabled the import/export of vaccines in relation to COVID -19 through Courier, by issuing the Courier Imports and Exports (Electronic Declaration and Processing) Amendment Regulations, 2020.

The Courier Regulations earlier had certain limits on the value of goods that could be brought in through courier, whereas the amended regulations allow the import and export of COVID vaccines through courier without any value limit.

As the vaccines would be transported through special containers equipped with temperature monitoring and tracking devices, provision has also been made for their duty-free temporary admission, the ministry said.

“CBIC would closely monitor the vaccine logistics to ensure their seamless movement at the borders and address any challenges that may arise in this regard,” the ministry added.