The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued Circular No. 18/2025-Customs, announcing significant changes in the application process under the Manufacturing and Other Operations in Warehouse Regulations (MOOWR) Scheme. The move comes following updates from Invest India regarding the discontinuation of the digitized application hosted on the bonded manufacturing microsite.

The earlier system, launched under Circular No. 34/2019-Customs dated October 1, 2019, facilitated online submission of applications via a portal developed in collaboration with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and Invest India. The portal allowed applicants to fill, upload, and print application forms online.

However, as communicated by Invest India, the digitized facility is now defunct and no longer accessible for submission of applications.

Consequently, applicants who wish to obtain a license under Section 58 and permission to operate under Section 65 of the Customs Act, 1962, are now required to submit their applications in the prescribed format directly to the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Customs.

The circular, issued by Prabhjot Kaur, OSD (Customs & EP), also advises field formations to take note of the revised process and guide stakeholders accordingly.

This change marks a return to offline processes for the MOOWR Scheme, which had seen increasing digital facilitation in recent years. Stakeholders are advised to check with local Customs offices for the latest formats and submission protocols.