OTP Delivery Allowed on International Courier Consignments

[CBIC Circular No. 47/2020-Customs dated 20 October 2020]

Subject: Contactless delivery of international courier consignments.

Representations have been received by the Board from the Express Courier Industry for allowing contactless delivery of international courier consignments in lines with the OTP based contactless delivery being adopted by the domestic courier companies. The said request is with a view to maintain the required social distancing considering the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. At present, the authorized courier, upon delivery of the import consignments obtains a “proof of delivery” from the consignees by taking their physical signature.

3. In light of the need for contactless delivery and also considering that the OTP based validation gives secure confirmation of delivery to the intended consignee through his registered mobile number, which also has the necessary KYC, Board, has decided to allow the delivery of international courier shipments, based on the OTP validation as follows:

(i) Consignee gets OTP on their mobile number which has been registered with the authorized courier. The authorized courier should exercise due diligence to ensure that the mobile number belongs to the consignee at the time of registering the phone number.

(ii) At the time of delivery, the authorised courier electronically validates the OTP from the consignee.

(iii) Upon successful validation, the shipment is delivered as per the instructions of the consignee. In case of failure to validate the OTP, the consignment will not be delivered.

3.1 The OTP based validation will be an alternative means of obtaining proof of delivery to the existing procedure of taking physical signatures. Thus, the authorized couriers will obtain the proof of delivery either by taking the physical signatures or through OTP based validation.

4. The Authorised courier shall maintain the data relating to generation and validation of OTP as a proof of delivery for a period of 5 years. The full audit trail of the process shall be made available to the officer of customs upon request.

5. Difficulties in implementation of the circular may be brought to the notice of the Board.

F. No. 451/13/2020-Cus. V