International courier shipments through major airports across India have been severely disrupted following an outage in the Customs Department’s Express Cargo Clearance System (ECCS), causing delays in both imports and exports and impacting supply chains nationwide.
The system failure, which was reported on Thursday evening, prevented courier operators from obtaining customs clearance for consignments, leading to missed flight connections and delayed deliveries for businesses and individual customers. This marks the second major ECCS outage reported during the month, raising concerns among logistics stakeholders over the reliability of critical customs infrastructure.
The ECCS serves as the primary digital platform used by courier companies to submit import and export documentation, including Bills of Entry for imports and Shipping Bills for exports. The platform facilitates the electronic filing of shipment details such as consignor and consignee information, product descriptions, and cargo declarations required for customs processing.
With the system unavailable, courier operators were unable to complete mandatory customs formalities, resulting in the accumulation of cargo at airport facilities. Industry sources indicated that shipments scheduled for onward movement missed planned flight departures, creating a backlog that is expected to take time to clear even after system restoration.
The disruption has affected a wide range of sectors that rely on time-sensitive international courier services, including e-commerce, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and exporters handling urgent documentation and high-value goods. Importers and exporters have reported delivery delays and operational challenges as a result of the outage.
Industry stakeholders have urged authorities to restore the system at the earliest and implement measures to improve resilience and prevent recurring disruptions. The incident has once again highlighted the critical role of digital customs platforms in facilitating international trade and the significant impact that system outages can have on logistics operations.
Customs authorities are understood to be working on resolving the technical issues and restoring normal operations. However, logistics providers expect residual delays to continue until the accumulated shipment backlog is cleared.
