Details ranging from mobile number, and payment mode to travel itinerary need to be shared with the authorities 24 hours before the departure of an international flight
New Delhi: Airlines will have to mandatorily share details of foreign travellers with the Indian Customs authorities from April 1, 2025, and non-compliance can attract penalties.
All air transport service providers operating flights to/from India will have to register with the National Customs Targeting Centre-Passenger (NCTC-Pax) by January 10, 2025, in order to comply with the requirement, according to a communication issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
Details ranging from mobile number, and payment mode to travel itinerary need to be shared with the authorities 24 hours before the departure of an international flight.
On August 8, 2022, the CBIC notified the ‘Passenger Name Record Information Regulations, 2022’ under which airlines were required to share passenger name record (PNR) details of foreign travellers with the Customs department.
This system is intended to enhance interdiction capabilities of authorities as well as risk analysis of passengers.
In case an airline fails to share the data, the Customs department can impose a fine ranging from Rs 25,000-50,000 for every act of non-compliance, as per the regulations.
The CBIC, in the communication issued last week, said the system to implement the regulation is being developed by NCTC-Pax and the latter’s phased rollout is envisaged from January 2025.
The Customs department also said that the PNRGOV system — to collect requisite passenger information — will be implemented on a pilot basis with some airlines who have expressed willingness to participate.
“The pilot phase is scheduled to be implemented by February 10, 2025. Thereafter, full scale operation is planned from April 1, 2025, for individual airlines and from June 1, 2025, for airlines intending to operate through GDS (global distribution system),” the CBIC said.
As per the ‘Passenger Name Record Information Regulations, 2022’, airlines will have to share data of all international passengers with Customs authorities 24 hours before the departure of the flight.
The information to be shared by airline companies for both inbound and outbound international flights include the name of the passenger, billing/payment information (credit card number), date of issue of ticket as well as intended travel, and names of other travellers in the same PNR, travel itinerary for the PNR.
Besides, contact details like email ID, mobile number, details of travel agency, baggage information and code share information (when one airline sells seats on another air carrier’s flight) have to be shared.
Meanwhile, the civil aviation ministry on Monday said data of passengers who use Digi Yatra are not shared with the Indian tax authorities.
Earlier in the day, the I-T Department refuted reports that Digi Yatra data will be used to crack down on tax evaders.
Based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT), Digi Yatra provides for contactless, seamless movement of passengers at various check points at airports.
The data shared by a passenger for Digi Yatra is stored in an encrypted format. To avail the service, a passenger has to register his or her details on the Digi Yatra app using Aadhaar-based validation and a self-image capture. In the next step, the boarding pass has to be scanned and the credentials are shared with the airport.
In a post on X, the ministry said there is no sharing of Digi Yatra passengers’ data with Indian tax authorities.
“The Digi Yatra app follows the Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) model, where Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and travel credentials are stored exclusively on the user’s device, not on any central repository. Furthermore, if a user uninstalls the Digi Yatra app, the data is deleted entirely,” the ministry said in a post on X.
Further, the ministry said airport systems automatically purge passenger data within 24 hours of the flight’s departure.
The I-T Department, in a post on X, refuted reports which stated that Digi Yatra data will be used to crack down on tax evaders.
“In this connection, it is clarified that as on date there is no such move by the @IncomeTaxIndia department,” it said.
Digi Yatra is managed by the Digi Yatra Foundation. Its shareholders are Airport Authority of India (AAI), Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (HIAL) and Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL).