MOOWR approvals rest on two customs permissions that are obtained together, not separately. You need a licence for a private bonded warehouse under Section 58 of the Customs Act, 1962, and permission under Section 65 to carry out manufacture and other operations inside it.
CBIC prescribes a single combined application form covering both, with one point of approval. Applicants who treat these as two sequential filings create delay for no reason.
The Section 58 licence establishes your premises as a private bonded warehouse. The Section 65 permission allows manufacture and other operations on the goods warehoused there. The Section 65 permission is co-terminus with the Section 58 licence.
Both are granted by the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Customs. Neither carries an expiry date or a renewal requirement.
This has changed and much published guidance is out of date. The Invest India MOOWR portal stopped accepting applications in late 2025. Confirm the current filing route with CBIC or your jurisdictional office before preparing the application.
Applications under Sections 58 and 65 are now submitted directly to the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Customs in the prescribed physical format. Confirm the current filing route with your jurisdictional office before preparing the application.
Section 59 requires the importer to execute a bond in a sum equal to thrice the duty assessed on the warehoused goods. This is the triple duty bond.
The format prescribed at Annexure C of Circular No. 34/2019-Customs serves the requirements of both the MOOWR Regulations, 2019 and Section 59. Importantly, no bank guarantee is required to obtain MOOWR approvals, which is a genuine advantage over several other schemes.
Under Regulation 4, the application is accompanied by undertakings to:
Regulation 8 requires facilities, equipment, and personnel sufficient to control access to the warehouse, provide secure storage, and ensure compliance. A fully enclosed structure is not mandated, which surprises many applicants.
Customs conducts a one-time physical verification before granting the licence. Clear signage, computerised accounting, secure storage, and access controls should be in place on inspection day, not shortly after.
Customs approvals do not displace other obligations. You will need a valid IEC, GST registration, and, where applicable, factory licence, pollution control consent, and fire safety clearance.
GST continues to apply once goods are ex-bonded and sold in India. Keep the premises registered as a place of business and ensure customs declarations and GST returns reconcile.
Any unit in the Domestic Tariff Area is eligible, including an existing factory converting to bonded operations. There is no minimum investment and no geographic restriction.
Existing capital goods and domestic inputs must be accounted for in the prescribed format, which includes a remarks column for that purpose. The applicant must be a citizen of India or an entity incorporated or registered in India.
In practice, licence issuance commonly takes two to three months from a complete application. The variables are facility readiness for physical verification, the quality of the input-output norms declared, and the responsiveness of the jurisdictional office.
At JPARKS INDIA, we prepare the combined Section 58 and Section 65 application, declare defensible input-output norms, structure the Section 59 bond, ready the facility against Regulation 8 before verification, and coordinate the statutory clearances. Having served 500+ importers and exporters since 2018, we get bonded facilities approved without avoidable rework. Learn more about our MOOWR scheme services or book a free consultation.
A private bonded warehouse licence under Section 58 and permission under Section 65 for manufacture and other operations. CBIC allows a single combined application covering both, granted by the jurisdictional Commissioner.
No. A combined application cum approval form covers both, with a single point of approval. Filing them separately adds delay without benefit.
No. A triple duty bond under Section 59, in the format at Annexure C of Circular No. 34/2019-Customs, is required. No bank guarantee is needed.
The Invest India MOOWR portal stopped accepting applications in late 2025. Applications now go directly to the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Customs in the prescribed physical format.
No. Regulation 8 requires sufficient facilities, equipment, and personnel to control access and provide secure storage. Customs must be satisfied on physical verification before granting the licence.
