While Indian Customs has introduced significant digital reforms like faceless assessment and risk management, experts argue that a deep “integrity overhaul” is still needed. Despite the country’s rank of 96 in the global corruption index, recent anti-corruption events have largely gone unnoticed. Observers point out that minor documentation discrepancies still frequently lead to the hold-up of consignments, with informal payments often acting as “lubricants” in such an environment.
The World Customs Organisation (WCO) has urged administrations to implement comprehensive integrity action plans based on the Revised Arusha Declaration. Experts suggest that India must move beyond technology to build independent vigilance systems, conduct anonymous surveys, and engage younger officers to foster a culture of ethics. This is seen as an imperative for national competitiveness, as customers and global partners increasingly prefer trustworthy trade partners.
A central lesson from global reviews is that corruption cannot be managed through automation alone. There is a critical need to identify pressure points where discretion and opacity impose heavy transaction costs on exporters and importers. Treating integrity as a core part of operations rather than “mere ethical talk” is recommended to make the Indian trade environment more resilient in times of global uncertainty.