Customs Officers Must Wear Body Cameras During Baggage Clearance, Passenger Interactions: CBIC
Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) has mandated Body Worn Cameras for Customs officers posted at International Airports, engaging closely with passengers at baggage clearance counters. To align with global practices, Customs had started to adopt the digital technologies for audio and video recording, to enhance transparency, accountability and professionalism...
Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) has mandated Body Worn Cameras for Customs officers posted at International Airports, engaging closely with passengers at baggage clearance counters.
To align with global practices, Customs had started to adopt the digital technologies for audio and video recording, to enhance transparency, accountability and professionalism concerning passenger facilitation and intervention. For speeding up passenger flow while maintaining security, dual channel was implemented at International Airports. The Red Channel is for restricted or prohibited goods.
CBIC in an Instruction dated December 30 2025 has introduced Body Worn Cameras (BWC) to improve transparency, accountability, professionalism, and public confidence in baggage clearance operations. It has been made applicable for Customs officers at international airports in the Red Channel, handling dutiable/restricted goods.
The Instruction has also prescribed a Standard Operating Procedure for deployment, data security, privacy, and monitoring. This includes encrypted data to be transferred every 24 hours to a secure folder in a computer of vigilance section with additional backup be stored in dedicated hard drive. The data shall be retained for 90 days unless required for inquiry, investigation, or judicial proceedings for longer period.