CBIC Mandates Body Worn Cameras For Customs Officers At Airport Red Channels
Pranav B Prem
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has mandated the use of Body Worn Cameras (BWCs) by Customs officers deployed at international airports, particularly those handling passenger baggage clearance and interactions at the Red Channel. The move is aimed at enhancing transparency, accountability, professionalism and public confidence in Customs administration. The directive has been issued through Instruction No. 34/2025-Customs dated December 30, 2025, by the Customs Policy Wing of the CBIC, and has come into force with immediate effect.
CBIC noted that Customs officers posted at international airports perform critical baggage clearance functions under Sections 77 to 80 of the Customs Act, 1962, read with the Baggage Rules and allied laws. The dual-channel system, comprising the Green Channel and the Red Channel, has been implemented in line with global best practices, allowing passengers to self-select the appropriate channel based on declarations and baggage contents. The Red Channel is meant for passengers carrying dutiable or restricted goods.
The Board observed that Customs administrations worldwide have begun adopting digital technologies, including audio and video recording, to improve transparency and accountability in passenger facilitation and enforcement. Aligning with international best practices and the Government’s emphasis on technology-driven reforms and Ease of Doing Business, CBIC decided to prescribe Body Worn Cameras for baggage clearance officers deployed at international airports.
Under the Instruction, BWCs are mandatory for officers posted at the Red Channel counters and are also to be worn during any interaction with passengers within airport premises. The initiative seeks to ensure objective documentation of passenger interactions and to strengthen trust in Customs processes.
To ensure uniform implementation, CBIC has prescribed a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the deployment, handling, data storage, privacy safeguards and monitoring of BWCs. The SOP provides that officers responsible for baggage clearance, including Baggage Superintendents and Assistant Customs Officers operating the e-BR module, shall wear the cameras in a manner that clearly captures interactions with passengers. Supervisory officers are required to maintain records of issuance and return of BWCs for each shift.
The SOP further mandates that BWCs are for official departmental use only and must be handed over to supervisory officers when an officer takes a break or is assigned different duties. At the end of each shift, recorded data must be transferred to a dedicated, password-protected system under the control of the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner (Administration), with intimation to senior officers. It has been specifically directed that no data shall remain stored in the device once the transfer is complete.
To address data security and privacy concerns, the Instruction provides that encrypted footage must be transferred every 24 hours to a secure folder in the Vigilance section’s computer system, with an additional backup stored on a dedicated hard drive. The data is to be retained for 90 days, unless required for inquiry, investigation or judicial proceedings, in which case it may be preserved for a longer period. Access to the recordings is restricted and subject to approval by the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner.
The SOP also lays down operational guidelines for usage during passenger interaction. Officers are required to activate the BWC before commencing any interaction at the Red Channel and continue recording uninterrupted until the interaction is completed. Officers are instructed to courteously inform passengers that the interaction is being recorded as part of transparency measures. The cameras are to be worn on the right side of the uniform to ensure an unobstructed field of view.
CBIC has also provided safeguards for exceptional situations. In cases where an officer is unable to use the BWC due to operational exigencies such as equipment malfunction or safety hazards, a brief written record must be made in the duty register and attested by the supervisory officer. Such instances are required to be independently verified by the officer in charge of the baggage batch.
The Board has directed all Customs zones to issue necessary standing orders to operationalise the use of BWCs at international airports. Any operational difficulties faced during implementation are to be reported to the Director (Customs), CBIC, New Delhi. With this Instruction, CBIC has institutionalised the use of Body Worn Cameras as a transparency and accountability measure in passenger-facing Customs operations, particularly in baggage clearance at international airports, marking a significant step towards technology-enabled governance in Customs administration.
