EXIM operations begin 18 August 2026
Customs clearance at Vizhinjam.
Vizhinjam has handled transshipment since it opened. From 18 August 2026 it also handles import and export cargo, which means customs clearance at a station that has never done it before.
Why a new customs station is different
A working port has routine. Officers have seen your commodity before, the examination pattern is established, and everybody knows which queries come up. A new EXIM station has none of that on day one.
That is not a reason to avoid Vizhinjam. It is a reason to file carefully the first few times. The consignments that get held at a new station are usually the ones where the paperwork invited a question, not the ones where the cargo was a problem.
We clear at Trivandrum and Cochin already, and Vizhinjam is under an hour from our own office. If something needs a person physically at the port, that is a drive, not a flight.
How we handle a consignment through Vizhinjam
- 01
Before the vessel is booked
We check the classification, the duty position and any licensing the commodity attracts. At a station with no filing history, an unusual HS code is the thing most likely to stall a consignment.
- 02
Documentation
Bill of entry or shipping bill, invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and whatever the commodity specifically requires. We prepare and file, and we tell you what we still need rather than waiting on it.
- 03
At the port
Examination, assessment and duty payment. Somebody from our side is reachable while your consignment is on the ground, not the next working morning.
- 04
Release and onward movement
Out-of-charge, gate-out and onward transport to the consignee. Trivandrum city is roughly an hour up the coast, and our own desk is in it.
Planning a consignment through Vizhinjam
Tell us the commodity and the timing. If Vizhinjam is not the right port for your consignment we will say so.