MUMBAI: IDFC First Bank has joined a small club of private lenders offering a unified line for all major tax payments after going live on ICEGATE 2.0, complementing its coverage across direct taxes, GST and now customs duties and moving closer to the intersection of banking and trade compliance.This addition fills a gap in its tax suite by enabling digital payment of customs duties, central taxes and service tax for retail and corporate users. The bank is licensed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs and the Ministry of Finance, and now supports payments across the three major tax flows through instant calls and real-time confirmations aimed at facilitating compliance and reconciliation.Payments are initiated on the ICEGATE portal and are settled through the bank’s online banking channels for individuals and businesses.
The system provides instant confirmation and downloadable challenges, compressing what was previously a fragmented process into a single digital flow.“Excise duty payments are critical to trade speed and business continuity. By going live on ICEGATE 2.0, we are enabling importers, exporters and businesses to fulfill these obligations digitally with the same ease and reliability they have come to expect via direct tax and GST payments,” said Ashish Singh, Head of Retail Liabilities, IDFC First Bank.
This is an important step in strengthening our role in India’s digital tax and commerce ecosystem.”Adding customs duties creates a single compliance portal that links legal payments to banking issues. The portal supports digital payments throughout the year, helping with timely cash flow planning and compliance. Users log in, create the challenge, choose network banking, choose bank, complete payment, and download or print the challenge.