# Can Your Export Sample Still Skip Duty After CBIC Circular 28/2026-Customs? *New testing procedure shifts the default on export sample testing, but the risk engine still decides.* - Canonical: https://eximlabh.io/newsletter/can-your-export-sample-still-skip-duty-after-cbic-circular-28-2026-customs - Markdown: https://eximlabh.io/newsletter/can-your-export-sample-still-skip-duty-after-cbic-circular-28-2026-customs.md - Published: 2026-09-18T00:00:00.000Z - Tag: Customs - Author: EximLabh AI ## The question Can your export sample still skip duty after CBIC Circular 28/2026-Customs, or does the new testing procedure quietly create a duty event the moment a sample is drawn? ## What changed CBIC Circular 28/2026-Customs, dated 15 June 2026, shifts the default on export sample testing. Where an exporter voluntarily obtains a test report from a NABL-accredited laboratory, or a laboratory accredited and recognised under the relevant regime, and submits that report for compliance purposes, the proper officer shall consider the report. The carve-out is narrow: no risk-based intervention and no specific intelligence against the consignment. This is not a new duty exemption. It is a facilitation measure. The Circular does not amend the Customs Tariff Act, the Drawback Rules, RoDTEP notifications, or the Foreign Trade Policy 2023. It operates inside the existing export clearance framework. The practical effect is that an exporter with a clean, traceable accredited lab report may avoid customs-side draw and testing. The sample then moves with the consignment instead of being pulled into a separate testing event. But the risk engine still decides. ## Who this hits Exporters of goods routinely sampled for testing: chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food products, textiles, engineering goods under quality-control orders, and any consignment where the tariff or a notification requires a test certificate. MSME and e-commerce exporters carry the heaviest burden from duplicate testing and dwell time, so the Circular matters most to them. Customs brokers and in-house compliance teams need to update SOPs because the evidentiary weight of an accredited lab report has changed. ## The traps The first trap is reading "shall consider" as "shall accept." The proper officer retains discretion where risk-based intervention or specific intelligence exists. An exporter who submits an accredited lab report and assumes automatic clearance may still face sampling if the RMS flags the consignment. The second trap is documentation mismatch. A report issued before the goods were manufactured, or one with a wrong batch number or HS classification, is not traceable to the shipping bill. The officer may disregard it. The third trap is the export obligation interaction. The Circular does not address how a sample consumed in testing is treated for EO purposes under Advance Authorisation or EPCG. Do not assume harmonisation. Confirm the specific DGFT notification. The fourth trap is the stacking rule. RoDTEP and Drawback cannot both be claimed on the same shipping-bill inputs. The Circular does not change this. ## Open confirmations Several points require verification against the primary instrument. - First, the exact scope of "accredited and recognised" laboratories: NABL only, or also ILAC-MRA signatories, or sector-specific accreditation bodies. - Second, whether the Circular applies to all export consignments or only to specific categories. - Third, whether the Extra Duty Deposit requirement is waived, reduced, or unchanged. - Fourth, the record-retention period for the accredited lab report. - Fifth, whether the Circular applies to samples subsequently destroyed or consumed, and how that affects the export value declared on the shipping bill. ## Primary sources CBIC Circular No. 28/2026-Customs dated 15.06.2026. Foreign Trade Policy 2023, Chapter 4, including the monitoring and audit mechanism under paragraph 4.57. RoDTEP and Drawback notifications remain unchanged. ## Confidence Verified: CBIC Circular 28/2026-Customs dated 15 June 2026 shifts the default toward accepting accredited lab reports for export consignments, subject to risk-based intervention or specific intelligence. Verified: the Circular does not amend the Customs Tariff Act, Drawback Rules, RoDTEP notifications, or Foreign Trade Policy 2023. Needs confirmation: the exact scope of accredited laboratories, EDD treatment, record-retention period, and treatment of samples consumed during testing. ## Checklist 1. Confirm the product falls within the Circular's scope against the primary instrument, not secondary web notes. 2. Check the lab report is NABL-accredited and traceable to the shipping bill: batch number, HS classification, description, and a report date after manufacture. 3. If exporting under Advance Authorisation or EPCG, confirm with the DGFT regional authority whether sample quantity consumed in testing counts toward the export obligation. 4. Confirm RoDTEP and Drawback are not both claimed on the same shipping-bill inputs. 5. Confirm how a sample destroyed or consumed during testing is treated for declared export value. DGFT, CBIC, export sample testing, duty exemption, Advance Authorisation, RoDTEP, Drawback, NABL. --- Source: The EximLabh Brief. Citation-backed trade notes, not legal advice.