Living Bridge

(Expressed opinions are personal.)
Shantanu and his wife Sharmila landed Mumbai airport early in the morning with their two children. The excitement of visiting the hometown after a gap of three years was clear. After collection of luggage, they were in the immigration queue, which was luckily not very long. Sharmila realised they had not filled up the customs declaration form for their belongings. She asked Shantanu to rush and collect and fill-up the form quickly by the time their turn for immigration comes. As Shantanu rushed to the counter to get a form, he realised people had wasted many forms, and it was difficult to find a clean one. He was not happy with people's habit of filling half form and throwing away because of small mistakes in writing. He didn't know where else could he find a customs declaration form. 
Has this happened with you? Has it ever slipped out of your mind to fill up the form? Well, in that case, now there is an easy solution: 'ATITHI@Indian Customs'. It is a mobile application available both on iOS and Android platforms. 
ATITHI is developed by the Directorate General of Systems, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIT), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India to drive digital governance in India. This application provides a platform for all visitors travelling to India globally to file their baggage, Item & Currency declarations and other citizen-centric services. It will reduce the time taken for the Customs Declaration and will ease the arrival process at Indian Airports.
With ATITHI, CBIC has introduced an easy to use mobile app for international travellers to file the Customs declaration in advance. Passengers can use this app to file a declaration of dutiable items and currency with Indian Customs even before boarding the flight to India. The ATITHI app will facilitate hassle-free and faster clearance by Customs at the airports and enhance the experience of international tourists and other visitors at airports.
ATITHI is a simple application where a traveller needs to create an account and fill up basic details like name, passport number, flight number, items carried, foreign currency and any other relevant information. It also gives updated information regarding rules and regulations of customs in India and helps avoid any unwanted incident because of ignorance of rules. How much foreign currency can one carry to India? How much gold/silver or any other product can you take to India without paying any customs duty? Many such questions are answered in this app. 
This application is launched recently, in November 2019. When Shantanu and Sharmila travelled, they didn’t have such facilities. But now, as India takes a stride in improving its 'Ease of Doing Business Index', other consequential aspects, like travelling to India, are also made easier and smoother. 
Please download the 'ATITHI@Indian Customs’ App on your mobile, fill up the detail in advance, even before boarding the flight, and travel hassle-free.