To further promote ease of doing business and ensure uniformity across import monitoring platforms, the Ministry of Coal on Thursday said it has rationalised the registration fee of the Coal Import Monitoring System (CIMS) portal.

The registration fee has been revised to a flat rate of Rs 500 per consignment, effective from April 15, 2025.

This replaces the earlier fee structure, which ranged from Rs 500 to Rs 1,00,000 per consignment, and rationalisation in registration fee aligns CIMS with similar Import Monitoring Systems such as the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS), Non-Ferrous Import Monitoring System (NFIMS), and Paper Import Monitoring System (PIMS) — all of which operate under a flat fee model, according to a Ministry of Coal statement.

By enabling real-time monitoring and informed decision-making in coal imports substitution, this initiative represents a significant milestone in the government vision of ensuring ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

CIMS is a digital platform developed to streamline the reporting of coal imports, ensuring timely and accurate data for effective policy formulation and sectoral analysis.

Coal importers are now required to register the details of their consignments in the CIMS portal on or prior to the arrival of shipments in the Port in India.

In a move to strengthen transparency and efficiency in the coal import monitoring, importers are required to obtain an Automatic Registration Number from the CIMS portal, which is to be quoted in the Bill of Entry at the time of customs clearance.

The ministry said it remains committed to facilitating trade, enhancing transparency, and streamlining regulatory processes to support India's growing industrial and energy needs.

The coal production surged to 190.95 million tonnes (MT) in FY25, marking a remarkable 29.79 per cent growth over the previous fiscal’s 147.11 MT. Coal dispatches also witnessed an extraordinary rise, reaching 190.42 MT, a 33.36 per cent increase from the 142.79 MT recorded in FY 2023-24.

India has already crossed the monumental milestone of 1 billion tonnes of coal production.